99designs

99designs runs a contest-based book cover design model where dozens of professional designers submit concepts based on your brief, and you select the best. Unlike hiring a single designer, you see 30 to 90+ distinct design directions before committing to one — a meaningful advantage for authors who don't know exactly what they want until they see options.

How It Works#

You submit a design brief describing your book, target audience, genre, and style preferences. Designers from around the world submit concepts during a 7-day contest period — roughly 30 at the Bronze tier, 60+ at Silver, and 90+ at Gold. You provide feedback through the rounds, narrow down finalists, then select a winner. The winning designer delivers production-ready files including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, PDF, and EPS formats, with full legal copyright transfer.

What You Get#

• Design concepts: ~30 (Bronze), ~60 (Silver), ~90 (Gold), ~60-100 top-level designers (Platinum)
• File formats: Print-ready and digital versions — AI, PSD, PDF, EPS — plus web mockups in PNG/JPG
• Copyright: Full legal copyright transfers to you on project completion
• Money-back guarantee: 100% refund if no suitable design is received

Who It's For#

• Authors who want options before committing: The contest format eliminates the risk of paying one designer and disliking the result
• Established authors with cover budget: The $299 floor makes this unsuitable for first books on tight budgets
• Genre fiction authors: Many 99designs specialists focus on romance, fantasy, thriller, and sci-fi conventions

Pricing: Bronze $299, Silver $499, Gold $799, Platinum $1,199. A 5% platform fee is added on top of the contest price at checkout. Higher tiers restrict entry to more experienced designers and include a dedicated account manager to help guide feedback and selection. A 1-to-1 project option is also available ($279–$999) if you prefer working directly with a single designer rather than running a contest.

Strengths#

• High concept volume: 30-90 designs from different creative perspectives reduces risk and surfaces unexpected directions
• Proven track record: 4.8/5 rating from over 37,000 customer reviews
• Fast turnaround: Typical contest completes in 7 days, with expedited options available
• Risk protection: The money-back guarantee means you don't pay for a cover you don't use

Limitations#

• Designer quality varies by tier: Many experienced freelance designers avoid the contest model on principle — lower tiers attract proportionally fewer top-tier designers
• Legal risk from stock imagery: 99designs does not audit what stock images designers use in submissions; if a designer uses images with copyright restrictions, the legal liability falls on you as the author
• Price floor is high: $299 minimum is steep for debut authors or those testing the market

Alternatives#

For a direct one-to-one designer relationship with editorial collaboration, Reedsy Designers offers vetted book cover specialists. For lower budgets, premade cover marketplaces like BookCovers.com (formerly SelfPubBookCovers) or GetCovers offer professional covers from $10-$50.