Upwork vs. Fiverr: An In-Depth Comparison

If you’re one of the millions of professionals who freelance—or a business owner in need of some help—you might be frustrated by the idea of finding just the right fit through networking and marketing. Traditional methods of working and freelancing may leave you with a limited pool of options in your immediate area.

Work marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr are a great way to find skilled freelancers and high-quality work opportunities, no matter where you are in the world. These freelancing platforms bring together people with a wide variety of skill sets and connect them to paying clients. Access to high-quality jobs and experts is no longer limited by geography.

The right freelance marketplace for you will depend on a variety of factors including your project needs, budget, and work preferences.

This article will dive into specifics in each of these areas to help you make a well-informed choice.

How does Upwork work?

You can use Upwork as a client, a freelancer, or both. (In fact, we were recently named one of the most innovative companies of 2025 thanks to how easily our platform connects freelancers and clients!)

Clients can create job postings in Talent Marketplace™, review freelancer proposals, and even get access to the top 1% of talent on Upwork with a Business Plus account. Business Plus clients can also get help from a Talent Specialist to develop short lists of qualified talent. 

Freelancers on Upwork provide one of more than 100 available specializations, such as accounting and prompt engineering. They can use Connects to submit proposals for freelance jobs posted by clients.

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Both clients and freelancers on Upwork also benefit from access to Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Uma can help you write proposals, draft job posts, brainstorm ideas, and more.

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Once you find the right match, coming to an agreement is as simple as clicking a button. Everything you need to take care of project management, sourcing, hiring, billing, and payment is located right inside of Upwork’s user-friendly platform. This includes:

• Hourly or fixed-price billing
• Identity verification
• Project milestones
• Freelancer profiles and portfolios
• Reviews and testimonials
• Direct messaging
• Voice calls
• Zoom video calls
• Meeting scheduling
• Proposals and contracts
• Time tracking
• Automatic invoicing
• Escrowed payments
• Payment protection
• Collaborating with team members
• The Job Post Generator powered by Uma

Upwork fees and plans

There is no up-front cost to use Talent Marketplace, Project Catalog, or Upwork Business Plus. 

• The first time a Marketplace client issues payment on a new contract, they pay a one-time contract initiation ranging from $0.99 to $14.99
• All payments on the same contract incur a service fee of up to 10% depending on plan type and payment method

Freelancers can sign up for a free Basic account or subscribe to Freelancer Plus for $19.95 per month. 

• Upwork assesses a variable service fee ranging from 0-15% on all earnings
• Direct Contracts incur a 5% or 0% fee depending on freelancer plan type

Upwork also offers an Enterprise plan for large businesses looking for an alternative to the traditional staffing model.

Upwork Enterprise services include:

• Dedicated support from the Upwork team
• Billing and reporting tools
• Support for classification decisions

You can use Upwork for one-time freelance services or to build long-term relationships for ongoing work. There are even options for clients and freelancers who would like to transition to a full-time work arrangement.

How does Fiverr work?

Fiverr refers to clients as "buyers" and freelancers as "sellers." You can sign up for Fiverr as a buyer, a seller, or both.

Sellers are Fiverr freelancers who create packaged services, or “Gigs”, and list them for sale. Some sellers can also respond to buyer requests for help. Sellers may work one-on-one with clients or via an AI assistant that’s trained by the freelancer.

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Buyers browse and purchase Gigs from sellers (or via a freelancer’s AI assistants and tools). Buyers can also reach out to sellers for a customized Gig or submit a request for help. You also have the option to use Fiverr Pro, which connects buyers with the top talent on Fiverr.

The Fiverr platform offers several features and tools to its users, including:

• Profile pages
• Talent reviews
• Direct messaging
• Escrowed payments
• Customized Gig quoting
• AI chatbots

Fiverr fees and plans

There is no initial fee to use Fiverr's core features. Instead, sellers pay a consistent 20% commission to Fiverr on all earnings. Buyers pay a minimum 5.5% fee on each transaction. An additional $3.00 fee is assessed when a buyer spends less than $100 on an order.

Sellers on Fiverr may have one of three account designations:

• Free accounts
• Seller Plus, which costs $29 per month and unlocks additional support and analytics
• Fiverr Pro, which is available via application only and allows sellers to work with Fiverr Pro buyers

A buyer who would like to use Fiverr Pro has two options:

• Fiverr Pro Essential, which is only available to buyers spending at least $1,000 per year. This tier unlocks access to vetted freelancers and a 25% discount on sourcing services. Fiverr Pro Essential is free to use if you meet the criteria.
• Fiverr Pro Advanced, which costs $129 per month and includes support from a Business Success Manager, document management tools, one background check, and one worker classification audit.

By default, Fiverr Gigs are project-based, flat-fee purchases. Only Fiverr Pro customers can set up hourly contracts with freelancers. 

Upwork vs. Fiverr: hiring a freelancer

Business owners can hire talented freelancers with a wide variety of skill sets on both Upwork and Fiverr. The process, and available options, vary between each platform.

After creating an Upwork account for your company, you can opt to post a job or browse prepared services in Project Catalog. If you create a job description, you’ll get bids from highly qualified freelancers who may be a fit for the project. (Business Plus customers can get additional support in the form of one curated talent shortlist prepared for each job post.) 

You’re welcome to invite freelancers you like to apply or wait for other freelancers in Talent Marketplace to submit proposals—the average time to hire a professional on Upwork is three days.

On Fiverr, you’ll need to browse Gig listings or submit a request for help. Fiverr Pro clients can get additional support from a success manager.

Other differences between using Upwork and Fiverr to hire freelancers include:

*Fiverr data sourced from Fiverr.com and other public sources made available by Fiverr.

Read transcript

Upwork vs. Fiverr: finding freelance work

When you sign up for Upwork as a freelancer, you can find jobs by using Connects to submit proposals. You can also work more efficiently with access to Uma, accept invitations from clients and Talent Specialists, and offer consultations.

There’s no cost to create a basic freelancer account. (Freelancer Plus subscribers get full access to Uma, 100 Connects per month, and other perks.)

You’ll meet all kinds of clients on Upwork, from fellow freelancers to small businesses and large enterprises.  

On Fiverr, you can find work by posting Gigs and responding to buyer requests as a free or Seller Plus-level freelancer. If you’re accepted to Fiverr Pro, you can work with Pro-tier buyers. 

Sellers who have a Level 2 or higher status can also use Fiverr Go to train custom AI models. These models can interact with clients on your behalf and produce text, audio, or image content in your professional style.

Some differences you may notice when looking for freelance work on Upwork and Fiverr include:

*Fiverr data sourced from Fiverr.com and other public sources made available by Fiverr.

Key differences between Upwork and Fiverr

There are a few key differences to consider when choosing a platform, whether you sign up as a freelancer or a client:

• Ease of use
• Types of jobs
• Security
• AI tools

You may have a very specific way you'd like to work on contracts, or want the flexibility to try out different models of work. Make sure that the platform you choose fits with your workflow.

Ease of use

The Upwork workflow ensures that both freelancers and clients are on the same page before starting a project. Clients cannot start a contract without a freelancer’s acceptance. And when working in Project Catalog, clients and freelancers have 24 hours to cancel an order without penalty. You can use this feature for situations such as:

• You purchase a project and then realize you’d rather invite the freelancer to an hourly contract
• You accidentally purchase the wrong project
• You review a client request and realize that you aren’t the best fit for their needs
• You forgot to deactivate your Project Catalog listings while busy and do not have the capacity to take on more work

On Fiverr, it’s not quite as easy to change the direction of a Gig once it’s been purchased. All Gig cancellations can result in a reduction in a seller’s rating, even if the buyer made the cancellation. 

It's also very easy to find just the right type of work or freelancer on Upwork, thanks to built-in filtering tools that allow you to sort by fields such as:

For freelancers seeking jobs:

• Category of work
• Required experience level
• Hourly billing or fixed-price payments
• Client budget
• Total number of proposals received to date
• Client payment verification status
• Client hiring history
• Project length
• Project hours per week
• Client location (U.S. or international)
• Client time zone
• Contract-to-hire opportunity

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For clients seeking freelancers:

• Talent rating
• Skills
• Work category
• Diversity certifications
• Location and time zone
• Type of talent
• Hourly rate
• Job Success Score
• Total amount earned to date
• Total hours billed to date
• Languages
• English fluency level
• Other languages
• Interest in contract-to-hire
• Consultation options

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On Fiverr, sellers cannot browse posted job listings. Buyers may browse and filter sellers by:

• Service options
• Seller level
• Type of talent
• Languages
• Location
• Budget
• Delivery time
• Fiverr Pro Gigs
• Sellers that are actively online

Types of jobs

You can find freelancers and jobs for more than 10,000 skills across 13 categories of work on Upwork. On Fiverr, you can find jobs and freelancers focused on more than 300 skills across 9 industries. Here’s how they compare:

*Fiverr data sourced from Fiverr.com and other public sources made available by Fiverr.

‍On Upwork, clients can engage freelancers in highly customizable contracts. Freelancers can also choose to work with clients on predefined Project Catalog offerings. This means that the platform supports both one-time projects as well as ongoing contracts.

Upwork freelancers also have full control over their rates, including both hourly billing and fixed-price options.

On Fiverr, freelancers and regular clients are restricted to flat-rate projects. Hourly contracts are only available to Fiverr Pro sellers and approved freelancers who can post Fiverr Pro gigs.

Security

When entering into any work contract, it’s essential that all parties feel comfortable with the arrangement. This can include considering both personal preferences and legal requirements.

Upwork takes security very seriously. In addition to its secure contracts and payment protection, Upwork also:

• Employs multi-factor authentication to keep all user accounts secure
• Offers Enterprise single sign-on (SSO) and session timeouts
• Encrypts data
• Scans messages and attachments for viruses or malware
• Verifies freelancer identities and client payment methods
• Is PCI DSS Level 2 compliant for secure payment processing
• Adheres to GDPR and CCPA regulations
• Implements a robust anti-money laundering program

The Upwork dispute team is able to help resolve any issues between clients and freelancers or relating to contracts. This can include:

• Requesting a refund
• Disputing hours billed
• Escrow dispute resolution
• Unresponsive freelancers

According to Fiverr, the platform provides:

• Data security
• Secure messages
• Level 1 PCI DSS compliance

Fiverr also has a help and support team to aid in problems with the platform or purchased Gigs.

AI tools

Upwork and Fiverr each offer users access to AI tools, but the options are very different.

On Upwork, freelancers and clients can both use Uma to help them conduct work. The results of Uma interactions stay within each user’s respective account—a freelancer’s Uma outputs aren’t shared automatically with a client, for example.

That said, you can use Uma to help you create content you’ll share with others, including proposals, job posts, article outlines, and more. 

Fiverr offers Fiverr Go, a trainable AI tool that’s meant to interact with buyers on a freelancer’s behalf. Two different Fiverr Go tools are available to select Fiverr sellers:

• Personal Creation Model. This version of the Fiverr Go AI produces outputs in the same style as the seller. 
• Personal Assistant. This version of the Fiverr Go AI works as a buyer-facing chatbot. It can answer potential client questions and help sellers book Gigs.

Join the world's work marketplace

As a freelancer, you can use work marketplaces to find opportunities you’re passionate about and have control over your rates and work hours. Upwork is your home for building your independent freelancing career—sign up as a freelancer today to see how it can help you grow.

And as a client, work marketplaces can help you spend less time trying to find the best person for the job. When you use Upwork, you can feel confident that you’re getting the right skills at the right price. Sign up as a client and get more time back in your day to focus on what you do best.

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This analysis of services is provided for informational purposes only. Each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

If you are communicating with a hiring manager for a job through the Upwork platform, please note that sharing your personal contact information, such as email address, phone number, or LinkedIn profile, is not permitted in cover letters or at any time prior to the start of a contract. Additionally, all pre-contract communication should take place through the Upwork Messages feature. Learn more about using Upwork Messages here, and see more details on sharing information on Upwork here.