Graphic design is a versatile field, offering various opportunities for creatives to monetize their skills. Whether you’re looking to expand your freelance portfolio or start a side hustle, the online world provides multiple places to sell your designs online. From finished pieces to on-demand projects, designers can tap into a larger market and connect with customers who seek creative solutions. Once you explore all the best places to sell your designs online, you can find an option that suits your goals and helps you make the most of your design talents.
1. Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace where many sell handmade and vintage items. It’s one of the best places to sell your designs online. However, it’s an ideal platform for graphic designers looking to sell their artwork, whether in physical, or digital form. As a hub for creative goods, Etsy attracts millions of buyers searching for something personal and distinctive.
When selling on Etsy, designers can offer various products, including:
- Printables
- Custom illustrations
- Branding kits
- Digital artwork
- Design templates
- T-shirts and more.
You can even tap into various niches, as many customers use Etsy to search for wedding invitations, home decor, and business branding solutions. Once you get started on Etsy, the platform will charge you $0.20 per listing, which keeps your listings active for four months or until the item sells.
Upon sale, Etsy collects a 6.5% transaction fee on the price you display for each listing, plus the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping. You also pay a payment processing fee of 3% plus $0.25 for each order.
Etsy automatically advertises your listings with its partners, including Facebook, Buzzfeed, Google, Instagram, and Pinterest. If someone buys through those ads, you pay the offsite advertising fee. If your shop has earned less than $10,000, you pay 15% of the total sale amount. The maximum is $100.
2. Creative Market
Creative Market is a platform for graphic designers, illustrators, and creators of all types. They come here to sell their digital products. It’s an excellent avenue for selling graphic design assets such as fonts, templates, textures, and more. Many graphic designers who decide to sell on this marketplace list everything from website templates to layered Photoshop files.
Graphic designers can also sell vector illustrations, icons, and logos.
Sellers on Creative Market have full control over the pricing of their products, allowing them to match the value of their work. The platform does take a commission from each sale to cover credit card processing fees and marketing. Sellers earn at least 50% of each sale by default, but the commission varies.
3. Threadless
Threadless is one of the best places to sell your designs online because it doesn’t charge creator fees, has no arbitrary account tiers, and lets you keep 100% of your artist earnings. The product cost, a 5% processing fee, and a variable shipping fee are the only costs that come out of your earnings.
The unique thing about Threadless is that it offers partnerships, enabling you to license your work to over one dozen of its official retail partners. Either way, you can print your designs on apparel, accessories, or home decor. Even with managed promotional events, you earn at least 10% of the item’s sale price.
4. Society6
Society6 gives you a place to sell your designs online with different products. The platform caters to customers searching for home accessories, wall art, apparel, and tech accessories. With various options to choose from to sell, graphic designers have the freedom to see their work come to life on everyday items. As such, they can reach a broader consumer base interested in lifestyle products that feature unique art.
The best part is that Society6 handles all manufacturing, shipping, and customer service. They take all the hard work out of selling products online while you focus purely on creating art. Designers can set their own profit margins while Society6 sets base prices for other products.
To sign up for Society6’s seller platform, you must choose a subscription plan. The free plan collects a 10% commission on every sale and caps your uploads at 10 designs. The basic plan charges $4.99 monthly, but you set your own prices. You can adjust the markup to change the amount you earn. Remember to factor in shipping fees, ranging from $0.30 to $8 per shipment.
5. Designhill
Graphic designers have various opportunities to sell their work and connect with potential clients on Designhill. Whether you want to engage in freelance projects or sell ready-made logos, Designhill can help you set up shop. Here are all the ways you can sell your designs online:
- Design contests: Clients post specific projects, and designers submit their work in hopes of being selected and paid.
- Shop sales: Designers can sell their designs as prints or logos through their personalized shop. Designhill will then take a commission for each sale.
- One-on-One projects: Clients can hire designers directly, allowing them to build ongoing relationships. Designhill will charge a fee to facilitate the transaction.
Designhill offers various avenues for selling your designs. However, it will only take designers who can offer the best results for clients. As such, you must undergo a rigorous screening process to ensure you can sell high-quality designs.
6. Zazzle
Another place to sell your designs online is Zazzle. This online marketplace will suit you if you wish to see your work applied to physical goods and sold directly to consumers. Zazzle lets you feature your designs on over 1,000 products, including apparel, office supplies, and home decor. It’s one of the best places to sell your designs online if you value variety.
The process is easy, as you simply upload your artwork to the platform and select the products you want to print your designs on. Once you establish your products, you can set your own royalty rates and decide how much to earn from each sale. This pricing is in addition to the base fee, which covers the cost of manufacturing and shipping by Zazzle.
7. Upwork
Upwork is a global freelancing platform connecting professionals to clients, especially those needing design services. Unlike marketplaces focusing on selling products, Upwork facilitates the sale of services. Therefore, it makes an excellent place for designers who prefer working on custom projects.
On Upwork, you can offer various services such as logo design, branding packages, web design, and more. The platform allows designers to create detailed profiles showcasing their portfolios, skills, and previous work experience.
You can also set their own hourly rates or project fees. Upwork used to charge fees on a sliding scale. Now, it charges a fixed 10% fee on all of your earnings. It also adds a once-per-contract fee of up to $4.95 for each new client contract. It’s one of the best places to sell designs online if you value consistency.
8. Fiverr
Fiverr is another one of the best places to sell your designs online. Like Upwork, designers can use it as a platform to sell freelance services. However, it provides a project-based approach, where designers can list their “gigs” and detail their services at fixed prices. As of June 2024, gigs’ service fees are 5.5% of their purchase total. An additional $3 “small order fee” is applied to orders under $100.
Graphic designers can create gigs for practically anything, including logo design, social media graphics, flyers, and much more. You can customize each gig to meet client needs and clearly describe your offer. It also allows you to include your turnaround time and pricing tiers for different service packages.
Additionally, you can set your own prices on Fiverr, but many choose to start at $5 to attract clients and grow from there. The key is getting as many five-star reviews as possible to increase your level on the platform and showcase your credibility. Furthermore, Fiverr charges a 20% fee for gigs and hourly contracts. For logo designs, it takes up to 80% of every sale, depending on your account tier.
9. Redbubble
Redbubble lets you sell your designs to a global audience by printing on demand. You can choose from over 70 products, including stickers, tote bags, pins, mouse pads, tapestries and bucket hats. Unlike other similar platforms, it gives you a shopfront for free and lets you set your own prices regardless of which account tier you have.
You earn a percentage of each sale Redbubble successfully ships, minus fees and discounts. The artist margin — how much you make — is the listing’s base multiplied by the markup. At the default 20% markup, a $125 painting would cost $150. You’d earn $25 from that sale.
If you have a standard account and make at least one sale per month, you pay a flat fee. The maximum is roughly $100 for monthly earnings $500 and over. Premium and pro account owners are not charged. Although the fees are high, this platform is still one of the best places to sell your designs online.
Capitalizing on the Best Places to Sell Your Designs Online
There are many places to sell your designs online, but these are the platforms where designers can excel. Each connects you with global audiences, enabling you to build a successful career. Whether through product sales or freelance work, each site allows you to monetize your design skills and enhance your professional growth.
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About The Author
Cooper Adwin is the Assistant Editor of Designerly Magazine. With several years of experience as a social media manager for a design company, Cooper particularly enjoys focusing on social and design news and topics that help brands create a seamless social media presence. Outside of Designerly, you can find Cooper playing D&D with friends or curled up with his cat and a good book.