Last updated 26d ago

Behance – Creative Portfolios

Behance is a professional portfolio and freelance marketplace app for creative talent, providing project hosting and community networking on iOS.

Product velocity

Maintenance

updated 127d ago

Daily rank 🇺🇸

#96

Graphics & Design · free

Sentiment

4.6

4k reviews

Nemesis

Dribbble

5 rivals tracked

Who could take the crown?

The App DNA

What makes this app unique?

The platform removes the friction of building a professional reputation from scratch by providing a verified, industry-standard space for career discovery.

For Creative professionals, designers, and artists seeking to showcase portfolios, find freelance work, or sell digital assets.

What does it look like?

Key features

Creative Portfolio Hostingstandard

Personalized project galleries and profile pages to showcase creative work, increasing switching costs by anchoring career history to the platform.

Freelance Marketplaceedge

Platform for browsing portfolios and hiring talent for freelance projects with integrated payment processing, capturing platform fees.

Behance Proedge

Advanced analytics and custom portfolio website hosting gated behind a subscription model.

How much does it cost?

freemiumFree tier for portfolio hosting and community accessBehance Pro subscription with 7-day free trial

Freemium model monetizes through a Pro subscription tier that unlocks advanced analytics and removes platform fees on freelance services.

Velocity

Maintenance developmentperformanceopaqueShow more...

The app is currently in a maintenance phase, having shipped only one minor release in the last 127 days. Development activity is limited to generic performance and stability improvements with no evidence of new features or live operations. The current cadence of approximately 0.05 releases per week indicates a significant slowdown in development momentum.

See all version history

Who built it?

Adobe

13+ apps tracked · Graphics & Design

Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner

Adobe Firefly: AI Generator

Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Adobe Premiere AI Video Editor

Adobe Express: Create Anything

Lightroom: AI Photo Editor

Adobe Fresco: Draw & Paint App

Adobe Acrobat Reader: Edit PDF

Adobe Lightroom for iPad

Adobe Lightroom: Photo Editor

Adobe Illustrator: Graphic Art

Adobe Capture: Illustrator, Ps

Explore the full publisher profile

User Sentiment

What do users think recently?

How are ratings & reviews evolving?

App Store

4.65 · 4k

Not enough recent reviews to extract reliable themes yet.

Read the full review analysis

Competition

Competitive landscape for Behance – Creative Portfolios

How's the Graphics & Design market?

Behance maintains a strong presence in the Graphics & Design category, consistently ranking within the top 100 free apps across multiple international markets. The high rating of 4.6 across 4,367 ratings signals strong user satisfaction with the core portfolio utility, though the lack of recent updates threatens long-term retention.

Read the market outlook

The rivals identified

Dribbbleactive nemesis

By Dribbble

The primary direct competitor for creative portfolio hosting, community discovery, and freelance job matching for designers.

Contractors License Exam PrepContender

Save to PinterestContenderAArtStationNemesisCCarbonmadeContender

Unlock the deeper market read.

Access the full report for free

The Analyst's Read

Key takeaways for Behance – Creative Portfolios

Where is it heading?

The creative discovery market is consolidating around social-first engagement, leaving static portfolio platforms like Behance exposed to churn. Unless the platform transitions from a passive archive to an active social network, it will likely see a decline in daily active usage as users migrate to more dynamic discovery tools.

The 127-day update cadence indicates a shift to maintenance mode, which reduces the platform's ability to respond to social-first discovery rivals.
Integrated freelance payment processing creates a direct revenue stream that differentiates the platform from static portfolio-hosting competitors.

The SWOT

Core Strengths

Professional identity lock-in through Adobe integration
Verified marketplace for secure freelance transactions

Critical Frictions 2 weaknesses inside

Growth Levers

Creator-referral loops to incentivize user-led growth
Localized pricing in high-ARPU creative markets

Market Threats 2 threats identified

Next best moves

1 Pivot · 1 Invest

Pivot engineering capacity toward social-engagement features because the current maintenance-only cycle erodes daily active usage → increase retention

+ 1 more prioritized move

The counter-intuitive read

The platform's strength as a professional archive is its greatest liability…

Read the full take

Since the last report: Behance has shifted to a maintenance-only development cycle, characterized by a 127-day update cadence and a lack of new feature releases. This transition highlights a strategic vulnerability to social-first competitors that prioritize daily active engagement.

Bottom line

Maintaining the current portfolio-hosting standard is insufficient to defend against social-first discovery rivals. Pivot engineering capacity toward social-engagement features to increase daily active usage, as the current maintenance-only cycle risks turning the platform into a static archive rather than a thriving professional network.

Unlock 2 critical frictions, 2 market threats, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.

Access the full report for free

FAQ

Is Behance worth using if I am a freelance designer?

Yes, Behance provides a verified professional space to showcase portfolios and access a freelance marketplace with integrated payment processing, which is useful for securing and managing client projects.

How does Behance compare to other portfolio sites?

Behance differentiates itself through its deep integration with Adobe's creative ecosystem and its built-in freelance marketplace, whereas many other portfolio sites focus solely on static image hosting.

Does Behance have a free version?

Yes, Behance offers a free tier for portfolio hosting and community access, with a Pro subscription available for advanced analytics and custom website hosting.

What are the alternatives to Behance for creative portfolios?

Creative professionals often consider platforms like Dribbble for design-specific discovery or personal website builders like Squarespace for more control over portfolio branding.

Sources

[1] App Store, source

Report last updated Jul 30, 2026