Two
platforms dominate the scene in the freelancing world: Upwork and
Freelancer.com. Everyone has their
own advantages and disadvantages and their
knowledge can save you a ton of time, money and heartbreak. In order to make an
informed decision on the basis of your own circumstances, we will look at each
platform closer.
First,
this is the subject from the point of view of freelancer and the reasons for
choosing one platform over another. In the second section, from the customer's
perspective, we will approach the same subject (click here to go ahead). So, if
you are a freelancer looking for quality work or a customer looking for quality
freelancers, read about the platform you want to find!
For Freelancers Looking For Work
As
a self-employed person, it can be difficult to choose the right platform to
promote your skills. Although you can always use multiple platforms, building a
strong reputation on one platform is generally the ideal option, because
positive reviews and completed job opportunities help your profile to stand out
and rely on prospective customers.
Therefore,
make sure that you take the following into account when trying to decide
between Freelancer.com or Upwork.
Finding Work
Freelancer.com
makes it easy to scan job opportunities quickly, indicating previous customer
reviews and the existing offer range for each posting
Whether
you are using Upwork or Freelancer.com, you have a good chance of finding
plenty of work. The main difference is the quality of work between the two
platforms. In my experience, customers at Upwork often seem readier to pay a
fair salary, but higher expectations usually occur with that higher pay rate.
Upwork
has approximately 7 million registered customers at the time of writing, 12
million registered freelancers and over 100 000 jobs (a broad range of
languages and know-how). On the other hand, Freelancer.com states it has over
45,000 active jobs. This platform is also more competitive with over 30 million
registered freelancers.
While
both platforms are good for freelancers with almost all skills, finding and
securing jobs in Upwork is easier as their vetting process effectively reduces
the competition somewhat. Anyone can open a Freelancer.com account, but you
must be approved for creating an account on Upwork.
Regardless
of which platform is used, you will have to decide on a fair, but competitive
rate, which is determined by several factors including location, level of
experience, number of positive feedback and field of activity.
Paying Fees
Both
platforms charge you fairly high fees in return for connecting you to potential
clients and employment opportunities. Even if their fees start to be high and
lower over time when it comes to work.
The
charging structure of Upwork breaks down:
· Upwork
charges 20% on the first $500 you earn from a single client
· This
fee drops to 10% once you’ve earned more than $500 with the same client
· You
only pay 5% on anything earned above $10,000 with a single client
· Let’s
look at an example of how this works if you do a job for a client for $750.
· The
first $500 will have a 20% associated fee ($100). The remaining $250 will only
be charged a 10% fee ($25). This brings your total fees to $125 for the $750
project.
The
fee structure works slightly differently on Freelancer.com and varies according
to the type of project. Unlike Upwork, Freelancer.com does not encourage you to
work with the same customer, and pays the same fee irrespective of how much you
have earned over the period.
Here
are some important information about the Freelancer.com fees:
· For
fixed-price projects, you’ll pay a fee of either 10% or $5, whichever is
greater
· For
hourly projects, you’ll pay a flat 10% fee, making this a more popular choice for
smaller projects under $50, as the total fee will be lower
· If
you win a contest, you’ll be charged either $5 or a 10% fee, whichever is
greater
· For
services, you’ll be charged a 20% fee
· If
you don’t log into your account for six months or more, you’ll be charged a
maintenance fee of $10 per month—although this seemingly unnecessary fee will
be refunded upon your request, or upon the reactivation of your account
· If
you refer an employer to the platform, you can avoid paying any fees at all. If
you’re able to do so, your fees will lower from 10% to 0% for all future work
with that client
Working with Clients
Upwork
and Freelancer.com have their problems with their customers. Whereas most
customers are honest people who are simply looking for a quick and professional
implementation of their projects, there are many scammers on both platforms.
Other
problems are clients that attempt to underpay you for your services, but try to
pay much less than the agreed amount after hiring. This often entails promises
of higher-paid projects that do not appear to materialise.
These
problems seem to be far more prevalent on Freelancer.com based on my experience
as a freelancer on both platforms. However, this is only an inevitable part of
being a freelancer, no matter where your work is located.
44%
of respondents reported that a client had not paid for their services at least
once in their freelance careers in a new survey conducted by freelance giant
Fiverr. Almost half of those who were dismissed believe that it is just because
companies do not seriously take freelancers. And while both Upwork and
Freelancer.com have systems in place to prevent this, the platform is more
likely to stand up against freelancer if a customer raises a dispute.
Here
are some tips for making sure you work with an honest and reputable customer:
only work with those with a verified payment method as they show that they have
the ability to reward you on your services. Please be very careful about the
customer's feedback score and avoid those with a high number of negative
feedback.
Which Platform Is Better?
Upwork
is generally the favorite choice for most freelancers but not for all. Due to
the screening process of Upwork, new employees can only enter if their services
are genuinely required on the market. For example, if the platform has more
autonomous authors than writers, new author(s) are not accepted. Therefore,
many people simply opt for Freelancer.com. That being said, everybody has
considerations.
You
want a long-term contract with your customer when you choose a platform, go to
Upwork, because the structure of Upwork's fees makes you pay lower fees the
longer you have the same customer relationship, the more patience and
experience you have to sift through scammers to find the honest customers, as
Upwork overall seems to have fewer dishonest clients. You can also read our
Freelancer.com work account and see our expert review.
For Employers Looking For Freelancers
As
an employer, while keeping within your budget you want to find the best
possible project worker.
Two
options may be valid for Upwork and Freelancer.com, but one may be preferable
to another depending on the situation. Therefore, you should know the following
information before selecting a platform.
Posting a Job and the Associated Fees
It
is fairly simple and straightforward to place jobs at both Freelancer.com and
Upwork. Both platforms have similar charges and must only be paid once your
project is successfully completed. The number of charges charged (in
Freelancer.com, there are many more) and the optional add-ons provided to
clients is the difference among these platforms.
Some
situations in which employee fees are imposed by Upwork:
If
you make a hire, you’ll pay a 2.75% processing fee, which is added to the total
transaction amount that’s paid out to a freelancer
If
you are looking to fill a large job with top-tier talent, you may want to look
into Upwork Pro, which involves a $500 fee per search, as well as an additional
12.75% fee that’ll be added to the total project amount (more on this later)
You
might want to consider an Upwork Enterprise account if you work for a larger
organization and have a number of freelancing needs. The fees for this service
vary so if you would like to contact Upwork. Here's some things you should know
about Freelancer.com employers' fees. It is free to subscribe to and post a
project, although the fee will be charged when a freelance is hired.
For
fixed priced projects, you’ll pay 3% of the project cost or a $3 fee (whichever
is greater). This is only charged once the project is awarded to a freelancer
and the project terms have been accepted
For
hourly projects, you’ll pay a 3% fee of each payment that’s made to the
freelancer
For
contests, you’re not required to pay anything in addition to the prize money;
however, you’re required to pay the full amount up front, and you have 30 days
from the closing of the project to request a refund if you’re unsatisfied with
the entries
Freelancer.com
offers additional upgrades, including: With an associated fee;
Featured:
For a $9 fee you can “feature” your project to attract more high-quality bids
Urgent:
If you need your project started within 24 hours, you can opt to list your
project as “urgent” for an additional $9 fee
Private:
For $19 you can hide your project details from search engine results, as well
as from those that aren’t logged into their Freelancer.com accounts. This is
ideal for projects where confidentiality is key
Full-Time:
Those looking for a full-time or commission-based freelancer can pay a $199
fee. This fee is only charged to projects whose payments exceed $5,000
Recruiter:
This $9.50 fee goes toward a Freelancer.com agent who will help find the best
possible freelancer for your project, eliminating much of the work involved
with going through the bids you’ve received. This agent may also invite
additional qualified freelancers to bid on your project
NDA:
If an NDA is necessary, Freelancer.com will charge an additional $19, this
ensures that your freelancer will keep all discussions private and shared files
confidential
Intellectual
Property Agreement (IP Agreement): For $19, you can have your freelancer sign
an IP agreement, this will certify that all work done over the course of the project
belongs to you. This is ideal when it comes to articles that are ghostwritten,
custom designed logos, or any other project for which you’d like complete
ownership
Sealed:
Ordinarily, freelancers are able to see the bids that others have placed on your
project; if you’d like to hide these bids, you can do so for a $9 fee
Priority:
For $5 you can skip to the front of the project review process, allowing your
project to go live almost immediately
Extend:
To extend the amount of time that freelancers can bid on your project by an
additional seven days, you’ll need to pay a $9 fee
Quality of Freelancers
The
most difficult part of the recruitment process is identifying the ideal
candidate after you have developed a strong job positioning. It can be a
difficult process with the millions of freelancers that are available and the
countless offers and proposals you can receive on any given project.
Thankfully, both platforms offer tools to reduce the search.
Pay
for an account Upwork Pro: While this may not be the cheapest option, it is a
great option to look for the best of the best freelancers for your project. A
team of experts personally will sort out best possible candidates for your
project when you pay for Upwork Pro. You will only screen for the top freelance
companies based on the requirements for your project, save you time and combine
yourself with a freelanciers, which you can trust to Upwork's Talent Rising or
Top Classified Badges. Look for those with a "top ratio" or
"talent rises" badge and you can reasonably be confident that you
will receive quality help for your project Job success (JSS), namely the number
of rehire rehires and the length of client relationships for freelancers (see
image below) based on a number of factors, including feedback (or lack of feedback,
etc. Those with a high JSS are more likely to do better reviews from the
beginning: Both Upwork and Freelancer.com offer customers the ability to view
past customers' reviews regarding the quality of their job. Keep hiring the
people with good reviews and avoid those who have yet to earn anything (unless
you have a budget, in which case you are able to get some great deals by
engaging the ones who still have to be proven, although there is some risk)
Freelancer.com recruiter: You can hire a freelancer agent to make the most
possible of it for a small fee. This includes the search for a high JSS and
positive assessments.
Number of Available Freelancers
Both
Freelancer.com and Upwork have millions of registered users who do not lack
qualified help. The freelancers' pool is considerably smaller, although
probably more skilled, because of the vetting procedure by Upwork.
Freelancer.com
does not have a process of vetting and allows anyone to join. That is why it is
the largest user number platform available, but it can also take a little more
time to review the tens — or even hundreds of — offers a project receives.
There
are about 12 million freelancers at Upwork, while Freelancer.com has an
impressive 31.464.473 registered users at the time of writing.
Which Platform Is Better?
One
option can be perfectly viable as an employer. While the fees may vary and the
formats may vary, overall, these two platforms have thousands of highly
qualified candidates who are perfectly able to manage nearly every project they
can tackle.
Although
it may be advantageous to select one platform over another, depending on
several factors, depending on what you are looking for. Freelancer costs: While
skilled freelancers have great deals across both platforms, Freelancer.com on
average is slightly more expensive. Some factors that can influence your
decision are freelancer costs. The main reason for this is the large number of
people from developing countries who use it. This makes it possible to employ
employees for less than $5 per hour, although it is important to bear in mind
that what you pay for work quality is usually done: Due to the work-related
vetting process, freelance workers tend to be of better quality on the
platform. That being said, there are great workers on both platforms; you may
just have to spend additional effort on Freelancer.com Additional Upgrades,
both of whom are Freelancer.com and Upwork, for various fees. Improvements such
as Upwork Pro or Enterprise accounts or Freelancer.com's Urgent or Featured
Project options give you some choices to change your decision, depending on
what is most appealing to you and your company fees: the fees associated with
job posting are quite close, with Freelancer.com being a bit more expensive
Freelancer.com. Both of these fees have several optional features but overall,
the project fees are mainly on freelancers' shoulders, irrespective of the
platform,
So Who’s the King?
While
most freelancers generically prefer work due to higher quality jobs and better
paying customer, both platforms can be ideal for different situations and
different people. However, Freelancer.com can offer you great opportunities if
you just get started in the gig economy.
At
the end of the job, both options can depending on your needs be perfectly
viable. As a rule: if you want quality, choose Work If budget is your primary
concern, Freelancer.com is perhaps the better way to go, although quality work
and employees can be found on both these diverse platforms at the end of the
day.
