Upwork vs Freelancer vs Guru: Difference and Comparison

Over the years, people have started moving towards freelancing as an ideal option of working. As the practice offers advantages in the form of more room for relaxation and less stress, different freelancing websites have come into the market.

Upwork and Freelancer and Guru are three popular freelancing marketplaces available to workers today.

Key Takeaways

  1. Upwork has a larger user base and a wider range of available projects than Freelancer and Guru, making it more attractive for freelancers seeking work.
  2. Freelancer offers a contest feature, allowing clients to crowdsource solutions by hosting competitions, while Upwork and Guru do not.
  3. Guru emphasizes long-term relationships between clients and freelancers, while Upwork and Freelancer cater to short-term and long-term projects.

Upwork vs Freelancer vs Guru 

The difference between upwork and freelancer and guru is that Upwork is the most popular freelancing website. However, Upwork charges considerably higher service fees than both Freelancer and Guru. 

Upwork vs Freelancer vs Guru

Upwork is a publicly available freelance marketplace founded in 1999 as Elance. The website aims to connect freelancers with prospective clients.

It aims at connecting businesses with freelancers, independent talent, and agencies present worldwide. Upwork can be a great kick start for the freelancing career of an individual. 

Freelancer is a freelancing platform that offers a wide range of opportunities to its members. The freelancers can bid for different jobs via the website.

Once selected, they have the option to live chat with clients and track progress. It also allows individuals to compete in contests for exciting rewards. 

Guru is a popular freelancing marketplace that offers both free and premium services to freelancers. The non-paying members can send out only 10 bids a month.

The paying members have an edge over non-paying members in the number of monthly bids available as well as in the ability to push their ranks further above.  

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonUpwork Freelancer Guru 
Headquarters The headquarters of Upwork are situated in Santa Clara, California, USA. The headquarters of Freelancer are situated in Sydney, Australia. The headquarters of Guru are situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
Founding year Upwork was founded in 1999 as Elance. Freelancer was founded in 2009. Guru was founded in 1998. 
Founder The founders of Upwork are Beerud Sheth and Srini Anumolu. The founder of Freelancer is Matt Barrie. The founder of Guru is Inder Guglani. 
Pros There are several opportunities for both beginners and experts.There are contents for freelancers to earn more. IIt offers robust customer support. 
Cons It charges a considerably high service fee. It has a complex interface. High competition among freelancers. 

What is Upwork?

Upwork is an American Freelancing platform. The initial name of Upwork was Elance-odesk.

The predecessors of Upwork are Elance-odesk, Elance, and oDesk. As of 2017, there were more than twelve million registered freelancers and five million registered clients with Upwork.

The full name of Upwork is Upwork Global Inc. The founders of Upwork are Beerud Sheth and Srini Anumolu. 

The main function of Upwork platform is to allow clients to interview, hire, and work with freelancers as well as freelance agencies. The client posts a job requirement and the price they are willing to pay to the freelance worker for it.

A client has the option to either allow any freelancers to apply for the job or send invitations to specific freelancers. 

Once the client arrives at a decision on whom to hire, they send out a contract that details the pay rate, the hours required, and a deadline for the work to be completed at.

More information about the company can be gathered on https://www.upwork.com/. Over the years, the site has gained considerable popularity attracting clients and freelancers from all over the world. 

upwork

What is Freelancer?

Freelancer refers to an Australian Freelance marketplace. The website allows potential clients to post jobs that freelancers can then apply to complete.

The CEO and founder of Freelancer is Matt Barrie. A registration to the website is essential for freelancers to work with potential clients.

The selection process for the freelance work involves a competitive tender process. 

Freelancers enables members to host as well as enter contests to win several rewards. The members of freelancer have a particular number of bids to use on the website which are renewable after a certain period.

The account options vary immensely ranging from free accounts to professional subscriptions. 

Freelancer attracts most of its members from India, Pakistan, the United KIngdom, The United States of America, and Philippines.

The categories that are the most requested on the website include design, media and architecture, IT and software, writing and content.

The company has offices in several places, including Manila, Australia, Canada, and Indonesia. 

What is Guru?

Guru is a freelance marketplace founded by Inder Guglani. The website allows companies to locate freelance workers from across the globe for commissioned work.

It functions as an online clearing house for high-tech workers who wish to work on short-term contracts. 

The tasks performed by Guru include crowdsourcing, workforce management, and service marketplace. Over the years, Guru claims to have paid over $250 million to freelancers.

It has over 800,000 employers associated with it at present. 

With a customer satisfaction rate of 99%, Guru provides employers with freelancing workers in a wide variety of skills. Some of these include Business & Finance, Sales & Marketing, Administrative and Secretarial, Design and Art, Engineering and Architecture and Education and Training. 

Main Differences Between Upwork and Freelancer and Guru

  1. Upwork generated a revenue of $373.6 million in 2020. Freelancer generated a revenue of approximately $24 million. Guru generated a revenue of around $118 million. 
  2. Upwork is a higher ranked freelancing website than Freelancer and Guru. 
  3. The service fees charged by both Freelancer and Guru is lower than that charged by Upwork.
  4. Upwork offers payment protection. Freelancers have teams of advisors that assist freelancers in getting hired. Guru is categorized as a user-friendly website.
  5. Upwork requires robust connections to send proposals. Freelancer has had fake or span clients and jobs. Guru promotes premium members more than free members. 
References
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freelancer.com 
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upwork 

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023

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