Fiverr vs Upwork: Which Is The Best Place To Hire A Freelancer?

Fiverr vs Upwork comparison easily comes to mind when you’re in search of the best freelancing website to hire a freelancer to work for you. Of course, you don’t want to hire someone who will mess up with your job.

Hence the need to compare the two leading freelancing websites to see which is best for you based on your needs. I have hired freelancers from Fiverr and  Upwork and I’m here to tell you in detail what to expect on both platforms.

The idea is to guide you towards making the best choice of where to buy a gig.

Let’s get started.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a freelance marketplace where individuals, small businesses, and large organizations go to hire the services of freelancers who will do remote jobs for them.

How does Fiverr work?

It simply works this way: Clients go to the marketplace which is categorized into different services one may need.

Check the profile and review of freelancers offering such services. If satisfied with their portfolio, can decide to contact them to discuss their projects. After which clients can place orders base on the package they want.

What is Upwork?

Just like Fiverr, Upwork is another popular freelancing website. In fact, it’s Fiverr’s competitor. But its model of freelancing is different from that of Fiverr.

How does Upwork work?

 Here instead of searching for freelancers who will do your job as in the case of Fiverr, you post a job, and freelancers who think they can handle it bid for it.

You take time to review the bidding and select a freelancer who you think his experience and skill are best suited for the job.

Pressed with time and want to jump straight to the summary? Here is it:

Gigs on Fiverr are cheap. You can hire a freelancer as low as $5 plus the interface is simple and straightforward. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to buy a gig on Fiverr. However, you have to be wary of mediocre freelancers who can deceive you to hire them with fake reviews and ratings.

This is one of the challenges on Fiverr that is yet to address. On the other side, the services of freelancers on Upwork aren’t cheap because many professionals who do remote jobs are there.  But you can be sure that you can set some standards for freelancers who would want to bid for your job.

However, its interface to me isn’t beginner-friendly. Many beginners who want to post jobs won’t understand the steps they will need to take to ensure they hire the most qualified freelancer for the job.

Let’s dive into the comparison properly.

1.Ease of use

For a beginner who wants to hire a freelancer, how easy it will be for him/her comes to mind. People don’t want something that will be of stress to them.

They want something they can explore and handle within the shortest possible time. As stated earlier, the interface of Fiverr is easy to use.

There is no learning curve. The services which you are looking for are already organized into categories and subcategories to make it easy for you to buy a gig.

Upwork isn’t easy to use if you’re a beginner who isn’t tech-savvy. You need to learn how to post a job that involves you describing the job you want to be done, the fixed fee which you’re willing to pay, and the level of experience you need.

You will also state if the job is a one-time or a long-term project. All this to increase your chance of attracting the best freelancers to bid for your job. Another is that you have to take time to review all the bids from freelancers then contact the one you feel can handle your job well.

Verdict: Fiverr is more beginner-friendly than Upwork. Its model of freelancing saves you the stress of posting a job and reviewing bids. You just use its categories, sub-categories, or even a search to identify a freelancer to work with.

2.Quality of Job

This is one aspect that should matter to you in this Fiverr vs Upwork comparison. The main reason you want to spend your hard-earned money hiring a freelancer is to get value for it. Which is a well-done job.

From my experience, Fiverr has a lot of freelancers who deliver half-baked jobs. They use fake reviews and ratings to convince you that they’re the best persons to do your job.

Unfortunately, Fiverr is yet to develop a technique to penalize this kind of freelancer. That’s why you need to take your time to read those reviews to be sure that they are real. Upwork also has freelancers who aren’t good.

But you can scheme out this set of freelancers when you’re posting a job. For instance, you can set some qualifications a freelancer must possess before bidding for your job.

Already Upwork has some reliable professional qualifications which freelancers must acquire through a test before they can be certified.

Verdict: Upwork comes top in terms of the quality of the job. However, you must be ready to take the pain of posting a job and reviewing bids.

Plus identify the appropriate qualification you think a freelancer must possess before bidding for your job.

3.Payment for job

After you have agreed to work with a freelancer, you have to pay for the service. On Fiverr, freelancers have different packages for the services they offer. While on Upwork, you fix how much you’re willing to pay and must not be below the minimum.

Fiverr withholds the money you paid until it is confirmed that the freelancer has delivered. Same with Upwork. The freelancer you hired gets his pay once it is confirmed that the job has been delivered.

You can pay for gigs via PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, etc on Fiverr. On Upwork, you can pay with PayPal, ACH, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, etc.

Verdict: Upwork has more payment options than Fiverr. This gives clients the opportunity to decide which payment method is more suitable for them.

4.Dispute resolution

Freelancers and clients often have misunderstandings when it comes to remote jobs. It is normal. A client might not be satisfied with the job a freelancer did and may want the money paid for the service to be refunded.

Also, the freelancer may be fed with a client who he thinks is difficult to work with. This is where dispute resolution comes in. Both Fiverr and Upwork have there different ways of resolving disputes of such and others related to it.

The Resolution Centre is there for you on Fiverr if you have issues with an order. For instance, you may decide to cancel or modify an order you have placed on Fiverr for reasons best known to you.

Also, the gig seller may also decide to adjust the charges because of the modification made in the order. All these are taken care of via the resolution center.

Login and open your order, click on the blue resolution button on the right-hand side of the panel. Select the action you’d like to take and click Continue.

It is important you note that your choices may vary depending on the issue you select. Also, you have to explain the reason for the choices you have selected.

Your comment will be sent to the other party and it can take up to 2 days for them to accept or decline. You can check for updates on it on your order page.

Upwork also has a method of resolving disputes. Freelancers and clients can file a dispute and have them resolved. Disputes on Upwork can be filed under these two circumstances:

• A client fails to release a milestone payment after the job has been delivered.
• A client ends with the job with an escrow balance.

Here is where to file a dispute on Upwork. Don’t forget that you can review or update your request after a dispute is submitted. The next stage is the mediation stage with an Upwork dispute specialist.

If you as a client fail to respond to mediation after 2 contact attempts, the dispute will be resolved in favor of the freelancer and all funds will be released to him. Also, Upwork allows users to agree to resolve issues themselves.

If the parties involved failed to resolve the issues within a reasonable period of time, the Upwork dispute specialist will make a non-binding recommendation.

When that failed, the final stage is to head to are arbitration. Click here to learn more.

Verdict: Both platforms have a clear way of resolving disputes. So both the freelancer and the client can always submit a request and have the issue resolved.

5.Customer support

This Fiverr vs Upwork comparison won’t be complete without taking a look at the customer support.

As a client who wants to buy a service on Fiverr or Upwork, you are entitled to support. This is because you can be confused with a process and need a guide.

Fiverr has a support page dedicated to you as a client (Buyer). There you can read up articles on gig policies, seller hub, withdrawals, viewing gig statistics, etc.

Also, there are explainer videos that will show you clearly how to get an issue resolved. Plus you can follow up on their social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Upwork also has a dedicated page support page for clients like you. This page has articles on how to find a freelancer, make a hire, pay for work, manage your project, etc.

You can also work into  their California and Chicago offices. It has also an email address through which you can reach out to them. Plus you can contact them via phone.

Verdict: The customer support Upwork offers is better than that of Fiverr. You can reach out to them via phone, email and even has offices you can visit.

Fiverr vs Upwork: Similarities

Both platforms have a few things in common and below are them.

Escrow process

When clients buy a service on Fiverr or Upwork, the payment is withheld by these platforms until the delivery of the job is confirmed.

Then the freelancer can get the pay. This process builds the trust of clients and encourages freelancers to deliver the job base on the terms agreed.

Connection of sellers and buyers

Upwork and Fiverr are both freelancing websites that connect freelancers(Sellers) and clients(Buyers). While the freelancers offer their services to clients via the jobs they do for them, clients pay freelancers for the job they have done for them.

Fiverr vs Upwork: Pros and Cons

Fiverr Pros

• Buying a gig on Fiverr is cheap. You can hire the service of a freelancer for $5.
• The user interface is beginner-friendly.
• Disputes between a client and a freelancer can be resolved.
• Withholds payment until the job delivery is confirmed.
• Safe and secured payment options.
• Offers customer support.

Fiverr Cons

• Clients often complain of poor quality jobs.
• Fake reviews and ratings of freelancers’ profiles are common.

Upwork Pros

• Safe and secure flexible payment options
• Has measures to ensure that jobs clients deliver are of good quality.
• Offers customer support.
• Resolves dispute through mediation and arbitration.
• Withholds payment until the delivery of the job is confirmed.

Upwork Cons

• The user interface isn’t beginner-friendly.
• The cost of hiring a freelancer can be expensive.

Summary

At this point, I trust you now have the basic knowledge of what to expect on both platforms from this Fiverr vs Upwork comparison. I have compared the key features that should be on your mind as you plan to hire a freelancer on either of them.

Fiverr and Upwork are the world’s leading freelancing websites. Both are good in their own different ways. It is now up to you to decide which suits you after placing the points made side by side against your needs.

If I’m to suggest, Fiverr is the place for you if you’re on a low budget. But be sure to not allow some freelancers to deceive you with fake reviews and ratings. Also, its interface is easy to use. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to hire a freelancer on  Fiverr.

Upwork has measures to ensure that freelancers deliver quality jobs to clients. However, it’s not for those on a tight budget.

Be ready to take the stress of reviewing bids from freelancers to identify the best freelancer for your job.