Designernews
Skip
Confidence: Medium
No one should buy anything here: Designer News is a free design community whose site is paused and was reported shutting down in January 2024.
Comparison
Designernews vs Dribbble
Designernews lands on Skip, and Dribbble lands on Depends.
Dribbble
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Worth paying for if you're a freelance visual designer or illustrator chasing exposure and client leads.
| Compare | Designernews | Dribbble |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Skip | Depends |
| Best for | Designers seeking peer discussion and news | Freelance visual designers seeking exposure |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing a working community today | UX/product designers . users say it wasn't great for UX |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁶ | Mixed: third-party XSS report and 331K infostealer credentials tied to the domain; no confirmed breach of Dribbble itself found. |
| Support quality | Reported abandoned; no evident support team | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | Users praise its past value for designers but report the community shut down and say they miss it.¹ | Longtime users love the visual inspiration but increasingly call it hard to break into, weak for UX, and past its peak. |
| Biggest gotcha | Still listed in 2026 launch directories despite being offline . those listings are stale⁸ | Pro now uses tiered plans topping out at $100/month . model ROI before committing15 |
Pick Designernews when
- Designers seeking peer discussion and news
- Founders pitching to a design audience
- Job hunters using its design jobs board
When Designernews is not a fit
- Anyone needing a working community today
- Buyers expecting vendor support or reliability
- Teams anchoring launch or PR plans on it
- Anyone wanting a paid, supported product
Pick Dribbble when
- Freelance visual designers seeking exposure
- Illustrators and UI screen designers
- Designers selling templates and graphics
- Recruiters sourcing visual design talent
When Dribbble is not a fit
- UX/product designers . users say it wasn't great for UX
- New designers expecting quick traction
- Hirers wanting vetted, process-driven candidates
- Teams needing a documented vendor security posture
Sources
- DesignerNews Is Shutting Downnews.ycombinator.comnews
- r/DesignerNews Rebootreddit.comnews
- Designer News - Online Community for Designthehiveindex.comreview
- Designer News Jobs . Review & How to Use Itdesigners.acreview
- Designer News 2.0awilkinson.medium.comnews
- Designer News security page (paused)designernews.coofficial
- 150+ places to launch your productlinkedin.comnews
- 27 Press & Media Outlets to Submit To (2026)ideaproof.ionews
- Popular website being abandoned, opportunity to replace?indiehackers.comnews
review
- Stop Designing for Dribbble . r/Designreddit.comreview
- Dribbble Reviews . Product Huntproducthunt.comreview