Behance and Dribbble are two platforms popular with artists who want to showcase their work. However, they are very different in the way they operate, how you can sign up, and who they are for.
In this article, I will compare Behance and Dribbble to help you figure out which one is a better choice for you. If you want to share your art with the world, but you don’t know which platform to use, this comparison review is for you.
Let’s get into it.
What Is Behance? What Is Dribbble?
Behance describes itself as the “largest creative network for showcasing and discovering creative work.”
Dribbble, on the other hand, describes itself as a place for designers to “gain inspiration, feedback, community, and jobs.”
That brings us to our first difference between Behance and Dribbble — and it is a major one.
Behance vs Dribbble: What Is It, And Who Is It For?
What is the purpose of Behance or Dribbble, and why would you want to sign up for either?
Behance
Behance acts as an online portfolio for artists and designers. It’s a platform for showcasing your work to the world.
Anyone can sign up for a Behance account — it is open to everyone. You don’t need a special invitation to create a Behance account and start posting your work.
Behance is owned by Adobe. As long as you have an Adobe account, you can use Behance.
If you don’t yet have an Adobe account, you can easily create one for free.
Post your best work on Behance, so people can see it. You can show your online Behance portfolio to potential clients, for example, or to anyone you want to showcase your best work to.
Dribbble
Dribbble, on the other hand, is meant to be a community for artists. While anyone can sign up for a Behance account, the same does not hold true for Dribbble.
In the past, you would need a special invitation from an artist already on Dribbble to sign up for a Dribbble account. In other words, it was more like a private community of artists showing each other what they were working on at the moment.
A few months ago, Dribbble decided that this approach was too restrictive. Now, they allow anyone to sign up for a Dribbble account — but you still are not approved right away.
You need to upload your work and apply for approval to get the default limits removed from your account. It’s still pretty exclusive — if you don’t have any quality work to show, your account won’t get approved.
If your account is not approved, your posts won’t show up in the public feeds, people won’t be able to provide feedback on your posts, and you won’t be able to give anyone feedback either.
The invite system is still there, however. While it’s not the only way to get approved for a Dribbble account, if an existing artist invites you to Dribbble, you will be automatically approved without going through the regular account review process.
Browse Dribbble to see what other artists are working on right now and get inspiration from them. Provide feedback on their work or get feedback on your own work to improve your skills.
Dribbble is more of a show and tell for designers. Behance is more of a portfolio type of platform.
Behance vs Dribbble: Creating Your Portfolio
Let’s talk about creating a portfolio or profile on Behance and Dribbble. What can your profile contain?
Behance
Your Behance profile contains a profile image, a banner image, and projects you uploaded. You can upload any work you have created.
Here are other details you can add to your profile:
- Your occupation
- Your company
- Your location
- Your website URL
- The name of your team on Behance
- Links to your Twitter, Facebook, Dribbble, Flickr, Etsy, LinkedIn, and other social media accounts or profiles
- A description
- Work experience
- Web references
Your profile URL will contain your name or username. It will look something like this: https://be.net/YOURNAME, and it will make it easy for people to find you.
In addition, you can also set up a live stream — more on live streams later.
When you go to your profile, you can also see other people’s work you have saved to “moodboards” for inspiration. You can also see appreciations (or likes) you have given other artists and appreciations other artists have given you.
In addition, you can add a Hire Me button to your profile to signal to agencies that you are available for work. You can select to show availability for either full-time work or freelance jobs.
Finally, you can also sign up for Adobe Portfolio. Adobe Portfolio allows you to build a website showcasing your artwork or designs, and it is free if you have Creative Cloud. Instead of an entire website, you can also build a single welcome page to explain what it is you do.
When you sign up for Adobe Portfolio, you will be able to choose a full website or welcome page theme. You can always change the theme later.
Dribbble
Here is what your Dribbble portfolio will contain:
- Your picture
- Your location
- Your bio/description
- A link to your website
- A link to your online portfolio (this is only for potential employers and can be locked with a password)
- Links to your social profile
- Shots you have uploaded
Dribbble vs Behance: Categories
Let’s explore the different categories available on either Dribbble or Behance. Which one has more categories and allows you to display a wider selection of art?
Behance
Behance seems to have a wider selection of categories on its website, allowing you to showcase a more varied selection of art.
Some categories on Behance include:
- Photography
- Illustration
- 3D Art
- Motion
- Architecture
- Product Design
- Fashion
- Advertising
- Fine Arts
- Crafts
- Game Design
- Sound
- Creative Challenges
In addition, there are a lot of subcategories under the general categories. For example, under 3D Art, there are the following subcategories:
- AR/VR
- 3D Art
- 3D Motion
- CGI
However, in addition to all the creative field categories, you can also browse work based on the tools used to make them. Since Behance is owned by Adobe, that includes only Adobe tools:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
So, if you’re looking for inspiration on creating work with a specific Adobe tool, Behance is a good place to go.
Another cool thing is the ability to search for art with a specific color. There is a color tool selector, so you can choose the exact color shade you want.
Then, Behance will show you art and designs that have that exact color. For example, you can choose a specific shade of green, and you will be shown art that has that color.
You can also search for work made in a specific location or by a specific institution or school.
All that is for the “Projects” category. There are several other types of art categories, including:
- Images
- Prototypes
- People
- Moodboards
When browsing images, for example, you can filter for pictures taken with a specific type of camera or lens. You can also filter for shutter speed, aperture, focal length, and more.
According to Reddit user “gonhop,” Behance has a lot more fields than Dribbble, while Dribbble focuses more on front-end design. In addition, gonhop believes that Dribbble regurgitates the same themes over and over again, while Behance has a bit more variety and more creative fields.
Dribbble
Dribbble has the following categories:
- Branding
- Animation
- Illustration
- Mobile
- Product design
- Typography
- Web design
You can filter results by Popular, New & Newsworthy, and Following.
In addition, Dribbble lets you filter results by:
- Color (use the color selector board)
- Tool (Adobe XD, Figma, Sketch, Unsplash, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Invision Studio)
- Tag
Although Dribbble describes itself as a place for designers to get inspiration, I think Behance does just as good a job. In fact, Behance may even be better as there are more fields to choose from, better filtering options, and more variety.
Behance vs Dribbble: Contests And Warm-Ups
Does Behance or Dribbble run contests between artists or warm-ups to help you improve your skills?
Behance
Behance doesn’t seem to hold competitions between artists.
Dribbble
Dribbble, on the other hand, has something called Playoffs. You can find it under the Inspiration tab in the main menu.
Playoffs are basically shots that many artists on Dribbble submit rebounds of. So, how does it work?
An agency or company might start a playoff with the goal of getting a lot of submissions and picking the best ones. They might outline some ground rules for the competition, such as what the goal of the design should be and what it should convey.
Then, players can submit their own designs. For example, in this playoff, any submission that gets at least 10 likes will be entered into a raffle, with an ASUS laptop and an ASUS monitor (both perfect for designers) going to two lucky winners.
That particular playoff was created by ASUS North America, which is why they could afford to offer two ASUS computers for free.
As of this writing, that particular playoff received 163 rebounds (submissions).
Dribbble also creates its own weekly playoff, called the Weekly Warm-Up. Its goal is to help artists develop their skills and flex their creative muscles, so to speak.
To help artists do that, the Weekly Warm-Up will have an intended format (such as a book cover), which varies from week to week, and an aesthetic restriction that varies from week to week.
For example, you may not be able to use the color white one week, or you may have to avoid a certain aspect ratio. The goal here is to help you go out of your comfort zone while designing; some artists may get stuck in a cycle of constantly designing with the same colors.
Also, there will be a specific theme each week. For example, it might be mountains.
The warm-up might be to create a book cover with mountains but without using the color green, which can be understandably challenging.
Dribbble vs Behance: Job Boards And Finding Work
Can you find work as a designer or artist on either Dribbble or Behance? If so, how?
Behance
Yes, it is possible to find jobs on Behance. You need to head to the Jobs section, which you can find in the main menu on the upper left hand of your screen.
Right now, there are 1282 jobs available, as you can see in the screenshot. Most of the jobs seem to be in search of a graphic designer or motion graphic designer, but there are also job opportunities in other areas.
For example, some people are looking for photographers, and I also noticed a couple of job posts looking for art directors. Another post was looking for a digital content producer.
You can filter for any of the categories listed on Behance for jobs in that category. For example, you can search for jobs in 3D modeling only.
To apply for a job position, click on it and view the job information. You will see job requirements, information about the company hiring you, what your responsibilities will be, and so on.
Then, you will either be able to apply directly on Behance or by visiting the website link of the hiring agency.
There are three major job types: Freelance, Full Time, and Internship. You can filter for the job type you are looking for.
Full-time jobs will require you to work full time and will give you a set salary. Freelance jobs will give you more flexibility, but you won’t get the advantage of having a set salary every week or month.
Finally, internships are better if you are an aspiring designer who does not have a lot of experience on their resume and are willing to work for free to learn skills on the job and build your resume.
Remember, you can set up a portfolio website With Adobe Portfolio to help make your profile more attractive to hiring agencies.
Behance also calls its job board Adobe Talent (remember, Behance is owned by Adobe). Right now, it is free for companies and agencies to post jobs, and they will also get candidate recommendations based on their job requirements.
According to Adobe, job posts on Adobe Talent/Behance usually get around 150 applications each, on average. While that is great if you want to post a job, it does mean you may face some competition if you are a designer looking for work, so do work on your pitches and resume.
Dribbble
Dribbble also has a job board where you can find graphic design jobs. You can find work doing visual design, optimization design/strategy, product design, presentation design, and a lot more!
You can filter for jobs based on creative fields, including animation, brand design, illustration, leadership, UI design, product design, and a few others. However, Behance had more filtering options available.
There are two main job types: Freelance/Contract and Full Time. I did not see an option to filter for internships like Behance offers.
However, the two job boards are separate: There is a full-time job board and a freelance job board. That makes it somewhat easier to find the right job for you.
However, you need a Pro account to fully access the freelance job board.
I also liked how you can filter for budget on the freelance job board. For example, if you only want larger projects, you can filter for projects with a budget of $1,000 or more or $10k or more.
If you like smaller projects, you can filter for projects with a budget of $50-$1k.
It was not clear how many jobs were available overall, but it did tell me that six new jobs were posted today in the full-time job board and 42 new jobs in the freelance job board.
Overall, however, I liked the layout of the Behance job board a little better than the Dribbble job board, because Dribbble displays job opportunities in a list format. Instead of needing to scroll down to see each job post, I could see all of them in an actual board format on Behance.
Overall, however, both Dribbble and Behance are good places to find job opportunities as a designer or artist.
Behance vs Dribbble: Advertising or Boosting Shots
Are you able to boost your projects on either Dribbble or Behance?
Behance
Behance does not seem to have a way to boost your projects. Your projects will rank based on a complex algorithm.
Dribbble
On the other hand, Dribbble does allow you to make your projects appear higher up in the search results via something called Boosted Shots. When you boost a shot, it will be shown at the top in a non-intrusive manner.
In other words, it will appear only in relevant searches, so that it does not appear as an ad.
You can have the boosted shot link to itself (so that when people click on it, they see the full shot view), to your profile, or to an external website.
You can use Boosted Shots for a variety of reasons. For example, you can advertise yourself as being available for work, or you can advertise new merch that you are selling.
Boosted Shots are available to every artist on the platform, not just major agencies. Simply go to a shot you want to promote and then choose how many impressions you want to buy — it is as simple as that.
Boosted Shots allow every artist a chance to shine.
Dribbble vs Behance: Live streaming
In this section, I will talk about live streaming while working on a project on either Dribbble or Behance.
Behance
Behance has something called Livestreams, which allows you to live stream as you create a design or work on an art project. It allows you to share your passion, creativity, and skills with other artists.
You can also follow along with other artists and watch while they create beautiful designs in real time. It is a great way to get inspiration.
Dribbble
Unfortunately, Dribbble does not seem to allow artists to create live streams.
Behance vs Dribbble: Education And Workshops
Can you learn design skills on either Behance or Dribbble?
Behance
In addition to the live streams, you can also find recorded videos of previous streams or uploads exploring all types of design skills.
You will find Q&A sessions, masterclasses, and short video tutorials on all kinds of things, from photo retouching to UX design for mobile. The videos are conveniently categorized based on the creative field they talk about, such as Photography or Illustration, or the tool they use, such as Illustrator or Lightroom.
With Adobe Live, you can attend live workshops with experts from Behance or Adobe and learn important skills.
You can subscribe to Adobe Live to get notifications about upcoming streams or follow specific teachers.
Dribbble
Dribbble also allows you to sign up for online workshops. However, these can be very expensive, often running at $200 or $300 per person.
That can be out of the reach of an amateur designer who just wants to improve their skills.
As such, I would say that Behance is superior in the education and learning department, as there is a lot more content on a wider range of topics, and you can learn for free.
Pricing
Behance
Behance is free to use.
Dribbble
While Dribbble is free to use, there are Pro and Pro Business plans, which allow you access to the freelance job board and an upgraded profile, the ability to sell merch, and more. Pricing starts at $15/month, but check the pricing page for updated information.
Similarities And Differences
| Behance | Dribbble | |
| Create a Portfolio/Profile | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open To Everyone | ✓ | ✗ |
| Boost Your Projects | ✗ | ✓ |
| Find Jobs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Find Freelance Jobs For Free | ✓ | ✗ |
| Livestream Your Work | ✓ | ✗ |
| Get And Give Feedback | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn For Free | ✓ | ✗ |
Conclusion: Which Is Better, Behance Or Dribbble?
Both Behance and Dribbble are good platforms to sign up for as an artist, and there is no reason you can’t use both. However, if you had to choose one, I would stick with Behance.
Behance has more creative fields available and is overall friendlier to new users. In addition, it makes it easy to learn new design skills, find jobs, and browse the platform for inspiration.
Finally, finding freelance jobs on Behance is free — there is no need to pay like you would need to on Dribbble.
