13 Best Upwork Alternatives [2022]: Better Than Upwork?

Upwork is one of the most popular freelance platforms in the world. Every year they process billions of dollars worth of freelance transactions. They have a robust and effective business model

They have also been crowned as the highest-rated freelance platform in the world today. Amassing a client satisfaction score of 4.9!

But despite the amazing achievements this platform has or the benefits it provides its freelancers certain aspects of the site might be unappealing. For example, the bid-based business model is a really time-consuming model that not many freelancers are happy to do.

Either way, it’s natural that people will be unsatisfied with certain platforms. But in case you’re looking for a reliable alternative for Upwork then you’re at the right place.

This post has a list of 13 Upwork alternatives that are actually reliable and trustable. If you are looking to replace Upwork then following this list will avoid getting you into scams.

13 Best Upwork Alternatives:

• Fiverr
• Toptal
• Freelancer
• Guru
• Remote Tech Jobs
• Freeeup
• Speedlancer
• Fivesquid
• Contena
• Cloudpeeps
• Angel list
• Authetic
• Hired

Fiverr

Fiverr is the 3rd largest freelance platform in the world. And quite possibly the best Upwork alternative of the bunch. Fiverr employs a different approach to connecting customers with freelancers.

Instead of letting customers post job offerings, Fiverr’s business model encourages freelancers to post-gig services which the customer can search out from the gig marketplace. This is done to make searching for a suitable freelance service easier for the client.

Fiverr is one of the biggest freelance marketplaces in the world. The majority of their sellers hail from south Asian countries like Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, etc.

I have personally been selling and buying services on Fiverr for the last few years, and I have had a tremendous experience so far. Their website layout is well thought out, they have answers to every question you might have and they also have one of the best support systems in the industry.

If you want to sell your services

Toptal

Considered by many to be the “best freelancing platform on the internet“. Toptal is known to have the best freelance talent pool among any other freelance platforms.

They make this possible by putting their freelancers through a rigorous 5 stage vetting process that makes sure only the most qualified of them are able to sell on the platform.

The platform prides itself as the home of the top 3% of freelancers, indicative of the fact that only 3% of freelancers who apply ever get selected to sell on the platform.

If you’re a buyer, Toptal is the perfect place to find quality freelancers to outsource your complex projects. Unlike Fiverr and Upwork through Toptal isn’t a platform where you can get a freelancer for as cheap as 5$.

Since the platform is premium and all the freelancers are extremely professional they also have premium prices. With a good chunk of them making in the excess of 100$ an hour.

Freelancer

Freelancer is quite similar to Upwork because it employs the job proposal business model, where customers submit job proposals and have freelancers submit bids for approval.

Freelancer covers many different markets of freelance work— everything from graphic and logo design to SEO and copywriting. The wide variety of specializations makes Freelancer one of the best freelancing sites to search for freelancers.

So if you’re looking for flex jobs, remote work, and other freelance gigs, Freelancer should be one of the go-to choices.

Guru

Guru is yet another popular freelance platform on the entry. Like Toptal they too have a vetting procedure that freelancers need to complete before being allowed to sell on the platform.

Though this vetting process isn’t as cutthroat as Toptal’s vetting process, it still makes sure that unqualified freelancers are not selected on the platform.

Guru has a built-in vetting process for freelancers, which helps freelancers prove their credibility to potential clients. Invoicing for your work is simple too, with multiple payment terms and secure payments integrated into the site. 

Guru prides itself on being one of the most transparent freelance platforms in the world.

Remote Tech Jobs

Remote Tech Jobs is a job board most suitable for tech-related job opportunities such as web developers, app developers, and programmers. It’s completely free to use.

It hosts some of the top jobs from popular job boards so you can easily find the right work that matches your skills.

If you have experience with programming languages such as Javascript, Python, PHP, etc, you can hope to make a decent income from this site.

FreeeUp

Freeeup is yet another freelance site that puts its freelancers through a vetting process before being allowed to sell on the platform.

This makes Freeeup free of unqualified and cheap freelancers. Which means that you can make a relatively higher income on Freeup as compared to easy to join freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.

Getting into the platform won’t be easy. But, if you have a qualified portfolio and decent work experience in your industry, give FreeeUp a try.

Speedlancer

Like the name suggests Speedlancer prides itself in being one of the fastest freelance platforms in the online space. Apparently, delivering the job within 4 hours is the main selling point of their site.

Even though they provide a huge emphasis on delivering work asap that doesn’t mean that the quality of the work will be hampered. Safe to say that you’ll find a lot of experienced freelancers there.

Fivesquid

Fivesquid is an extremely popular freelance platform based in the UK. It is similar to Fiverr because they offer a variety of jobs for as little as 5 pounds.

You can join the site even if you’re not from the UK, in fact, a dozen of freelancers from Hong King and India are already selling their services through the platform.

Keep in mind that the platform charges 20% of the initial order amount, so if you make 5$ you only get to take 4$ out of it.

Contena

Contena is a freelance job board made specifically for writers. Covering various copywriting jobs ranging from blog article writing to book writing, resume writing, and much more.

Want to hire a good copywriter for your business? Contena is the perfect place to find quality writers for all intents and purposes.

This site is also quite convenient from the freelancer’s perspective, after a simple registration process, you can easily apply for these writing jobs without having to get into any bidding wars.

CloudPeeps

CloudPeeps is a freelance site that covers a wide range of skills from marketing to social media managers, SEO professionals, developers, designers, and more.

It’s been service over 20,000 customers in multiple countries. Since it has a fairly small customer base and professionals, you will have a higher chance of landing jobs on this site. Give it a try

AngelList

Would you like to work at a startup like Uber or Yelp? If the answer is yes then Angelist is the site you’ll want to explore.

AngelList consists of a massive selection of jobs posted by popular and up-and-coming startups around the world, including remote work.

Through the Remote Jobs category, you’ll be able to find hundreds of job listings posted by startups looking to hire freelancers. And the best part is you’ll see what they’re offering to pay for the job upfront.

Hired

Zappos, AlJazeera, Forbes are only a few of the companies that are using Hired to find freelancers.

If you’re a skilled freelancer, this platform will prove to be quite profitable to you. Also, on this platform, you don’t apply for random jobs. Instead, the companies will come to you.

The platform charges a 15% fee from the employers and gets this, you’ll receive a $1,000 signing bonus from the website once you bill 500 hours to a client. How cool is that?

Conclusion:

This was the list of some of the best Upwork alternatives in the market. If you’re a buyer who is unsatisfied with Upwork you can try these out to see if they work better for you.

Also, if you’re a freelancer who’s unable to find orders working on popular freelance platforms. Check out these freelance sites that have low competition.

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