Top 10 Freelancing Sites for 2011

The online freelance marketplace is a moving target, with only two of the top contenders having more than 10 years in the game (Guru and Elance) the market is still evolving and there is no single “Best of Breed” who has clarified exactly what a freelancing site needs to be. Partly, this is because there are two equally strong “teams”. On the one side are the buyers of services – the money people. They are looking for professionalism, convenience and discounts. On the other are the providers, who want guarantees for payment and available work at a decent wage. Both parties are looking for smooth functionality and secure transactions.

Still battling for the number one and two spots

Elance – With more than 3 million in sales and a decade of survival behind it, Elance is still the site to beat for start-up freelancing sites. One downside for new freelancers is the difficulty they face breaking into the market. Because it brings the best players from both the client and the provider side, the level of competition is higher for the better gigs.

Both the volume of listings and the number of freelancers are high. This site is best for those with established credentials or a strong niche presence. Fees are minimal at $10 a month per category, and commissions are collected (up to 8.75%) on all jobs.

Categories on the site:

• Web and Programming – this accounts for the lion’s share of the dollar volume on the site with websites and related programming featured.
• Design and Multimedia – related to web & programming, this category splits off other web-related tasks. Together with W&P these two account for more than 3/5ths of all the jobs offered on the site.
• Writing and Translation – Another fifth of the jobs available fall into this category. Many are low-ball and “junk”, but there are gems to be found amidst the rubble.
• Administrative Support – Along with Sales and Marketing, this accounts for the final large chunk of projects offered. An average day will see about a thousand active projects open for bidding.
• Finance and Management, Engineering and Manufacturing, Legal – These make up a small number of specialty jobs on the site.

Elance offers an escrow service and guaranteed payment on hourly jobs (both with restrictions).

Odesk – Lifetime sales volume for this site actually exceeds that of Elance, even though Odesk has only been around since 2002. There are two main differences between the sites. The first is fee structure. There are no membership fees at Odesk, but commissions are set at 10% for all projects. The second is about guaranteeing payments. Odesk focuses on hourly projects and guarantees payment for those, while fixed price projects are generally not guaranteed. Elance allows a guarantee on hourly projects only with stipulations (Work View and Tracker). Odesk is also set up as a tracking service by default. That means that clients get a screen shot of work in progress from the provider’s computer.

Categories of freelancing jobs:

• Programming tasks – these are split into three categories: Web Development, Software Development, and Netowrking & Information Systems. The greatest share of open jobs falls under Web Development with about 10% more jobs listed than at Elance.
• Administrative Support/Customer Service/Business Services – these three categories combined account for the second highest number of openings at Odesk, with data entry (in Admin. Support) leading. The hourly feature, with visible monitoring by clients makes this category appealing at this site, as well as the deep discounts. Unfortunately, for freelancers, the pay scale offered can be extremely low for unskilled work.
• Design and Multimedia – This is on par with Elance for volume.
• Sales and Marketing – Most of this category revolves around SEO services and is a mixed bag of content and placement on the net.

Overall, Odesk has a reputation of volume and low prices – good for buyers, but not as good for freelancers.

A strong third place and the rest of the field

Guru comes in third only because it can’t seem to gain the huge traction of Elance and Odesk. Volume at the site remains about a third of the “big boys”. This may be because of legacy issues with a difficult to navigate site and high membership costs. Both of these have been addressed and from a freelancer’s point of view, Guru is well worth checking out.

Fees: Vary by payment agreement, but range from $10 a month up to $35 a month for single freelancer. 5% commission on payments.

The site is broken down into three basic categories:

• Technology – this encompasses programming and related services. It has about a fifth of the listings of either Odesk or Elance but still has the largest demand.
• Creative Arts – This includes the design and writing categories, with web content dominating.
• Business – All admin and related services, along with sales and marketing.

The fee structure at Guru and the hierarchy of job postings (Basic, Guru and Guru Vendor) mean there is a higher barrier to entry for freelancers. This can work as a benefit if you have the skills to compete at the site. While the number of jobs is less, so is the number of paid members looking for jobs.

A direct comparison between the first three sites mentioned can be found here.

PeopleperHour – Based in the UK, this service is a fast growing marketplace with worldwide reach and backing by a major investor (Index Ventures, who backed Skype). At less than a 100,000 freelancers currently registered, it may be a chance to get a reputation before the site is swamped. 10% commission on payments.

Freelancer – This is unfortunately a case where numbers do not tell the whole tale. There are more than a million freelancers registered at this site and more than a quarter million buyers. The number of open projects is quite low as well as the dollar amounts. So, a site with six times as many freelancers has a fifth of the sales as Elance does. The interface is also difficult with projects searchable by keyword instead of category. The commission is 10% for a basic membership and 3% for “gold” membership. Buyers also pay to post and a 3% commission. (This site used to be GetaFreelancer.)

VWorker – No sign up or membership fees initially makes this site attractive and it may be a good place to try out freelancing for first timers. The commissions range from 6.5% to 15% and they try for an hourly model with time tracking. The ratio between freelancers and buyers is about the same as Elance. (This site used to be called RentaCoder.)

GetaCoder – This site began as a programming focused site and retains that reputation although other types of projects are available. The volume is much less than the “biggies” but still appreciable. Commission is 10% + $5 (with membership, just 10%). The main problem with the site is the interface. Searching is by keyword instead of by category, making it harder to browse projects.

iFreelance – This site collects no commissions and relies on monthly membership fees that range from $5 to $10. It is an interesting model, because the site operates very “hands off”. There are no guarantees and payment arrangements are made between buyers and providers directly. The site suffers from difficulties in searching by category and an inability to see average bids on projects.

Scriptlance – The “script” in the name refers to computer programming, not prose. The site reflects this and is designed to connect freelance programmers with buyers. This site is interesting because the number of freelancers and buyers is almost identical (about 40,000). The fees are low ($5 for buyers, 5% for coders) but the number of jobs is limited as well. Budgets seem to be quite low on the site overall.

Demand Studios – This type of site purchases articles at a fixed rate on topics they provide. Along with Textbrokers and others, they are not strictly a freelance site (there is no bidding) but can be a reliable backup for writers who are between other gigs.

Some that didn’t make the cut

LimeExchange, once thought to be an up and comer, has decided to close its doors.

Helium and Suite101 are sites that allow article posting and then pay-per-click. This is not strictly of interest to freelancers unless you are trying to establish a portfolio. Helium does have some direct sales in a contest format. This is similar to 99Designs for graphic artists.

Associated Content – was bought by Yahoo and isn’t what it was.

Craig’s List – although still worth considering for freelancers, it is difficult to reach more than your local marketplace without violating their terms of service.

A final tip

When considering any freelance site, take a look at their job boards. You want to see if there is anything that interests you, how much the jobs are going for and the number of bids. Quite a lot of information can be had by simply touring the site – especially if there is a forum you can read over. Community forums at freelancing sites contain a wealth of information (and complaints) from current users.

Overall, there are many sites with junk jobs that inflate their numbers. The bottom line has to be whether or not you can meet your own income needs with what’s available. Good luck and happy freelancing!

Bill Morrison is an online freelance writer who specializes in web content. He can be found at the Professional Freelancers Network.