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12 Best Upwork Alternatives for Freelancers and Employers

In this article, we will look at the 12 best upwork alternatives for freelancers and employers. We have also discussed interesting insights related to the freelancing industry. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to the 5 Best Upwork Alternatives for Freelancers and Employers

The global freelance platforms market has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, with commendable increases in both the number of freelancers and the utilization of freelance platforms. In 2022, the market was valued at $5.18 billion and is projected to reach $17.28 billion by 2030 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.8% from 2023 to 2030.

This prodigious growth in freelancing activities can be attributed to the changing labor markets and trends. Notably, the number of freelancers has been on the rise, with the US freelancing market alone valued at $1.2 trillion in 2020 with approximately 36% of the total workforce, which equates to nearly 59 million individuals. This indicates the increasing attractiveness of flexible work arrangements and the digital transformation in jobs. To read more, do check out our article about the best work-from-home jobs for 2023

Moreover, as the freelance economy matures, the complexity and scale of projects facilitated through freelance platforms have also expanded. High-skilled freelancers, specializing in areas like software development, data science, consulting, and web design, are in high demand, contributing to the growth of the market. This also explains why data science is one of the most in-demands jobs for the future. Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR) and Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) are considered key players in the freelancing industry.

To shed light upon the highly demanded skills in freelancing in 2023, we have a few to share that can help anyone get hired on both Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR) and Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK).

First and foremost, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) remains a top priority for businesses that are trying to improve their online visibility. Then, social media marketing expertise has been equally crucial for businesses as companies recognize the need to connect with their audience effectively on different platforms. 

Similarly, Web Development skills, spanning both front-end and back-end development, are essential for creating compelling online experiences. Graphic Design expertise is in constant demand for creating visually appealing content. Then there are copywriting skills that enable the crafting of persuasive content, which can drive conversions and engagement. At the end of day, freelancing is important for and needed by both the freelancer and the employers for businesses to function. Let’s now explore what the leading freelancing platforms have been doing and what makes them so popular. 

Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR), with over 4.3 million active buyers across 160+ countries, has a global reach that provides freelancers access to a huge clientele. The simplicity of the platform makes it highly user-friendly and hence, allows freelancers to set up profiles easily and also secure gigs quickly, often within a week. However, Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR) charges a flat 20% commission on all projects, which can be beneficial for shorter-term tasks but might incentivize exploring other platforms for long-term projects. It primarily attracts smaller business owners and individuals looking for specific, one-off projects, with an average client budget of approximately $262.

In contrast, Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) attracts CEOs, startup founders, and established companies, with an average client budget of $5000. Its service fees vary based on project prices, encouraging freelancers to build long-term client relationships. Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) caters to users in over 180 countries as it provides different large-scale project opportunities. Furthermore, Upwork  Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) offers hourly payment protection to freelancers which ensures timely compensation even in case of payment disputes. 

Ultimately, Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR) and Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) cater to different preferences and professional goals within the freelance industry. Freelancers looking for quick, straightforward tasks often turn to Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR), while those pursuing higher-value, long-term projects may find Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s client base and service-fee structure more appealing. Both platforms play essential roles in connecting freelancers with opportunities in the rapidly growing freelancing market.

In the second quarter of 2023, Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR)’s revenue reached $89.4 million with an increase of 5.1% year over year from $85.0 million in the same period of 2022. While active buyers remained consistent at 4.2 million between June 30, 2023, and 2022, the spend per buyer increased to $265 in 2023, a 2% rise from $259 in 2022. Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR)’s take rate also showed improvement as it reached 30.7% in June 2023, up from 29.8% in June 2022. Moreover, gross margin increased to 84.2% in the second quarter of 2023. Net income increased to $20.0 million, translating to $0.53 basic net income per share and $0.49 diluted net income per share.

Methodology

To prepare the list of best Upwork alternatives for freelancers and employers, we conducted extensive research to find out the most popular freelancing platforms globally that have been highly active in contributing to helping out job seekers. As Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) has the highest market share at 23.78%, we have ranked the alternatives based on their market share. We acquired the data on the market share of each platform from the 6sense.com.

Here is a list of the best Upwork alternatives for freelancers and employers:

12. WorkMarket

Market Share: 0.44%

WorkMarket is an NYC-based company founded in 2010 by Jeffrey Leventhal. It provides an online platform for businesses to manage contingent workers and IT freelancers. In 2018, it was acquired by ADP. The platform helps businesses find, verify, onboard, manage, pay, and rate freelancers and contractors. It also serves as a marketplace for workers to find assignments and build portfolios.

11. Guru.com

Market Share: 0.65%

With its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Guru.com is an important freelance platform that connects companies with freelance professionals. Employers post job descriptions with payment details, while freelancers demonstrate their skills and services through their profiles. Employers can invite specific freelancers to bid on jobs, after considering their profiles, feedback, and earnings statistics. 

Guru.com also offers the WorkRoom feature for managing freelancers and a SafePay payment system for secure transactions. In 2020, the platform reported approximately three million users and nearly one million monthly site visits. It is one of the best freelancing websites to find work in 2023

10. YunoJuno

Market Share: 0.74%

YunoJuno is a leading freelancer platform in the UK that achieved £500 million ($ 609.3 million) in freelancer bookings in December 2021 and thus, marked a 100% growth in the year.  It serves as a trusted provider and management platform for professional freelancers, with notable clients like Google, BBC, and Deliveroo. YunoJuno is one of the best Upwork alternatives for freelancers and employers.

9. Truelancer

Market Share: 1.30%

Truelancer is a global online marketplace for freelancers and employers. Freelancers can create profiles and post their services, while employers can post projects and search for qualified freelancers. While Truelancer offers different services like web development, graphic design, writing, marketing, it also provides a variety of features to help freelancers and employers work together effectively, such as a secure payment system, collaboration tools, and dispute resolution.

Truelancer is a convenient and affordable platform for businesses to find qualified freelancers for their projects, and for freelancers to find new clients and grow their network.

8. Freelancer.com

Market Share: 1.65%

Freelancer.com has a user base of 69,088,193 individuals across 247 countries and is among the largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplaces in the world. It facilitates connections between employers and freelancers while offering different services like software development, writing, data entry, design, engineering, sciences, sales, marketing, accounting, and legal consultation. Freelancer.com is one of the best Upwork alternatives for freelancers and employers.

7. Dribbble

Market Share: 2.66%

Dribbble functions as a multifaceted platform that caters to digital designers. It operates as a self-promotion and social networking platform while providing services as a design portfolio, a job and recruitment hub, and a leading online platform for designers to showcase their creative projects.  It is one of the Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) alternatives for hiring freelance creatives.

6. Textbroker International, LLC

 Market Share: 3.40%

Textbroker International LLC is an online platform headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, that connects customers looking for written content with freelance writers. It was founded in 2005 by Jan Becker-Fochler and since then, has served as a marketplace for over 200,000 writers and buyers of unique articles in nine different languages. It is one of the best alternatives to Upwork, Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK).

With the rise of ethical concerns related to using Ai, Textbroker International has introduced Transparent.ai as a web-based tool that differentiates between human-written and AI-generated content. This tool records the text creation process and is able to to certify which portions were human-authored and thus, can provide an independent quality seal for transparency. 

Click here to see the 5 Best Upwork Alternatives for Freelancers and Employers

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Disclosure: None. 12 Best Upwork Alternatives for Freelancers and Employers is originally published on Insider Monkey.

AI, Tariffs, Nuclear Power: One Undervalued Stock Connects ALL the Dots (Before It Explodes!)

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal!

AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous.

Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink.

Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and building the digital future. But there’s one urgent question few are asking:

Where will all of that energy come from?

AI is the most electricity-hungry technology ever invented. Each data center powering large language models like ChatGPT consumes as much energy as a small city. And it’s about to get worse.

Even Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, issued a stark warning:

“The future of AI depends on an energy breakthrough.”

Elon Musk was even more blunt:

“AI will run out of electricity by next year.”

As the world chases faster, smarter machines, a hidden crisis is emerging behind the scenes. Power grids are strained. Electricity prices are rising. Utilities are scrambling to expand capacity.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies…

One little-known company—almost entirely overlooked by most AI investors—could be the ultimate backdoor play. It’s not a chipmaker. It’s not a cloud platform. But it might be the most important AI stock in the US owns critical energy infrastructure assets positioned to feed the coming AI energy spike.

As demand from AI data centers explodes, this company is gearing up to profit from the most valuable commodity in the digital age: electricity.

The “Toll Booth” Operator of the AI Energy Boom

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Wall Street is noticing this company also because it is quietly riding all of these tailwinds—without the sky-high valuation.

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The Hedge Fund Secret That’s Starting to Leak Out

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A New Dawn is Coming to U.S. Stocks

I work for one of the largest independent financial publishers in the world – representing over 1 million people in 148 countries.

We’re independently funding today’s broadcast to address something on the mind of every investor in America right now…

Should I put my money in Artificial Intelligence?

Here to answer that for us… and give away his No. 1 free AI recommendation… is 50-year Wall Street titan, Marc Chaikin.

Marc’s been a trader, stockbroker, and analyst. He was the head of the options department at a major brokerage firm and is a sought-after expert for CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and Yahoo! Finance…

But what Marc’s most known for is his award-winning stock-rating system. Which determines whether a stock could shoot sky-high in the next three to six months… or come crashing down.

That’s why Marc’s work appears in every Bloomberg and Reuters terminal on the planet…

And is still used by hundreds of banks, hedge funds, and brokerages to track the billions of dollars flowing in and out of stocks each day.

He’s used this system to survive nine bear markets… create three new indices for the Nasdaq… and even predict the brutal bear market of 2022, 90 days in advance.

Click to continue reading…