Upwork vs. Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. PeoplePerHour: For Freelancers AND Clients

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Comparing job boards, like Upwork vs. Fiverr or Freelancer vs. People per Hour can be a minefield for a new freelancer – and for clients.

How do you know which one to use?

These four are some of the best-known freelancing sites globally, with millions of people trading work for dollars on each one. They’re a great way to discover work, or to find a freelance to complete tasks for you. But these freelancer platforms are gigantic, busy, complicated websites. 

Despite the fancy advertising, it can be hard to fathom how to find potential clients or high-quality work, especially when you’re new to the site.

But recent reports say that there are now 57 million freelancers in the United States. And a staggering 58% of traditional workers think that freelancing is a viable way to live in the future. 

So it’s no wonder that many people are asking which freelancing sites are the best. 

The answer could be that it depends on what you’re looking for. 

Whether you’re comparing Upwork and PeoplePerHour or Fiverr with Freelancer, each website has strengths and weaknesses. There are also big differences in how they each serve freelancers and clients.

So to introduce some clarity around the thorny question, in this article, we’ll examine Upwork vs Fiverr, Freelancer and People Per Hour. 

We’ll look at how each site works and compare them on key points to discover which site is the best choice for freelancers — and how they stacks up for clients too.

A Quick Introduction to the Freelancing Sites

Upwork

In its own words, Upwork is a Freelance Marketplace with a mission to “create economic opportunities, so people have better lives.” 

It works somewhat like a bidding site in that clients post jobs, and freelancers can pitch for them. However, freelancers can also post set-price projects in the Project Catalog so clients can browse through and find a project that fits their needs. 

The platform’s history goes way back to 2013 when two smaller freelancer platforms, eLance and oDesk, merged. In 2015 they rebranded as Upwork.

Based in California, Upwork is now an enormous website that connects clients to professional freelancers such as graphic designers, website developers and builders, copywriters, administrators and more. 

With millions of freelancers on its books, collectively earning $1billion per year, Upwork is recognised as the world’s largest and most popular freelance marketplace because of the sheer numbers of jobs available (see below). 

Fiverr

Fiverr describes itself as “an online marketplace that is changing how the world works together.” Its name comes the site’s original ethos, which involved freelancers offering services for a fixed of just $5.

Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Fiverr is not a bidding site. 

Sellers (freelancers) from all over the world can post their relatively low-cost gigs (services) in the appropriate category. Then Buyers (clients) search the site to find one that matches their needs.  

Fiverr was the only platform that posted gigs or projects like this for a long time, but now Upwork, Freelancer, and People Per Hour have all jumped on the bandwagon. Although they don’t use the term “gig,” they all make it possible for freelancers to advertise fixed-price services nowadays.

Buyers who want a specific project done can also post requests that sellers may respond to, but there are far more gigs offered than job requests.

Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is a bidding site. Employers post their jobs, specifying their requirements, price range and how many days people have to post their bids. Interested freelancers can then bid for the job within that time. 

Freelancer was founded in Sydney in 2009 by CEO Matt Barrie and has since acquired several other platforms, including GetAFreelancer.com and Scriptlance.com. When we interviewed Matt on the HWC podcast, he described Freelancer.com as “the world’s largest online crowdsourcing and freelancing site by the number of users and number of projects posted… like eBay for jobs.”

PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour is a UK-based online platform where employers (aka Buyers) post projects. Freelancers – called Sellers – can bid for jobs or post offers (pre-set bundles, similar to Fiverr gigs or Upwork Projects.) 

The company was founded in 2007 by Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris and now has offices in London and Greece. According to Wikipedia, it was named as one of “Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups of 2012″ by Wired, a UK magazine. 

PPH’s mission is “to empower people worldwide to live their work dream, building their business from the ground up and becoming financially and professionally independent.”

Upwork vs. Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. PeoplePerHour: Which is Best for Freelancers?

Quantity of Jobs

There are thousands of jobs on offer at Upwork, Freelancer, and People per Hour posted every day.  Fiverr has few specific jobs posted because buyers are encouraged to select the right freelancers from each category’s gigs and freelancer profiles.

Jobs on all four freelancer platforms are sorted into categories and subcategories. 

Categories include Accounting and Consulting, Admin Support, Customer Service, Legal, Marketing, Translation, Writing, Design and so on. 

Web, Mobile and Software Development is a category; Game Design, Desktop Application, Mobile, QA & Testing and Product Management are some of its subcategories.

(at the time of writing)	Upwork	Fiverr	Freelancer	People per Hour
Jobs posted on the platform	219,430		13,951	2725

WINNER:

As the table shows, Upwork has the most jobs available across all platforms.  

Fees

Fees are a real bone of contention between freelancers and the platforms, and you can find a barrage of complaints about them online.

Most freelancers object to paying up to 20% in fees, especially if they’re charging affordable prices to begin with. 

However, although Upwork and Fiverr, Freelancer and PPH all have lofty mission goals, there’s no getting around the fact that they’re businesses too. They all have shareholders and employees who expect them to turn a profit.

So, each platform earns revenue by charging clients and freelancers in various ways. 

Upwork

Upwork charges both freelancers and clients, but the charges for freelancers are graduated.

Upwork claims 20% from everything you make in your first $500 with each client.

But as your total earnings with that client increase, the fee decreases. So between $500 and $10,000, Upwork charges 10%. For anything earned over $10,000, the fee decreases to 5%.

It doesn’t cost anything for freelancers to join Upwork and set up a basic account. They do vet your application, though, and don’t accept everyone — although it’s not always clear why you might be rejected. (Check out our helpful advice for putting in a great application before you start trying.)

Upwork introduced Connects in 2019 and charges between two and six Connects to apply for jobs. 

Free members are given 10 free Connects per month and must then pay for extras. Upwork says that the Connect system ensures that freelancers don’t make frivolous bids for jobs (which we agree with) but many people complain that it’s just another money-making scheme for the company.  

Upwork has a premium offering called Freelancer Plus which costs $14.99 USD a month.

Fiverr

Fiverr makes most of its money by charging transaction-based fees.

When buyers place an order they pay Fiverr the gig price plus $2 or 5%, whichever is more. Then, when the work is done and signed off, Fiverr hands over 80% to the freelancer, keeping 20% for itself.  

That means if a freelancer charges $10 for their gig, the buyer pays $12 but Fiverr pays out $8. 

It’s free for sellers (freelancers) to sign up and start posting gigs. 

In theory, you can charge anything up to $995 for a single gig. In practice, you need to look at what your competitors are charging for the same services. If you want to charge top prices, your gig description and profile should clearly demonstrate why you’re worth that much.

Freelancer.com

There are several types of projects available on Freelancer.com, including fixed price, hourly-fixed, hourly and contests. 

Freelancer.com takes 10% of the winning bid – or $5 US whichever is greater – as soon as you accept a client’s project. In other words, they take 10% before you’ve even earned it. 

So, if your winning bid is $100, Freelancer will take $10 and you’ll receive $90 when the job is completed and signed off. However with milestone jobs Freelancer takes its 10% fee from each milestone payment when it’s released, not when you accept the project. 

With a free membership, you can make six free bids a month — then pay to bid for further jobs.  However, you can make more bids and get additional benefits if you upgrade to a paid membership. 

PeoplePerHour

People Per Hour has a reducing fee structure similar to Upwork, but they work in British pounds, whereas Upwork uses the US dollar.

Below a £250-lifetime billing per buyer, PPH charges 20%. Between £250 and £5000-lifetime billing per buyer, 7.5%, and if you earn more than £5000 with one buyer, the fee goes down to 3.5%. 

British tax laws mean that you must pay VAT on top of the other charges.

As with Upwork and Freelancer, PPH charges you to send a job proposal.

You get 15 free proposals per month and then pay £5.95 for five extra proposals on the free programme.

	Upwork	Fiverr	Freelancer	PeoplePerHour
Commission Charged Per Client/Job	5% – 20%	20%	10%	5% – 20%
Job application fees	Connects 10 free/month extras: 10 for $1.50 80 for $12	none	Bids 6 free/month upgrade membership to get more.	Proposals 15 free/month extras: 5 for £5.95

WINNER:

Freelancer.com comes out marginally in front when you compare the fee structures.

Freelancer	Upwork and PeoplePerHour	Fiverr
10x jobs  @ $100for the same client $1000 -10% fee  Total received = $900	10x jobs  @ $100for the same client  $500 – 20% = $400 $500 – 10% = $450 Total received = $850	10x jobs  @ $100for the same client  $1000 -20% fee  Total received = $800

Quality of Clients

How do you define a great client? It’s more than just how much they’re willing to pay, and your definition might be different from mine.  

Do your ideal clients communicate quickly and clearly? Are they friendly and willing to chat, or are they all business? Are they generous with their bonuses when you’ve done extra work? Hopefully, they release funds promptly — always a great thing. Is their work interesting, informative, challenging? Or do you want to get the work done quickly, with minimum fuss? 

Are you looking for clients who come from established companies? Although the freelance sites’ primary users are small businesses and startups, even the Fortune 500 companies want to outsource some projects and admin work to freelancers. 

Upwork says that 30% of Fortune 500 companies regularly use their platform, and Freelancer.com reckons that 70% of the Fortune 500 companies have been on Freelancer Enterprise to look for workers.

There are many types of clients on each of these platforms, and, as a freelancer, it’s really up to you to try and identify good clients and potential scams before you sign onto a job.

Similarly, some clients have horror stories of hiring expensive freelancers who didn’t deliver the goods. So, if you’re a quality freelancer who knows how to keep clients happy, you’ll stand out from the crowd too. 

Although it’s hard to tell until you work with new people, it helps to look at their history on the platform. 

Upwork

Fiverr

Sellers can click on a buyer’s name when they make contact about a gig. That should lead back to their profile, where you’ll see any reviews that other sellers have posted about them. 

When they book a gig, buyers immediately pay the money upfront. That should mean the money is safe and that the seller is paid once they’ve delivered. 

However, a big source of seller frustration is that buyers can cancel the contract after they’ve received the work. It seems that if a buyer says they’re not satisfied they’ll immediately receive a refund. 

Since it takes 14 days for Fiverr to pay a seller, there’s definitely the potential for buyers to steal work if they choose. Online reviews say that Fiverr sides with buyers rather than sellers in these disputes.

On the other hand, Fiverr makes it very easy for buyers to see comprehensive information from sellers including ratings and reviews, about the seller and more.

Freelancer

PeoplePerHour

PPH’s profile guidelines state: 

“At PeoplePerHour our Buyers and Freelancers are authentic. We urge our users to use their real profile picture, their real information and above all be true to themselves when they create a Project or an Offer.”

It goes on to say that users are in breach of the T&Cs if they post fake identities or false information. 

However, from comments on PPH’s freelancer community page, freelancers have found it difficult to see buyers’ profiles and reviews. 

WINNER:

Upwork has a high number of quality clients and makes it easy to see their reputation on its platform.

Reputation

People have a LOT to say about online job platforms. Understandably, there are both great and terrible reviews of all the sites depending on the experience that freelancers and clients have had on them. 

Upwork vs. Fiverr reviews:

Upwork Pros and Cons

Fiverr Pros and Cons

Many jobs available Wide range of skills  Payment protection Excellent quality of work Job search filters Working from home Easy to discuss work through message board Customer Service can take a long time to respond Freelance and client scammers on the site Clients offering too little money Poor quality work

Wide range of skilled freelancers Supports clients in finding freelancers Great functionality on the site Can receive/pay much more than the $5 the name suggests Freelancers set their prices and don’t have to negotiate them Great to work from home Limited categories Poor service from sellers Scammers taking money Poor customer service Sellers misrepresenting their actual standard Banned for no viable reason

Freelancer vs. PeoplePerHour Reviews:

Freelancer Pros and Cons

PPH Pros and Cons

Flexible Easy to find clients Build portfolio at my own pace User friendly, helpful app Instant chat with support team to resolve issues Excellent customer service Intrusive verification process Platform is overloaded Clients expect to underpay Expertise not valued by client Poor customer support service Scammers on the site

Easy, fast uncomplicated platform to use Doesn’t “bury” new freelancers like other platforms do Helpful to see average bid notifications when you submit Great for working part time while studying Great functionality on the site Commission and fees too high 14-day payment policy is a scam Low quality jobs Unprofessional and overcomplicated site Scammers on the site – giving false nationalities and fake reviews Substandard work

WINNERS:

Upwork and Freelancer — both have many happy customers and there are similar complaints about the presence of scammers, fees and poor customer service. However positive review numbers significantly outnumber the negative feedback for these platforms.

Ease of Use and Quality

How easy is it to use Upwork and Freelancer or Fiverr and People Per Hour? Let’s take a look:

Upwork

Upwork’s platform is enormous, and the sheer volume of information makes it overwhelming to newcomers at first. But once you’ve used it for a while, the hiring process is easier to understand.

The help section has articles on just about every issue you could face, so that’s the first place to start when you have a problem.

The sign-up navigation is straightforward: there’s a big green button in the top right-hand corner. It leads to two portals, Freelancer, where you’re asked to APPLY as a freelancer, and Client, where you get to JOIN. 

Once approved it’s easy to set up your profile by uploading a photo, education and other information. Upwork prompts you to add details such as adding skills and linking a social media account to achieve a 100% complete profile. 

After that initial set up you have to answer a preset security question before you can change anything about your profile. It’s good for deterring hackers but can be annoying if you forget your answer. 

Searching for jobs can be time-consuming, but you can set search filters on your dashboard and Upwork regularly sends relevant jobs to your job feed. Clients can also invite you to apply for jobs and after you’ve built up a reputation on the site you may find that most of your jobs come from that. Responding to an invitation doesn’t use up any of your Connects, which is a bonus.

Upwork keeps comprehensive records and reports on every job you’ve done, making it easy for you to provide paperwork when you need to and keep your accounts up-to-date.

All transactions are done in $US which can be confusing if that’s not your local currency.

Upwork’s mobile app keeps you updated and makes it easy to record the time worked if you’re on an hourly rate. However messages and alerts can take a while to sync between the apps and your dashboard, and they can be slow to load. 

If you don’t use Upwork for a while it automatically logs you off and stops sending you notifications of messages. That can be annoying if you’re trying to contact someone but they’re not aware of your messages.

Fiverr

Fiverr’s platform loads quickly and has a Join button in the top right corner. However, that button automatically joins you up as a buyer. Sellers need to click “Become a Seller” first.

You’ll need to set up your profile before you do anything else. Fiverr gives guidance on the do’s and don’ts before you start. Every section is mandatory and your profile description must contain 150-600 characters. You must link your social media accounts and you can’t create a gig without submitting your phone number for two-step security purposes. Fiverr moves seamlessly through the sign-up process, so it only takes a few minutes.

Follow the instructions to create your first gig, using the desktop app, not the mobile one. All Fiverr gigs start with the words “I will”. Those words are already on screen, then you add the rest of your gig description. You can click quickly through the options and add tags, so that you’re easier to find.  

Fiverr has four seller levels: Beginner, Level 1, Level 2 and Top Rated Seller. They’re based on how long you’ve been on the platform, how much you’ve earned, your approval rating etc.  

Each level unlocks more privileges, such as charging more, creating extra gigs, priority customer support etc. As a new seller, you can only:

• Create up to 7 active Gigs
• Add 2 Extra services per Gig ($5, $10, $20 for each Extra)
• Create custom offers (up to $20,000 each)
• Withdraw your earnings after 14 days

It would seem, then, that the odds are stacked against newcomers and you’ll have to work hard when you are selected to move up to the next seller level and unlock new privileges. 

Freelancer

Freelancer also makes it easy to sign up and log in. They also have two-step verification which adds to the security of your account each time you log in.  

Freelancers can search for jobs in their skillset using various keywords and filters such as pay range, verified clients only, fixed price or hourly contract etc. 

Clients seem to offer huge pay ranges on their jobs – e.g. $250 – $750 and $10 – $1000. That could make it difficult for freelancers to decide what bid they’d put forward. However, when you select a job you can select “job proposals” and see who has put forward proposals AND the amount they’re bidding. 

Freelancer also gives you the chance to sit competence and skills tests on the platform. They’re usually timed with a multichoice format and cost $5 or more. You can retake the tests if you fail, so long as you pay again.  

Whether you’re posting a job or bidding for one, Freelancer leads you through the process with prompts to put information into various boxes. Everything seems to load quickly and it doesn’t take long to finish.

PeoplePerHour

PPH is another easy-to-navigate site that makes it easy to post or respond to jobs. However, the perception among freelancers seems to be that PPH is heavily weighted in the client’s favour. 

It’s easy to sign up as a client – just enter a few details and you’re in, no questions asked. It’s different when you sign up as a freelancer. PPH advertises that it has trusted, expert freelancers, so it vets everyone before they can respond to jobs or post projects.

Everything loads quickly when you’re exploring the site, and if you want to post or respond to a job you’re guided through the process. 

Once you start earning as a freelancer, People Per Hour provides you with lots of information and graphs that show things like rankings, the number of views, monthly billing and so on. 

You get a dedicated message board called “Workstream,” and you’re encouraged to keep all communication with clients there. However, you can’t message a client on Workstream unless you’ve responded to their job posting. 

WINNERS:

All four platforms make it as easy as possible for clients and freelancers to find each other in multiple ways. At the same time, because they’re all enormous, complicated websites, the help sites are so vast that it can take some time to find the answer you’re looking for.

None of the platforms has a stellar record when it comes to resolving problems — complaints range from “too slow” to “bias in favour of the clients”.

With these things in mind, there’s no clear winner in this category.

Conclusion: Which Platform is Best for Freelancers?

On the whole, Upwork seems to deserve its reputation as the world’s largest and most popular freelance market. 

According to the figures, Freelancer.com has a lot more freelancers on its books (31 million compared to 12 million) but the amount of jobs available on Upwork exceeds all others by many thousands. 

In fact, you could add all the jobs on Freelancer, Fiverr and People Per Hour and still not come close to the volume of jobs on Upwork. 

Upwork is US-based and uses the USD which can be a bonus for US-based freelancers, or those who benefit from a favourable exchange rate when they bring money back into their own currency. It could put employers from some countries off for the same reason.

However, the currency could be a good reason for you to choose a platform that’s closer to home. Freelancer and PeoplePerHour both allow several currencies. PPH works in USD, the Euro and the British pound, while Freelancer has a drop-down button that lets you see prices in your own currency. 

Some freelancers prefer to concentrate on using one platform. Doing so keeps all your records in one place and gives you the chance to build a solid reputation and increase your prices over time. 

Other people like to play the field and use a range of job platforms. There’s certainly no harm in that but you may risk more than you gain if you try to spread yourself too thinly. 

So, we’d recommend that you stick to one or two. Because Fiverr is more gig-oriented whereas the other three platforms are bidding sites, it could be worthwhile combining Fiverr and Upwork or Fiverr and PeoplePerHour, for example, to give you more range.

Upwork vs. Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. PeoplePerHour: Which is Best for Clients?

There are many reasons why people hire freelancers. They include:

• Cost – you only pay for the job that needs doing
• Skill – you don’t have the skill to do the job yourself
• Time – you’re busy on other projects
• Numbers – you need more workers than are currently available
• Location – you save office costs if everyone works from home.

Let’s look at how these platforms compare from a client’s perspective.

Number of Freelancers

Freelancer numbers are skyrocketing in the wake of the pandemic with more people than ever deciding that they don’t want to return to a nine-to-five office job. 

That means there are more quality freelancers than ever available across all the platforms. Many have high-level qualifications and experience in their sectors, even if they haven’t been freelancing for long. 

A lot of them turn to Freelance platforms and job boards to find work.

Upwork	Fiverr	Freelancer	PeoplePerHour
12 million	7 million	31 million	4 million

WINNER

Freelancer.com has by far the most freelancers using their platform. 

Quality of Freelancers and Their Profiles on the Sites:

Whether you’re looking on Upwork or Fiverr, Freelancer or PeoplePerHour you can find excellent freelancers and people who don’t deliver the quality you expected. 

It can be hard to know what it’s like to work with someone until you actually experience it. However all four platforms encourage their freelancers to post profile photos and information about their experience and services, and these are a client’s first port of call. 

You’ll be able to read reviews from other clients and see a star rating on their overall performance, whether they’ve verified their identity and more. 

When you find someone who seems to fit the bill, you can gauge more about their personality and whether they’ll be a good fit when you interview them. 

Upwork

Upwork encourages freelancers to post up to three profiles: one “All work” and up to two specialist profiles. 

They’re all accessed through the same page, but specialist profiles appear in keyword searches.

Upwork allows freelancers to post short videos on their profiles. That’s not a commonly-used function yet, but if it’s there, seeing someone speaking can give helpful clues as to their personality and whether you’d gel with them or not.

You can find freelancers who have the skill set you’re looking for with a keyword search and then invite them to interview for the job. If you want to entice a busy freelancer to respond, make your invitation personal to them rather than a generic “I’d like to invite you to interview for this job.” 

You can interview them in writing via the Message Board or use Upwork’s secure video links to interview in person. 

Fiverr

Fiverr encourages its sellers to create even more comprehensive profiles. 

Buyers can select a tab to read a detailed description of the package, about the seller, reviews from previous buyers and more.

You can ask further questions through the Fiverr network by contacting the seller through the appropriate button. 

You can find top freelancers on Fiverr Pro. These professionals are highly-vetted by Fiverr before they join the programme but at the moment this service is only available in selected categories.    

Freelancer

Freelancer Sellers give a lot more information than clients. Their profiles include a photo, country, work history and more.

PeoplePerHour’s profiles are different again. They don’t insist on a facial photo – so you’ll often see logos there instead. Below the skills is a section called “Insights” giving more information about their buyer history, how many projects they’ve worked on etc. 

WINNER: 

Fiverr lets you see the most information about the freelancer before you talk to them – and it has a question section for extra discussion. 

Upwork comes a close second — their profile layout is less colourful but the secure video interview feature could be a game-changer.

Fees for Clients

Upwork

It’s free for clients to set up a basic account on Upwork, too. However, Upwork charges a 3% processing and administration fee on each payment. 

Clients can also join a Plus programme, which sets them back $49.99/mo. Upwork also offers a service called Enterprise where they assist clients to find and hire expert freelancers. That charge increases to 10% of each payment. 

When clients accept a fixed price proposal they pay the full amount into Upwork’s Escrow Account before the project starts. Once the job or milestone is completed they have seven days to accept the work. 

Fiverr

You’ll find that many sellers offer very affordable prices on Fiverr, although there are definitely some with higher rates too. 

However, as mentioned above, clients pay $2 or 5% of the gig price (whichever is greater.) Fiverr also charges an extra $2 or 5% if you decide to be generous and send your seller a tip for excellent service. 

Buyers must pay Fiverr the full amount in advance, but Fiverr won’t pay the seller until you’ve approved the completed work. For gigs worth $40 or less, you’ll pay the gig price + an extra $2. Anything over $40 incurs the 5% fee.

Freelancer

Freelancer.com collects 3% of the winning bid from the client as soon as they award the project. However, if the award is revoked or rejected for some reason, the fee is automatically refunded.

Freelancer.com charges clients 3% for every milestone on hourly projects, too. 

PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour charges buyers a service fee of £0.6 + 10%. However, if you join the Gold premium programme you don’t pay any service fees. If you join at the Silver level PPH will only charge 2.5% for bank transfers. 

PPH buyers pay a deposit into Escrow as soon as they accept a proposal. Then the freelancer sends an invoice once the work is completed. You have a few days to check the work and raise any issues before you pay the final amount. 

	Upwork	Fiverr	Freelancer	People per Hour
$100 project	$3	$5	$3	$10.80

WINNERS

Upwork and Freelancer charge the lowest service fees to clients who post a job.

Ease of Use

Upwork

It can be very confusing to navigate Upwork’s vast platform and many clients struggle with the complexities at first. 

There are eight sections to consider when you want to post a job but Upwork walks you through them step by step. 

As you can see, Upwork gives examples of good titles, descriptions etc as you work through the steps.  You’ll also get the chance to add specific questions for applicants to answer in their proposals.

You can upgrade to a Featured Job — which is more likely to attract the attention of quality freelancers — if you belong to Upwork Plus. Or you can upgrade the job for a one-off fee of $29.99.

Upwork has a comprehensive help section filled with articles on how to make the most of the platform —  like this article on writing an awesome job post.

Fiverr

Although you can post a job (called a request) on Fiverr, it’s more usual for clients to search for gigs in the various Fiverr categories. 

Start by selecting your category, then a sub-category. Select from other options as they come up to narrow down your search. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your choice it’s a matter of reading through each gig to see what the seller is offering. You can contact the seller for a quote on your specific job or to ask questions before you book the gig.

Freelancer

It seems to be relatively straightforward to post a job (project) on Freelancer.com.

Click Post a Project on the main menu bar. Add a descriptive title, then describe the project and include detailed requirements.

Upload files if you need to, and add up to five skills. These act as keywords to help the platform send your project to the right freelancers. Select the price range, set a time limit and any optional upgrades, then click Post. 

You’ll be able to see the job in your Dashboard and respond to bids when they’re all in. 

PeoplePerHour

Just like most other freelance marketplaces, PPH tries to make it easy for clients to post their jobs and freelancers to find them. 

Sign up as a buyer, then navigate to the Post a Project page. Select your category and sub category then work through the options: 

• Title
• Description
• Files and attachments if required
• Fixed price or hourly 
• Currency (USD, GBP or EUR)
• Budget
• Freelancer level and location
• Project visibility
• Interview questions
• Estimated duration

It could take a while to work through all the requirements, but when you’re ready, agree to the T&Cs then click the POST PROJECT button. 

PPH also includes useful articles on projects and FAQs in their help section. 

WINNER:

If you’re looking for a ready-made solution then Fiverr could be your best option. 

PeoplePerHour, Upwork and Freelancer all walk you through the process of posting a project once you’ve signed up as a buyer/client on their website. 

One difficulty clients face is wording their job so as to attract the best freelancers. You could also spend quite some time interviewing the most suitable candidates once all the proposals or bids are in. 

Conclusion: Which Freelancing Site is Best for Clients?

When it comes to hiring the best freelancer there are positives and negatives in all four of these freelancing sites. And, as we’ve seen there are many things to consider.

• Freelancer and Upwork are by far the largest in freelancer and job availability numbers. 
• Upwork and PeoplePerHour vet freelancers when they apply to join the sites, in a bid to ensure higher quality work and weed out scammers. 
• PeoplePerHour, Fiverr and Freelancer work in several currencies whereas Upwork only deals in USD. 
• You may prefer to search on a site that’s based in your country. However, each platform is global so you’ll find freelancers from all over the world. 
• Upwork and Freelancer charge less in service fees.
• Each site has a range of rates including expert freelancers who charge high rates and others who will work for much less. (That could be because they’re beginners, or because the cost of living is less in their country of residence.)
• With careful research, you can find good freelancers on each of these platforms.
• Fiverr deals primarily in “gigs” whereas PPH, Upwork and Freelancer all encourage you to post a job and go through an interview process. However, recently they’ve all developed their own forms of packaged offerings from freelancers. 

In the end, it comes down to your personal preference as to which platform suits your style. 

Alternative Sites

While Upwork and Fiverr, PeoplePerHour and Freelancer.com are by far the largest job sites, they’re by no means the only options for freelancers and clients. 

Many of the alternative sites cater for specific industries or qualities rather than serving up a gigantic smorgasbord of job possibilities. Here are some of the best alternatives around: 

Toptal 

Toptal is known for thoroughly vetting freelancers when they apply. Freelancers go through four assessments:

• Language & Personality 
• An in-depth skill review
• Live screening video interview
• Completing a test project

After all this, freelancers on Toptal are also monitored for continued excellence and are shut out of the platform if their performance drops. 

FlexJobs

Freelancers pay to join FlexJobs. Many top companies advertise onsite, remote and freelancing jobs on FlexJobs. This is a curation site, which means it advertises the jobs but the application process, payment etc is handled separately by the companies, not on the FlexJobs platform. 

99designs

This crowdsourcing job site focuses exclusively on graphic designers and web developers. It’s no use looking for a writer or a financial expert here, but if you need a logo design it could be a great place to look. 

Many clients present the jobs as design contests where they post details of the work and freelancers pitch their designs according to the specifications.

Gun.io

Specialises in offering technical help — software development, product management, design etc. The site prefers to work with experienced freelancers – clients aren’t likely to accept beginners in these fields. 

Problogger Jobs

Problogger Jobs ocuses on jobs for content writers, copywriters and bloggers. Some reviewers call Problogger Jobs one of the best writing job boards around. 

Kolabtree

Founded in 2015, Kolabtree is a site for experts and academics. It features jobs and freelancers in a broad range of technical experts in science, engineering, health, economics and more. 

While You’re Here

HomeWorkingClub offers a wealth of honest advice on freelancing, home working and more. 

Are you thinking about being a freelancer and wonder if you could hack that lifestyle? 

We’ve got articles on the downsides of freelancing as well as the reasons why we love it and a useful article with 31 great tips on How to be Productive at Home. 

Maybe you’re wondering about the many job sites we haven’t mentioned here. Check out The 52 Best Freelance Websites (for Beginners and Experts!) or our mammoth 52 Ways To Get Freelance Clients. 

And if you’re investigating the idea of freelancing and you’re not sure where to start, try our very own Freelance Kickstarter course which takes you step by step through the process of getting your freelance career up and running.