Top 10 Most Popular Freelance Marketplace Platforms
To start your own business, you have to take into account space costs, utility bills, staff salaries, and other expenses. Especially for small entrepreneurs, it becomes very difficult to start their own businesses. However, you can avoid many additional costs if you hire remote workers. At this point, you need freelance marketplace platforms to hire skilled freelancers and complete your projects on time and within budget.
Many website design companies prefer to hire freelancers instead of hiring full-time employees. This is because companies have to cut their costs to increase their profits and the best way to do this is to hire a remote worker instead of a full-time employee. These freelancer marketplace platforms help companies of all sizes complete complex projects on time with specialized skills. On the other hand, freelancers also look for reliable platforms to earn extra money and where they can get projects from reputable companies. So, such platforms provide their service to both freelancers and buyers, and due to this, the culture of freelancing in the market has grown tremendously.
What are freelance marketplace platforms?
Freelance platforms help small and medium businesses hire talented remote workers for temporary jobs or special projects. These freelancing platforms act as a third party between remote workers and companies. From project details to launch, revisions, and then money transactions, everything is handled through these platforms. If a company or individual wants to hire a suitable freelancer for their project, they can post their project details and preferences on these platforms. Within minutes hundreds or thousands of freelancers will offer their services and that too at very reasonable rates. On the other hand, these freelance marketplaces also help professional freelancers offer their services to companies for competitive rates. Some websites even offer the freelancers to create packages of their professional services.
Are these platforms safe for money transactions?
Security is the key concern for everybody while buying or selling services on any freelance marketplace platform. These websites try to offer maximum security for your personal information as well as financial information. Almost all the platforms use Transport Layer Security (TLS) and for any sensitive information you provide, such as tax, credit card, or Paypal, the information is encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
What are the drawbacks of freelance marketplace platforms?
Competition and Low Rates: Studies show that 46.5% of the global workforce is working remotely. It is huge and brings competition among freelancers. Many buyers/companies tend to hire freelancers with low rates. Talented freelancers with high work rates face difficulties in winning projects because their competitors are offering similar services at lower prices.
High Commissions: Another common issue is the high commission rate that is charged by these platforms on your earnings. The commission fee is different on various platforms. For example, Fiverr charges a flat 20% on each sale. In terms of commissions, Upwork and PeoplePerHour take a more professional approach. For small, medium, and large projects, their commission rates vary accordingly. These commission rates are very high for freelancers who have few projects or who pay their household expenses and utility bills only by earning from freelancing.
Delayed Payments: One major drawback is delayed payments after the project is delivered. According to these marketplaces, it is important to hold payments for several days for financial processing and buyer satisfaction. But for a beginner or mediocre freelancer, getting a payment right after finishing the project can be very important. Fiverr, for example, takes about 14 days to clear the payments. While Upwork and Freelancer usually take about 5 days to send the funds to your account.
Negative Reviews: Good and bad people are everywhere. Similarly, there are all kinds of people in the field of freelancing. Not all buyers may be a pleasure to work with, and not all freelancers are capable of fulfilling your wishes. If you get some bad reviews on your profile, it may be difficult for you to get more projects because companies prefer those freelancers whose profiles are 100% perfect. This is why freelancers go the extra mile to please their clients and get good reviews.
Which freelancing platform is right for you?
A good freelance website helps you get projects if you are qualified and skilled. And if you want to hire a talented remote worker for your project, this marketplace is also beneficial for you. Which platform is more beneficial for you is a very tricky question. Because each platform has its benefits and pitfalls. Some freelance marketplaces have a lot of projects, but their commissions are also high – some have higher pay rates, but the competition is also proportional. We have compiled a list of the 10 best freelance marketplace platforms for you. So that it is easy for you to find your desired resource.
1 Upwork
Upwork claims to be the largest freelance marketplace as millions of freelancers find projects and get paid. Thousands of big IT companies love to hire top talent from this marketplace as the options are un-imagine-able. It is a very simple yet professionally designed platform that provides enough power to buyers to get the work done on time.
2 Fiverr
Fiverr takes 2nd place in our list of Top 10 Most Popular Freelance Marketplace Platforms in 2022-23. The company made it very easy for buyers to hire freelancers at cheap rates. This marketplace is a true heaven for buyers as it eliminates negotiations and delays by setting fixed prices and deadlines.
3 Freelancer
Freelancer.com is another marketplace that provides good collaboration tools between freelancers and buyers for their mutual benefit. It is a simple and safe environment that allows companies to hire potential talent to grow their business.
4 PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a robust platform with a lot of opportunities posted every day. It has a unique feature “Hourly” which you can sell to buyers as a packaged service. However, it allows you to bid on a specific number of projects per day. This limits the opportunities for freelancers who want to use this marketplace as a free service.
5 Toptal
Another very powerful and fast-growing freelance platform is TopTal. This platform empowers freelance web designers, graphic designers, software developers, product managers, etc. to find new opportunities according to their experience and skill set.
6 Guru
Guru is another great service for professional freelancers around the world. They provide a very secure and flexible environment for service providers and buyers. Another best thing about Guru is that they charge only 5% commission on earnings, the lowest of all the top freelance marketplaces.
7 99Designs
It is one of the best marketplaces for designers, especially logo designers providing the best customer experience. Its unique “Contest” feature urges freelancers to provide the highest quality results. It is more expensive than other platforms but if you consider quality over price, you won’t regret using 99Designs.
8 Design Crowd
Design Crowd is another famous marketplace, especially for logo designers, graphic designers, and web designers. Like 99Designs, Design Crowd also offers contests that help buyers select the best quality work. This freelance marketplace offers a money-back guarantee as well to protect buyers’ money.
9 Flex Jobs
This is one of the best freelance marketplaces for full-time job seekers as well as remote workers. FlexJobs also provide access to career coaching and resume reviews. Instead of commissions, FlexJobs has a subscription system and you can subscribe to your desired job seeker package.
10 Envato
Envato is the biggest marketplace of creative assets, design tools, and templates. Millions of people use this website to buy or sell high-quality designs, learn many skills, and even hire freelancers to get their projects done. Freelancers can sell their creative assets for a small amount and Envato takes its commission on every purchase.
Conclusion:
Every freelance marketplace platform has its own pros and cons. If you are a freelance web designer, then you should try Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru as a lot of big IT companies hire professionals for their projects from these websites. However, if you excel in graphic design, you should consider Fiverr, 99Designs, and DesignCrowd as these platforms provide a huge number of opportunities in the fields of graphic design and digital design. The most important rule to get work on these platforms is to keep your profile complete, show a good portfolio, and bid with patience and dedication. Soon buyers will notice you, and once that happens, you can make a lot of money from these platforms.
