8 Platforms Worth Trying
Updated 08/04/2026
Fiverr is the name everyone knows. It’s also the platform that takes 20% of everything you earn. For a beginner building reviews that’s manageable, but as your income grows, that cut becomes a serious number.
Short version: Contra and Toptal charge freelancers 0% commission (Contra is open to anyone, Toptal only accepts the top 3% of applicants). Upwork’s fee has dropped to a variable 0-15%, averaging around 10% for most people. Guru sits at 5-9%. Everything else on this list beats Fiverr’s flat 20% in one way or another, the question is which trade-off actually fits your situation.
There are solid alternatives. Some have lower fees, some have better clients, some charge nothing at all. Here’s the honest breakdown of what’s actually worth your time.
Why Look Beyond Fiverr?
Fiverr works well for certain things, packaged gigs, creative work, quick one-off projects. But it has real limitations:
The 20% commission fee applies to every single transaction with no reduction over time.
The algorithm heavily favors established sellers, making the slow start for new profiles particularly painful.
Quality varies wildly, which means buyers are increasingly skeptical, and that skepticism hits new sellers hardest.
None of this makes Fiverr bad. It makes it worth comparing before you commit all your energy to one platform.
1. Upwork, Best Overall for Long-Term Work
Upwork is the largest freelance marketplace in the world and the most direct Fiverr alternative for anyone doing ongoing or higher-value work.
Upwork moved away from its old tiered commission model in 2025 to a variable service fee of 0-15% per contract, shown to you before you submit a proposal or accept an offer and locked for that contract’s duration. The exact rate depends on factors like your history with that client and demand in your skill category, most freelancers land somewhere around 10% in practice, but in-demand specialists can see it drop toward 0%.
Best for: Writing, design, development, marketing, virtual assistance, almost any category. Especially good for ongoing projects rather than one-off gigs. Not ideal for: Complete beginners with no portfolio, competition is significant.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Upwork
2. Freelancer.com, Best for Competitive Bidding
Freelancer.com is one of the oldest platforms in the space with over 50 million registered users. The auction-style bidding model means you compete directly for jobs by submitting proposals, which gives motivated beginners a real shot at landing work if they pitch well.
Fees are 10% or $5 minimum per project. Contests are available for design work where you submit work upfront and win if the client picks yours.
Best for: Beginners willing to pitch actively, competitive pricing, short-term projects. Not ideal for: Anyone who dislikes the proposal hustle or wants a storefront-style setup like Fiverr.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Freelancer.com
3. PeoplePerHour, Best for European Markets
PeoplePerHour combines Fiverr-style fixed-price service listings (called “Hourlies”) with a traditional project posting model. It has a strong European client base and works well for creative, content, digital marketing, and technical services.
Fee structure: 20% on the first £250 earned per client, dropping to 7.5% up to £5,000, then 3.5% beyond that. Rewards loyalty, the more repeat business you build, the less you pay.
Best for: UK and European freelancers, creative and marketing work, building long-term client relationships. Not ideal for: US-centric work or heavy technical development.
Full guide: How to Make Money on PeoplePerHour
4. Jobbers.io, Zero Commission, But Verify Before You Commit
Jobbers.io operates on a zero-commission model, freelancers and clients negotiate rates directly and keep 100% of agreed payments. On paper, that’s the best deal on this list.
Here’s the honest caveat: when I looked into this one, independent verification came up thin, and it still does. Most of what’s published online about Jobbers.io’s 0% commission claim traces back to the platform’s own reports rather than independent, third-party sources. That’s not proof of anything wrong, plenty of legitimate, newer platforms have a thin footprint before enough reviews pile up. But it does mean you should treat this one with more caution than the established names on this list.
If you try it, start small, use a payment method with buyer/seller protection for your first project, and don’t send significant work through until you’ve verified for yourself that payments clear as promised.
Best for: Experienced freelancers comfortable doing their own due diligence and starting small to test a newer platform. Not ideal for: Beginners who need a built-in buyer pool and established trust signals for their first clients.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Jobbers.io
5. Contra, Best Verified Zero-Commission Option
Contra is a legitimate, well-funded alternative to the traditional commission model, not a newcomer gimmick. Founded in 2019, it’s raised $45 million from investors including NEA, and operates as a real Series B company with a genuine, verifiable freelancer base.
Freelancers pay zero commission on completed work. Clients cover the payment processing costs instead, this varies by how Contra structures the transaction, but it’s nowhere near a 20% platform cut on your end.
The trade-off: Contra skews toward design, development, and creative work, the client pool is smaller than Upwork or Fiverr, and some users report a strict, sometimes frustrating verification process for new profiles and job postings. It’s a better fit once you’ve got a portfolio and some track record than as your very first platform.
Best for: Designers, developers, and creative freelancers with an existing portfolio who want to stop paying commission. Not ideal for: Complete beginners needing a large volume of entry-level gigs, or non-creative/technical fields.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Contra
6. Guru.com, Best for Long-Term Relationships
Guru.com has been around since 1998 and focuses on building ongoing client-freelancer relationships rather than one-off transactions. Fees range from 5-9% depending on membership tier, significantly lower than Fiverr’s flat 20%.
The platform uses a WorkRoom system that keeps all communication, milestones, and payments organized in one place, useful for complex or ongoing projects.
Best for: Ongoing client work, lower fees than Fiverr, structured project management. Not ideal for: Quick one-off gigs or beginners without an established work history.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Guru.com
7. 99designs, Best for Designers
99designs is design-only and proud of it. Unlike general platforms where design is one category among hundreds, 99designs is built entirely around visual work, logos, branding, web design, packaging, illustration.
It’s ideal for branding and design contests, with client-side logo packages typically starting somewhere in the $300-500 range. As a designer you can enter contests where multiple designers submit concepts and the client picks a winner, or work on direct one-to-one projects once your reputation is established.
Best for: Designers who want to specialize and command premium rates. Logo and branding work especially. Not ideal for: Writers, developers, or anyone outside the design space.
Full guide: How to Make Money on 99designs
8. Toptal, Best for Elite Professionals
Toptal is not for everyone, and that’s exactly the point. It targets roughly the top 3% of applicants through a rigorous vetting process, and connects them with enterprise clients at rates that run well above what most gig marketplaces pay.
The application process involves multiple screening rounds including live interviews and test projects. Most applicants don’t make it through. If you do, the client quality and rates are in a different league from any other platform on this list, and Toptal charges freelancers 0% commission, it earns through a markup on the client side instead.
Best for: Senior developers, designers, finance professionals, and project managers with strong portfolios and interview skills. Not ideal for: Beginners or anyone without a proven, demonstrable track record.
Full guide: How to Make Money on Toptal
Which One Should You Choose?
| Platform | Fee | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Upwork | 0-15% (variable) | Best overall, long-term work |
| Freelancer.com | 10% | Competitive bidding, beginners |
| PeoplePerHour | 3.5-20% | European markets, creative work |
| Jobbers.io | 0% (unverified trust) | Zero commission, but do your own due diligence |
| Contra | 0% + processing | Verified zero-commission, design/tech |
| Guru.com | 5-9% | Ongoing relationships, low fees |
| 99designs | Varies | Designers only |
| Toptal | 0% from freelancer | Elite talent, premium rates |
The honest answer: most successful freelancers don’t rely on just one platform. Start with one that fits your skill level, build reviews, then expand to a second. Contra makes sense once you already have a portfolio, Jobbers.io is worth testing cautiously and in parallel with an established platform, not as your sole income source.
Related: How to Make Money on Fiverr – A Beginner’s Honest Guidee
Frequently Asked Questions
Upwork or Freelancer.com are the most realistic starting points for beginners, both have large client pools and don’t require the vetting or established portfolio that platforms like Toptal or Contra expect.
Contra and Toptal both charge freelancers 0% commission and are independently verifiable. Jobbers.io also advertises 0% commission, but that claim currently relies mostly on the platform’s own reporting rather than independent verification, worth extra caution before relying on it.
Yes, most successful freelancers work across two or three platforms rather than relying on one. A common approach is building reviews on an established platform first, then adding a lower-fee or niche platform once you have a track record.
Upwork moved away from its old tiered system (20% on the first $500 with a client, stepping down from there) to a variable 0-15% fee shown upfront per contract. Most freelancers report paying around 10% in practice.
If you have a genuinely strong portfolio and can handle a rigorous, multi-stage interview process, it’s worth trying, only about 3% of applicants pass, but there’s no cost to apply, and the client quality and rates are meaningfully higher than gig marketplaces for those who make it through.
Sources
Upwork’s 2025 fee structure change and current 0-15% model: FreelanceCompare
Guru, Contra, and Toptal current fee structures: Venture Lab
99designs current pricing: Useme
Jobbers.io commission claims relying on self-reported data: BestJobSearchApps