For its size, Upwork is quite popular. It's been around for almost 10 years and has millions of freelancers across a wide range of industries.
With so many advantages, however, Upwork also has its downsides. Fortunately, there are several Upwork alternatives to consider.
It might be difficult to get a job on Upwork. The sheer quantity of people that apply for a job might be intimidating, and some people will apply for positions they aren't qualified for. It may be a full-time job just to bid on relevant jobs and get work.
Nevertheless, Upwork isn't the only place where you can become a freelancer. Many internet platforms offer everything that this freelance bidding site does not.
Here are five of the top Upwork alternatives to consider.
Fiverr
Many individuals turn to Fiverr for affordable professional labour as well as odd jobs because it was one of the first freelance marketplace sites.
The basic charge for tasks ranging from web design to lawn mowing is $5, and you can even discover unique jobs like pranking friends or social media comments for that amount. The price of such low-paying labour is a lack of security.
According to feedback on Fiverr, many freelancers fail to deliver on their promises, thus every gig is "buyer beware."
Reasons why Fiverr is a good alternative to Upwork:
- Fiverr is a more adaptable platform. It allows you to select from a wider range of categories and to communicate with freelancers before placing orders to tailor your need.
- You can use the site to post a project or browse available gigs.
- Fiverr does not operate on a bidding system. Rather, the entire system relies upon job postings. Freelancers list gigs, and if you like what they have to offer, you can order them.
- The majority of Fiverr freelancers have not been vetted. Freelancers, on the other hand, can apply to be vetted and certified as Fiverr Pro Sellers. The gigs of Fiverr Pro Sellers will all be tagged with badges to ensure that buyers are getting the best options.
Disadvantages of Fiverr:
- The number of sellers who are well-trained to perform the services they offer is minimal.
- There is a lot of rivalry for the first projects. Some freelancers never seem to be able to secure a client.
- The money will not be in your pocket until 14 days after you deliver your product, which is a considerable time.
Hubstaff Talent
With efficiency and finesse, Hubstaff Talent links freelance experts with clients.
The hourly rate, abilities, experience, availability, résumé, and languages spoken by a freelancer are all displayed on this free portal. Freelancers can also include a brief description to convey additional information about themselves.
You can search for people based on their talent, availability, years of experience, or country. You can also conduct a keyword or phrase search.
To locate freelancers and agencies, business owners just need to look through the profiles on Hubstaff Talent, contact the freelancers directly, agree on work conditions, and get started.
Reasons why Hubstaff Talent is a good alternative to Upwork:
- It's a free resource for businesses that are looking for remote workers all over the world.
- On either side, there are no markups or fees (freelancer or business owner). As a result, freelancers receive exactly what their clients have paid them.
- Because there are no fees, Hubstaff Talent plays a minor role in the client-talent matching and agreements.
- Projects and hourly labour are not subject to costs.
- Employers can contact freelancers, interview them, and hire them without incurring any costs.
Disadvantages of Hubstaff Talent:
- Highly competent freelancers to whom you would entrust your most difficult jobs are still hard to come by.
- Due to faults and errors in the time tracking system, there are sometimes concerns with hired freelancers, which might lead to disagreements.
- For the time being, it's a modest market according to the number of positions available.
PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a great medium place for freelancer platforms because it's of reasonable size, has a lot of fields without being overly broad, and has a range of skill levels to suit any budget.
PeoplePerHour is a good fit if you don't like the other Upwork alternative on this list. It's not too huge and not too small.
Even though there is less rivalry among freelancers on PeoplePerHour, high-end freelancers may become frustrated if they lose bids to less-skilled, cheaper competitors. On the plus side, PeoplePerHour guarantees payment by locking down your client's deposit from the start.
Reasons why PeoplePerHour is a good alternative to Upwork:
- Creating an account is completely free.
- There are no costs associated with hiring a freelancer, however, you will be charged payment processing fees if you use a credit/debit card or PayPal.
- It is completely free to post a job on PPH. There is a charge to get your job listing shown.
- You can look through "Hourlies," which are fixed-price jobs that freelancers can begin right away.
- You might also post a job and let freelancers in the PeoplePerHour community find you.
Disadvantages of PeoplePerHour:
- Customer assistance is not available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the event of an issue or dispute.
- Clients are frequently overwhelmed by the number of applications they get for their projects.
- Customer service will nearly always be on the employer's side in the event of a disagreement.
Freelancer
One of the few Upwork alternatives that can match its size and range is Freelancer. Both networks include millions of freelancers in a variety of fields.
If you want to be more creative with how you pay people or want less commitment when dealing with freelancers, Freelancer offers more flexible payment alternatives, such as hourly and fixed.
Freelancer is an open-ended platform where you can find professionals of almost any skill level for virtually any price, with over 41 million freelancers and 1,350 categories of assignments.
Some features, though, are kept behind paid paywalls, so you'll need to invest in Freelancer to get the most out of it.
Reasons why Freelancer is a good alternative to Upwork:
- The cost of a project on Freelancer ranges from $3 to 3% of the total cost, depending on which is bigger. You can pay extra for updates for things like priority, full-time work, NDA, and so on. This is similar to Upwork's standard plan (2.75 per cent of the project cost).
- Contests allow you to assign work to freelancers and choose a winner. While posting a contest is free, you will need to contribute prize money. Upgrades can be added to extend the contest, allocate priority, and enforce NDAs, among other things.
- Don't want to be in charge of your projects? You might choose to hire a project manager for your project. Fees, on the other hand, will vary based on the scope of the job.
Disadvantages of Freelancer:
- With so many profiles to analyze, the existence of low-skilled freelancers can make it difficult to identify the correct person for the project.
- The hiree is not encouraged to work with the same client as the freelancer. Regardless of how much money you've made with that client, your fees stay the same.
- If a freelancer wants to apply for more than eight assignments in a month, they must pay a subscription fee. For newcomers, that's a significant hurdle to overcome.
SolidGigs
SolidGigs is a paid service that searches the web for freelance jobs and delivers them to your mailbox depending on your choices.
If you're already a freelancer, you should realize that this is a fairly straightforward way to clinch a sale or at the very least establish a nice relationship that could lead to future employment.
Why? Because it isn't going to a generic inbox where tens of thousands of resumes are sent. It connects you with a live person with whom you can converse and obtain information.
Reasons why SolidGigs is a good alternative to Upwork:
- Unlike Upwork and other alternatives, SolidGigs does not take a part of your client payments. It's only a single cheap monthly fee.
- SolidGigs isn't run by robots or artificial intelligence. Every day, you're linked with a real person who works for you to uncover outstanding leads.
Disadvantages of SolidGigs:
- Once SolidGigs has delivered the leads to your inbox, you must still pitch your services.
- Writers, designers, marketers, and developers will have an easier time getting work with SolidGigs. They provide services to other freelancers, but not always as well.
Conclusion:
Every company and freelancer have various requirements, as well as diverse work habits. Have a clear understanding of what you want before deciding on a site, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
Upwork earned a name for itself by offering a wide community of freelancers for strictly professional services, but if you have a more focused need or project, choose a more focused Upwork alternative.
