Top Upwork Alternatives (For freelancers and Businesses)

According to Statista Research Department

 “In 2020, there were 59 million people doing freelance work in the United States and the number has been increasing since then.”

Taking an initiative to be your own boss can be immensely tricky.

While thinking of freelancing websites, the first name that pops up in our heads is usually Upwork.

However, if you haven’t been successful on Upwork or want to explore Upwork alternatives for any other reason, I’ve got you covered!

In this guide, I’ll tell you about five top Upwork alternatives you need to know about.

Let’s dive in.

1.    Fiverr

Fiverr undoubtedly tops the list of Upwork alternatives. There are multiple factors that make Fiverr Upwork’s number 1 competitor.

For one, Fiverr is one of the most popular freelance platforms.

What this means is that more businesses and companies know about it.

As a result, there are tons of clients looking for freelancers on Fiverr.

But, on the flip side, there’s a lot of competition, too.

The good thing is that there are plenty of micro-services you can offer.

And there’s still a lot of room in some areas.

Plus, let’s face it, generally, the better you’re at something, the more clients you attract to your services.

So, your focus should only be to find the right clients and deliver your best work.

However, what I don’t like about Fiverr is that no matter how many reviews you have, or whatever level you’re at, your gigs can vanish from their algorithm, without any apparent reason.

I’ve been offering my writing services on Fiverr for a few years now.

But, it has never given me the peace of mind I needed to move forward confidently.

That being said, although it’s not a platform you can trust for a full-time income, it’s definitely great for a part-time income.

But, how does Fiverr compare to Upwork?

Well, Upwork is more of a “Bidding” platform where clients post their jobs and freelancers bid on relevant projects.

Although Upwork has recently launched its “Project Catalogue”, which is similar to Fiverr’s “Gigs”.

They’re still different though; On Upwork, your services or projects aren’t ranked on the basis of some hidden algorithm like Fiverr.

The rankings are based on how many reviews someone has generated.

For instance, on Fiverr, even if one of your gigs had 1000 reviews, the algorithm can still throw it on the last page.

Nobody will ever know your gig existed until the algorithm decides to put your gig back in its original place.

But, on Upwork, the more reviews you get, the higher your projects’ visibility.

To be honest, it’s only fair.

As a freelancer, I’d want to be acknowledged for my experience and years of hard work.

Which Fiverr doesn’t seem to honor.

All in all, if you’re looking to make some extra bucks, Fiverr can be a good option.

But, if you’re serious about freelancing and making a career out of it, I think you should work on another platform simultaneously.

Fiverr Pros

• Low barrier to entry
• Tons of services to offer
• Great for a side-hustle

Fiverr Cons

• Not ideal for long-term
• The gig ranking system sucks

The fact that you can hire someone on Fiverr for as low as $5 makes it probably the best platform for business owners.

If you’re looking for a freelancer to hire, Fiverr might be the best option.

You can outsource your tasks cost-effectively on it.

2.    Legiit

You might not know about Legiit at all, but it’s becoming popular really fast.

The thing I like about Legiit the most is its awesome customer support.

I put Fiverr at the top just to tell you that it’s not the only Upwork alternative out there.

In fact, I think Legiit may be better than Fiverr in several ways.

For one, you don’t have to worry about any hidden algorithm destroying your hard-earned standings.

The better you perform the higher you go up the ladder on Legiit.

And that’s how it should be, don’t you agree?

Plus, Legiit lets freelancers promote themselves in a variety of ways.

One is their highly engaged Facebook group, where you can connect with fellow freelancers, and more importantly, potential clients.

Another feature I like a lot is Legiit’s review sharing option.

The platform allows you to download your reviews in an eye-catching image format.

Here’s a review I got from one of my happy clients as an SEO blog post writer.

You can share that image where ever you like to attract more clients to your services.

But, here’s where Legiit really stands out:

As a client, you don’t have to pay any service fee to buy services on Legiit.

What this means is that you only pay for the service you’re purchasing.

For instance, Fiverr charges 20% from either side.

Whereas, Legiit only takes that service fee from the service provider, which is lower than what Fiverr takes.

Legiit has all kinds of services, including:

• SEO content writing
• Link-building
• Graphic design
• Google Ads
• Email marketing
• And more

If you’re a freelancer or want to be one, you need to sign up on Legiit.

If you’re a business and want to outsource your tasks cost-effectively, you must join Legiit.

Now, I’ve only experienced the above two platforms, so the review was purely based on my personal experience.

But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any more freelance platforms.

There’s no shortage.

But, you do need to pick a couple of the best ones and focus on them.

If I were to start from scratch, I’d focus on Legiit and Fiverr.

That being said, here are a few more options you might like to try.

Freelancer

Freelancer aids new freelancers by providing them an opportunity to contest with experienced freelancers for projects.

A freelancer with good skills up his sleeve can win a project by participating in ‘contests’ created by clients who are looking for the best talent.

Winning a contest can give you an edge at landing further projects in the future as it labels you as a ‘Content Winner’ and that’s not it, a handsome pay in addition to the badge is the cherry on top!

3.    Toptal

If you are an individual who is confident in his skills and potential and are looking to work for the top corporates with the best rates then Toptal is the perfect freelancing website for you.

The name Toptal comes from “Top Talent”. The mystery behind the name is that it has an extremely thorough and careful screening process that lets only the top 3% of the freelancers make it to the site.

On this website, you can find large multinational organizations such as Google, Shopify, Duolingo, etc hence Toptal can prove to be a great Upwork alternative.

4.    Guru

Guru has been around for more than two decades. It may sound like just another freelancing website however the pricing it offers, makes it stand out from the rest charging hefty fees.

In comparison to other websites in the freelance marketplace industry, Guru provides more cost-effective yet high-quality work.

Another key feature of Guru is that it does not limit its freelancers to graphic designers and web developers, but it also welcomes professionals such as engineers and architects.

Final Thoughts

This was all about Upwork alternatives. If I were to pick one, I’d pick Legiit. That’s because I had the best experience on the platform up until now.

I hope you liked the blog post and can now move forward as a freelancer or a business owner with confidence.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the Upwork alternatives I discussed above.