In the whole world, the estimated number of employees accounts for a whopping 3.5 billion. Within this large number, 1.1 billion of these workers are freelancers.
Clearly, the digital world of hiring people online has reached a new era of being at its peak. This has been expected due to the promises of convenience, speed, and freelance or employee diversification found only through freelance sites.
How should one go about building a team?
With this, Fiverr and Upwork come into the picture, being two of the most acclaimed digital marketing platforms available today. So, Fiverr vs. Upwork? Which one is the best? Here are things the inquirer should know to figure out which site to use under differing circumstances.
What Fiverr Is and How It Works
Launched in February 2010, Fiverr is an online digital marketplace for freelancers. It was known as the “five-dollar market” where buyers could purchase services for only five bucks. But now, Fiverr has grown into a massive freelance mediator that caters services from prices ranging from $5-$8,000 or even more.
The site Fiverr.com acts as an online store like Amazon or eBay where customers can buy whatever they like among the options. In this case, the thing they are buying is service gigs from freelance sellers.
Overall, Fiverr is receiving a lot of attention from both sellers and buyers in the modern era. This is because of the vast array of services it offers, as well as the easy-to-follow transaction model it’s known for.
The Basics for Buyers
Fiverr is very straightforward. After signing up, all that’s needed is to search for gigs (Fiverr has categories of different fields). Then select the preferred seller, wait for the order to be confirmed, and within a few days, the order will be delivered. As for payment, the buyers are expected to link their PayPal. For beginners, this is all that’s needed to know about placing an order on Fiverr.
What Upwork Is and How It Works
Upwork has a long history before it became the big market of today. The freelancing site was built as a result of merging Elance and oDesk. These two platforms were large by themselves. Still, Upwork was called “Elance-oDesk” before it got rebranded to its current name in 2015. It involves combining some of the earliest sites to offer freelancers a platform.
This began as a simple customer referral program where freelancers were offered a reward after bringing in other freelancers. From there, the company focused on solving a single problem. The mission to solve back then was how clients wouldn’t engage in a platform without freelancers and vice versa. After solving this by merging Elance and oDesk, the Upwork we know today started building itself with over 12 million freelance individuals and 5 million clients in just 2015 alone.
The Basics for Buyers
Both Fiverr and Upwork have similar methods, but how they connect freelancers to employers are different. With Upwork, the employer can scout talent by posting a project. Upwork works with an algorithm. Meaning, the website connects projects to skill sets that are connected. Once the website has provided the match, the employer can choose the best candidate from the proposals. After selecting the best fit, employers are requested to confirm the parameters or the terms of their offer. These terms include variables like payment options and whether the project is priced by fixed negotiations or paid hourly.
Fiverr vs. Upwork and Things To Consider
Fiverr and Upwork are both highly recommended by buyers and sellers. However, selecting the best fit can’t be answered by just simple descriptions. This side-by-side comparison can assist with exploring the aspects of each platform, and to help understand which among the two can fully maximize time and money.
Payments and Procedures
For signing up, both Fiverr and Upwork are free. However, there are differences buyers should consider in terms of payment. Just like most companies, income is generated by charging their users (both freelancers and clients) a fee in every transaction.
Fiverr does not offer any required priced package before a buyer can purchase gigs from a freelancer. However, they do charge $2 for gigs priced from the minimum amount up to $40 in fees. For gigs above the $40, Fiverr charges 5% per transaction. Therefore, the freelancer’s total income gets deducted 20% of the total and this goes straight to Fiverr. The good thing about this is its simplicity because there are no packages or whatsoever. For buyers, this means that all they have to do is sign up, pick a gig, and pay.
It’s different for Upwork. The company has membership packages, but clients can still opt for the free version with basic features. Using this package allows buyers to offer a proposal or respond to a project. Upwork generates income by charging fees per successful transaction. So they take 20% off the freelancer’s price, and they will charge 2.75% for the processing fee. Clients however, can communicate with their chosen freelancer to determine whether they prefer to get paid per hour or follow a fixed pricing agreement.
For the payment method, both options offer vast choices. Companies that are searching to get short-term projects done without needing plenty of employees should choose Fiverr. However, if the company is constantly looking to hire new talents to work for large-scale projects, investing in an Upwork account would likely be better.
Finding Freelancers
To make the story short, it’s all a matter of gigs vs. skill sets. With Fiverr, gig categories are how buyers can find promising talents. They can choose from the categories or manually type the service they need within the search field.
From there, the client buyer is the one responsible for choosing the freelancer. Buyers usually base their decisions on aspects like ratings, educational attainment, video, and delivery time. Fiverr doesn’t suggest freelancers to the clients; the buyers have to look at these sellers manually.
Upwork uses a different system where it uses skill sets to help clients reach the perfect candidate for their project. Basically, the website is going to make the buyer choose between different categories of qualifications. For example, when a client opts for the choice “Blog & Article Writers”, Upwork’s algorithm will create a list of eligible freelancers for them to choose from. Aside from the freelancer’s skillsets, hiring clients can also view their hourly rate, location, and performance or ratings.
With these two styles of hiring talent, buyers should know what they’re looking for. If a client wishes to discover multiple freelancers to appoint them to different smaller tasks, Fiverr may be the better route. Although the platform doesn’t have much structure in choosing compatible clients, if a buyer wants to actively participate in the hiring process, Fiverr’s approach may help serve them more.
However, suppose the client wishes to find the most compatible freelancer according to Upwork’s records. In that case, the website’s screening system will offer much help. Upwork is also a better option if the client wants the algorithm to look for talents rather than manually searching for the best fit. The platform’s clients seem to admire Upwork’s algorithm for providing trustworthy employees, so occurrences of mismatching won’t be a serious problem.
Quality Assurance
To each client, quality is probably the core determination of what’s considered an excellent experience. These two marketplaces take this aspect seriously, but there are differences in how they handle quality assurance.
The gig website is transparent in showing other client’s experience with a freelancer. Fiverr allows prospective buyers to compare packages, measure their overall ratings, and even view screenshots of the seller’s previous works. They permit buyers to contact freelancers before placing an order.
Suppose a client wishes to purchase only from the platform verified sellers. In that case, they can choose to avail themselves of Fiverr Pro sellers. As expected, services listed under Fiverr Pro are more costly than the ones on the main page.
Upwork is more meticulous on this aspect. Freelancers are required to undergo an extensive screening process before Upwork can activate their accounts. Their system checks the freelancer’s achievements, experiences, and certification before it can allow connection with clients.
Like Fiverr, buyers can also see the ratings left by previous clients. It doesn’t end there, as Upwork also has a project monitoring tool called a “Work Diary” where clients can track the work hours and progress of the freelancers they hired. Of course, this feature isn’t available on Fiverr because clients only pay per project. Thus, the need for recording isn’t really applicable.
Suppose a client wishes to work with a freelancer over months or years. In that case, Upwork’s thorough process and tracking features are more beneficial than Fiverr’s. However, progress tracking isn’t needed for clients who are at ease in trusting other clients’ reviews. Fiverr can sufficiently provide what is necessary for a smooth transaction. Again, both choices take quality seriously. It’s just a matter of what’s needed inside a work environment.
Website Interface
Adding members to the workforce is a complicated process by itself, so an easy-to-use website is handy. Actually, the two platforms share the same score on this aspect. For Fiverr, searching for services is just as easy as typing and browsing through the gigs. If the client is unsure about which category a gig belongs to, they can look for it under the subcategories.
For Upwork, the real magic happens after an employer finishes filling up the job description. Once completed, Upwork utilizes data science to pick matches based on what the client is looking for. From here, the employer could just scroll through the proposals and see which conditions work better for their company. After this, they could create a shortlist and immediately conduct interviews.
Skill Testing
Both websites are proving they transcend the concept of typical freelancing platforms. Aside from being trustworthy marketplaces, both offer skill tests to their freelancers, which most buyers see as a plus.
For Fiverr, some gigs require sellers to take skill tests that they may or may not choose to post on their profiles. Fiverr also caters to certifications and classes, which do not come for free. Still, if a seller earns themselves certification, this can really be a portfolio boost.
Upwork also offers skill tests the freelancers can choose to not post on their profiles. The difference between the two is how Upwork doesn’t prioritize high scores on skill tests that much. The reason for this is their algorithm that gives more emphasis on the skill sets and performance ratings rather than test scores.
Fiverr is also like this in a way; however, skill tests are highlighted alongside the previous clients’ screenshots, the gig poster, or the video if provided. Either way, it is nice to know that both platforms offer these as they can aid the buyer in knowing which freelancer put in effort concerning building the portfolio.
Fiverr Pro vs. Upwork Plus
What kind of team should I build? Does it look like a small or large one? Which selection is best for time and cost efficiency? Which works for the length of the team’s lifespan?
These two marketing platforms also have what they call “premium services” for clients who wish to walk the extra mile in finding freelancers. As a disclaimer, freelancers who are not counted as Pro or Plus sellers are in no way inferior to those who are tagged with the title. However, these people successfully got approved by Fiverr or Upwork as experts in their fields and services. This is the central premise both platforms share yet this still varies in many ways.
To begin, Fiverr Pro isn’t a priced package. It’s not something clients can choose to be a member of. Instead, the program pertains to the sellers who passed Fiverr’s screening for the Pro badge. These freelancers have proven themselves and their services worthy of being part of the platform’s top 1%. As expected from any type of premium service, Fiverr Pro gigs cost more. Going for the Pro options on Fiverr is advisable for needs that demand certified technical experts. Of course, Fiverr Pro is a wise choice with the assurance of excellence to those whose budget fits the cost.
Upwork Plus is also a premium option that comes with a package price. Those who wish to avail are requested to pay $49.99 per month on top of the added 3% processing fee. Unlike Fiverr Pro, people aren’t paying for individualized benefits. Instead, subscribers are signing up to Upwork Plus’s paid membership plan. Here, they can utilize advanced tools and features to help scout more freelancers or agencies faster. This option is best for businesses with high or continuous demands for manpower.
Both these premium options are good but are not for everybody. For instance, Fiverr Pro is not a good choice for clients working on a long-term project. Since Pro sellers can’t be hired full-time or through a contractual agreement, it will cost more to purchase Pro gigs repeatedly until the project is finished. However, suppose a business only needs two or three tasks done. In that case, Fiverr Pro can do the job without going through the entire process of hiring and paying for trial tasks.
Similarly, Upwork Plus won’t do much good to only short-term demands. Since Plus is a monthly subscription, clients will no longer find it helpful after hiring someone for the job. It is also costly for starting businesses to invest in Upwork Plus when they don’t need many employees for their company. However, Upwork Plus is the best option if a company requires multiple talents for different tasks. It is also an excellent investment for businesses that have plans on expanding their teams in the long run.
Dispute Management
Disputes may happen and when they do, the clients need to know which among the two is more reliable. Actually, both of them are trustworthy and safe to use. Though the two have specific approaches which every buyer should know.
The Fiverr website has a “resolution center” that addresses possible answers to different issues. Both parties (buyer and seller) can also seek assistance by contacting Fiverr. Since the gigs are usually casual and low in commitment, the response time may be the same.
Upwork, on the other hand, is more particular regarding these issues since their general process involves more work. Here, Upwork appoints a representative to mediate between two parties to hear both sides. This mediator is the one who gets to decide whose party is at fault and also gives the verdict on whether the buyer can get their money back or not. This is just an addition to the resolution center, that is similar to Fiverr’s.
The Decision Between Fiverr or Upwork
There is no “one-size-fits-all” in choosing the winner here. Both excel at the promises they offer to clients, and both are globally admired by freelancers and businesses alike. The breaking point depends on the client’s needs.
For short-term demands that don’t require commitment from the freelancer aside from doing a set of particular tasks, Fiverr is the one to choose. The freelancing platform can save money, time, and stress from choosing whose service to get. And for companies that need mutual commitment both in attention and time from freelancers, Upwork can do the job better.
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