Freelancer is the best when it comes to running a small agency and getting as many jobs as you can, and gathering international experience and reviews. It is also quite good for earning small, extra money on the side when you have additional free time for doing smaller time-scoped projects.
I would recommend Upwork to a colleague as a solution to workplace issues. Our company has utilized Upwork to vet out potential competitors as well as partners in a lengthy data analysis project, as well as given our engineering team extra hands when implementing new products, projects, and features. This has allowed our company to stay on track with projects without in-house manpower.
Complex interface: tracking your freelancer's work status is harder than it should be. Tracking sometimes does not work as it should.
Mobile app is laggy and sometimes glitchy so personally I prefer to use the web-based platform (inconvenient for someone who is traveling on business trips a lot).
It is hard to find quality talent for simple tasks (translation). It is easy to find talent for technical tasks though (iOS app developers for example).
In my opinion the worst customer service. It is impossible to contact them via phone, and they are not transparent about their decisions.
I feel they don't have the freelance community's best interest in mind. Their focus is on the companies that pay. Freelancers are disposable.
They charge ridiculous fees to the freelancers that are the ones that need the money the most because they are the ones starting their businesses. It is like if your employer charges you for coming to work.
I have earned a lot on Upwork and I would always recommend it to my fellow peers and people who have skills and are looking independently and remotely from the comfort of their home. Once you get successful in developing a good profile on Upwork revenue target are more easier to achieve.
Support has been great. Rarely have I ever had an issue that has required support but when I have they have been great. I did have to interact with support to confirm my identity and the process was easy and quick and support was helpful to know what I needed to do to accomplish that task.
Of the freelance hubs I am listed on, more than a few, I haven't been as successful on Freelancer.com. Freelancer.com, I think, could use some more development and better customer service. It does separate itself with its competency tests, but I'm not sure this is enough. Still, I check out the project lists from time to time and keep my profile up to date, just in case
Upwork is better suited for finding contractors that you can have ongoing relationships. Compared to Fiverr, it's a much easier process to find qualified designers rather than one-time contractors to design simple things for you. The interface is easier to use as well and the billing management makes it so much cleaner and easier to know how much we're spending and how contractors are logging work hours.
We have gotten close to 50% of all of our clients through the platform.
Upwork backs the work done through the platform, so no matter what the client or person you are working with does, you get paid for the work that you do. You aren't left hanging after doing hours of work for a client and then never getting paid for it.
Made it easy to communicate with clients from different parts of the world and set up partnerships and agreements in an easier fashion. I would highly recommend it to anyone with a unique skill set.
