Dribbble
Dribbble is a two-sided online marketplace founded in 2009 that connects freelance designers and agencies with clients, monetizing through graduated transaction fees, Pro subscriptions, and designer advertising while supporting portfolio hosting, end-to-end project collaboration, and distribution of fonts and design assets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersWalnut Creek, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Dribbble does
Dribbble is a privately held, fully remote two-sided online marketplace founded in 2009 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, that connects freelance designers and design agencies with clients seeking creative talent. The platform is built around three interconnected surfaces: a portfolio and inspiration layer (Dribbble Shots) where designers showcase work across categories such as product design, web design, animation, branding, illustration, mobile, typography, and print; a hiring and project management layer (Dribbble Projects) supporting end-to-end engagement from proposals through milestone-based delivery, secure payment escrow, file sharing, video calls, and dispute resolution via Project Mediation; and a discovery layer (Designer Search, InstantMatch, Shot Search, Services marketplace) that routes clients to designers via browsing, AI-assisted matching, or pre-packaged fixed-price offerings.
The technology stack is intentionally narrow: Stripe Checkout (and Stripe Connect) handles payment processing for projects, with Payoneer providing an alternative payout rail in 150+ countries; the AI surface is limited to InstantMatch-powered brief generation and designer matching and to Shot Search-driven aesthetic discovery. Dribbble has extended beyond freelance hiring through two acquisitions in the creative-asset vertical — Creative Market in 2020 and Fontspring (along with Font Squirrel) in February 2022 — positioning the platform also as a distribution channel for fonts and commercial design assets.
The business model rests on three revenue streams. Graduated marketplace transaction fees include a Designer Platform Fee of 10% on projects up to $500, 7% on $501-$1,000, and 4% above $1,001 (waived for Pro Standard and Pro Plus members), and a Client Platform Fee of 5% on projects up to $500, 3.5% on $501-$1,000, and 2% above $1,001 (waived for Pro Plus and Designer Advertisers), with a 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fee on top. Annual Pro subscriptions provide fee elimination plus advanced portfolio features, and designer-side advertising (Promoted Designers, Promoted Services, Display Ads) monetizes established creators. With 11-50 employees, named enterprise clients including Apple, Meta, Google, Shopify, Netflix, Salesforce, Airbnb, Unilever, Amazon, and IDEO, and no disclosed funding rounds, Dribbble appears to operate as a mature, cash-generative marketplace focused on deepening product surface rather than scaling headcount.
Dribbble firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Dribbble
- Legal name
- Dribbble
- Website
- https://dribbble.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Dribbble is a two-sided online marketplace founded in 2009 that connects freelance designers and agencies with clients, monetizing through graduated transaction fees, Pro subscriptions, and designer advertising while supporting portfolio hosting, end-to-end project collaboration, and distribution of fonts and design assets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Dribbble is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Walnut Creek
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Dribbble business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Transaction Fees: Dribbble charges graduated platform fees on project payments. Designer Platform Fee ranges from 4-10% based on project size, and Client Platform Fee ranges from 2-5%. Pro members receive reduced or waived Designer Platform Fees.
- Pro Subscriptions: Annual Pro subscriptions offer enhanced features including no Designer Platform Fees, Pro badges, advanced portfolio features, and advertising options
- Designer Advertising: Designers can purchase advertising products including Promoted Designers, Promoted Services, and Display Ads to gain additional visibility on the platform
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Graduated Designer Platform Fee based on project cost |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Graduated Client Platform Fee added to project cost |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Payment Processing Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | HELLO100 New Client Offer |
| Subscription | Annual | Pro Standard Annual Subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels9 records
Dribbble product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Dribbble operates a two-sided online marketplace connecting freelance designers and design agencies with clients seeking creative talent. The platform combines a portfolio community (Dribbble Shots), a project-based hiring workflow (Dribbble Projects with InstantMatch matching, milestone-based payments, and secure escrow), pre-packaged design Services, and a Pro subscription tier for designers, monetized through graduated platform transaction fees, subscriptions, and designer advertising.
Product overview
Dribbble operates as a comprehensive design ecosystem combining a portfolio and inspiration platform (Dribbble Shots), freelance hiring marketplace (Dribbble Projects with Services, InstantMatch, and Outbound Proposals), professional subscription tier (Dribbble Pro/Pro Plus), job board, and educational resources hub. The platform enables end-to-end creative project collaboration including proposals, milestone-based payments via Stripe or Payoneer, video collaboration, and dispute resolution through Project Mediation. Designer Advertisers and Quick Hire expand monetization options for creators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Dribbble Shots
Companies that use Dribbble
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Dribbble technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Dribbble partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- FontspringscoreDribbble acquired Fontspring, a font marketplace with over 700 type foundries, to strengthen its position as a major font distributor. This acquisition follows Dribbble's 2020 acquisition of Creative Market and positions the platform as a comprehensive creative asset marketplace.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Dribbble competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Behance: Adobe-owned designer portfolio community and job platform. Behance is Dribbble's closest direct competitor, serving the same designer-client audience with similar portfolio-first discovery and is bundled into Creative Cloud.
- 99designs: Design-focused freelance marketplace owned by Vista. Directly competes with Dribbble Projects on logo, branding, web, and graphic design services using contest-based and direct-hire models.
- Toptal: Vetted freelance talent platform with a design vertical. Competes for high-end design engagements and enterprise clients (similar to Dribbble's enterprise roster) using a curated, top-tier positioning.
- Designhill: Design-focused marketplace offering contests, freelance hiring, and a design store (logo maker, t-shirt design). Closely parallels Dribbble's combination of services marketplace plus creative asset distribution.
- Coroflot: Design portfolio community and job board dating back to the late 1990s. Smaller-scale direct peer to Dribbble Shots, focused on designer discovery and full-time job placement.
Broad incumbents
- Upwork: Largest public freelance marketplace spanning writing, development, design, and more. Competes with Dribbble for design hiring but operates at vastly greater scale across all creative and technical categories.
- Fiverr: Public gig-economy marketplace with a strong design services vertical (logo, web, illustration). Competes with Dribbble's Services product at lower price points and broader scale.
- Adobe: Creative software giant and parent of Behance. Competes broadly via Creative Cloud, Adobe Stock, Adobe Express, and Adobe Firefly — all of which overlap with Dribbble's portfolio, asset marketplace, and AI design ambitions.
- Canva: Mass-market design platform with Canva Marketplace and Canva Connect. Adjacent incumbent competing for both ends of Dribbble's market — democratizing design for clients and offering designer income opportunities.
Emerging players
- Contra: Commission-free freelance platform targeting designers and creative professionals. Competes with Dribbble on zero-fee positioning and modern portfolio UX, particularly for independent designers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Dribbble social profiles
Digital presenceDribbble financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Dribbble leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Dribbble subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Dribbble funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Dribbble M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A6 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Dribbble
What does Dribbble do?
Dribbble operates a two-sided online marketplace connecting freelance designers and design agencies with clients seeking creative talent. The platform combines a portfolio community (Dribbble Shots), a project-based hiring workflow (Dribbble Projects with InstantMatch matching, milestone-based payments, and secure escrow), pre-packaged design Services, and a Pro subscription tier for designers, monetized through graduated platform transaction fees, subscriptions, and designer advertising.
Is Dribbble a public or private company?
Dribbble is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Dribbble founded?
Dribbble was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Dribbble based?
Dribbble is headquartered in Walnut Creek, United States, in the North America region.
How does Dribbble make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are pro Subscriptions and designer Advertising.
Who are Dribbble's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Behance, 99designs, Toptal, Designhill and Coroflot. Broad incumbents are Upwork, Fiverr, Adobe and Canva. Contra is listed as an emerging player.
Does Dribbble have an API?
No public API is recorded for Dribbble.