Crowdspring vs DesignCrowd: The Ultimate Comparison Guide for Businesses

In today’s fast-paced digital era, businesses must consistently seek high-quality design solutions to enhance their brand image and connect with their audiences. As a result, online design marketplaces like Crowdspring and DesignCrowd have become increasingly popular. These platforms offer a plethora of design services, connecting businesses with talented designers worldwide. Yet, as similar as they may seem, there are significant differences between Crowdspring and DesignCrowd that can impact your choice. This article aims to provide an in-depth comparison of Crowdspring vs DesignCrowd to help entrepreneurs and businesses make an informed decision.

What is Crowdspring and what is DesignCrowd?

Crowdspring and DesignCrowd are both online platforms that provide a marketplace for graphic design, logo design, web design, and other related services. They connect businesses and entrepreneurs with a global network of freelance designers.

Crowdspring is an online platform based in the United States that focuses on offering crowdsourced design and naming services. It was established in 2008 with a mission to allow businesses to source high-quality creative services from a global pool of talented freelancers. Crowdspring offers a wide range of services that include but are not limited to graphic design, web design, product design, and business naming. The platform offers a unique model where clients post their projects and designers submit their concepts. The client then selects the best design and the winning designer receives the payment.

DesignCrowd, on the other hand, is an Australian-based online marketplace providing logo, website, print, and graphic design services through a global community of designers. Founded in 2007, DesignCrowd aims to help businesses access high-quality design services from designers around the world. The platform operates on a similar model as Crowdspring, where clients post projects and freelancers submit their proposals. Clients then choose the design they like best and the selected freelancer is paid for their work.

Key differences between Crowdspring and DesignCrowd

1. Origin and Headquarters: Crowdspring is based in the United States while DesignCrowd was founded and is headquartered in Australia.
2. Service Range: While both platforms offer design services, Crowdspring additionally provides business naming and tagline services which are not prominently featured in DesignCrowd’s offerings.
3. Pricing Structure: DesignCrowd employs a more flexible pricing system with various options, whereas Crowdspring uses a package-based pricing system, which might be more suitable for clients with specific budget constraints.
4. Project Submission: On Crowdspring, designers can only submit one design concept per project, while DesignCrowd allows designers to submit multiple concepts.
5. Minimum Project Duration: Crowdspring has a minimum project duration of seven days, while DesignCrowd allows for quicker, three-day turnaround times.
6. Designer Pool Size: DesignCrowd boasts a larger designer community as compared to Crowdspring, potentially leading to a wider range of design styles and concepts for clients to choose from.

Key similarities between Crowdspring and DesignCrowd

1. Crowdsourcing Model: Both Crowdspring and DesignCrowd operate on a crowdsourcing model where clients post projects and multiple designers submit their concepts for the client to choose from.
2. Global Freelancer Network: Both platforms tap into a global network of freelance designers, offering clients a wide range of styles and ideas to choose from.
3. Service Offerings: Both platforms offer a similar range of services including logo design, website design, graphic design, and print design.
4. Guarantees: Both Crowdspring and DesignCrowd offer a money-back guarantee to clients if they are not satisfied with the submitted designs.
5. Client Support: Both platforms provide robust client support and secure payment systems, ensuring a smooth and safe process for both clients and designers.
6. Intellectual Property: In both cases, the client obtains the full copyright for the chosen design once the payment is finalized.

Pros of Crowdspring over DesignCrowd

1. Business Naming Services: Crowdspring provides business naming and tagline services. This is an added advantage for startups and entrepreneurs who are looking for comprehensive branding solutions.
2. Package-based Pricing: Crowdspring’s package-based pricing structure might appeal to businesses that prefer knowing the exact cost upfront, without any hidden charges.
3. Quality Assurance: Crowdspring has a rigorous vetting process to ensure only high-quality designs are submitted. This can be beneficial to businesses looking for top-tier design work.
4. Design Concept Limitation: On Crowdspring, designers can only submit one design concept per project. This policy can ensure each submission is of high quality and the designer has devoted ample thought and creativity to it.
5. Interactive Creative Brief: Crowdspring provides an interactive creative brief, allowing clients to explain their needs in detail, resulting in more targeted design submissions.
6. Robust Portfolio: Crowdspring allows designers to maintain a robust portfolio on the platform. This can help clients better understand a designer’s style and capabilities.

Cons of Crowdspring compared to DesignCrowd

1. Smaller Designer Pool: Compared to DesignCrowd, Crowdspring has a smaller pool of designers. This could potentially lead to fewer design submissions for each project.
2. Longer Minimum Project Duration: Crowdspring has a minimum project duration of seven days, whereas DesignCrowd can have projects with a minimum duration of three days. This could be a downside for businesses with tight deadlines.
3. Limited Flexibility in Pricing: Crowdspring’s package-based pricing structure might not be as flexible as DesignCrowd’s various pricing options, especially for customized or larger projects.
4. Single Design Submission: The policy of allowing only one design concept submission per project on Crowdspring could be limiting for clients who want to see different concepts from the same designer.
5. Less Geographical Diversity: Since Crowdspring is based in the United States, there may be less geographical diversity among designers compared to DesignCrowd, which could potentially limit the range of design styles available.

Pros of DesignCrowd over Crowdspring

1. Larger Designer Community: DesignCrowd boasts a larger designer community compared to Crowdspring. This could potentially result in a wider range of design styles and concepts for clients to choose from.
2. Flexible Pricing: DesignCrowd employs a more flexible pricing system with various options. This can be advantageous for clients with unique or customized project requirements.
3. Faster Project Turnaround: DesignCrowd allows for quicker, three-day turnaround times, whereas Crowdspring has a minimum project duration of seven days. This can be a significant advantage for businesses with tight deadlines.
4. Multiple Design Concepts: DesignCrowd allows designers to submit multiple design concepts for each project, providing clients with a more diverse range of ideas to choose from.
5. Greater Geographical Diversity: DesignCrowd, being based in Australia and having a global reach, may provide more geographical diversity among its designers compared to Crowdspring, potentially offering a broader variety of design styles.

Cons of DesignCrowd compared to Crowdspring

1. Lack of Naming Services: Unlike Crowdspring, DesignCrowd does not prominently feature business naming and tagline services. This could be a disadvantage for startups or businesses seeking comprehensive branding solutions.
2. Quality Variance: Given DesignCrowd’s larger designer community and allowance for multiple design submissions, there could potentially be a wider variance in the quality of designs received.
3. Complex Pricing: While the flexibility of DesignCrowd’s pricing system can be a plus, it could also be seen as complex or confusing to some clients, especially those who prefer straightforward, package-based pricing.
4. Less Detailed Creative Brief: Compared to Crowdspring’s interactive creative brief, DesignCrowd’s brief might be less comprehensive, which could potentially result in less targeted design submissions.
5. No Single Submission Policy: The policy of allowing multiple design submissions from a single designer could lead to quantity over quality submissions, potentially making it harder for clients to sift through designs.

Situations when Crowdspring is better than DesignCrowd

1. Comprehensive Branding Needs: If a company is seeking comprehensive branding solutions, including business naming and tagline services, Crowdspring could be the preferred choice due to its additional offerings.
2. Quality Assurance: For businesses prioritizing quality over quantity, Crowdspring’s policy of allowing only one design submission per designer could ensure a high standard of design submissions.
3. Predictable Pricing: If a business prefers a fixed, predictable pricing structure, Crowdspring’s package-based pricing system may be more appealing.
4. Detailed Creative Briefs: When a business wants to provide a detailed and interactive creative brief to ensure targeted design submissions, Crowdspring could be the preferred platform.
5. Robust Designer Portfolios: If a business wants to review comprehensive designer portfolios before making a decision, Crowdspring might be the better option.

Situations when DesignCrowd is better than Crowdspring

1. Larger Volume of Submissions: If a business values quantity and diversity of design submissions, DesignCrowd’s larger designer community and policy of allowing multiple submissions per designer might be beneficial.
2. Flexible Pricing: If a business has unique or customized project requirements, DesignCrowd’s flexible pricing system may be more suitable.
3. Fast Turnaround: When a business has tight deadlines and requires a fast project turnaround, DesignCrowd’s minimum project duration of three days could be a significant advantage.
4. Global Design Styles: If a business is seeking a wider geographical diversity in design styles, DesignCrowd, with its global reach, could be the preferred choice.
5. Multiple Concepts from Single Designer: If a business wishes to explore multiple concepts from the same designer, DesignCrowd’s policy of allowing multiple submissions per designer could be advantageous.

Crowdspring vs DesignCrowd Summary

	Crowdspring	DesignCrowd
Origin and Headquarters	United States	Australia
Service Range	Graphic design, web design, product design, business naming	Graphic design, web design, logo design
Pricing Structure	Package-based	Flexible
Project Submission Policy	Single design concept per project	Multiple design concepts per project
Minimum Project Duration	Seven days	Three days
Size of Designer Community	Smaller	Larger
Pros	Business naming services, package-based pricing, quality assurance, single design submission per project, interactive creative brief	Larger designer community, flexible pricing, faster project turnaround, multiple design concepts per project, greater geographical diversity
Cons	Smaller designer pool, longer minimum project duration, limited pricing flexibility, single design submission per project, less geographical diversity	No prominent naming services, potential quality variance, complex pricing, less detailed creative brief, multiple design submissions per designer
Best For	Comprehensive branding needs, quality assurance, predictable pricing, detailed creative briefs, reviewing designer portfolios	Large volume of design submissions, flexible pricing, fast turnaround, global design styles, multiple concepts from a single designer