Although the online world offers hundreds of freelance jobs, not all platforms are alike. You can see it in this comparison of Creative Market and Upwork, which represent different paths for creative professionals.
By simply answering the question “What is Creative Market?” you can see that your earning opportunities differ from those Upwork provides. That’s because Creative Market is a sort of marketplace, whereas Upwork is a company dedicated to freelance work.
Which model do you prefer?
In the following sections, we’ll clarify how each one works, their differences, fees, and the available freelance opportunities. This way, you can make a more confident decision.
When it’s time to look for freelance work, it’s crucial to understand how these online platforms operate. That’s why we’ll first explain how Creative Market and Upwork function separately.
The company operates as a digital marketplace, letting users buy and sell digital products—like templates, fonts, graphics, photos, and other downloadable resources made by creative professionals.
On one side you have the sellers, who create their own virtual shop to offer downloadable products.
On the other side are buyers, who pay to download them and use them in their projects.
Creative Market takes care of the payment processing and delivers the digital products to the customer.
Upwork, meanwhile, is a freelance platform connecting independent professionals with businesses or clients.
It provides freelancers with job opportunities,
While offering employers a way to hire specialists in a given field.
As a freelancer, you have to build a profile, search for and compete for projects—hourly or fixed-price—using custom proposals. Meanwhile, clients pick the best fit based on experience and portfolio.
Both Creative Market and Upwork were designed to support independent professionals, and both let you work from home. But their key differences are quite pronounced.
To begin with, Creative Market isn’t designed to provide direct freelance jobs but rather a space to sell digital content, focusing on the creative field.
In contrast, Upwork focuses on independent or freelance work, allowing you to find many types of jobs because it’s divided into various categories with clients seeking a professional in a specific area.
Let’s summarize the key contrasts between Creative Market vs. Upwork:
Creative Market | Upwork |
Model | Selling pre-made digital products. |
Audience | Designers, creatives, entrepreneurs needing downloadable assets. |
Involvement | Focuses on uploading products, then waiting for sales. |
Service Variety | Limited to digital products (fonts, templates, etc.) |
Income Type | Revenue through each successful sale. |
It can also be said that the initial effort differs: on Upwork you need to craft appealing proposals and compete for projects, while on Creative Market your priority is designing and uploading quality digital products to build a catalog and make sales.
To figure out which freelance platform might fit your needs best, you can look at their pros and cons.
Creative Market Advantages | Upwork Advantages |
It’s a platform with millions of potential buyers. The more you sell, the stronger your reputation. Products can keep selling without extra work. The platform helps promote your creations. | You can land continuous, tailored projects. It has features for tracking and project management. It lets you form lasting professional relationships with clients. You can pick which projects you want to work on. |
Creative Market Disadvantages | Upwork Disadvantages |
Sales aren’t guaranteed, depending on the popularity of your products. | Clients can be demanding; in some cases, they may only offer lower fees. |
If you want recurring clients, it’s more likely to find them on Upwork by applying for custom projects—especially if you want to freelance in categories unrelated to art or design, like data science, writing, or customer support.
Even if you’re an architect, graphic designer, or have another creative job, Upwork may still be more convenient. As we noted in our Creative Market vs. PeoplePerHour comparison, your earnings on Creative Market hinge on whether your items sell.
Still, some freelancers combine both platforms to diversify their opportunities. The key is aligning your career goals with each site’s nature.
Neither Creative Market nor Upwork charges you anything to join as a freelancer, but since they connect you with clients, they take a portion of your earnings.
If you use Upwork to work from home, you should know that there is a cost if you secure and complete a project. Also, Upwork uses a system called Connects for sending proposals in limited free amounts—so you’ll have to buy more credits if you run out.
Meanwhile, Creative Market allows you to set the prices for your digital products. In that way, you can offset some of the commission they deduct from each sale.
Creative Market | Upwork | |
Commission | 50% of your listed price on each sale—though it may vary by product/store. | 10% of the profits for each project. |
Plans | N/A for sellers, only for buyers. | Basic free of charge. Freelancer Plus for 14.99 USD per month. |
Others | Connects for 0.15 USD each. |
(Note: Creative Market’s commission rates may differ depending on the seller’s store and product category, per their website.)
On Upwork, you have more control over when and how to withdraw your income, although timing depends on factors like hourly vs. fixed-price projects.
On Creative Market, payments happen automatically each month, but you need to reach a minimum sales amount to receive your money.
The upside: both provide multiple options for withdrawing funds.
Most Popular Payment Methods:
Upwork | Creative Market |
PayPal. Payoneer. Direct bank wires. | PayPal. ACH / eCheck. Bank transfers (Wire Transfer). |
When dealing with any international freelance platform—Upwork, Creative Market, and beyond—it’s best to withdraw in USD. Otherwise, you risk losing a cut of your earnings from currency conversions. It’s also the easiest method if you work with foreign clients.
In that sense, DolarApp is a good option for collecting USD payments. Once you download it, you can open a USDc account from Mexico, Colombia, or Argentina. After quick verification, you get an account number to link to your freelance platform. We offer competitive exchange rates if you need to turn those dollars into pesos—free of charge.
If you work in a creative field, both platforms can be valuable. The difference is that Upwork provides access to project-based or specialized tasks, while Creative Market relies on product sales for your income.
Either site can connect you to the audience you need. The best pick depends on whether you want passive income or to collaborate with clients directly on custom assignments.
Our verdict…
Creative Market is one of the world’s top marketplaces for visual artists, but if you want a more complete, job-oriented website, Upwork is the best choice for creative gigs as well as opportunities outside that niche.
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