Fiverr is one of the biggest freelancing platforms online. Used both by businesses and freelancers, the platform boasts low costs and a competitive community. But sometimes, bigger doesn’t mean better. That may be even truer when it comes to freelancing websites. There are many alternatives to Fiverr available for clients and freelancers alike, so we’ve compiled the best alternatives to Fiverr in this article.
While Fiverr is one of the most successful freelance marketplaces online, there are many reasons why you may want to look for an alternative. For freelancers, working conditions, better pay, on-time payments, and less competition can be reasons why finding an alternative would be beneficial. For businesses, more security, fewer fees, better services, fewer cons, and a more ethical platform are reasons they would want to find an alternative.
Some websites are more secure, have more skilled freelancers, more flexibility, and better working conditions for freelancers. It comes down to which platform fits your needs the most.
We have compiled information on different freelance marketplaces over the years and wrote this article to provide helpful information so people can make the most informed decision when choosing a freelance marketplace to buy or sell services on. Below, you will find our recommended platforms if you’re looking for an alternative to Fiverr. We hope you will find the website that works best for you.
The 9 Best Alternatives to Fiverr
1. ComeUp
For freelancers
While both companies have similar models when it comes to the way freelancers offer their services, their pricing models are very different. One of ComeUp’s best advantages is its $1-only commission option. With such a low commission, freelancers can maximize their earnings.
If you’re not ready for a paid plan yet, you can still offer your services for free on ComeUp. Start earning money on the website to test it out and switch to a paid plan when you understand all the pros offered by ComeUp Plus plans.
Freelancers get paid when an order is validated by the buyer. No more waiting around for 14 days. With ComeUp, freelancers get paid on time for the work they complete, and they can withdraw their earnings whenever they want.
In 2023, ComeUp was voted the freelancing platform with the best working conditions by the Fairwork Cloudwork study conducted by the Oxford University Internet Institute. More information.
ComeUp continues to work on this, as they want to provide the best working conditions for their users. Whether you’re a freelancer or a business, using a platform that provides rights for its users feels better than using a platform that denies those rights. Fiverr is one of the platforms with the worst working conditions in the same study. They were only able to get one point out of ten. That’s why ComeUp is one of the best alternatives to Fiverr.
For Businesses
There are many advantages to using ComeUp. First of all, buyers can contact sellers before placing an order. So, if you’re ever in doubt, you can contact sellers and ask them questions. You can also use the reviews left by previous buyers to decide if a service is the right one for you. Another benefit for buyers is that ComeUp is safe to use and has a well-thought-out ordering system created to protect buyers.
Sellers all have to verify their identity by submitting an identity document before they can sell services. Other platforms are not as rigorous when verifying the identity of their users, which sometimes leads to cons. As for the ordering system, once the order is delivered by the seller, the buyer has to approve it for the seller to be paid. The risks of being unsatisfied with what the seller delivers are much lower. As long as buyers carefully read what a seller’s services entail, they will get what they order.
If there’s a dispute, there’s a litigation process in place to protect both the seller and the buyer. Someone from ComeUp’s moderation team manages the case and reviews the order and the delivered services before making an impartial decision. All disputes are handled by humans. Both parties have a chance to express themselves to the moderation team.
Want to learn more about ComeUp?
Pros
- Many categories to choose from.
- The $1-only commission option enables sellers to maximize earnings.
- Safe and secure website for withdrawals and payments.
- The most helpful and supportive customer service team.
- Some of the best working conditions for platform workers (based on the Fairwork Cloudwork study led by the Oxford University Internet Institute in 2023).
- Many ways for clients and freelancers to take advantage of the platform to grow.
Cons
- There are transaction fees for buyers.
- The monthly subscription plan enables freelancers to get the $1-only commission option and increases visibility.
2. Upwork
Another huge freelancing platform, Upwork, has a different bidding system. On Fiverr, freelancers post the services businesses can buy. They choose the prices and what their service entails. On Upwork, it’s the opposite. Businesses post the services they need while freelancers bid for them. This can lead businesses to find cheaper prices for their projects, but that does not always mean better.
For freelancers
Upwork’s commission system is easy to understand. They charge a 10% commission on all orders a freelancer completes. On Upwork, freelancers get paid as soon as the work is approved by clients. However, funds earned cannot be withdrawn for the first five days after release.
This commission is much more advantageous than Fiverr and some other platforms. That is why you will find many freelancers competing on Upwork. But the steady flow of orders ensures that many freelancers find work on the website.
For Businesses
You’ll find professional services on Upwork. But that does come at a cost as Upwork charges a 5% Client Marketplace Fee plus a one-time contract initiation fee, adding up to an additional $4.95. This means profits from your purchase as well as the freelancer’s earnings.
If you’re posting a job on Upwork, you have to consider that freelancers will bid for a chance to get the opportunity to get the job. In most cases, that won’t be a problem, as you’ll get multiple profiles. But it also means that you’re limiting yourself to a few choices instead of having more choices if you use a platform where you can order services directly.
Pros
- An easy-to-use website with a great design.
- Clients can post projects instead of having to search for a service that matches perfectly.
Cons
- Buyers have many fees.
- Scams happen often on the platform.
- Freelancers have a high commission to shoulder (20%).
3. Freelancer
One of the biggest freelancing platforms worldwide, with more than 41 million freelancers worldwide, Freelancer is another possible alternative to Fiverr. They have a different model than recent freelancing platforms, as they try to build a relationship between freelancers and clients instead of having just one job or gig.
The website is famous for its dated design, but every site has pros and cons. And the fact that this website is well-established is an advantage. Many clients have been able to complete their projects thanks to the work of freelancer users.
For Freelancers
They have a lot of flexibility regarding payments. Freelancers can be paid hourly or when they reach different objectives. This flexibility comes at a price. You have to carefully monitor your hours on the website using their management tools. On Freelancer, the pricing plan is hugely different as freelancers pay to get the possibility to have more bids they can use to apply for jobs. This can lead to frustration as you may compete with people with fewer skills but who are willing to charge much less to do the job.
For Businesses
For pricing, you’ll have to pay 3% of the winning bid to the platform plus the freelancer’s rates. You also need to be careful. If there are any additional tasks that require more payments, you will also have to pay a 3% fee for those.
One of the main advantages for businesses is that Freelancer is a safe platform known to have fewer scams. Since businesses decide who they hire to work with, they can choose after inspecting the freelancer’s profile. It’s a great way to make sure you hire the person you’re most comfortable working with. The only downside is that you can only hire people bidding on your project, so if you don’t like the options presented to you, it may lead to a difficult decision.
Pros
- One of the most famous freelance platforms worldwide.
- Flexible payments, as people can charge on an hourly or project basis.
Cons
- Intensive competition on the platform
- High and numerous fees. Especially for freelancers.
- The bidding system creates an unfair system not based on talent. Clients and freelancers are both hurt by this way of operating.
4. Toptal
Toptal is all about talent and quality. They say that their community has only the top 3% of freelance talents available. So they offer only high-quality freelance talent. But that comes at a hefty cost.
Toptal is one of the most expensive freelance platforms out there. It connects businesses to a small range of talented workers for a high cost. You won’t have to worry about cons or wrongly completed work. The platform is secure.
For Freelancers
Because they only have a few freelancers, there is no competition for jobs, and you can lower your rates on Toptal. It’s a great place to sell services if you’re a freelancer. But first, you need to get in. The screening process is long and complicated as it involves interviews, personality, and language tests. If you can’t rank amongst the top 3%, you have to look for an alternative to Toptal.
For Businesses
Not only is the platform secure and scam-free, but there’s also some top talent on Toptal. If you need someone highly skilled, this may be the best platform to find highly talented professionals. But this security and expertise come at a high cost. Services are sold for twice the freelancer’s hourly rate on Toptal. So, if you have no budget limitations, this may be the right platform for you, but if you need to consider a budget, there may be other platforms with more reasonable prices. If you’re looking for the best alternative to Fiverr in terms of quality, this may be the one. But are you willing to pay that much for it?
Pros
- There is less competition for work because freelancers need to be accepted by the platform.
- Highly skilled professionals are available on the platform.
Cons
- A long and tiring application process.
- Freelancers have little chance of being accepted on the platform.
- There are enticing projects on the platform, but they have the equivalent of a 50% commission because they charge customers twice the freelancer’s cost.
- They have no transparency about work attribution or fees.
5. Guru
This Fiverr alternative is known to be more professional and focuses on business services and needs. Although their models are similar, Fiverr is often considered dangerous, with many scams and cons happening on the platform. Guru protects buyers and sellers to offer more security for its users.
For freelancers
The most used categories on the platform are related to business, web development, and copywriting. You can offer services in other categories too. However, the website is less known for graphic design or virtual assistance services, so there are fewer chances that you will find projects on the site if you offer different services from the most popular ones. The pricing on Guru is based on monthly memberships that allow freelancers to bid on more jobs, similarly to Freelancer.
For businesses
You’ll get many freelancers who bid on your job posting, so you’re sure to find at least one freelancer who can get the job done. But this system can also be restrictive, as you have a limited number of freelancers to choose from.
For pricing, Guru’s 2.9% handling fee per invoice is reasonable and most likely one of the cheapest fees for freelance marketplaces.
Pros
- The transaction fees are low.
- Businesses can post their projects and have freelance experts apply to work on them.
Cons
- Freelancers have to pay for an expensive monthly subscription.
- The system does not value talent. Clients end up working with less skilled freelancers.
- The bid-based system makes the bid more powerful than talent.
6. PeoplePerHour
Created in 2007, PeoplePerHour boasts 3 million users nowadays. The freelance platform enables businesses to hire freelancers by the hour to help them complete their projects.
For freelancers
There’s a lot of competition on PeoplePerHour as many freelancers use the platform. If you’re working with customers long-term, the commission fees are much more manageable than on other platforms. It depends on the lifetime spending of customers on an individual freelancer. To pay less commission, freelancers try to work closely with the same customer for a longer time and command higher rates.
Commission breakdown below:
– Over £5000-lifetime billing per buyer: 3.5% (excl. VAT) service fee.
– Between £250 and £5000-lifetime per buyer: 7.5% (excl. VAT) service fee.
– Less than £250-lifetime billing per buyer: 20% (excl. VAT) service fee.
For businesses
There are many freelancers offering their services on the platform. Companies looking for help can easily find an expert. They can hire freelancers hourly, which enables them to have them work on multiple projects. But they also need to be wary. Because an hourly pricing model adds up quickly, a project can be more expensive than the initially planned budget in case of delays.
The fees for clients are 10% + £0.60 of the total amount. That’s a lot compared to other websites.
Pros
- PeoplePerHour is one of the largest freelance platforms.
- It’s free for a business to post a project and get people to apply to work on it.
- Their mobile app is functional and easy to use.
- They are working on an AI search tool to make it smoother for employers to find the freelancers they need.
Cons
- Freelancers and clients have to account for expensive fees.
- The talent level is really uneven.
- The customer support team is unhelpful. In case of an issue, you may not get any help.
7. Behance
Behance is a platform owned by Adobe, designed for creatives to showcase their portfolios and connect with potential clients. It’s tightly integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud, making it a natural hub for designers, illustrators, photographers, and digital artists. While not a traditional freelance marketplace like Fiverr, Behance serves as a powerful discovery engine where freelancers can attract work based on their displayed talent.
For Freelancers
Behance is a highly visual platform that lets creatives build a personal brand around their work. You can upload detailed projects, highlight your creative process, and gain followers from within the global design community. While the platform doesn’t directly facilitate transactions, many designers land freelance gigs through exposure on Behance. It’s particularly useful for building credibility, showcasing large-scale projects, and getting discovered by brands and agencies.
For Businesses
For businesses seeking creative professionals, Behance provides an unmatched window into a designer’s capabilities. Instead of relying on profiles or resumes, companies can review real portfolios to gauge style, originality, and execution. However, Behance doesn’t offer built-in tools for collaboration, payment, or contracts—so you’ll need to take the relationship off-platform to move forward with a hire. Additionally, the best talent often commands premium rates, especially if they have a large following or featured work.
Pros
- Ideal for showcasing visual portfolios and creative work.
- Seamless integration with Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Great for discovering up-and-coming design talent.
- Community-based, making it useful for networking and visibility.
Cons
- Not designed for direct collaboration, contracting, or payments.
- Competitive job board with limited freelance opportunities.
- Most useful only for creatives in visual fields like design and illustration.
8. Dribbble
Dribbble is another designer-focused platform that blends a social network, portfolio site, and freelance job board into one. It’s a well-established community for creative professionals, especially in fields like graphic design, UI/UX, branding, and digital illustration. Unlike Fiverr, which targets a broad range of services, Dribbble specifically caters to visual creators.
For Freelancers
Dribbble is a popular destination for designers to build their presence, connect with peers, and attract clients through their portfolio. It offers paid membership tiers with added benefits, such as priority exposure and access to exclusive job postings. Dribbble is particularly beneficial for freelancers focused on high-quality, design-centric work. However, like Behance, standing out on Dribbble can be tough due to the high volume of talented users competing for visibility.
For Businesses
If you’re looking for top-tier design talent, Dribbble is one of the best places to start. The platform allows businesses to browse portfolios, post design-specific jobs, and reach a targeted audience of creatives. That said, similar to Behance, Dribbble doesn’t support full freelance project workflows. Clients may need to handle communication, contracting, and payment outside the platform. Also, it’s not suitable if your needs go beyond design, as Dribbble’s talent pool is design-only.
Pros
- High-quality talent in visual design, UI/UX, and branding.
- Built-in job board specifically for design-related roles.
- Strong community and opportunities for creative collaboration.
- Portfolio visibility helps freelancers attract clients organically.
Cons
- Very competitive, especially among established designers.
- Lacks infrastructure for full project management or transactions.
- Exclusively focused on design—no support for other freelance categories.
9. Contra
One of the newer websites in the freelance market, Contra, launched in 2021. It describes itself as the professional network for flexible work. It’s one of the more modern Fiverr alternatives. Despite the platform’s recency, it has launched some very promising features. They have a beneficial no-commission model, and freelancers have to pay for a subscription instead. They collaborate with design websites like Webflow and Framer to offer freelance experts with all the skills to complete complicated projects on these websites. In addition, they launched Indy AI recently. It searches in their network by scanning their LinkedIn and social media to help freelancers find work opportunities they can try to get.
For Freelancers
Contra offers a range of advantages for freelancers. The principal one is that freelancers can use Contra to tailor their profile with their skills, talents, and experiences, and create a professional portfolio. They can design their page to highlight their skills or past work experience and convince clients that they are the best freelancer to complete their missions. Freelancers can also leverage Indy AI to find potential work opportunities. This cutting-edge tool searches through your network on social media and LinkedIn for any relevant mentions and reports them to you, saving you time on research and scrolling. Nonetheless, freelancers report that they don’t get many projects with Contra.
For businesses
Businesses can use Contra to hire freelancers to get the help of a professional to complete projects. There are multiple ways to leverage Contra for hiring. Businesses can share projects on the platform, and freelancers apply to work on them. Businesses can also contact specific freelancers directly. Most of the freelancers on the platform are either designers or marketers. Usually, the freelancers available on Contra are highly skilled, but they also demand expensive rates for their services.
Pros
- Powerful platform to discover designers.
- Many freelance professionals are available.
- You can find high-quality services to complete difficult projects.
- Freelancers don’t have to pay for a commission.
- Freelancers can discover potential clients with Indy AI.
Cons
- Services on Contra are expensive.
- Freelancers need to pay a subscription fee to use the platform and have 0 commission.
- Many freelancers say they don’t get any orders on Contra.
- Even if Indy AI finds opportunities for you, they still need to be convinced to hire you.
Conclusion: Find the best alternatives to Fiverr that works for you
There are many platforms out there, and they’re not one-size-fits-all, so at the end of the day, we’d recommend you consider what you value and what you’re looking for in a freelancing platform. Do some research and browse around. Make an educated decision that puts you in a position to succeed. If you have the chance, try a few different ones until you find the one that’s right for you. Many have a free option to start with. So, you can try out platforms without investing any money in a website you may not want to use in the end.
If you’re hiring, take the time to browse different platforms to see the various talents and services offered on the platform. Every site has pros and cons, so there’s not just one alternative to Fiverr. But multiple alternatives based on what each site offers.
If you’re a freelancer looking for the best alternatives to Fiverr, you can also look at what each website specializes in. Some are better for graphic design experts, while others are better for content writers. Take everything into account. The number of projects available on each platform, if there is a free option, and the different offers. Find the alternative where you want to propose your offers and complete your work.
Consider working conditions and Cloudwork worker’s rights to choose the the best alternatives to Fiverr
Whether you are a freelancer or a business looking to buy services. We can all agree that some working conditions should be accessible to all workers worldwide. With the advancement of technology, we’ve seen business models emerge that disregard these rights. The Fairwork Cloudwork study conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute gives scores to companies regarding the fairness in working conditions offered by those companies.
Better working conditions for freelancers
At ComeUp, we’re always looking to improve the working conditions for our community’s sellers. That means fair pay, conditions, terms of service, and management.
In 2023, ComeUp was voted the freelancing platform with the best working conditions by the Fairwork Cloudwork study conducted by the Oxford University Internet Institute. More information.
But we don’t want to stop there. We still have work to do to achieve the ideal working conditions for our community, and we’ll continue doing everything we can to ensure the best working conditions possible for ComeUp sellers.
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