Upwork is one of the most famous and established online freelancer marketplaces. But, there are alternatives to Upwork that offer different pros and cons. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to choose one platform. We’ve created this guide to help you find the best sites similar to Upwork and empower you to make an informed decision.
What is a freelance marketplace?
A freelance marketplace is an online platform on which freelancers offer their remote services. It connects businesses with service providers looking for work. Each website has its functioning and way of working. So, for businesses, finding the right one depends on their needs and what they value most.
There can be a lot of different factors to consider. Transaction fees, invoicing, the order process, the quality of customer service, transparency, and other factors all affect the decisions businesses or companies have to make when choosing a platform. The good news is, there are many sites similar to Upwork you can choose from when you’re looking for an alternative.
The best sites similar to Upwork
ComeUp
ComeUp has a very different way of functioning than Upwork. Instead of businesses posting projects, freelancers sell remote services for businesses to buy. This enables companies to pick between the best offers available instead of depending on a limited number of applicants to complete a project. The France-based platform has existed for over ten years, and over one million orders have been completed on the website.
A trusted third-party
With ComeUp, all transactions are safe and secure. Freelancers have been vetted and have had to submit their identification documents before registering as sellers. This works differently than for some famous platforms that accept everyone and only check IDs later once a few orders are completed. In addition, Sellers (the freelancers hired on ComeUp) are paid once they have delivered their work and clients approve it. Buyers get what they order every time.
Human help through every step
It’s essential to have access to human customer service whenever you need it. With ComeUp, users can contact the customer service team at any time and engage directly with a human being who is ready to help. They will do their best to answer quickly and help as much as possible. In case of a dispute, users can also engage with a human moderator who carefully reviews the case to help.
ComeUp’s customer service is rated 4.3 stars out of five on Trustpilot (as of August 2024). With such a high rating, you know you can trust the customer service team.
Fully transparent pricing
ComeUp is a trusted third party. As such, there’s a responsibility to always be transparent and clear to both parties. Freelancers know how much the buyer pays for their order, and buyers know how much the freelancer earns. All costs are broken down into billing documents shared with both parties.
Discover freelancing professionals for all your projects
On ComeUp, you’ll find top freelance professionals with remote service offers in eight categories. Graphic design, writing, audiovisual, web development, social media, business, coaching, and everyday life. All these categories have many sub-categories. For instance, you can discover web design services in the graphic design category or programming offers in the web development category. You can also find broader services like virtual assistants. There are plenty of services offered by freelancers with all kinds of experience. Each freelancer chooses their rates based on the criteria they choose. So, employers can buy all the services they need to complete their projects based on their budget.
Toptal
A platform that has been gaining popularity these last few years. Toptal prides itself on offering the top 3% of freelance talent available. The company is a solid alternative for large businesses with a significant budget. With highly skilled freelancers, they can complete all kinds of projects. It’s one of the top sites similar to Upwork if you need high-quality freelancers.
For small to medium-sized businesses, it’s hard to afford the services proposed by Toptal since the rates are so high. The company is not transparent about how much the freelancer earns and what companies pay. Previous users have reported that the rates Toptal charges are double what the freelancers are paid. This might make Toptal one of the services with the highest commission in the market, and businesses have to pay for it out of their own pockets.
Peopleperhour
Launched in 2007, Peopleperhour has a database of over two million freelancers. It’s another alternative to Upwork for businesses looking to hire freelancers. Peopleperhour works similarly to Upwork because businesses post the projects they need help to complete. Freelancers then bid for the opportunity to complete these projects.
The only downside of Peopleperhour is the high fees. The service fees are 10% of the order plus an additional £0.60. This fee can become costly for expensive orders or longer projects. In addition, Peopleperhour also takes a costly 20% (excl. VAT) commission from freelancers. So, both parties have to cover the costs of using the platform.
Guru
One of the largest marketplaces online, Guru is a solid Upwork alternative as a platform for companies to hire freelance workers. They can post jobs on the website or view the profiles of thousands of freelancers and contact them. Once a company posts a job, freelancers bid on the job, and the company can ask them some questions before hiring them or someone else.
The service fees on the platform are very reasonable, as a business hiring has to pay a 2.9% handling fee. This makes it a great candidate for employers who need help to complete projects.
The one downside of Guru is that there have been many issues with clients unsatisfied with the results they obtained from freelancers. The platform is rated 1.9 on Trustpilot. People who have had negative experiences have also had problems with Guru’s customer support. This can make it complicated to trust them, as support and security are essential for all freelance marketplaces.
Truelancer
Very similar to Guru, Truelancer has the same way of working. Companies can either discover freelancers or post their projects for freelancers to bid on. The fees are reasonable and vary depending on the buyer’s payment method. Truelancer also allows companies to host a contest to have freelancers compete to win work. For example, if you’re looking for a logo for your business. You can host a competition. Freelancers will compete and you will be able to pick the winner. Then you only need to pay the winner. Nonetheless, the winning work will often be the more expensive one.
Truelancer has a 3.3-star rating out of five on Trustpilot, which is better than Upwork, which has been removed from Trustpilot for some reason. There seem to be multiple reasons for that. Freelancers are unhappy with how the platform distributes work and feel they need to make a lot of effort to get work opportunities. On the other hand, businesses are also dissatisfied for various reasons including the quality of the work completed by freelancers and the fact that Truelancer’s customer service is not helpful. This can be an issue as trust is paramount on freelance marketplaces.
Dribble
Are you a business looking for designers? Dribble is the perfect alternative to Upwork. It only offers design talents. This focus on design means it’s the ideal place to buy services in that industry. To find a talent, a business visits a few designs before choosing the designer they want to work with.
The main downside of Dribble is that the platform is highly focused on graphic design professionals. If you’re looking for offers in different areas, use an alternative to Upwork.
Fiverr
Fiverr is one of the most famous freelance platforms, if not the most famous. It has millions of users and has a similar way of working as ComeUp. On Fiverr, freelancers sell their services online to clients. The platform has many pros and cons. Main pros include the wide range of talents, the reasonable fees for customers, and the platform’s modern design. Cons are that the platform has many scams, some freelancers are not vetted or have low-quality services, and they don’t have good customer service.
The Pros
Fiverr fees are pretty standard, as clients have to pay a 5% marketplace fee on all payments. The site works similarly to other competitors like ComeUp. Clients order services directly from freelancers. They have many options to choose from. This flexibility makes Fiverr one of the best Upwork alternatives if you are looking for a platform with a different way of functioning.
The cons
While Fiverr is one of the best Upwork alternatives and has an entirely different way of working, one issue persists on both platforms. Both companies are renowned and are the largest freelance marketplaces. Scams happen often on Fiverr. Many problems have been reported by freelancers, and companies have also had difficulties fixing those issues because Fiverr’s customer service is unhelpful. Fiverr has a three-star rating on Truspilot. That’s pretty low considering the company’s size.
In addition, they have many visits, but some freelancers accept orders and then bounce, leaving clients with nothing but lost time. This can be hurtful for clients in a rush to complete their jobs.
Why use a freelance marketplace?
Knowing the best Upwork alternatives may not be enough to understand the benefits of freelancing marketplaces. Using these websites has many pros for freelancers and clients. The principal function of these sites is to connect both parties. This requires a lot of trust and a process to ensure safe transactions. A freelancing site acts as a trusted third party. When a client orders, they make the payment for it directly. But the freelancer only gets paid once the order is delivered. This process ensures both parties are sure they’ll get what they want.
Access high-quality talent for all your projects
A freelance website gives a business access to talent in many areas of expertise and the opportunity to work with that person using a safe order process that protects it from possible cons or other issues. Not only does a business save time by using this site, but it also has the chance to access multiple professionals with skills and knowledge to complete complex projects. It’s the alternative to full-time hiring as a freelancer works on a project basis.
They can deliver the best results. A new expert can be hired for the next project if it requires different skills. Hiring managers and employers have more flexibility and can get more jobs done that way. For example, someone who wants to create a website for their business can hire freelance web designers to design the website designs and logo designs before hiring a web developer to turn the site design into a fully functional website. They can also hire virtual assistants to do many tasks like accounting and customer support. Since they don’t have to pay for all the benefits and other costs of hiring full time staff, they can benefit from skills in multiple areas.
Other options: Don’t use sites similar to Upwork
Freelance marketplaces like Upwork and its alternatives are great platforms for finding freelancers. But, they are not the sole choices at your disposal, to find professional freelancers with skills to complete your project. Here are a few alternatives you can use if you want.
Use job boards and social media
You can share the role you need to complete your project on a job board website like Flexjobs or your company’s social media for thousands of people to see. It’s a great way to get prospects to apply online and start hiring. Plus many of these job boards like Flexjobs are free. Posting a position on social media is free and the people who see the position will be people who actively engage with your brand, so they are more likely to be passionate about it. You may even get more visits to your job board posts because they can appear on platforms like Outsourcely or Solidgigs.
Outsourcely
Outsourcely is another work outsourcing site like Flexjobs, while Solidgigs gathers relevant job posts to share with qualified freelancers looking for work (Nonetheless, there have been a lot of reviews indicating that there are many scams on Outsourcely). The best part about Solidgigs is that clients don’t need to do anything. Once the job is shared on the job board, they can transfer the post to qualified freelancers in the Solidgigs database.
Cons of using job boards
There are downsides to using job boards and social media to find people to take care of your freelancing jobs. The biggest one is security. When you use free methods to hire, you lose the top features of marketplaces. If there’s a payment issue, you have to handle it. Even worse, if the worker decides to bounce after you’ve completed the payment, you have to take care of it. Part of a freelancing platform’s utility is building trust, guaranteeing payment, and that work is completed. Upwork and its alternatives all have safety mechanisms to ensure transactions go as smoothly as possible. There’s a security process in place for each action. If a transaction does not go smoothly, the website’s payment process ensures you are protected too.
Use your network
Another way to hire workers for jobs is to leverage your connections. As an entrepreneur, you have contacts who know people in different circles. Find your freelancer with their help. You can discover talented graphic designers, developers, virtual assistants, and other roles by asking around. One of the top ways to do this is to ask someone whose web design you enjoy what designers they use. An answer will orient you toward skilled designers who can complete quality designs.
The downsides remain similar to finding a freelancer on a job board or social media. Using connections to discover talent is free. But it can lead to issues because it’s not as safe. Also, by using your connections, you may be limiting your options and passing on top talent with better skills.
Conclusion: Find the sites similar to Upwork that works for you
Now that you know the top sites similar to Upwork, you can find the one that’s right for you. We recommend trying a few before making a final decision. Use review services like Trustpilot to guide you. Try several platforms to choose the one with the best functioning and features. Make a decision based on your visits and experiences.
If you’re on a budget, factors like the rate of the worker and the fees also play a part. Check out offers on different websites. That way, you’ll locate a worker with the rate and talent ratio you feel will be best for your project.
Many businesses choose ComeUp because they trust the company and the quality of its sellers. They have skills and are professional. So they can complete your project in no time. It’s the best alternative to Upwork. Try ComeUp today to get the results!
