The main concept of each platform
Upwork
Upwork is more of a push platform where you create your project and then you push it out there. Freelancers apply and you have to vet them, give them feedback, figure out who would work on the project, review it, feedback and all that stuff.
You can have recurring relationships. It’s much more finding somebody to work with you on a custom project.
How I use Upwork
I use Upwork for custom projects. For example, I’m writing a book by interviewing business YouTubers and I need their emails in order to interview them. So, what I do is I go on Upwork, I have selected some channels, and I say, “Can you find the emails of these YouTubers so I can reach out to them?”
On Fiverr, you might not be able to find a gig exactly like that. Or you might have to start negotiating with the messaging platform. I wouldn’t want to play with that. So, I will do that on Upwork.
Fiverr
On Fiverr it’s more of a pull platform, where freelancers set very specific gigs that they have available. You see all the parameters, and if they match exactly your criteria, that’s when you hire them.
I do have a preference, if it’s for the same task and you could use either platform, I would go with Fiverr because it’s much faster.
On Fiverr you find somebody who has done hundreds of gigs like yours and they have five-star reviews, and you don’t have to negotiate. Also you don’t have to give feedback, or review dozens of different applications, or their past work. And you just know exactly what they do. They’re expert at that, and they will deliver the results. So, I would just go and upload my files and hire them.
How I use Fiverr
For example, on Fiverr, what I would do is maybe ask them to write a five-email cadence to nurture a lead. Or if I want to reach out to the YouTubers, maybe I will say, “Why don’t you write the email for it?”
Comparison
Upwork:
flexible
you can do custom projects
figure out how much you want to pay
Fiverr:
clear in what you will expect at the end
know exactly what the price is
process is faster
The bottom line is, if you have a custom project or a custom business relationship you want to start, go on Upwork. If you want something very specific, very clearly defined, where other freelancers are already offering in the gig economy, then it’s much faster and usually much cheaper to go on Fiverr and just do it.
So, let me know if you have different experiences. If you prefer Upwork versus Fiverr for anything I haven’t considered here, I’d love to learn from you and your experiences.