There are many ways for freelancers to find work. One is through freelance platforms, and the other is by finding jobs directly from companies.
The traditional concept of working from 9 to 5 is changing. It is projected that in 2027, 86.5 million people will be freelancing in the United States and will make up 50.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce (Source: Statista). In addition to the USA, many other countries have an increased number of freelancers on freelance platforms.
No matter how you find a freelance (remote) job, you should first research what the freelance market offers. It is important to note that there are freelance platforms that are not free to use and require monthly memberships or credit to apply to job posts. The freelance market has various platforms, but some of them are most effective and popular among freelancers.
Popular freelance platforms in 2021 are:
Upwork
Upwork is the most popular freelance platform among remote workers. In my opinion, you can find there many quality job posts and clients. It has efficient customer service chat, and many available ways to transfer your money from the website.
You can easily create a profile on Upwork by filling in all necessary details about your education, employment, and skills. If your profile isn’t approved you must change to skills that are less present on Upwork. Eventually, you should research to find out what works best for you.
Upwork costs for the freelancers
Upwork has Free Basic Membership and Plus Membership.
Free Basic Membership includes 10 connects per month for sending job proposals. Unused connects roll over up to 200 connects. This type of membership also includes hourly protection. With this membership, your profile will be hidden when you haven’t been earning on Upwork for 1 month. If you are a newly registered freelancer you will get 80 connects.
Plus Membership costs $14.99 per month and includes 80 connects per month. Unused connects will roll over to 140 connects. Your profile is visible all the time. You can hide your earnings on your profile, customize your profile URL, view other bids for job posts.
When you start a job contract and earn money Upwork will take some fees. When you earn the amount from $0 – $500 for the same client they will take 20% from that earning. For the amount from $500.01-$10,000 the fee is 10%, and for the $10,000.01 or more the fee is 5%. You can start many contracts with the same client and it will still count for the specific fee.
Upwork costs for employers
Client needs to pay fee of 3% on all payments for the Upwork Basic Membership. This type of membership is good for individuals or small businesses that are planning to hire a freelancer.
Upwork Plus Membership costs $49.99 per month, and also 3% on all transactions that clients have. This type of membership is suitable for ongoing projects. You will have the benefit of talent specialists that will help you with the hiring process. Talent specialists assist you with your job posts and highlight available freelancers. Your job post will stand out to top talent with Upwork Plus Badge. Also, you can invite up to 30 freelancers and agencies to your job post.
Upwork Enterprise Membership is the package for large businesses that do a lot of hiring on Upwork. Clients can align Upwork to their internal policies with configurable contracting features. You will have talent sourcing services, and they can assist you with outlining project requirements and selecting freelancers and agencies. The price for this type of membership depends on your organization’s needs, and you can schedule a call to get the info.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an online freelance platform where jobs are billed at a minimum of $5 per project. Freelancers work per project, not hourly. There are no subscriptions or sign-up fees for freelancers. When you earn by selling a service, Fiverr takes 20% of every transaction.
Employers only pay the freelancer for services provided. Business Membership is free for the first year. The freelancer sets pricing and there is no space for negotiating unless you are ordering a custom package. Employers must browse through dozens of freelancers and their offers to find the right fit for their projects. If you order service under $40, you have to pay a $2 service charge. On services that are more than $40, you will pay 5% of the total price.
Freelancer.com
You can easily create a profile on this freelance platform. The only difference is that after you accept some job, a commission is charged immediately to you. In my opinion, I recommend this platform as the last for finding remote jobs. Many job posts are not adequate, or they are just spam. It takes a lot of patience and research to find job posts to apply.
Freelancer.com also has membership options.
The basic membership plan is $4.95 per month. Some of the benefits include 50 bids per month, 50 skills added per month, three free highlighted contest entries per month, and five employer followings.
The Plus membership plan is free for one month and then $9.95 per month. Some of the benefits include 100 bids per month, 80 skills added, 10 employer followings, daily withdrawal requests, and five free highlighted contest entries per month.
The professional membership plan is $29.95 per month. Some of the benefits include 300 bids per month, adding 100 skills, 20 employer followings, daily withdrawal requests, and 15 free highlighted contest entries per month.
The Premier membership plan is $69.95 per month. Some of the benefits include 700 bids per month, 400 skills added, unlimited employer followings, daily withdrawal requests, and 30 free highlighted contest entries per month.
The fee structure of this platform depends on the type of job that you are working for. The fixed project fee is 10% of the total project cost. The hourly project fee is 10% of your hourly rate. The contest fee is 10% of your earnings. The service fee is 20%. The preferred freelancer program fee is 15%.
On this freelance platform, the fee for employers is less than that for freelancers. The fixed project fee is 3% of the total project cost. The hourly project fee is 3%. For the contests and services, clients don’t have any fees other than just paying for the job service.
Guru
On Guru, fees depend on the type of membership you have. They start at 9% and can be as low as 5%.
The basic membership plan is free, and the fee for the jobs is 9%, with 10 bids per month.
The Basic+ membership plan is $11.95 per month, with a 9% job fee and 50 bids per month.
The professional membership plan is $21.95 per month, with a 7% job fee and 50 bids per month.
The business membership plan is $33.95 per month, with a job fee of 6% and 50 bids per month.
The executive membership plan is $49.95 per month, with a 5% job fee and 50 bids per month.
For employers, creating an account and posting a job is free. When a client pays an invoice, the fee is 2.5%.
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