Clutch vs DesignRush for agencies: lead programs, paid rankings, and review checks
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Clutch Reviews · Updated September 28, 2026 · Published plans and terms; Trustpilot data pulled September 27, 2026
Disclosure: this site reviews Clutch and earns a commission if you sign up for it through our links. We say below where DesignRush is the better pick.
Both sell project leads to agencies by bid. Clutch's Pay Per Lead starts at $25 a lead with a $1,000 monthly minimum and needs an active Verified ($499 a year) or advertising plan. DesignRush charges a Marketplace membership of $200 or $300 a month on a one-year minimum, then bids from $50 for $5,000 to $10,000 projects, and it doesn't give refunds.
They also treat paid rank differently: DesignRush's paid tiers include a Top 10 ranking in its directory, and Clutch puts sponsors first by default but says sponsorship doesn't change a company's Clutch Rank score. On Trustpilot reviews that arrived on their own, DesignRush averages 3.69 from only 13 and Clutch 3.49 from 135, too close and too small a sample to call. Pick DesignRush for published sponsorship prices or a lower monthly floor for buying leads; pick Clutch if you sell to US or UK buyers, where its Pay Per Lead page says its leads come from, and want reviews that Clutch says an editor has read before they count toward your rank.
Clutch vs DesignRush at a glance
| Compared on | Clutch | DesignRush |
|---|---|---|
| Free listing | Basic profile, free | Free, by application; DesignRush says it accepts only agencies it considers legitimate and professional |
| Paid tier | Verified: $499 a year, billed upfront | Marketplace membership: Basic $200 a month, Advanced $300 a month |
| Commitment | Verified and sponsorship: 12 months, no early cancellation, renew automatically | Membership: one-year minimum, "secured upfront" |
| Lead model | Pay Per Lead: bids from $25 a lead, $1,000 monthly minimum, Verified or ad plan required; up to 5 providers shortlisted per request | Marketplace bids from $50 for $5,000 to $10,000 projects; the 2 to 5 highest bidders win each lead; no refunds (credits if a client goes unresponsive) |
| Sponsorship | Price not published; 12-month agreement, billed monthly | Basic $500 a month (billed quarterly); Standard from $2,000 a month; Premium from $5,000 a month; no refunds |
| Does paying change rank? | Sponsors appear first by default; Clutch says sponsorship doesn't change Clutch Rank | Paid Marketplace tiers include a Top 10 directory ranking, subject to category availability |
| Review checks (as each describes them) | Sign-in with LinkedIn, Google, or a company email; an editor reads every review | Reviewers authorized through LinkedIn, with email or call checks where needed; also collates feedback from third-party review sites |
| Size claims | "350K service providers" (homepage) | "over 30,000 professional agencies" in at least 50 countries (about page) |
| Trustpilot overall | 3.9 from 289 reviews | 4.8 from 308 reviews |
| Trustpilot, organic reviews (like for like) | 3.49 from 135 (200 visible, May 2023 to Sep 2026) | 3.69 from 13 (100 most recent, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026); small sample |
| Trustpilot, via the company's review link | 5.00 from 65 | 4.92 from 87 |
| G2 | 3.0 from 29 reviews (Feb 2026) | No G2 product page found |
| Company and HQ | Clutch Co, LLC, Washington, DC; independent by its own account | DesignRush Inc, Miami; BBB A+, not accredited, no complaints in 3 years |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-09-28. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Buying leads: Clutch Pay Per Lead vs the DesignRush Marketplace
Clutch's Pay Per Lead starts bids at $25 a lead with a $1,000 minimum monthly budget. To join, you need an active Verified plan ($499 a year) or active advertising. For each request Clutch builds a shortlist of up to five providers and gives priority to active Pay Per Lead customers. Its Pay Per Lead page describes the leads as US- and UK-based.
DesignRush charges a Marketplace membership first: $200 a month for Basic or $300 for Advanced, each with a one-year minimum that DesignRush says is "secured upfront". Only agencies DesignRush has verified can bid. It says bids for projects valued at $5,000 to $10,000 start at $50, and the two to five highest bidders win each lead. It doesn't give refunds; if a client goes unresponsive, the bid comes back as credits.
On published numbers, DesignRush costs less to start: $200 a month plus bids, against Clutch's $1,000 monthly minimum on top of a paid plan. On either site a lead can go to as many as five agencies, so you compete for each request.
“The platform has brought us relevant opportunities and feels like a reliable channel for connecting with companies that are actively looking for services”Mykhailo S., Clutch review on Trustpilot (via Clutch's review link), June 2026
“Design Rush has been a consistent, high-performance partner to help us find qualified customers for our agency's services.”Michael N., DesignRush review on Trustpilot, October 2024
“They make you bid for projects, then, if the project ends up being bogus and they don't provide an actual connection, they don't refund your money.”Elie S., DesignRush review on Trustpilot, October 2025
Sponsorship and paid rank on Clutch and DesignRush
DesignRush publishes its sponsorship prices: Basic at $500 a month, billed quarterly, for a top position in a relevant category ranking; Standard from $2,000 a month; and Premium from $5,000 a month. Changes made before a sponsorship starts turn into credits usable within 12 months, because DesignRush doesn't give refunds. Clutch doesn't publish sponsorship prices. They vary across nine tiers, from Starter to Quadruple Diamond, and with the number of pages you sponsor, on a 12-month agreement billed monthly with no early cancellation. Clutch's help center says it can't promise a set number of leads.
The two handle rank differently. DesignRush's paid Marketplace tiers include "A Top 10 Ranking in Our Agency Directory", subject to category availability, and its category pages say sponsored listings appear above organic positions. Clutch's default order also puts sponsors first, then Premier Verified, then Verified firms, then everyone else by Clutch Rank, which Clutch builds from reviews, clients and experience, and market presence, plus a focus score.
So paying still moves a firm up Clutch's default list: sponsors come first, and Verified firms sit above unverified ones. Clutch says sponsorship doesn't change the Clutch Rank score itself. On DesignRush, a Top 10 ranking comes with the paid membership.
“I like that rankings are based on actual client reviews and not just vague reviews.”Stacey A., Clutch review on Trustpilot, September 2023
“In the beginning they committed to put us on top pages of fintech development and then suddenly they dropped us down saying that there are lot of other agencies who are paying.”Nishant S., Clutch review on Trustpilot, August 2024
How Clutch and DesignRush check reviews, and how each is rated
Clutch says reviewers sign in with LinkedIn, Google, or a company email, a human editor reads every review before it's published, and it rejected 10% of submitted reviews in 2025 for signs of falsified information. Agencies can't preview or approve reviews. DesignRush says it authorizes each reviewer through their LinkedIn profile and verifies by email or call where necessary. It also collates feedback from third-party review sites, and its ratings use a 3.5-star Bayesian baseline, which pulls firms with few reviews toward 3.5.
DesignRush's 4.8 TrustScore rests mostly on reviews that came through a review link it shares: 87 of its 100 most recent reviews, averaging 4.92. The 13 that arrived on their own average 3.69 (August 2024 to August 2026). Clutch's 135 organic reviews average 3.49 (May 2023 to September 2026), and its 65 link reviews are all five stars. DesignRush is slightly ahead on organic reviews, but 13 reviews are too few to call it. On both sites, a good share of the link reviews praise the company's editorial or content team rather than describe leads.
The critical organic reviews of DesignRush describe listings declined without a reason, an annual fee that brought no profile clicks, bids not refunded when a lead was bogus, and spam emails. Many of Clutch's critical reviews concern paid plans that brought few leads, 12-month contracts, and reviews that never appeared; our Clutch Trustpilot reviews page has the full set.
“Very easy to add my profile for my website design agency.”Marcelle R., DesignRush review on Trustpilot, August 2025
“Declined my agency from being listed with no reasons as to why.”Ryan L., DesignRush review on Trustpilot, October 2025
“It's now 9 days later and I haven't heard anything and my review hasn't been published.”Carol M., Clutch review on Trustpilot, November 2025
Where DesignRush wins
- Published sponsorship prices, from $500 a month (billed quarterly) for Basic. Clutch doesn't publish its sponsorship prices.
- A lower published floor for buying leads: Marketplace membership from $200 a month plus bids, against Clutch's $1,000 monthly minimum on top of a Verified or advertising plan. The membership still carries a one-year minimum.
- A slightly higher organic Trustpilot score, 3.69 against Clutch's 3.49, though from only 13 reviews.
Who should pick Clutch over DesignRush
Clutch suits an agency that sells to US or UK buyers, where its Pay Per Lead page says its leads come from. Clutch also says an editor checks each review and that sponsorship doesn't change a firm's Clutch Rank. Pay Per Lead costs more to start than the DesignRush Marketplace, so it fits agencies that can afford a $1,000 monthly lead budget. If you can't yet, the free Basic profile and Verified at $499 a year are the cheaper way in, though Verified is paid upfront for 12 months with no early exit. Our Clutch free vs paid breakdown compares the plans.
If you already list on DesignRush and want to move, our DesignRush alternatives page covers other directories.
See Clutch pricingHow we sourced this: prices and terms come from each company's own pages (live or archived copies), checked September 27 and 28, 2026. Trustpilot figures come from each company's public Trustpilot page, pulled September 27, 2026: the 200 Clutch reviews visible without logging in and DesignRush's 100 most recent. Organic reviews arrived on their own; link reviews came through a review link the company shares, which Trustpilot also labels "Unprompted". Quotes are verbatim, including the reviewers' spelling.
Clutch vs DesignRush FAQ
Is Clutch or DesignRush cheaper for agencies?+
Both have a free listing. Clutch Verified is $499 a year, and Pay Per Lead adds bids from $25 a lead with a $1,000 monthly minimum. DesignRush's Marketplace membership is $200 or $300 a month on a one-year minimum, plus bids that start at $50 for $5,000 to $10,000 projects. DesignRush publishes sponsorship prices from $500 a month; Clutch doesn't publish its own.
Can you pay for a Top 10 ranking on DesignRush or Clutch?+
DesignRush's paid Marketplace tiers include a Top 10 ranking in its agency directory, subject to category availability. Clutch sells sponsorships that put firms first in its default order, but it says sponsorship doesn't change a company's Clutch Rank score.
Does DesignRush refund lead bids?+
No. Its Marketplace FAQ says it can't provide refunds, and if a client goes unresponsive the bid becomes credits. Sponsorship changes made before the start date also become credits, usable within 12 months.
How do Clutch and DesignRush compare on Trustpilot?+
DesignRush shows 4.8 from 308 reviews and Clutch 3.9 from 289. But 87 of DesignRush's 100 most recent reviews, and 65 of the 200 Clutch reviews visible without logging in, came through a review link the company shares. Counting only reviews that arrived on their own, DesignRush averages 3.69 from 13 and Clutch 3.49 from 135, as of September 27, 2026. That DesignRush sample is too small to call a winner.