Freelancing is the future. I believe remote based workers will become a common theme across all job markets around the world. Here are some of the best freelance websites to consider.

Best Freelance Websites: Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. Upwork

Freelancing has become very popular in the current job market. Most people are shifting from the usual 9 to 5 job structure and opting for this flexible and independent mode of working.

Both employers and employees now prefer to use the available freelancing websites to employ and search for job opportunities. I think the majority of the workforce will be freelancers by 2027.

Recent research indicates that in the United States, the freelance workforce has grown tremendously in the past few years. It is estimated that the growth rate is three times faster as compared to the overall U.S workforce according to the 2014 survey.

Freelancing is my favorite side hustle. I believe anyone can build a freelance book of business simply by showcasing their skills as a service.

Having a freelance business is a great way for millennials to increase their income.

With freelance websites, you can either hire people or get hired. Let’s get into some background surrounding freelancing.

What are freelance websites?

Fiverr, Freelancer and Upwork, are among the best freelance websites for beginners and professional freelancers as well as employers.

The employers are enjoying the vast pool of talents found in these best freelance platforms, while the employees get a chance to choose from various job opportunities.

What are freelance jobs?

Freelance jobs are usually a service or a gig offered by someone to either a person or company. As automation continues to take away manual labor jobs, we will continue to move to a service based economy for human capital.

Examples of freelance jobs include:

1. Graphic design
2. Web design
3. Accounting
4. Financial analysis
5. Consulting (strategic, management, managerial)
6. Virtual assistants
7. Data entry jobs
8. So much more. Anything that is conducted at the workplace can be turned into a service.

For me, I help create pitch decks for people that want to have an amazing presentation for investors or internal purposes.

If you want additional ideas, here are 23+ online jobs that you can start making money fast from now.

The platforms offer security for both the employer and the freelancer by ensuring that an hour paid for is an hour worked for. In this article, we are going to look at the best freelance websites by comparing Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. Upwork features.

You can use these freelance websites to either get hired or hire someone to help you. My conclusion on the best freelance websites will highlight it from both perspectives below.

Best Freelance Websites for Beginners

These freelance websites are phenomenal because they have huge networks of people, so you can start making money fast. However, each freelancer website is unique and when you choose one you need to focus on one for success. Most of your recurring income is highly dependent on your reviews. Choose one wisely and ensure you keep your clients happy.

The best freelance websites for beginners and experienced freelancers are the following:

1. Fiverr
2. Freelancer (get $20 free if you use my link when signing up)
3. Upwork

These freelancing websites offer different methods of connecting job seekers and potential employers. When comparing Fiverr vs. Freelancer platforms for example, while Fiverr lets the freelancer create a “gig” of the services they offer Freelancer acts as a directory for the freelancers.

Also, if we look at Fiverr vs. Upwork, we will notice some major differences.

For example, in Fiverr, the amount per gig starts at as low as $5 and can go high to thousands of dollars on extra gigs, but in Upwork, the freelancers and the clients can agree on the payment amounts based on freelancers skills and the client’s ability to pay.

Fiverr vs. Freelancer vs. Upwork

It can be very tricky trying to match the job requirements as an employer and the qualifications of the freelancers. For this reason, three of the best freelance platforms have found a way to solve this.

Let’s look at the best freelance websites today:

1. Fiverr

Fiverr is one of the best freelance websites. It was established in 2010 and become a major competitor in the freelance job market. Its primary focus was on how to provide quality projects at affordable prices of as little as $5 per project.

Fiverr freelancers offer services starting from $5 per project and can even go up to several thousands of dollars. Each job is referred to as a ‘gig’ and payments are based on the number of gigs.

By 2012, the platform was hosting 1.3 million Gigs and over. Instead of allowing the clients to post jobs on their platform, they give the freelancers a chance to create a gig or gigs based on what they can do best. The platform lists the freelancers/sellers in different categories of specialization and according to their ratings. The buyers/employers can now choose from the list of freelancers.

Fiverr platform also provides the clients/buyers with the information they require to choose the freelancer to hire. It gives the employers access to the freelancer/sellers portfolio and also the feedback made by previous employers.

In the Fiverr platform, payments are made based on the number of gigs that a seller sells to the client.

Fiverr platform categorizes the freelancers according to their specialization and ratings from their previous employers. It makes it easy for the employers to search for sellers by looking at their portfolio and the gigs they offer.

Fiverr platform provides communication channels to their clients that are secure. It provides an in-app channel that allows the clients to get in touch with the freelancers through messages and even share documents.

Let’s evaluate the pros and cons of Fiverr as a freelance platform.

Pros of Fiverr

• Simple, easy gigs to order right upfront
• Great for micro-gigs and tasks
• A variety of gigs that can be scaled quickly
• Easy to instantly hire someone to help you
• Significant volume and user base

Cons of Fiverr

• Slow payment for freelancers
• Quality of gigs can be poor at times

2. Freelancer

Freelancer is a website like Upwork. In addition, Freelancer is another freelancing platform that was formed in 2009 and is aimed at enabling the payments to be made using various local currencies.

This freelancing website offers freelance service and crowdsourcing to millions of employers and freelancers in over 247 countries worldwide. The payments in freelancer platform are based on milestone completed.

Freelancer platform, allows employers or clients to post their projects on their platform for free. They can then invite the freelancers to either bid, or they can go through the freelancers’ portfolio and decide who to give the task.

The clients can choose from the best technical bid which means that they get the freelancers who best fits the job description and not necessarily the one with the lowest rate.

When it comes to Freelancer platform, the website matches the jobs posted on it by the clients with the available talents. They narrow down the search to make it easy for employers to choose the best freelancers. For Freelancer platform, the client can have live chats with the freelancers which enable them to assess the progress of their projects.

The freelancers can send bids to the clients on the projects they deem suitable for them. Freelancer.com allows the buyers to go through the registered talents by looking at their skills and proficiency or by looking at their profiles. The sellers can send applications to the clients for the jobs they are good at.

Let’s evaluate the pros and cons of using Freelancer vs. Upwork vs. Fiverr.

Pros of Freelancer

• Slick dashboard for hiring
• Easy to instantly hire someone to help you; get $20 by using my link!
• Significant volume and user base

Cons of Freelancer

• Dependent on your reviews
• Limited customer service help

3. Upwork

Upwork was formed in 2013 as a merge between Elance and Odesk.  Elance only allowed payments through USD which limited freelancers from other countries from getting jobs.

The Upwork freelance website is also among the best freelance platforms which is cloud-based and has the largest pool of job seekers and employers. Upwork has registered over 12 million freelancers, over 5 million clients and posts three million jobs annually.

The clients in Upwork are allowed to post their projects online on the website by giving their specifications and budget. Upwork then matches the job with different freelancers’ qualifications to make it easy for the clients to choose the freelancers to hire.

The freelancers also can view these projects which match their portfolio and apply or bid for the job.

Upwork sets its payments based on milestones accomplished by the freelancer. The projects can be long term or short term, and the client has to create a milestone with the agreed budget.

Upwork also rewards a top freelancer by giving him/her a top-rated badge. The Freelancer platform also sets their payments in the form of milestones completed. It ensures that the payments are released to the freelancer when the client is satisfied with work submitted.

Upwork enables employers to view the profiles of the freelancers to make sure that they get the best in what they need. Upwork also provides an in-app communication method where the client can interview the freelancer to get more information.

The search engine tools of Upwork filter the freelancers based on their qualifications and enable the clients to narrow down their search for potential sellers. The freelancers can also view the jobs that fit their set of skills.

It has an in-app communication channel that the clients can use to chart or video call the freelancers. The channel also permits the client and the freelancer to share documents and files through the platform.

Let’s evaluate the quick pros and cons of using Upwork

Pros of Upwork

• Opportunity to make money on high priced hourly freelance jobs
• Significant volume and user base

Cons of Upwork

• Dependent on your reviews
• Limited customer service help
• Clunky dashboard for creating jobs and getting hired

Conclusion on Best Freelance Websites for Beginners

Freelancing is becoming the next best way to outsource talents for employers and for freelancers to get jobs. These are some of the best freelance websites for beginners that should help you earn money right now or help you free up your time.

I like using freelancers to help me get work done either for my businesses or my personal life. As an entrepreneur, you have to think about a freelance business as a way to move up in the “hourly income” chain.

You can effectively outsource your services to other people while you make money at a higher rate. This can be a great passive income opportunity.

Conclusion for Hiring Freelancers: Use Freelancer and Fiverr together for hiring freelancers to help grow your business and free up your time.

Conclusion for Getting Hired as a Freelancer: User Freelancer and Upwork to start building your book of business. If you like small tasks that are drier in nature, consider signing up for Fiverr and throwing a few gigs out there. It might not hurt.

What skills do you have you can offer as a service? Don’t have one? Try learning a few new things like graphic design, social media, data entry and more. I know you can start making money right now.

I hope this article can help you gain insights into the best freelance websites and how they work.

See Also:

• Creating the Perfect Home Office for Freelancers
• Best Robo-Advisors Compared
• Best Cashback Apps to Earn Money for Free

What do you think are the best freelance websites? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

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