Best platforms to hire freelancers online
Freelancing is quite common these days and has been evolving for quite long. Also, the doubt of client running away without paying the freelancer is no longer possible. Systematic methods have been created that have led to various platforms rising in support to freelancers who can earn legally and with the surety of payment, irrespective of the client playing you or not.
Today, we will talk about a few such websites that have been providing platforms for freelancers to learn and earn without any hassle. But before we proceed, just a quick question, have you ever done freelancing or used freelancing services yourself?
Let’s discuss the best platforms while you think about it.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an excellent freelancing platform that is being used by a lot of people for a long time. The order on Fiverr, known as a Gig needs to be created by the seller (freelancer) so the buyer (client) can choose to buy your gig. With $5 being the minimum Gig amount, clients intend to rush here to find what they need.
Clients can shortlist the Gigs that are close to or matches their requirements. They have an option to custom quote for a price to the seller directly. A service charge of $1 will be charged by Fiverr for the client when they insert funds to buy the Gig.
So, they would be paying $6 instead of the $5. Whereas the seller (freelancer) will only get $4 per Gig since 20% is charged as a service fee by Fiverr for the seller too.
Pros:
• Easier to find work due to $5 minimum Gig value
• Creativity is needed in Fiverr to make money, not technical skills
• Buyers always search for Gig, make sure that your Gig is seen
• Social media can use to market your Gig
Cons:
• No control over Gigs you choose
• The rating system for Fiverr is questionable
• Selling popular type of Gig will never fetch any business
• You have to wait 14 days before withdrawing your earnings
Upwork
Upwork is another excellent platform for freelancers with many features beneficial to both the buyer and the seller. Upwork has 12 million registered freelancers and 5 million clients with a yearly turnover of 1 billion and more than 3 million jobs completed.
Hiring in-house workers are more expensive than hiring freelancers. So, even big organizations prefer to provide work to freelancers on per piece basis. For the clients, Upwork charges 2.75% of the order value while freelancers pay a shocking 20% to 5% based on working for the same client and stuff.
They have this rule to decrease the percentage charged after every milestone is achieved. For the same client, if you reach the milestone of $500 you would be paying 20% of the order value. Post $500 mark, you will be paying 10% until you hit the $10000 milestone. Post $10000, you would be paying only 5% as the service fee.
Pros:
• Various clients with different niche and work requirement
• Great place to find freelancing work
• Flexible hours along with various fields to choose from
Cons:
• Upwork promotes only experienced freelancers, new ones cannot find work that easily
• Few changes in the fee structure have made many clients and freelancers jump to different platforms
Guru
Guru is a Sanskrit word which translates to the teacher in English. Guru.com is a freelancer platform that doesn’t charge anything to register for both clients and freelancers. It doesn’t charge anything even when the projects are being offered and accepted by freelancers.
But, a minimal fee will be charged once the project is complete and the rest of the amount will be credited to the freelancer. There is a $29.95 featured job option valid for 30 days to attract more freelancers for that particular job.
Pros:
• Easily accessible
• Updated functionalities
• The user interface is quite easy to navigate
• Resolves most requirements in the app
Cons:
• Searching for specific projects can be a challenge
• Pop up messages are too frequent and they don’t fade away
• Waiting time for the job has to be improved
Vulpith
Vulpith is an excellent platform that provides unique facilities to the clients and freelancers. Let’s talk about client and freelancer feature that highlights Vulpith. For clients, depending on the project, freelancers are compared, shortlisted and the best one is chosen.
We all know about cloud computing being the safest way to work for anyone, and Vulpith offers cloud workspaces for sensitive and critical projects to ensure maximum cybersecurity and intellectual property protection. No fee will be charged to hire, cancel or opt-out of a project.
Depending on milestones completed, clients have an option to vary project budget. Long-term projects with sensitive and critical conditions are accepted here since the cloud workspace offers your data protection. Freelancers can be searched based on skills, talent, ratings, pricing and even location.
Talking from the freelancer’s point of view, Vulpith doesn’t charge a thing for any project less than $25 and for more than $25, you need to pay 6% as a service fee. Another benefit for freelancers here is, irrespective of the client paying the amount or not, freelancers still get paid. Freelancers can select the type of project based on location and budget and submit their proposal accordingly.
Pros:
• An excellent platform to grow
• No fee for orders less than $25 is a bonus
• Freelancers are still [aid even if the client doesn’t pay
• Clod workspace is a unique initiative to protect client’s data
Cons:
• There are 3 types of user accounts available - Basic, Pro, and Premium, out of which basically is a free user type with lesser benefits
A cloud computing platform for freelancers is an excellent idea for those clients who prefer data security. Vulpith is offering workplaces to those freelancers who are hired only after a series of tests conducted by them, which is quite appreciative.
Final Thoughts
Freelancing is becoming a trend lately and a lot of people are going from part time to full time freelancing business. The basic advantage in freelancing is that the work is chosen by you with sufficient time to work on it. Statistics say that there will be an exponential growth in freelancers by 2020, and with so many platforms to work with, this is a growing field for employment.
