Upwork is a global freelancing platform that connects businesses with independent professionals and agencies. In this article, we discuss the top Upwork Competitors and Alternatives.
Upwork is a top online marketplace for over 12 million freelancers and five million clients worldwide, providing a platform for remote work from various fields such as web development, graphic design, and translation.
Its innovative platform facilitates quick and cost-effective hiring alongside fostering collaboration and productivity between businesses and independent professionals through advanced features, including messaging, time-tracking, project management, and payment systems. Consequently, Upwork has become a preferred platform for businesses aiming to tap into the benefits of remote work and globally sourced top talent.
- Product Type: Online Freelance Marketplace
- Industry: Freelance and Remote Work
- Founded Date: 1999
- Founders: Beerud Sheth, Srini Anumolu
- Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Hayden Brown
Table of Contents
The top Upwork competitors are
1. Fiverr
- Product Type: Online marketplace for freelance services
- Industry: Freelance services
- Founded Date: 2010
- Founders: Micha Kaufman, Shai Wininger
- Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Micha Kaufman
Fiverr is an online platform for freelancers and business owners. It’s an international marketplace where skilled people can offer services (known as “gigs”) across various fields, like design, marketing, writing, programming, and many more. Users can browse available gigs and hire multiple freelancers based on their needs.
2. Freelancer.com
- Product Type: Online marketplace for freelance services
- Industry: Freelance services
- Founded Date: 2009
- Founders: Matt Barrie
- Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Matt Barrie
Freelancer.com is a global crowdsourcing marketplace that allows potential employers to post jobs that qualified freelancers can then bid to complete. Derived from its name, it primarily focuses on freelance work and enables users to offer and get services across various fields like writing, marketing, coding, and design.
3. Toptal
- Product Type: Online marketplace for freelance services
- Industry: Freelance services
- Founded Date: 2010
- Founders: Taso Du Val, Breanden Beneschott
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Taso Du Val
Toptal is an exclusive network of the world’s top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers. Whereas many other freelance platforms allow anyone to create a profile and offer their service, Toptal has a rigorous screening process, ensuring that only the top 3% of applicants will be eligible to provide their services on the platform.
4. PeoplePerHour
- Product Type: Online marketplace for freelance services
- Industry: Freelance services
- Founded Date: 2007
- Founders: Xenios Thrasyvoulou, Simos Kitiris
- Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Xenios Thrasyvoulou
PeoplePerHour is an online marketplace conjoining self-employed people, or “freelancers,” with those needing their services. Users can browse through categories and directly hire people for specific tasks or projects on sites like Upwork.
5. Guru
- Product Type: Online marketplace for freelance services
- Industry: Freelance services
- Founded Date: 1998
- Founders: Inder Guglani
- Headquarters: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Mohit Bhakuni
Guru is a platform for businesses to find freelance workers for commissioned work. It is a tool where employers can post work for site members while bidding on a competitive hiring process.
6. 99designs
- Product Type: Online marketplace for graphic design services
- Industry: Graphic design services
- Founded Date: 2008
- Founders: Mark Harbottle, Matt Mickiewicz
- Headquarters: Melbourne, Australia
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Patrick Llewellyn
99designs is a platform for finding and hiring talented designers. It differentiates itself by offering a design contest feature, where clients can request designs from multiple designers and choose the one they like best.
7. Codeable
- Product Type: Online marketplace for WordPress development services
- Industry: WordPress development services
- Founded Date: 2012
- Founders: Per Esbensen, Tomaz Zaman
- Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Per Esbensen
Codeable is an exclusive WordPress freelancer platform. Their primary function is to connect customers needing help with WordPress to their pool of highly skilled WordPress experts. Unlike other listing sites, every freelancer on Codeable has passed a rigorous application process.
8. Outsourcely
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2014
- Founders: Brian P. Lewis, Evan Fishkin
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Evan Fishkin
Outsourcely is a recruitment platform designed to connect employers and full-time remote professionals. They emphasize long-term relationships and finding committed, career-minded professionals, standing out among the competition for unique client-worker pairings.
9. Textbroker
- Product Type: Content creation service
- Industry: Writing and Editing
- Founded Date: 2005
- Founders: Jan Becker-Fochler, Philipp Becker
- Headquarters: Mainz, Germany
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Phillip Thune
Textbroker is a content writing site that presents a platform for quality freelancers and those looking for unique written content who can pick and choose the specific writer or team of writers you prefer based on their skill level (or price).
10. Workhoppers
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2016
- Founders: Marie-Christine Ouimet
- Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Area Served: Canada, United States
- Current CEO: Marie-Christine Ouimet
Workhoppers is a hiring platform for freelance, gig, and part-time workers. Unlike other freelance job platforms, Workhoppers believes in a direct, flexible hiring approach, where employers and workers can communicate directly and agree on the best terms.
11. FreeUp
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2015
- Founders: Nathan Hirsch, Connor Gillivan
- Headquarters: Winter Park, Florida, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Nathan Hirsch
FreeUp is a marketplace that connects businesses with the top 1% of virtual assistants, freelancers, and agencies in eCommerce, digital marketing, web development, and customer service.
12. Credo
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2013
- Founders: John Doherty
- Headquarters: Denver, Colorado, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: John Doherty
Credo is a network of pre-vetted digital marketing professionals. They don’t merely list anyone who wishes to offer their services but carefully select only the best agencies and consultants in the industry. All professionals must undergo a thorough evaluation and screening process, including professional historical verification, portfolio reviews, and a strategy assessment to ensure that only the highest quality professionals are admitted to the platform.
13. Andela
- Product Type: Software development outsourcing
- Industry: Information Technology and Services
- Founded Date: 2014
- Founders: Christina Sass, Jeremy Johnson, Ian Carnevale, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Brice Nkengsa
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- Area Served: Africa, United States, Europe
- Current CEO: Jeremy Johnson
Andela is a global technology talent accelerator that connects businesses with software developers from the African continent. Often providing training to its roster of developers, Andela offers an end-to-end solution for matching competent tech professionals with companies with rigorous tech needs.
14. Hubstaff Talent
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2016
- Founders: Dave Nevogt, Jared Brown
- Headquarters: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Dave Nevogt
Hubstaff Talent is a free resource for companies seeking remote talent globally. Unlike other platforms, fees, markups, service fees, or intermediaries are involved. They offer resources for numerous fields, including design, programming, writing, and administrative tasks.
15. FreelancerMap
- Product Type: Online job marketplace
- Industry: Human Resources
- Founded Date: 2000
- Headquarters: Munich, Germany
- Area Served: Europe
FreelancerMap is an international project-based marketplace for IT professionals. It allows employers to post their project details and contract jobs while IT freelancers can browse, apply, and engage in these projects. The platform specializes in IT projects, making it an essential resource for businesses in tech industries.
16. Workana
- Product Type: Freelance marketplace
- Industry: Online marketplace
- Founded Date: 2012
- Founders: Guillermo Bracciaforte, Tomas O’Farrell
- Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Guillermo Bracciaforte
Workana is a freelance job marketplace primarily for Latin American professionals. It offers ongoing and one-off projects for freelance professionals in technology, design, writing, and marketing. The platform provides features like protected payments and selected professionals to ensure both sides can engage in safe, productive working relationships.
17. Topcoder
- Product Type: Crowdsourcing platform for software development
- Industry: Software development
- Founded Date: 2001
- Founders: Jack Hughes
- Headquarters: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Mike Morris
Topcoder is a platform for competitive programming and design. It offers crowdsourced solutions where challenges are posted, and freelancers or ‘top coders’ can compete to deliver the best solution. The first-place solution wins the prize and provides the solution to the client. It specializes in IT and computer programming projects.
18. Dribbble Jobs
- Product Type: Job board for designers
- Industry: Design
- Founded Date: 2009
- Founders: Dan Cederholm, Rich Thornett
- Headquarters: Salem, Massachusetts, United States
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Zack Onisko
Dribbble Jobs is a platform designed fundamentally for designers. It differentiates itself by providing a space where designers can showcase their portfolios, share designs, and connect with potential employers. Catering specifically to the creative industries, it can prove especially useful in finding gifted individuals for design-oriented projects.
19. TaskRabbit
- Product Type: Online and mobile marketplace for freelance labor
- Industry: Online marketplace
- Founded Date: 2008
- Founders: Leah Busque
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
- Area Served: United States, United Kingdom
- Current CEO: Ania Smith
TaskRabbit is a two-sided marketplace that connects ‘Taskers’ with people needing services. Taskers are mostly part-timers serving people nearby. From delivering groceries to fixing leaky faucets, TaskRabbit is a platform for people to outsource their errands and tasks to trusted individuals in their communities.
20. Truelancer
- Product Type: Freelance marketplace
- Industry: Online marketplace
- Founded Date: 2014
- Founders: Dipesh Garg
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Dipesh Garg
Truelancer is a platform for businesses to find freelancers. The platform offers various categories, including writing, graphic design, marketing, and programming. The platform also provides secure, flexible, and cost-effective solutions to freelancing platforms for businesses and independent professional workers globally.
21. DesignCrowd
- Product Type: Crowdsourcing platform for design services
- Industry: Design
- Founded Date: 2007
- Founders: Alec Lynch, Adam Arbolino
- Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Chris McNamara
DesignCrowd is a platform specializing in creative and design work, including logos, websites, flyers, business cards, etc. Using a crowdsourcing model primarily allows businesses to set up competitions where multiple designers can submit their ideas, and the best one is selected.
22. Thumbtack
- Product Type: Online and mobile marketplace for freelance labor
- Industry: Online marketplace
- Founded Date: 2008
- Founders: Marco Zappacosta, Jonathan Swanson, Sander Daniels
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
- Area Served: United States
- Current CEO: Marco Zappacosta
Thumbtack is a freelance platform that connects people with local professionals. From yoga instructors to plumbers, Thumbtack offers a wide variety of services. It differs from most freelance platforms by primarily focusing on field services and local professionals rather than digital services.
23. CrowdSpring
- Product Type: Branding and design services
- Industry: Creative services
- Founded Date: 2007
- Founders: Ross Kimbarovsky, Mike Samson
- Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Ross Kimbarovsky
CrowdSpring is a platform geared more toward creative work. It’s a space where businesses and individuals can describe the innovative projects they need so that designers and writers worldwide can submit their work. The client selects the best solution, making it well-suited for projects like upwork related to logo designs, websites, and business naming.
24. FlexJobs
- Product Type: Job search platform
- Industry: Employment services
- Founded Date: 2007
- Founders: Sara Sutton
- Headquarters: Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Sara Sutton
FlexJobs is a job search site specializing in remote, part-time, freelance, and flexible jobs. Recognizing the demand for these types of evolving work, FlexJobs offers job seekers a safer, faster, and easier way to find professional and legitimate flexible job listings.
25. ServiceScape
- Product Type: Freelance marketplace for services
- Industry: Creative services
- Founded Date: 2000
- Founders: David Burrus
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: David Burrus
ServiceScape is a platform that concentrates on providing editing and translating services. It connects individuals, businesses, and institutions with their community of experienced and skilled freelancers for document editing and translating. Classifying services according to different academic, professional, and personal needs ensures clients are matched precisely with their requirements.
26. Designhill
- Product Type: Graphic design marketplace
- Industry: Creative services
- Founded Date: 2014
- Founders: Rahul Aggarwal, Varun Aggarwal
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Rahul Aggarwal
Designhill is an online design platform that brings together talented freelance graphic designers worldwide. It enables businesses to source high-quality custom designs, logos, website development, and more at affordable prices. It also offers a DIY feature where customers can design their content.
27. Gigster
- Product Type: Software development services
- Industry: Information technology
- Founded Date: 2013
- Founders: Roger Dickey, Debo Olaosebikan
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Chris Keene
Gigster is a web-based platform that connects businesses with an exclusive network of top freelance developers for innovative software solutions. It focuses on high-quality software development and offers clients a product manager to lead the team, handle project management, and ensure the work’s success.
28. SolidGigs
- Product Type: Freelance job search platform
- Industry: Employment services
- Founded Date: 2015
- Founders: Preston Lee, Bryce Bladon
- Area Served: Worldwide
SolidGigs is a curated job board for freelancers. Its team sifts through dozens of job boards weekly and sends the top 2% of jobs straight to the user’s inbox. This makes it easier for many freelancers to find quality gigs without spending hours searching and applying for jobs.
29. UpCity
- Product Type: Digital marketing services
- Industry: Marketing services
- Founded Date: 2009
- Founders: Dan Olson, Andy Hagans
- Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Dan Olson
UpCity is a marketplace that provides comprehensive lists of trusted marketing service professionals. It gives businesses access to a directory of top agencies from various industries, certified reviews, and ratings, allowing them to find and connect with the best match.
30. Indeed
- Product Type: Job search platform
- Industry: Employment services
- Founded Date: 2004
- Founders: Paul Forster, Rony Kahan
- Headquarters: Austin, Texas, USA
- Area Served: Worldwide
- Current CEO: Chris Hyams
Indeed, it is arguably one of the world’s largest job search engine platforms. Businesses can post job vacancies and search an extensive database for professionals. While it is not freelance-specific, the expansive user base and job variety make it a relevant competitor in any job-seeking market.
These were all the competitors of Upwork. If you know any other competitors, please write in the comments below.
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