Top 10 Upwork Alternatives for Freelancers and Companies

Lyudmila Kucher
Lyudmila Kucher

I specialize in outstaffing and staff augmentation, and I have extensive experti...

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Freelance platforms if you need Upwork alternative

Upwork is one of the trendiest marketplaces for freelancers and businesses. However, being popular doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s perfect. Many people find that Upwork can be challenging to hire employees through. Fortunately, there are quite a few fantastic Upwork alternatives to try and Bairesdev review confirms this. If you want to find a helpful new site for hiring freelancers or getting hired, check out our helpful overview.

Why You Should Look for Upwork Competitors

Though Upwork is popular, it’s not ideal. Its interface can feel a little bloated and confusing. Furthermore, many people report that the service is frustrating to work with and requests an unfairly large commission from its freelancers.

Another potential issue freelancers report is that Upwork has too much competition. Good jobs get snapped up immediately, and highly qualified freelancers find that they get underbid by freelancers with abnormally low prices. Businesses hiring freelance employees run into issues because the site doesn’t fully examine their workers. Thus, if you need to hire higher-level specialists, let’s say, software architects, it will be difficult to assess the skills of software architect vs engineer profiles and make the right choice for the project. There is no guarantee that the freelancers are properly insured, qualified, and authorized to work.

/ Quick Facts /

  • The total number of freelance and gig workers is on the rise. According to Upwork’s Freelance Forward report, in 2022, 39% of the American workforce did some sort of freelance work — up three percentage points from 2021. 
  • 52% of workers who plan on quitting their job admit that they’re considering a freelance career instead. — Zippia.com
  • The global freelance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% through 2026. — DDIY
  • Approximately 1.57 billion people in the global workforce are freelancers. In Asia, 82% of freelance workers are 35 y.o. or younger. In North America, less than half of freelancers are under 35. — Payoneer
  • The Freelance Platforms Market is expected to reach USD 6.56 billion in 2024 and grow at a CAGR of 16.66% to reach USD 14.17 billion by 2029. — Mordor Intelligence
Freelance platforms market size in USD billions
Freelance platforms market size in USD billions, image by Mordor Intelligence

Fiverr

upwork similar sites

Fiverr gets its name from the fact that people can offer goods and services for prices of $5 or more. This competitor is used for a variety of services. People on Fiverr offer everything from dog walking to web design.

Due to the fact that this competitor is known for offering services worth $5, Fiverr tends to have a reputation as a low-budget website. Though people can charge additional amounts, the majority of freelancers on Fiverr don’t charge much.

Fiverr gets high marks as an Upwork competitor due to its excellent interface. It’s very effortless and straightforward to use. Freelancers don’t have to navigate a disorganized system with product bids, and businesses can quickly see individuals’ experiences and ratings.

Pros

  • Extensive range of service categories
  • Ability to pay extra for prompt delivery on rush jobs
  • Doesn’t make freelancers apply for particular jobs
  • Reasonable pricing for businesses
  • Available in all nations

Cons

  • Lack of highly-qualified workers
  • Lengthy waiting periods for fund transfers
  • High commission fees

fiverr.com

Toptal

website like upwork

What is better than UpWork at providing expert freelancers? Toptal is the ideal Upwork competitor if you want access to a whole new level of high-end freelancing. As the typical Toptal review shows, this site prioritizes high-quality work. They aim to help businesses connect with the top 3% of talent. Toptal carefully assesses its freelancers and then facilitates a business relationship between the employee and the company.

Contractors at Toptal come from prestigious companies like Samsung, Goldman Sachs, Ubisoft, and more. They’re available to work on major products and help companies manage significant projects. Toptal also stands out as an Upwork alternative due to its exceptional customer service. Besides this platform has a clear nearshore development model for customers preferring to hire freelancers. Toptal guides customers and employees through the whole process and ensures everyone is satisfied with the outcome.

Pros

  • Personalized hiring recommendations for each job
  • Ability to hire people on a trial basis
  • Get started on projects in 48 hours or less
  • Excellent pay for freelancers
  • Can handle large-scale projects

Cons

  • Trickier for freelancers to apply to
  • Only focuses on fields like development, design, finance, and product management
  • More expensive than other Upwork competitors

toptal.com

Talmatic

competitors to upwork

Talmatic is one of the best competitors to Upwork because this alternative is not technically a freelancing site. This competitor functions much like other digital marketplaces. However, the workers are not independent contractors. Instead, they’re actual Talmatic employees. They get a salary and benefits package and have a reliable work schedule.

Talmatic workers are able to handle a variety of jobs. Most are Eastern European, so you can hire Polish programmers or other affordably priced programmers. Their employees are trained to seamlessly fit into other teams and augment a company’s existing work staff.

In addition to providing a better workplace, Talmatic also makes hiring a lot easier. They verify all of their employees’ skills, so businesses can be convinced they’re hiring someone qualified. Talmatic offers a variety of software developing, engineering, programming, and other staffing services.

Pros

  • Offers a risk-free trial period
  • Handles NDAs, time-logging, and other details for you
  • Dedicated consultants assist with the hiring process
  • Lack of freelancing system provides more stability for employees

Cons

  • Only specializes in a few specific fields
  • Doesn’t let businesses directly browse their entire roster

talmatic.com

SolidGigs

websites similar to upwork

This alternative has a somewhat unique system that is not similar to Upwork. Unlike Upwork and most competitors to Upwork, it’s not a marketplace. Instead, it’s a lead generation tool. Freelancers sign up for the service and create an account that links to their individual businesses. Then SolidGigs sends freelancers links to job listings that suit their profile.

SolidGigs doesn’t facilitate the hiring process or take a commission fee. Instead, freelancers pay an upfront cost and then get leads for possible jobs. This competitor claims to provide freelancers with access to the top 1% of all freelancing positions.

Pros

  • Doesn’t charge commissions
  • Provides plenty of high-quality matches each day
  • Allows a lot of flexibility on pricing and services offered
  • Extremely easy and uncomplicated website
  • More freedom for individual workers

Cons

  • Works best for writers, developers, and designers
  • Doesn’t provide many resources for businesses looking to hire
  • Still requires freelancers to spend time on unpaid job pitches.

solidgigs.com

Freelancer

other companies like upwork

Freelancer.com’s one of the only competitors to exceed Upwork in size. With over 32 million users, this site is better than Upwork at attracting a lot of available workers. Businesses can browse through a mixture of freelancers offering services like concept art, 3D modeling, or website creation.

This platform works much like Upwork. Businesses can scan the marketplace to find freelancers and let’s say, hire sharepoint programmer, or freelancers can place bids on projects that businesses post. Compared to Upwork, this alternative often has freelancers with lower prices, but it sometimes charges extra commission fees.

Hiring through this platform involves a few different steps. Companies can receive offers and negotiate terms. The site will require businesses to pay extra for things like private jobs or rush jobs.

Pros

  • Vast marketplace with millions of users
  • Outstanding customer service
  • Works with multiple types of payment systems
  • Convenient interface with private chats and more

Cons

  • Charges a minimum $5 commission fee even on very low-paying work
  • No discounts for repeat customers
  • Extra fees for freelancers who do more than eight jobs per month.

freelancer.com

Guru

websites similar to upwork

Guru is one of the Upwork competitors with a very similar hiring process. Businesses post jobs on the alternative marketplace. Freelancers can then browse the listings and apply for the job. However, what makes this one of the best alternatives to Upwork is its adaptable pricing. People can choose from fixed-price, hourly, task-based, and other pricing plans.

Guru offers freelancers in several departments, including writing, programming, art, education, and sales. They promise to make the hiring process easier for businesses by verifying freelancers and showing feedback scores for each worker.

Another great thing of this freelance site like Upwork is its Guru Enterprise system. This is a high-end hiring tier offered to large businesses. The ability to get professional help with hiring and contracts makes it a fantastic alternative.

Pros

  • Extremely flexible pricing and hiring systems
  • Plenty of expert freelancers to choose from
  • Convenient dashboard with multiple tools for handling projects
  • Very rapid closing times for deals
  • Low commission feese

Cons

  • Users report frequent scam postings
  • High fees when using a credit card
  • Can be hard to find good talent if you don’t pay extra for Enterprise.

SimplyHired

alternatives for upwork

SimplyHired is one of the alternatives to Upwork for freelancers who don’t want to spend all their time doing digital marketing. It is a job search engine where users can post both full-time and temporary jobs. Freelancers can then scan these jobs, apply, and interview for the position. Unlike most digital marketplaces, people have to work out all the details of hiring off-site instead of handling it through the Upwork alternative.

While Simply Hired isn’t a true competitor, it still fills a very worthwhile niche for people looking for a freelance platform like Upwork. Freelancers who want to do temporary work can explore job listings to find all sorts of opportunities. It can help you find more long-term jobs instead of short projects. SimplyHired is also a great Upwork alternative for agencies since it encourages communication between hiring teams and potential employees.

Pros

  • Completely free to post jobs or apply to jobs
  • Has extensive search filters that help narrow down listings
  • Convenient and understandable interface
  • Has users working in just about any industry possible

Cons

  • Not designed for individual projects
  • Doesn’t provide help with creating contracts or managing payments
  • Works better for entry-level positions instead of advanced.

simplyhired.com

FreeUp

upworks competitors

The FreeUp marketplace is one of the alternatives to Upwork that combines a more structured hiring place with the flexibility of a large digital marketplace. This competitor carefully recruits, interviews, and asseses freelancers before adding them to their site. You can hire a coder online along with designers, writers, marketers, and other experts.

Businesses can then browse all of these freelancers and choose someone for their project. This alternative to Upwork provides three different levels of expertise, so businesses can choose from entry-level, mid-level, and expert-level employees. Its prices tend to be on the lower side, and it doesn’t charge that many fees.

Pros

  • Carefully vetted freelancers for businesses to choose from
  • Help with the hiring process if companies need it
  • Beneficial interface
  • Wonderful customer service

Cons

  • Very low prices according to freelancers
  • Large number of fake or low-paying jobs on the marketplace.

freeup.net

CloudDevs

websites similar to upwork

CloudDevs is one of those freelance sites similar to Upwork. You can use it to find tech-savvy people who code, build websites, and write software. These are freelancers who set their own prices and fees for their work and time. This price can vary significantly but, generally, rates are between $45 and $70 per hour.

You should be able to find experts in various fields skilled in many technologies. CloudDevs stands out among freelance websites like Upwork primarily due to its focus on technical expertise and specialization. Unlike other platforms that offer a wide range of services (like Fiver), CloudDevs is specifically tailored for development and technical tasks.

Another important detail is the fact that this platform is known for its user-friendly interface. It means you won’t have any trouble figuring out how the website works. Thus, you’ll be able to use it quickly and effectively. Overall, these factors combine to make CloudDevs a reasonable option for businesses and individuals looking for technical assistance or development services among companies like Upwork.

Pros

  • Specialized in technical support, web and software development
  • Wide range of experienced specialists
  • You can suggest a preferable fee/rate
  • Easy-to-use website

Cons

  • Some freelancers have unreasonably high rates
  • A relatively small pool of developers
  • Not clear internal structures.

clouddevs.com

PeoplePerHour

best upwork alternatives

Another interesting Upwork equivalent is PeoplePerHour. They have a wide range of services starting from graphic design, marketing, content writing, and ending with programming. You can find employee skilled in various fields on PeoplePerHour.

Among the key features of PeoplePerHour is its flexibility in rates and project size. Freelancers can set their own rates and offer different packages in order to suit the needs of different clients. Even if you have a limited budget or additional requirements, you should be able to find the right fit for their project anyway. The average hourly pay ranges from $18 to $61 per hour.

Aside from that, PeoplePerHour also provides tools and features to streamline the hiring process, including job posting templates, a messaging system, and secure payment processing. Despite potential variability in service quality and competition among other services like Upwork, PeoplePerHour’s comprehensive range of services, flexible pricing options, and intuitive UI make it a standout alternative for businesses and entrepreneurs seeking talent across diverse Upwork analogs.

Pros

  • Wide scope of freelance services available
  • Flexible pricing and project scope
  • User-friendly tools and features for hiring and managing projects
  • Safe payment processing

Cons

  • Quality of services may vary
  • Competition between freelancers can make it challenging to stand out.

peopleperhour.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking to hire remote software developers but have a few questions unanswered? We are sharing our list of frequently asked questions by our clients when hiring software developers.

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The main competitors for Upwork’s business are Fiverr, Toptal, Guru, and Freelancer.

There certainly are. Many other sites are easier to work with and offer fairer prices.

If you prioritize quality work, interesting projects, and reasonable pay, Toptal is better.

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