What is a freelance marketplace and how does it work?

A freelance services marketplace is an online platform where businesses can find and hire individual contractors to do some work remotely. Websites like Upwork (previously known as Elance) are very popular among digital businesses. They act as an intermediary providing a safe and convenient way to contract remote experts for one-time projects.

Online freelance marketplaces can vary depending on the type of work (one-time projects with fixed rates or ongoing hourly projects), services provided (engineering, design, copywriting, etc.), engagement models, geographical preferences, and so on.

Some alternative examples to Upwork are:

• Freelancer.com
• Toptal
• Guru
• PeoplePerHour
• Fiverr
• CloudPeeps
• 99designs (a freelance online platform for web designers)

• Top 7 features for an Upwork alternative

  Such websites are typically quite feature-rich and cover the complete process of working with a freelancer. Thus, it is almost impossible to fit all of them into one simple list.
  However, there are certain features that lie at the core of every freelance marketplace out there.
  Here is a common set of features for freelance websites like Upwork:
  1. Registration and user profile. Online freelance marketplaces usually have two types of users – customers and freelancers. Alternatively you can introduce one more profile type – agencies.
•