There are serious competitors to Fiverr’s business model. There’s UpWork, Writers.Work, Solidgigs, Freelancer, Truelancer, and more. So which alternative to Fiverr should you choose?
Fiverr is a free platform where freelancers can post all kinds of creative work. The upside is that it’s completely free to post your gig as a freelancer on Fiverr. The downside is that there are a lot of accounts on Fiverr. This article will help you get started!
Sellers have the potential to start earning money for services within a few hours! Some websites require approval, applications, or interviews. Others allow anyone to post jobs and gigs. So which should you choose?
For buyers/businesses, outsourcing can be far easier than trying to learn and implement these skills on your own. Instead, use the experts on these sites!
If you end up going with Fiverr, there’s a link for 20% your first order at the bottom of the page!
UpWork
UpWork is one of the longest standing freelance websites. It’s got a great reputation for quality of work. UpWork is different from Fiverr in that sellers post their jobs and freelancers can then pitch a price for that job.
For Freelancers: It’s much easier to get access to clients than on Fiverr’s system of posting a gig and hoping you gain traffic. When you’re new to the website, you can offer services for cheaper than others as a way to build positive reviews.
For Businesses: For some services, UpWork is a bit pricier than Fiverr, but you’re more likely to get someone with experience in whatever field you’re looking.
Writers.Work
Writers.Work is a great service where a paywall keeps less-than-committed writers out. It also requires post approval for jobs. This is great for everyone! For serious writers, only the best jobs get posted. For businesses, your job won’t get lost among the various spam posts.
For Freelancers: Writers.work is high on the list because it’s a relatively new service that does A LOT for writers. This link will take you to the site where they’re currently having a 50% off lifetime membership sale (now only $47) with money back guarantee. There’s less price undercutting than on some other sites because of the paywall and if you’re serious about your career, you can earn back the down payment pretty quickly.
For Businesses: You’ll submit a job and get approval for posting within 24 hours. The benefit of using Writers.Work is that your project will be vetted, meaning the dashboard won’t be cluttered with nonsense posts like on some other sites.
Freelancer
Freelancer is similar to UpWork in that sellers post bids and freelancers bid on those jobs. Freelancer has a nice app. They’ll allow you to create a profile and search relevant job offers. This platform his HUGE. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.
Click here to access Freelancer
For Freelancers: It’s free to join and you’ll receive 6 bids (and one renewed every month). This means you can’t bid on a ton of projects, limiting your capabilities unless you pay for more. It’s a great way to practice making bids and can help land long-term clients if you can get their attention. There are also some paid add-ons that place your bid at the top of the pile, but some freelancers see this as a way for Freelancer to make money without providing an actual quality service.
For Businesses: It is a bit more of a curated list of freelancers than Fiverr. It’s great if you want to post a project and choose someone who meets your expertise requirements as well as pricing requirements. It might be just a small step below UpWork in terms of quality experts but a lot of freelancers use both platforms.
Truelancer
Like Fiverr, there’s a variety of areas where you can operate. From SEO, IT, design, content, etc. It’s a newer service than some of the others on this list and operates in a similar price range to Fiverr.
For Freelancers: It’s a lesser known website than Freelancer and UpWork, so there’s a higher chance of you getting a job. You may find you’ll have to price your services lower than on some of the other websites because of the freelancers who are already operating on Truelancer. However, if you’re new, it could be an opportunity to break in.
For Businesses: It’s a cheaper option than some of the other websites on this list. This is mainly because the most common freelancers you’ll find on the website are from overseas. If you have a project that relies on language nuance, you may want to consider Writers.Work, UpWork, or Freelancer. However, for services that are more tech heavy, and less reliant on language knowledge, you could do really well here for cheap services.
OutSourcely
With over four-hundred thousand freelancers, Outsourcely is a great option for finding freelancers at reasonable prices. Originally pitched for startups, Outsourcely has since rebranded to the larger business world and experienced freelancers are taking notice.
For Freelancers: Outsourcely is a great place to add your resume. Slightly different than Writers.Work, Truelancer, or UpWork, it allows you to post some hourly or monthly rates. It’s ideal for putting yourself out there and seeing if buyers are interested. It may not take the place of those other platforms but because it allows you to post your requirements, you may find buyers biting on your profile. It’s a slightly different angle on the freelance market that could greatly benefit you when looking to find buyers and cultivating a relationship.
For Businesses: The interface is really useful for buyers because it allows you to see what it would cost to hire someone per month if that’s what you’re looking for. It’s also easy to see where each freelancer is located. For some services, you may want an overseas freelancer in a different time zone so work is done while you’re sleeping and you wake up to completed tasks!
Guru
Guru is a cool service and much more secure than Fiverr. It allows freelancers to build a portfolio and can take over larger jobs from start to finish.
For Freelancers: There’s a lot of businesses looking for work on Guru. It’s a secure service and there aren’t nearly as many scam buyers than on Fiverr and even Freelancer. However, the free version only gets you 10 bids per month and a 9% job fee. The monthly pay structure means you may be paying $11.95-$49.95 per month for a lower job fee and more bids.
For Businesses: It’s free to post a job on Guru. There’s a handling fee of 2.9% on all transactions. But this is a relatively low price to pay for the expertise you’re getting from their freelancers.
PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is somewhere between Writers.Work and Fiverr. Similar to Fiverr, anyone can join but the quality of the freelancers seems better across the board. Might be a good starting place if you’re not ready for UpWork but want to avoid Fiverr.
For Freelancers: This platform interviews all freelancers prior to having them featured on the website. So be prepared to go through that process. It’s been around for more than ten years, which is a good sign.
For Businesses: It’s less well known, but still a solid option. There’s a large variety of services which is helpful if you’re looking for various tasks to get accomplished for your business.
ServiceScape
ServiceScape appears smaller than some of the other freelance websites. There’s a pretty extensive process for signing up, likely keeping some less motivated freelancers at bay.
For Freelancers: In some categories, their top producers only have a handful of client reviews. This could be a great opportunity to get on board and quickly become a top freelancer. Or it could be indicative of the amount of traffic they get.
For Businesses: Because this seems so much smaller than the others, you might have to pay a premium for freelancers. However, depending on your requirements, you can find good talent here.
HubStaff Talent
As a free market, this will likely cut down on some costs. It also allows for hourly rate in addition to a project rate. The added flexibility is a nice touch.
For Freelancers: Similar to Outsourcely, this platform allows you to post your skills, rate, and availability. Then, clients will engage with your profile to alert you that there’s interest in hiring you.
For Businesses: A bit of a Sadie Hawkins style situation here. Freelancers post their profiles and as a buyer, you can look through their rates, availability, and skills and choose someone who’s right for your project.
CloudPeeps
CloudPeeps doesn’t have extensive writing freelancer options. Make sure they have what you’re looking for before signing up. They’re on this list because they have some other freelance options that might be useful for a certain freelancer or buyer that might be more specific to a niche.
For Freelancers: Go in there knowing you’ll probably be pitching copywriting. If you have other skills like SEO, content, email, etc. it could be a useful option.
For Businesses: This is kind of a one-stop-shop for everything your business will need. From emails and social media to copywriting and SEO, CloudPeeps provides a variety of services.
Zeerk
Zeerk’s interface looks a lot like Fiverr’s. It’s also structured much like Fiverr in that there are a lot of categories to choose from and buyers can search for freelancers.
For Freelancers: Zeerk is great because of all the subcategories. However, the website charges is a 10% commission on all completed tasks.
For Businesses: Similar to the freelancer note, there are a ton of searchable subcategories to make narrowing down a freelancer very easy. And, great for businesses, you don’t have that same commission charge that freelancers do. However, that could mean higher than normal prices as freelancers attempt to get recoup 10% commission.
Flexjobs
Flexjobs actually has some cool functionality. It’s been around for a while and has accumulated some buzz from across the media spectrum. I can see why.
For Freelancers: It’s very professional and well respected. There are also courses and webinars you can take as a new writer that will be helpful in building your skillset.
For Businesses: Flexjobs does have a paid sign up for employers. This means you’ll have to shell out some cash to post your jobs. If you’re looking for a few inconsistent tasks completed, the investment might not be worth it.
SolidGigs
Similar to Flexjobs, SolidGigs provides some courses. It will also send out the top 1% of best jobs in a weekly gig email. They pitch themselves as trying to pair the right freelancer with the perfect seller.
For Freelancers: I’m not sure how I feel about the weekly gig emails that they send to all freelancers. Especially if you’re a new freelancer, these seem like gigs you’ll likely never land. It’s $19 per month but might be worth the investment if you can land a few consistent clients.
For Businesses: Because there’s a paid feature for freelancers, you’re going to get higher quality and more professional freelancers. These aren’t going to be the casual writers. They’re going to be knowledgeable and looking to make you happy.
Freeup
Freeup requires interviews and completion of a test for freelancers to be added to the website. Beyond that, they also have pretty specific niches they work in, so make sure whatever you’re looking for is covered.
For Freelancers: To be a freelancer there’s an application, interview, and test. Make sure you have some expertise to make it through the interview process.
For Businesses: Freelancers go through a pretty rigorous process to be approved. So you’re going to get someone who knows how to complete whatever task you’re looking for. Just double check that whatever you’re looking for is covered by Freeup.
Nexxt
Nexxt is a bit of a catch all. When I was last on there, a person was looking for a kitchen designer right below someone looking for a design logo. Based on the others on this list, I’d only go here for the random tasks. Even then, it felt too hectic for me to really dig in and make it work.
For Freelancers: If you have a wide range of expertise, this might be great for you. If you’re looking for a niche, it could get messy to try and wade through all of the various jobs on the site.
For Businesses: Again, it’s a battle for attention. You’re certainly in the driver’s seat with the ability to post jobs. But honestly, who knows who you’re going to get. There are some experienced freelancers here, but it’s tough to tell who’s landing most of the jobs.
ContentDada
ContentDaDa is last on this list for a reason. It might seem great because it focuses on writing. However, it’s pretty quiet over there.
For Freelancers: Businesses come here specifically for content writers. There’s very little distractions which means you could find yourself a nice little niche here. That being said, it’s pretty quiet on the site.
For businesses: If you only need a content writer and you’re new to this freelance game, you might try ContentDada. It’s very specific for content writers but if that’s what you need, the rest of the freelance world won’t distract you with other services.
Conclusion
If you end up going with Fiverr, use this link for 20% off your first order!
Freelancing is definitely a buyer’s market right now. Some of the top sites like Writers.Work, UpWork, Freelancer, and Truelancer carry a lot of traffic.
If you’re a business looking for services, there are thousands of qualified freelancers who will battle it out for your business.
If you’re a budding freelancer, the landscape may appear grim. However, continue to put yourself out there. You can greatly supplement or replace your income by landing a mix of long-term and short-term clients. The key is getting some work under your belt, but you can’t do that unless you put yourself out there!
Whether you’re a freelancer or a business in need of some help, it probably makes sense to shop around to make sure you’re getting the best price and best quality work completed.
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