Updated: 13 Feb 2023

Upwork Alternative: 5 Competitors Platforms

What do you look for when choosing a freelancer platform? You’ll likely need a source of top talent, a flexible and reliable workforce, and a secure system to manage contractors and payments. You may have considered using Upwork, but there are plenty of other Upwork alternatives perfectly suited to your specific needs.

What is Upwork?

One of the best-known freelancer platforms in the world is Upwork, and many business users will agree that it offers many of the benefits above.

But Upwork has some serious competitors. These sites similar to Upwork may offer a higher quality of service, a more curated selection of freelancers, or other unique features. Upwork is a legitimate platform, but it may not be best suited for your needs.

In this blog post, we will evaluate five of the biggest Upwork competitors and their USPs, to help you identify the right freelancer hiring platform for your business needs.

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1. Traktion

Starting with yours truly, Traktion offers access to the top 5% of digital marketers – the freelancers have been pre-vetted for their expertise in digital marketing, as well as for their work ethic, values, and language skills. Our Upwork alternative allows you to hire, pay, and manage freelancers, and track the results of your digital marketing campaigns and strategy as a whole through the platform.

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Try Traktion now, and get access to the top 5% of digital marketers in the world. Our service is totally free for hiring businesses – no signup costs or long-term commitments. 

Key Features of Traktion:

• Vetted Freelancers: All Traktion’s freelancers have been screened so you can have full confidence in their skills and reliability. Extensive background checks are conducted, including verifying the marketer’s stated achievements against real data from their previous campaigns.
  
  
• Digital Marketing & Growth Expertise: Traktion offers freelance services across more than 25 specialised digital marketing areas: SEO, paid social, ABM, email marketing, and PPC ads – to name just a few. So, your growth campaigns will be in the best hands.
  
  
• Smart Brief: To find the right freelancer, simply fill in the Smart Brief form with the details of what you want your campaign to achieve. Our algorithms will take it from there.
  
  
• Get Matched: Traktion’s algorithms will match you to three digital marketers, based on true data from their past campaigns. We also take into account their personality, values, and communication skills, to make sure they will be a good cultural fit for your company.
  
  
• Secure Payments: Our platform uses the encrypted Stripe payment gateway, so you can be confident that payments to freelancers are processed securely. No hidden fees; Traktion is free to use for hirers.
  
  
• Smart Dashboard: The Traktion Smart Dashboard enables you to manage freelancers and monitor your digital marketing campaign in the same place. Maximise ROI from your campaign with insights from key analytics tools.

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Summary: Hiring Traktion’s World-class Marketing & Growth Freelancers

Traktion is focused specifically on marketing and growth services, and this allows us to screen for only the very best marketing freelancers. Our intelligent matching process means you’ll be offered a choice of world-class marketing talent for your job – and each expert has a proven track-record of real results. 

Is Traktion free for recruiters?

Traktion is free to use for hiring businesses. The fees are paid by our freelance members, who can only join the platform after going through our deep vetting process.

These marketing freelancers have worked with businesses like Apple, Uber, Amazon, Tinder, HP, Sumup, and Deliveroo.

You won’t find such a level of freelance marketing talent this easily anywhere else. To learn more about how Traktion works, check out what we do – and you can start hiring now for free by filling out a brief.‍

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2. Fiverr

Fiverr is perhaps the most well-known Upwork alternatives. The platform connects its hiring users with freelancers who offer a vast range of different digital services, including animation, audio, design, translation, and programming.

As the platform’s name suggests, Fiverr’s services start at just $5.‍

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Key Features of Fiverr:

• Browse or Request: Either browse freelance services or post a request and receive offers from contractors.
  
  
• Gigs: Freelancers offer their services in the form of gig packages at a fixed price. There are no hourly payments, so all project costs can be planned in advance.
  
  
• Simple options: Once you’ve found a freelancer who looks like a good fit, you can choose from three package options: Basic, Standard, or Premium. Basic will offer a quick, straightforward service whereas Premium may take longer but provide a higher-quality result.
  
  
• Get a Quote: If a package doesn’t quite suit your needs, you can request a customised quote from the freelancer.
  
  
• Fiverr Pro: The Fiverr Pro scheme certifies freelancers who’ve been vetted by the site, so picking one of these contractors should offer an extra level of quality. You’ll also get additional support from the Pro Customer Experience team.
  
  Note: As we mentioned earlier, all of Traktion’s marketing freelancers are hand-vetted and screened for their quality, expertise, and track-record.

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Summary: Who is Fiverr Suited to?

Fiverr is a really useful resource when you have a straightforward project with a time-pressured deadline. This Upwork alternative is less well-adapted to more complex, individualised projects or campaigns.

Fiverr does exactly what it says on the tin: offers a quick turnaround on simple jobs, cheaply. However, you may want to discover some alternatives to this very popular Upwork alternative too.

‍3. PeoplePerHour

Like Fiverr, PeoplePerHour enables you to access freelancers offering various different types of digital services, from photo-editing to branding, but with more flexible payment options. The platform no longer restricts you to hourly contracts; you can also select fixed price bundles.

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Key Features of PeoplePerHour:

• Search or Post: Search for an appropriate freelancer or post a project. PPH’s AI system will match your project with freelancers who have the right skills and send them a message – then you wait to receive their proposals.
  
  
• Payment Options: Choose from hourly or fixed price payments depending on your needs. PPH suggests that a fixed price bundle is a good way to test out an idea before selecting a freelancer to work with long-term.
  
  
• Premium Programme: Through PPH’s Premium Programme, you can attain their Bronze, Silver, or Gold classification, meaning that you pay reduced fees once you have spent a sufficient amount on freelancer services.

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Summary: Hiring People on PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour puts you in touch with a selection of freelancers who have a wide range of skills. It also offers more flexible payment options than the name suggests. 

Freelancers are only vetted via an online application, so their expertise is not guaranteed to the same degree as you can expect with a more thorough background check, such as is offered by Traktion – or by TopTal, which you can learn more about below...
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4. TopTal

TopTal specialises in connecting businesses with top technical talent, including designers, developers, project managers, and finance experts. Like Traktion, all the freelancers on TopTal’s books undergo a rigorous vetting process. With TopTal, only 3% of applications get accepted by the platform.

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Key Features of TopTal:

• Tested Talent: TopTal uses a five-stage screening process for potential freelancers, featuring skills assessments, an interview, and a test project. They don’t just look for technical expertise but also for evidence of professionalism, integrity, and communication skills.
  
  
• Matching Service: No need to search for a technical freelancer; you simply submit a job and TopTal will match you with an appropriate candidate. They aim to provide a freelancer who fits both your technical requirements and your company culture.
  
  
• Remote or On-site: TopTal doesn’t only provide freelancers who can work with you remotely. If you need someone on-site, they can accommodate your requirements – either through their global network or by flying the freelancer to your location.
  
  
• Trial Period: When you start work with a new freelancer, you have a no-risk trial period to decide whether or not they’re a good fit. If you decide not to go ahead then you won’t be charged.

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Summary: TopTal’s Technical Talent

If you’re looking for technical talent, picked for their expertise and to complement your company culture, TopTal is one of the best alternatives to Upwork.

For a more diverse range of freelance services, or if you have smaller, simpler jobs to get done, sites similar to Upwork like Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, or Freelancer.com might fit the bill better.

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5. Freelancer.com

One of the many companies like Upwork, Freelancer.com boasts what is probably the most comprehensive range of freelance services, offered by 43 million freelancers (as of May 2020).

Its bidding system means freelancers compete to work for you at the best price – which can unfortunately encourage less-qualified and lower-quality pitches.‍

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Key Features of Freelancer.com:

• Take Bids or Browse: The site gives you the choice of browsing its freelancers or posting a project to receive bids for the work. They state that over 80% of jobs get a bid within 60 seconds.
  
  
• Budget Option: Because the bidding system encourages freelancers to offer their services for a low price, you have the chance of getting a bargain with Freelancer. On the other hand, if a contractor confidently bids a higher price, they’re worth investigating as a higher-quality option.
  
  
• Hold a Contest: Freelancer’s Contest feature allows you to host an online competition, where freelancers submit work in hope of winning your prize money. This can work well for creative or design projects.
  
  
• Extra Services: For additional fees, Freelancer offers an array of extra services for hirers. These include the Recruiter service to help you find the right freelancer for your job and the Technical Co-pilot service, where you hire a project manager for an hourly rate.

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Summary: Using Freelancer.com for Hiring Freelancers

Freelancer.com offers a massive choice of different freelancers, and the chance to get a good deal for your job. And the Contest feature is an interesting option if you have a design project in mind.

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Is Freelancer.com cost-effective?

Bear in mind that to get the most out of the platform, you may need to pay out for Freelancer’s extra services, in addition to the commission charged for each contractor payment.

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Key Takeaways: Reviewing the Upwork Competitors

These are five Upwork competitors to consider next time you want to hire a freelancer online.

The key to getting the most out of these Upwork competitors is to think about your hiring needs before you sign up: What skills am I looking for? What’s my budget? Do I have a simple task to complete, or is this a more complex ongoing job?

Answering these questions will help you narrow down the site that’s the best fit.

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Recap of these alternatives to Upwork

We covered many different freelancer platforms throughout this blog post, and this recap will guide you through the main pros and cons of each platform.

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1. Traktion - Access to some of the best freelancers around, perfect for complex and detailed projects.
2. Fiverr - It’s cheap and cheerful and best used for simple short projects.
3. PeoplePerHour - Similar offering to Fiverr but with more flexible payment options.
4. TopTal - Expert technical freelancers who’ve been strictly vetted by the platform.
5. Freelancer.com - Freelancers from a wide range of different industries and niches at a wide range of price points.

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If you aim to use the best digital marketing talent in the world, and you want to access these freelancers for free, Traktion has you covered. Get started here.