Upwork vs. Fiverr: Which is Better for Freelancers?

I see that you can’t decide between these two freelance sites: Upwork vs Fiverr.

You’re right if you're on the fence because these two giants are really trying hard to win!

Both Upwork and Fiverr help freelancers earn thousands of dollars every single year. So, they are both doing their job.

But at the end of the day, they differ on working systems, fee rates, payment methods, competition style and so on. Try both if you want, or just get everything you need right here. 

What is Upwork?

Simply put, Upwork is a freelancing marketplace that connects freelancers and businesses.

How does Upwork work?

The system is based on "Bidding":

• As a freelancer, you bid on a client request.
• As a business, you post jobs to freelancers.

Upwork is the place to post hourly and project-based jobs. However, large companies can use Upwork's full-time hiring feature, which is a separate service.

How to join? 

No application and approval process is needed. You can create an account and start working as a freelancer on Upwork right away.

If you're wondering, does Upwork charge a fee to sign up? No, creating an account is completely free. However, freelancers need to purchase "Connects" to submit proposals for jobs, which is an additional cost.

After signing up, you can offer services in Upwork’s 10 popular categories, or if you're a business, you can start to post jobs and connect with freelancers.

Under each main category, there are more specific subcategories. So, it's easy to market your niche on Upwork.

Quick Upwork statistics

• Upwork has 18 million freelancers.
• Upwork has a market cap of $1.92 billion.
• Freelancers on Upwork earn on average $21.80 per hour.
• Customers spend 4 billion dollars annually on Upwork.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is one of the largest freelance marketplaces that brings together freelancers and businesses with the Gig system.

How does Fiverr work?

With Fiverr's Gig system;

• As a freelancer, you publish service packages.
• As a buyer, you buy service packages.

How to join?

No application is needed, you can start freelancing with a completely free account.

The difference with Fiverr is that it's fast and cheap.

Need a service? Buy it now.

Fiverr is a suitable platform for beginners. It also comes with an unrivaled variety of categories where each freelancer can offer very different services.

For instance, let's compare Fiverr or Upwork for writers: Fiverr allows writers to create predefined Gig packages for blog posts, articles, or copywriting, while Upwork enables them to bid on writing projects that suit their expertise. Look at this:

Also, Fiverr has introduced 150 new categories since 2021. This shows that the platform is serious about expanding freelancing services and staying up to date.

Quick Fiverr statistics

• Fiverr has 4 million buyers.
• Fiverr has 380.000 freelancers.
• Fiverr has a market cap of $0.91 billion.
• 21.67% of traffic on Fiverr comes from the US.

Another option: Ruul starting from 2.75% fee.

However, here is a hidden fact about freelancers: These platforms are not the top channels freelancers rely on to find customers.

The first 5 ways require a streamlined process to sell your digital services. This is where Ruul steps into and creates a freelancer’s pay button. Sign up to Ruul now and get paid 4x faster.

What’s more: The Ruul cuts low commissions starting from 2.75%.

How do you get jobs?

Upwork works with "Bidding" while Fiverr works with "Gig packages".

Upwork: Bidding

In this system, customers issue a service request with following info:

1. project duration,
2. total budget,
3. type of work (hourly/project based), etc.

As a freelancer, you need to bid on these client requests and wait for acceptance.

If the client likes your proposal, you will receive notification of acceptance. In this case, you are expected to deliver the project within the expected deadline.

An example Upwork job posting:

Pay attention to the "Payment Verified" section when bidding. Upwork provides a beneficial feature to protect you from fraudulent accounts.

Check customer reviews to decide if they’re a good fit. A 4+ star rating usually means fewer issues.

Bidding: Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• You tailor your offer to the client. 
• Bidding faster helps you get work faster. 
• There are no sudden orders like in a Gig system. 
• You don't need to move up the ranking like in the Gig system. 

Disadvantages

• Hundreds of people can apply for one post.
• You may need to constantly check for new postings. 
• You don't know if the post you apply to is spam or not.
• You spend "Connects" every time you make an offer - this costs money.

Fiverr: Gig

Here you need to create Gig packages as a freelancer. There is no bidding system like on Upwork.

Gig packages are prepared with sentences starting with "I will...".

• Example: "I will design a minimal logo for your business."

You can offer 3 different packages:

1. Basic
2. Standard
3. Premium

And you must provide complete information such as,

• Delivery time
• Service details
• Price by package type
• What's included
• Revision details
• Additional services etc.

Then, all you have to do is wait for your service to sell. But remember, you can sell a listing 1 time or 1000 times. A sample Gig:

Gig: Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• Once you create a Gig, you don't have to bid on customers.
• You don't have to chase after clients and you save time.
• There is less competition compared to the bidding system.

Disadvantages

• For Gigs to rank, you need to put in additional effort. 
• To stand out, you need to choose appropriate categories and use keywords.
• Low-priced competitors make your price perceived as "expensive".
• There is a risk that an order will suddenly arrive when you are not available. 

Payment structure & fees

Upwork payment structure & fees

You can sign up for Upwork as a freelancer for free, but you will pay a 10% fee on each completed project. 

Getting paid on Upwork

Payment methods may vary depending on your location. The two most popular payment methods used on Upwork: PayPal and Payoneer.

• If you have completed an hourly project, you will be invoiced every Sunday. On Wednesday, 10 days later, your payment will be available for withdrawal.
• If you've done a project-based job, you can withdraw your money to your bank account just 5 days after the client approves the payment.

Upwork protects your payments. If your client doesn't authorize the payment, your money will automatically be credited to your account after 14 days.

Pro tip: Instead of managing payments manually, you can use the automatic payment feature. Thus, your payments will be transferred to your account at the periods you specify.

Fiverr payment structure & fees

You can sign up for Fiverr for free. However, a 20% fee will be deducted from each "Gig" sale. 

Getting paid on Fiverr

When you sell a "Gig" on Fiverr, your client pays you instantly. However, you need to complete the project to get the money.

Project completed? Now, Fiverr's payment protection kicks in and you have to wait 7-14 days to withdraw money.

Who gets paid in 7 days?

• Top rated accounts,
• Seller plus premium sellers, and
• Pro sellers.

The payment method depends on your country. For example, in Bangladesh and Pakistan, PayPal is not used, so payments are made in different ways.

Fiverr currencies

You can get paid with 6 currencies:

1. Australian Dollar (A$)
2. Canadian Dollar (C$)
3. US Dollar (US$)
4. Pound Sterling (£)
5. Euro (€)
6. Israeli Shekel (₪)

Another option is Ruul: Freelancer’s pay button

Ruul offers commissions starting at 2.75% and ensures fast, one-day payments. 

Sign up now to get paid in 140 currencies—exactly how it should be for freelancers.

Types of clients & project size

Upwork: Large projects and corporate clients

Every business, big or small, hires freelancers on Upwork. However, generally speaking, Upwork has more corporate clients than Fiverr.

Of course, this has its advantages and disadvantages:

• Beginner freelancers may find it hard to adapt to the corporate system.
• Experienced freelancers can earn more money with corporate clients.

So if you have to make a choice, consider entering the Upwork market after gaining some experience.

Fiverr: Small businesses and individual clients

Fiverr can feel like a more intimate street in your neighborhood. Mostly small businesses and low-budget clients buy Gigs here.

Your Gigs are under your control. Your service is clear from the beginning and you will not experience surprise-sized projects.

Everything is more manageable and easier. This makes Fiverr a great first stop for beginner freelancers.

However, if you're an experienced and high-priced freelancer, you might not be happy with the low rates on the Fiverr marketplace.

Competition

Number of freelancers & buyers

To compare the freelancer competition on Upwork and Fiverr, we can look at the number of users.

As we mentioned earlier in the statistics,

• There are 18 million freelancers on Upwork and 380 thousand on Fiverr.

However, this ratio does not provide enough data for comparison.

Let's also look at the number of customers.

Number of Upwork buyers:

Number of Fiverr buyers:

Upwork has high freelancer competition but fewer clients than Fiverr. This makes the competition a bit more balanced.

Gross trading volumes

• Upwork customers spend a total of $4.14 billion per year (1.64x increase from 2020 to 2023)
• Fiverr customers spend an average of $1.13 billion. Spending per single buyer in 2023 was $278.

Annual earnings

• Upwork, $689 million in revenue (2023)

• Fiverr earned $361 million in revenue (2023)

Flexibility & workload control

Flexibility is very important for a freelancer. Comparing these two sites, we can say that Upwork is more flexible. This is because you can only submit bids for jobs when you want to work.

But that's not the case with Fiverr's Gig site. You can take orders at any time of the day. Moreover, the number of orders is uncertain. 

Upwork and Fiverr also offer tools to make your freelancing process easy.

On Upwork, you can set clear working hours. This prevents you from being exposed to more workload than you are capable of.

You can also add or remove the "Availability badge" to your profile. This shows other people whether you are ready to work or not.

So, Fiverr, how is it there?

We said that Fiverr is more demanding in terms of flexibility. Here, too, you can limit the number of orders waiting in the queue to avoid over-ordering.

For example, if you accept 3 orders at once, you will not receive any new orders from customers until your projects are completed.

User reviews

Reviews give a lot of clues about the user experience. Therefore, looking at real user reviews is essential for the most accurate comparison.

What do users say about Upwork?

G2 - 4.6

Positive comments

• Good customer support 
• Secure payments and smooth system
• Easy to use and well organized platform
• Quick match with customers from various sectors
• Easy project management thanks to messaging and time tracking features

Negative comments

• Expensive connects
• High commission rates for beginners
• Some technical shortcomings in the Mac app
• Difficulty to change countries after opening an account

What do users say about Fiverr?

G2 - 4.3

Positive comments

• Fast and helpful customer support
• Free and easy to create an account
• User-friendly interface and easy access
• A platform that supports independent work
• Various payment methods and a secure payment system

Negative comments

• High platform commissions
• Unreliable star rating system
• Long waiting process for customers
• Limited page and ad customization options for freelancers

Upwork vs Fiverr mobile app

Upwork and Fiverr both have iOS and Android apps.

Comparison of user ratings in app stores:

App Store user rating:

• Upwork - 4.6
• Fiverr - 4.9

Google Play Store user rating:

• Upwork - 4.0
• Fiver - 3.6

Which one is better for you?

Upwork is ideal for freelancers who want to focus on long-term projects, establish client relationships, and work on a variety of larger or ongoing tasks.

Fiverr is better suited for quick, one-time jobs where you can offer fixed-price packages and work with clients on smaller, more specific tasks.

Which is better for hiring freelancers?

We offered a comprehensive comparison to freelancers, but we didn't forget about clients.

If you are looking to hire freelancers on Upwork or Fiverr, here is a quick comparison for you.

Hire on Upwork

Upwork has more than 1 million customer reviews. So, before hiring a freelancer, you can read reviews from other clients.

On Upwork, clients' payment is protected. When you pay, your money is held and transferred to the freelancer with your approval after the project is completed.

There are no hours-long hiring processes on Upwork. There are millions of professionals who can start working for you right away.

Upwork has a chat panel to collaborate with freelancers and discuss details. So you can clarify project details together.

How do you hire?

It's very simple, just two steps:

• Open an account.
• Post a job advertisement.

Include the following information in the job advertisement:

• project details,
• type of work (hourly, project-based), and
• total budget.

Then you will receive offers from dozens of freelancers who match the project.

But this is not the only way.

Recruiting with Project Catalog

Project Catalog is great for clients who don't want to post jobs. In a short time, you can find professionals to complete your project.

However, in the catalog you will find only fixed-price jobs:

If you want to hire faster, you can use the "Featured" badge. This helps your job ad to be viewed by a larger community of freelancers.

Full-time hiring

Most people don't know about Upwork's full-time hiring feature. Airbnb, Grammarly, and Microsoft use it.

Upwork fee for clients

• 5% service fee

Upwork plans for clients

Upwork has 3 different pricing plans for customers:

1. Marketplace
2. Business Plus
3. Enterprise

And each one has a different fee.

Hire on Fiverr

Hiring on Fiverr is simpler than on Upwork. After creating a membership, you can buy services by searching more than 700 categories.

After the purchase, a notification is sent to the freelancer. Then, the freelancer starts working to deliver it within the specified time.

Why hire on Fiverr?

It's very fast. There's no complicated job application and bidding system. You just go on the site when you need it and make a quick purchase.

Also on Fiverr, you can see other clients' reviews of the freelancer. This helps you to get an idea of the service you will receive.

Fiverr fee for buyers

• 5.5% for each buy
• Additional $3 fee for orders less than $100.

Fiverr plans for buyers

• Fiverr Advanced: $129 per month

Both Upwork and Fiverr offer unique advantages for freelancers, depending on the needs and work preferences. 

A quick summary would be: While Upwork is ideal for long-term projects and corporate clients, Fiverr provides a more accessible, gig-based system for quick and straightforward jobs. 

If you're looking for a more flexible and cost-effective way to get paid globally as a freelancer, try Ruul—a streamlined payment solution with low fees and fast transactions. Sign up today and simplify your freelance payments!

Frequently asked questions

What are the differences between Fiverr and Upwork?

The key difference between Upwork and Fiverr lies in their working models. Upwork operates on a bidding system, while Fiverr uses a Gig-based system. Additionally, Upwork charges a 10% fee, whereas Fiverr takes 20%. Lastly, Upwork attracts more corporate clients, while Fiverr is more popular among individual buyers.

Is Upwork better than Fiverr?

Upwork's advantage over Fiverr is its significantly lower commission rate, which is half the cost. Additionally, Upwork stands out with corporate clients and higher freelancing earning potential.

Is Fiverr better than Upwork?

Fiverr is better than Upwork for beginners. Additionally, it has lower competition, making it easier to find the first client compared to Upwork.

What are the benefits of using Fiverr over other freelance platforms?

It has a very simple membership system and frees freelancers from the competition of the bidding model. Instead of reaching out to clients, clients come to you. This system is especially clear and easy for beginners.