On the "big freelancing" market, the main platforms are Fiverr and Upwork. If you need really high-quality service from the best specialists, then you should definitely go there. The best work on these platforms - others do not survive. Also, on Fiverr and Upwork the largest range of services provided, if you suddenly need a specialist in some narrowly focused niche, then you also here. 

Of course, there are also much less known foreign sites like freelancer.com or local ones like weblancer. We have reviews on freelancer and weblancer, which you can read by clicking on the name. And they also have their pros and cons, but today we'll take a look at the most popular ones - Fiverr and Upwork.

MAIN DIFFERENCES

In a nutshell, the fundamental difference between Fiverr and Upwork is the scale and duration of the projects. 

Fiverr is better suited for small, one-time tasks. The service is known for its low prices, user-friendly interface, and fast transaction process. Fiverr is better suited for small businesses that don't want to hire a high-end specialist for the sake of a one-off project.

Upwork, on the other hand, is more suitable for medium and large businesses. The site has more tools for long-term cooperation, you can hire a freelancer for a long period of time without officially hiring him. 

HOW DOES FIVERR WORK?

There is a special atmosphere here, where employers are buyers and freelancers are sellers. Specialists on Fiverr do not fulfill orders, but sell their services. They create a page of their service (called "gig"), where there are 3 rates (basic, medium and advanced). They differ in speed of completion, number of edits and other details that depend on the category of activity. 

Instead of creating an ad and sifting through dozens of applications, the customer immediately looks for a suitable specialist in a convenient search menu and immediately proceeds to discussing the order. It's fast and convenient, with relatively low prices and a wide variety of categories, Fiverr becomes an extremely attractive service for ordering services. 

HOW DOES UPWORK WORK?

Upwork works according to the standard model of freelance platforms - you place an order, get responses from specialists, choose the one you like, discuss the order and wait for its fulfillment. 

The features include advanced tools for long-term cooperation, which is convenient for medium and large businesses. The customer gets an employee for a long period of time, and there is no need to spend money on social guarantees, paid vacation, etc. Convenient.

Upwork allows you to conclude different types of contracts with freelancers:

  • One-off projects.
  • Existing freelance contracts.
  • Individual projects with milestones.
  • Hourly projects.

You can even form a team of several freelancers at once and the site has tools for this.

But there are some disadvantages, such as virtual currency - Connects. On Fiverr there is no such thing - as a freelancer you can create as many services as you want and post them for free and as a customer you can write to an infinite number of freelancers for free too.

However, on Upwork, the Connects currency can complicate your activity on the site. Freelancers need Connects to apply for ads. There are only 10 free ones per month, and if you want to respond more, you need to buy Connects for real money. Clients need Connects to write to specific freelancers directly, but publishing ads is free. 

CATEGORIES

Fiverr

The list of categories on Fiverr is quite large. On the site, you can find a specialist in areas such as:

  • Graphics and design.
  • Music and audio.
  • Programming and technology.
  • Digital marketing.
  • Business.
  • Writing and translation.
  • Data.
  • Lifestyle.
  • Video and animation.
  • AI.

It is important to note that each item has a large number of subcategories. Thus on Fiverr you can find dozens and hundreds of highly specialized niches, with a large number of freelancers in each.

Upwork

Upwork also has a lot of categories on Upwork and most of them are more designed for long-term collaborations. Upwork's list of categories:

  • Accounting and Consulting.
  • Admin support.
  • Customer service.
  • Data science and analytics.
  • Design and creative.
  • Engineering and architecture.
  • IT and networking.
  • Legal.
  • Sales and marketing.
  • Translation.
  • Web development, mobile development and software development.
  • Writing.

PAYMENT

Fiverr

It's simple here. The platform charges 20% of the completed service, regardless of the size or duration of your work on the site. Registration and setting up a profile do not require any investment. You can withdraw funds via: Fiverr revenue card (special Fiverr card in cooperation with MasterCard), PayPal, Bank Transfer or Payoneer.

Commission and minimum withdrawal amount differ depending on the withdrawal method.

Regular users can withdraw 14 days after the last order is completed. For Fiverr Pro members the waiting period is halved.  

Upwork

As we wrote a bit above, you need Connects to work comfortably on the site. You get 10 free Connects per month, and for additional Connects you will have to pay $0.15/piece. You can also earn additional Connects by completing skill certifications, but you can only do this once, which means you'll need to buy them more often.

This system makes the "payback" of working on the site more difficult, as the number of free requests from freelancers is very limited, so it is harder to stay afloat. 

You can also get 80 Connects per month by upgrading your account to Freelancer Plus for $15/month. With Freelancer Plus, you also get a dedicated account manager, promotion from the site, and the ability to see the number of competitors vying for each job.  

Upwork has a tiered commission structure:

  • 5% —  for accounts over $10000.
  • 10% — for amounts between $500.01 and $10000.
  • 20% — for the first $500.

You can withdraw funds to a bank account, as well as PayPal and Payoneer. 

WHAT TO CHOOSE SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU

Fiverr and Upwork are top-notch platforms for freelancing and finding remote professionals. They are user-friendly, functional and offer the best customer service.

Choose Fiverr if you are:

  • a representative of a creative profession: musician, designer, singer, etc;
  • are interested in one-off projects;
  • don't want to pay to apply for ads. 

Choose Upwork if you:

  • want to work on long-term projects;
  • you are not intimidated by paid submissions.

Upwork focuses on long-term collaboration and provides unique tools for this.

P.S.

Remember, however, that these platforms are not the only ones you can choose and you can always choose another one to your liking, for example freelancer.com - among foreign ones or local - Weblancer, which is the oldest freelance platform on our market.

Good luck to everyone!