14 Best Upwork Competitors: Platforms with Lower Fees & Better Work-Life Balance
Over the past few years, Upwork has rapidly scaled the market to become what it is today: one of the largest freelance platforms on the planet. Due to its remarkable success, multiple new Upwork competitors are emerging, in addition to established and well-known platforms for freelance work. In this article, you will learn:
✅ Upwork’s strengths, weaknesses, and issues;
✅ What do websites like Upwork offer to compete against it (for example, Upwork time tracking);
✅ Which Upwork competitors to turn to with your specific needs.
Top 5 Upwork Competitors in 2023
The main strength of Upwork is the impressive number of companies, entrepreneurs, and freelancers who support it worldwide. To a large extent, this is due to the three key factors:
💸 payment protection (= secure cooperation for both parties);
👨💻 a user-friendly interface;
👥 an efficient support team.
The platform’s growing popularity resulted in a self-amplifying effect: the more companies bring their projects onto the platform, the greater the number of freelancers who come looking for work, the easier it becomes for companies to find vetted freelancers to entrust their projects. And the more companies will take their business to Upwork.
So, what do websites like Upwork offer to compete against this? Below you will learn what are the five most popular Upwork competitors, and how they compare to the giant of the industry!
1. Clouddevs
CloudDevs is an emerging Upwork competitor gaining momentum in the world of remote talent platforms, offering specialized tech talent services for businesses and individuals seeking top-notch freelance developers and designers.
If you’re looking for an Upwork alternative to hire pre-vetted tech professionals, CloudDevs is here to deliver. With a pre-screened talent pool of over 8000 senior devs and designers, CloudDevs can guarantee a talent match to their client’s requirements within 24 hours. Primarily focused on its US-based clientele, CloudDevs sources the majority of its talent from Latin America, providing time zone alignment for both the talents and the clients.
One of the standout features of CloudDevs is its commitment to transparent and competitive pricing. They understand the importance of budget-conscious decisions for businesses and individuals alike. Unlike some other Upwork competitors, you won’t encounter hidden costs or unexpected fees. Overall, CloudDevs offers a competitive and dynamic alternative to well-established platforms like Upwork.
Pros and cons for businesses
- Offers pre-vetted developers, designers, and, other tech professionals that save time for businesses within their hiring processes.
- All CloudDevs talents are seniors with 7+ years of experience within their fields offering high-quality project output.
- Time-zone alignment enables clients and talents to coordinate and collaborate with ease.
- Affordable and transparent rates of $40 to $70 per hour for all pre-vetted talents.
- A week-long free trial for all their talent hires so the client can ensure it is the perfect match prior to signing a long-term commitment.
- Offers direct communication with the talents through their own private Slack workspace facilitating direct and effective communication with hired freelancers.
- Does not offer a range of services across different industries as the platform solely focuses on tech workers.
- The majority of the talents are from Latams, making it ideal only for businesses in the US.
Pros and cons for freelancers
- CloudDevs welcomes freelancers from all backgrounds and niches, making it easy for anyone to utilize their skills on the platform.
- CloudDevs is praised by both employers and freelancers for its responsive and effective customer service.
- Time zone compatibility is beneficial for its Latam-based talents.
- CloudDevs charges very low commissions in comparison to other Upwork competitors in the market.
- Wide range of projects and clients on the platform to choose from.
- Flexibility to work full-time, or part-time based on the talents’ availability.
- CloudDevs prioritizes Latam-based talents due to the time zone proximity to their clients.
- Only offers tech talents and does not offer work opportunities for different skill sets.
🎓 PRO TIP. For hourly-based projects, you might need the best time tracking app to record the hours you’ve rendered and the proof that you are working on the project. While Upwork has a native desktop app, which you can use to log your time, these features are missing in other services. If that’s important for you – try using Everhour.
Everhour is the top choice for small businesses and small to mid-size teams of 5 to 50 members, including professionals like software developers, marketers, designers, consultants, lawyers, you name it!
Seamlessly integrating with popular project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Jira, its user-friendly interface and customizable reports make it the ultimate time tracking solution for small and mid-size teams.
With dedicated support ensuring you receive timely assistance, our team is here to help you promptly and with a smile!
2. SolidGigs
If you feel like you spend way too much time searching through sites like Upwork and other Upwork competitors, then you should sign up for SolidGigs. SolidGigs isn’t a marketplace like Upwork—which means they don’t take a percentage of your client revenue. Instead, it’s a lead generation tool to plug directly into your current freelance business.
With SolidGigs, you’re assigned your very own gig-hunter who combs through thousands of job listings and sends you only the very best matches every weekday. That way, you save time, see the top 1% of freelance job listings, and spend more time doing work you enjoy.
Pros and cons for businesses
- SolidGigs doesn’t take a percentage of your client fees like Upwork or other competitors. It’s just one low monthly price.
- SolidGigs isn’t run by robots or AI. You’re connected with a real human being who works for you to find great leads every weekday.
- You save hours of combing through job boards yourself every week so you can do more of the work you actually enjoy.
- You still have to pitch your services once SolidGigs delivers the leads to your inbox.
- SolidGigs is better at finding gigs for writers, designers, marketers, and developers. They serve other freelancers, just often not as well.
3. Freelancer
With 1800 categories and around 32 million users, Freelancer is considered to be one of the world’s largest Marketplace-type platforms. During their more than 10 years on the market, they have become the go-to place for thousands of businesses and freelancers to collaborate over projects of all scales.
For freelancers, the clear key benefit of this platform is the immense offer of projects to choose from. In turn, businesses find all kinds of freelancers here, capable of doing almost anything, at an affordable price.
Pros and cons for businesses
- Freelancer offers various payment systems.
- Businesses with lower budgets can get more competitive prices on Freelancer as opposed to Upwork, where freelancers’ rates are typically higher.
- The platform includes tools such as private chat (via text, voice calls, and video calls) to communicate directly with the person you hire.
- The presence of low-skilled freelancers can make it difficult to choose the right person for the job with so many profiles to review.
- Hiring is slightly more expensive and additional upgrades (such as marking an offer as private, urgent, featured, etc.) are paid separately. In that particular aspect, Freelancer isn’t the best among Upwork competitors.
Pros and cons for freelancers
- The doors of Freelancer.com are always open to everyone. There’s practically no impediment to putting your skills to use in any niche.
- Freelancers are absolved from paying their fees when they bring an employer to the platform. In that case, the earnings from work done with that person will be 100% (similar to Upwork).
- Customer service is good, according to both employers and freelancers.
- You can withdraw your earnings in multiple ways including via PayPal, ACH, and more.
- Freelancer doesn’t encourage the hiree to work with the same client. Fees remain fixed regardless of the amount of money you’ve earned with that client.
- Freelancers must pay a subscription if they want to apply for more than eight jobs in a month. That’s a high barrier for beginners.
4. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a British platform that mainly focuses on the European market. What’s truly interesting about PeoplePerHour is how they combined what Upwork and Fiverr offer within a single platform. Employers can post a job to which freelancers apply; freelancers can offer their services as gigs, which on PeoplePerHour are called hourlies.
Pros and cons for businesses
- PeoplePerHour supports businesses by guiding them from the first moment. The goal is that the hirer chooses wisely from the outstanding talent pool of freelancers.
- The hiring process is easy for both parties. Businesses have profiles, feedback, and all the information at hand about the candidates at their fingertips.
- Posting a job is free on PeoplePerHour.
- If a problem or dispute arises, customer service isn’t available 24/7.
- Clients often feel overwhelmed by receiving so many applications on their projects.
Pros and cons for freelancers
- A high volume of jobs offered daily, giving opportunities to freelancers to choose and apply.
- You can rest assured that once the client makes the deposit, you will get your money when you finish the project.
- It’s easy to operate the site as a freelancer, and there are applications available for Android and iOS.
- You can withdraw your payment through multiple payment systems, such as Skrill, Payoneer, PayPal, bank deposits, etc.
- Fees are up to 20% of the earnings, but there could still be additional charges in case of disputes.
- In the event of disputes, customer service will almost always be on the employer’s side.
- As great as the volume of jobs offered is the demand. The competition is tough to win a project.
5. Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent was founded recently in 2013 to become one of the strongest platforms among Upwork competition. Its goal is to help all types of companies or individual employers choose trained and skillful freelancers from a large pool. Generally, small projects are offered on this site that can be paid for at a fixed price or hourly.
Numbers don’t compare to those of the largest freelance platforms. According to the same website, as of this article’s writing, Hubstaff Talent has 108K profiles registered in 100+ countries. The number of published jobs, on the other hand, is only in the lower four figures. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities to make money on this platform, but indeed, these are not the same conditions as those offered by larger Upwork competitors.
Pros and cons for businesses
- Hubstaff Talent makes all the tools for optimal customer service available, including a live chat.
- It’s easy to monitor and view the freelancers’ activity reports.
- The Hubstaff Talent application can be integrated with other apps.
- The presence of highly qualified freelancers to whom you would entrust your most complex projects is still scarce.
- Due to the bugs and failures in the time tracking system, sometimes there are issues with hired freelancers that may result in disputes.
Pros and cons for freelancers
- As a freelancer, you’re able to send personalized messages to potential clients. This improves the chances of getting the gig.
- Hubstaff Talent has good filters to search for projects that most appeal to you.
- No matter where you’re from, if you want to showcase your skills and earn extra money, you can join Hubstaff Talent.
- With the number of jobs that are available, it’s a small market for now.
- Freelancers quite often find interesting projects, but sometimes clients don’t specify the budget. In this scenario, the freelancer will have to take the risk and invest time in applying for a job, only to later learn the suggested budget is not acceptable for them.
- The time tracker has room for improvement, including options to enter time manually and to continue tracking time during a video call.
Other Niche Upwork Alternatives For Design, Content & More
Best for design
- 99Designs: Perfect for small and medium businesses looking for skilled graphic designers.
- DesignCrowd: The best place for businesses to hire graphic and website designers from a large pool of candidates.
Best for content writing
- TextBroker: Provides ongoing content writing services in line with your specific needs and budget.
Best for developers
- Gun.io: Designed for companies that need short-term and straightforward projects done by skilled developers.
- Toptal: Only for businesses willing to pay the top developers worldwide.
- Flexiple: Perfect to choose from a large pool of talented developers with lower rates.
Best for musicians & producers
- SoundBetter: Here you can find music producers, vetted musicians, and vocalists.
- Melody Nest: Hire vocalists and music producers, and even graphic designers for album cover designs.
- AirGigs: Ideal for businesses looking for songwriters and professional studio talent in general.
Upwork Competitors: the Bottom Line
Essentially, all these platforms pursue the same goal. However, depending on your specific needs, some sites will be better than Upwork and others not so much. Ideally, allow yourself to try various alternatives. Sometimes it’s just a matter of testing until you find the best fit for your unique situation!
While there are many other Upwork competitors, we have pulled together the best of the best in every industry. We hope that you found this roundup of companies like Upwork helpful!
Ready to learn more? Check some of our most helpful articles on remote work below:
Your Guide to Remote Team Communication
Working from home is becoming the new norm. But it’s not without its challenges. Learn the techniques and methods for remote team communication that’ll keep everyone on track, in touch, and ready to meet their goals.
Top 11 People Management Skills (that Make a Good Manager)
In the world of business, managers have to up their game every day to stay competitive. Those who stand out have these people management skills in common…
Mike Kulakov
IT entrepreneur, executive and a former engineer. Responsible for company growth as well as the team’s motivation. Big fan of playing tennis, snowboarding, traveling, reading books, and (of course) I live and breathe our product.