Response rate and response time FAQs

We've heard a lot of feedback from the Fiverr community about response times and rates.
Let's review some of the most frequently asked questions below.

1. Why do we have the Response Rate Indicator?
The Response Rate Indicator is a valuable tool that:

• Promotes quicker responses to buyers
  By helping buyers receive seller responses as quickly as possible, we hope to create a positive experience on Fiverr so that buyers will return to Fiverr for more orders.
• Helps you understand how responsiveness can grow your Fiverr business
  This also allows you to track your improvement over time.
  
  

2. What's the difference between response rate and response time?
Response rate is the percentage of first responses to new messages that a seller sends within 24 hours.

Response time is the average amount of time in hours that it takes for a seller to respond to a new message in their inbox.

3. How does the response rate work?
The response rate tracks the percentage of first responses sent within 24 hours over the last 60 days.

Example: If you received 10 new requests in your Inbox within the last 60 days, and replied to 9 of them within 24 hours of receiving each one, your response rate is 90%.

Note: If you reply to the last message more than 24 hours after receiving it, your response rate will still be 90%. However, we recommend that sellers respond even after 24 hours.

4. Is every Inbox message factored into my response rate?
The Response Rate Indicator tracks your first response to a new Inbox message from a new buyer.

After that first reply, the rest of the conversation isn't tracked, however, it is essential to continue conversations with buyers until a conclusion is reached.

5. I'm in the Red Zone. What do I do?
Remember, you can always improve your response rate over time by replying to new messages within 24 hours.
Some tips if you are having trouble keeping on top of your Inbox:

• Download the app for iOS or Android
  This gives you a chance to see alerts when you receive new messages and efficiently respond anywhere
• Set up Quick Responses
  This feature can help you reply to your buyers much faster.
  
• Change or extend the delivery time on your Gigs
  This is can be very beneficial if you're feeling overwhelmed with managing your Inbox requests.
  
  

6. How often does the response rate change?
It changes daily, to reflect the last 60 days.

7. Can automatic responses (Auto Reply) help or prevent my response rate from lowering?
No, in this case, automatic responses aren't considered as a response to the buyer's message.

Your Auto Reply message only informs the buyer that you're looking into their message, but it won't mark the message as "answered" if you don't manually respond within 24 hours.

Note: Your response time will be affected by the time you take to manually respond to the buyer.
Learn more with Set up your Auto Reply.

8. I'm in a time zone very far away from my buyers. Will this impact my response rate?
Working with buyers in other time zones can affect your response time, but not your response rate. The response rate allows a full 24 hours for sellers to respond to the message. Despite being in different time zones, you'll still have an opportunity to respond to the message within 24 hours and not see your rate drop.

9. When don't I have to respond?
There are a few types of messages that aren't factored into your response rate:

• Spam and Solicitations
  You don't have to reply to spam and solicitations in your Inbox—as long as you report the message as spam, it won't count against you.
  • • To report a message as spam:
      Click Report (next to the new message and all messages in general).
    • To report spam on the mobile app:
      Use the Send Feedback option, which will then contacts the Fiverr team.
      
      
• Spam must be reported within 24 hours
  If you would like to respond, you have the option to and can click Unmark as Spam.
  • • If you "Unmark as Spam" and want to reply:
      You must respond within 24 hours of the message being received, or it will affect your response rate.
    • If you block a user from contacting you:
      You must also report their messages as spam to avoid having your response rate drop.