When I first started freelancing back in 2019, I was pretty lost with where to find clients.
But one of the first places that I found success was the freelancing site Upwork and Fiverr…
And since then, I’ve managed to earn 10s of thousands on these platforms. If you want to learn more about that, you can click here.
Yes, both Fiverr and Upwork have their pros and cons.
But in this post, I’ll give my opinion on which one is the best to start freelancing on and find success the quickest.
So, let’s begin.
Quick Summary - What's best?
Getting straight to the point – Upwork is your best option in my opinion.
I’ve found that Upwork is more suitable for longer-term work with clients and believe you have a higher perceived value as a freelancer.
Also, once you’ve built up a solid profile on Upwork, you begin to get a steady stream of inbound leads, which is incredible for any freelancer.
Although the fees can sting when working with clients, I think it’s well worth it when you know with 100% certainty that you’re getting paid for your work.
So, if you want to check Upwork out, make sure you click on the button below –
How does Upwork work?
Upwork is pretty simple when it comes to selling your services and trying to land projects –
There are a couple of different ways you can do this, and here they are:
1. Applying to projects related to your services through the talent marketplace:
In my opinion, this is the most straightforward and easiest way to land clients, in order to do this you simply go to the marketplace and search for projects related to your services.
For example -something that I would search for would be something like “Direct Response Copywriting”
Another point worth mentioning as well is that you need to use connections to apply to these projects, if you don’t know what these are, simply scroll down to the ‘costs’ section of this post where I explain it in detail.
2. Have clients reach out to you directly via direct messages + Invites:
This is only when you’ve built up a profile with solid reviews and testimonials.
But when it does eventually happens, it’s a great feeling. Here’s a screenshot of some invites I get, and how frequently they can sometimes happen.
3. Purchase your services through your product catalog:
This is something that you can do from the get-go –
If you have a specific service or package that you want to sell, you can create it and place it on your Upwork profile for people to buy.
This is a good way to build up your profile so potential clients can get a feel for the services you want.
Here’s an example of someone’s product catalog –
But, all I will say is this – if you’re a freelancer, one of the easiest and quickest ways to land clients is to reach out directly for specific projects via the Talent Marketplace.
This is because clients are ready and waiting with money in their hands for their problems to be solved.
Not only that but one of the best things about Upwork as well is that once you’ve found a client to work with, everything is taken care of in the Upwork portal including:
- Fixed price and hourly billing
- Escrow payments
- Reviews and testimonials
- Payment protection
And much more.
Honestly, Upwork has everything you need to kick-start your freelance career.
And if this is something you want to learn more about with Upwork, then make sure you follow the button below where you can learn more.
How does Fiverr Work?
The main difference between Fiverr and Upwork is that Fiverr is more like a marketplace of one-time projects.
If you take a look, you’ll find a lot of pre-packaged offers that are more one-offs as opposed to longer-term contracts.
You create a product catalog for the services that you want to sell, and people then have the option to buy these products that you’ve created.
You are largely dependent on the Fiverr algorithm to rank your listings and ultimately get sales which I’m not a fan of at all…
And this drawback is one of the main reasons I would opt for Upwork instead.
Upwork Pros and Cons
As with everything, there are pros and cons, especially freelancing sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Here’s a quick overview of the pros and cons of each –
Upwork Pros
1. You have the ability to go out and get clients and apply to projects
This is one of the best features of Upwork – you simply search for the service you specialize in, and can then apply for these projects.
Making it a lot easier to land projects and work with clients that you actually want to and not have to accept anything that just comes your way…
2. Clients are ready and waiting to have their problems solved
I’ve landed clients every which way, whether it be by cold email, via social media, or job boards.
And one of the worst things about reaching out to clients is that they’re cold.
They may not even know that they need the service you’re selling, which can sometimes be an uphill battle. But with sites like Upwork, clients are constantly looking for their problems to be solved and want them to be solved ASAP which makes closing the clients a whole lot easier.
3. Once a reputation is built, can be like turning on a tap to get clients
This is one thing I’ve noticed about Upwork which has been a huge plus – and it’s constantly getting invites to projects.
An incredible feeling when you’ve been doing nothing but outreach for the first couple of years of freelancing. Yeah, the invites are not always great, but sometimes they can be incredible.
In fact, one of my best and longest-lasting clients came from a direct invite.
A good profile = lead generation machine.
Upwork Cons
1. Your JSS score is at the mercy of clients (Who might be wrong):
This is something that frustrates me with Upwork.
From experience, negative reviews, or even reviews that are not 5/5, seem to have a drastic effect on your JSS score.
For example, on my profile, after getting a 4.8 review out of 5 brought my JSS score from 100% down to 97%…
While 3 positive, 5/5 reviews after that 4.8 review have not budged my JSS score on percent. Think there need to be some alterations there from Upwork.
Unfortunately, negative reviews have a bigger impact on your JSS score than positive reviews do.
2. The Fees
The fees for Upwork have recently changed – these are the current fees:
- $0-$500 in earnings from a client: 20% freelancer service fee applied to earnings
- $500.01-$10,000 in earnings from a client: 10% freelancer service fee
- $10,000.01 or more in earnings from a client: 5% freelancer service fee
And then after May the 3rd, these are what the fees are changing to:
- You’ll pay a flat 10% fee, regardless of price or kind of contract.
Yes, the fees can sting sometimes, but I would say they are worth it considering you have the peace of mind that you’re getting paid for the work you’re going to be doing.
All too common in the freelance industry to experience the pain of someone ghosting your invoices for work that you’ve already done…
3. Red Ocean - you need to stand out in some way, shape, or form...
Yes, Upwork is a red ocean.
But here’s the thing –
The bar is so low when it comes to your competition.
Simply go the extra mile, and get those first couple of projects under your belt to start building up your profile.
Here’s some advice – your first couple of projects are not about the money, they’re about doing such an amazing job for your client, they either wish to continue to work with you, leave you a glowing testimonial, or both.
If you want a more in-depth guide on kickstarting your freelance career on Upwork, you can click here.
Fiverr Pros and Cons
Fiverr Pros
1. Easy to set up your Fiverr Account
Fiverr is fairly easy to set up compared to Upwork and if you want to get started on setting up your Fiverr account, you can click here.
2. Once you get a project, you’re guaranteed to get paid (Don’t have to worry about clients ghosting you):
With freelance sites like Upwork and Fiverr, this is one of my favorite features.
This is because in the freelance space, getting paid for the services you provide is half the battle.
Upwork and Fiverr eliminate this problem with their escrow services, ultimately making the fees they take worth it.
3. Tones of potential clients looking for their problems to be solved:
I’ve said this before, one of the best things about Fiverr is that there are warm leads looking for their problem to be solved and ready to pay you.
And all you need to do is get in front of them and show that you can solve their problem with your expertise.
Fiverr Cons
1. You’re entirely reliant on Fiverr to rank you for your services…
It can sometimes be super difficult for new freelancers to land their first few clients with Fiverr…
…This is because Fiverr ranks you through an algorithm and will rank the freelancers with good reviews and testimonials.
However, that’s not to say it can’t be done though.
As with anything, as long as you do enough volume and consistently tweak and improve your approach, landing a client is inevitable.
2. You’re at the mercy of Fiverr
This is a con for both Fiverr and Upwork – one of the biggest problems with is that you’re at the mercy of their judgment…
…Whether this be going against some kind of terms of service or doing anything against the rules could potentially result in getting your account banned which is terrible.
So my advice would be this – build up your contacts, testimonials, and experience with Fiverr, then begin to leverage your experience by getting clients outside of Fiverr.
Doing this will make you antifragile which is something that you should constantly be striving for.
3. Fiverr takes a large cut of your profits.
With the likes of Upwork, the more you earn, the less percentage they take from the overall earnings which is a pretty good format.
However, with Fiverr, it’s just a flat 20% cut regardless of how big the project is which can be a pain if you’re working with a long-term client and are consistently having to pay a 20% cut every time.
So, What's best for beginners?
In my opinion, you want to start as you mean to go on and the best for beginners would be Upwork.
Here’s why:
When you start out on either Fiverr or Upwork, it’ll be a grind, to begin with.
But as soon as you begin to build up that momentum with clients, testimonials, and experience, it will get easier and easier.
So, you want to start on the right foot, pick a platform, and stick to it, especially if you’re starting out.
Because one of the worst things you can do (And something that I’ve done in the past as well) is spread myself too thinly, causing me to make little to no progress at all…
Here’s the bottom line –
Pick one, and stick to it. In this case, choose Upwork.
Cost to get started
Upwork Fees
As stated above, the fees for when you work with client work, these are what the fees look like when you work with a client –
- $0-$500 in earnings from a client: 20% freelancer service fee applied to earnings
- $500.01-$10,000 in earnings from a client: 10% freelancer service fee
- $10,000.01 or more in earnings from a client: 5% freelancer service fee
However, from May 3rd, this is changing to a flat 10% fee for all your projects.
You can read about it more by clicking here.
Fiverr Fees
Fiverr’s pricing structure is super simple in comparison to Upwork.
The only cost you have to worry about on Fiverr as a freelancer is the processing fee that they take when you land a project which is 20%.
So, for example, if you made $100 on a project, Fiverr would take $20 and your take-home pay would be $80.
Also, something worth mentioning as well is if a client tips you for your services, Fiverr also takes a 20% cut off that as well.
So which one is better?
Ultimately, Upwork is your best option by a country mile, especially if you want to be taking freelance career seriously.
Not only is their more flexibility on the Upwork platform but there is a whole lot more opportunity for you to land projects that you want and create a sustainable and reliable freelance career.
So, if you want to go ahead and set up your Upwork account, then follow the button below –
FAQ
In my opinion, if you’re a freelancer that’s just starting out, it’s one of the best places to get started if you have limited experience.
Yes, of course, there are a number of different people that are examples of people making money on Upwork. End of the day, it’s just a numbers game, and with anything, you have to remain consistent and focused in order to generate money with Upwork.
20% off all your earnings.
Before you go...
If you haven’t already seen it, I recently put together a guide on how I create emails for myself and my clients.
It’s everything I’ve learned over the past couple of years distilled into a simple and easy-to-consume guide.
You can get it by clicking here.
And, if you have any questions that I haven’t mentioned, either send me an email at jamie@Emailmaximalist.com
Or Just send me a DM on Twitter @EmailMaximalist
