Freelancer.com Review
When searching for a project, there’s an option to filter listings by skills, type (fixed, hourly, contests), listing type (urgent, qualified, featured, etc.) language, and location. Freelancer has flexible membership options where you can select a specific number of skills and bids depending on your needs and budget.
Jobs Available on Freelancer
Job categories on Freelancer include;
- Websites, IT, & Software
- Mobile Phones & Computing
- Design, Media, & Architecture
- Writing & Content
- Data Entry & Admin
- Sales & Marketing
- Product Sourcing & Manufacturing
- Translation & Languages
- Engineering & Science
- Business Services
- Local Jobs & Services
General Remote Jobs
Freelancer is a general job site for freelancers. There is no indication that one category is more popular than the other. To provide a few examples –some of the best remote jobs that are currently available on Freelancer include;
- Telemarketer
- 3D Animator
- Content writer
- PPC Campaign Manager
- Web Developer
- Data entry
- Illustrator
- Marketer
- Graphic Designer
- Virtual Assistant
*This is only a small sample of remote jobs available in this category. Visit their website to see if there’s remote work available that best suits your skill set.
Freelancer Pricing & Plans
Freelancer charges the following fees for jobseekers who would like to apply for projects on the platform;
Intro
- 15 bids per month
- 30 skills
Cost:
- $0.99 (billed monthly)
- $11.88 (billed annually)
Basic
- 50 bids per month
- 50 skills
- 5 employer followings
Cost:
- $4.95/month (billed monthly)
- $53.40 (billed annually)
Plus
- 100 bids per month
- 80 skills
- 10 employer followings
- Preferred freelancer eligible
- 5 external invoicings
- Free project extensions
- High value project bidding
Cost:
- $9.95/month (billed monthly)
- $107.40 (billed annually)
Professional
- 300 bids per month
- 100 skills
- Preferred freelancer eligible
- 20 employer followings
- 15 external invoicings
- Free project extensions
- Free sealed projects
- High value project bidding
Cost:
- 1 month free trial
- $29.95/month (billed monthly)
Premier
- 1500 bids per month
- 400 skills
- Preferred freelancer eligible
- Unlimited employer followings
- Unlimited external invoicings
- Free project extensions
- Free NDA projects
- High value project bidding
Cost:
- $49.95/month (billed monthly)
- $599.40 (billed annually)
All membership plans include unlimited project bookmarks and the ability to upload a custom cover photo.
Fees for taking a skill exam on Freelancer depends on the subject. Fees are either $5, 10, or $15.
Freelancer does not charge fees for withdrawing money except for when it’s international wire which costs $25. The minimum withdrawal amount is $30.
Freelancer does not charge businesses who would like to post a job or contest. However, they charge a fee for each project. This depends on the selected bid amount and the type of project.
- 3% or $3 (whichever is greater) for fixed price projects
- 3% for hourly projects
You can also avail of Freelancer’s additional services for projects;
Featured: Attracts high-quality bids. ($29)
Urgent: Receive faster response from freelancers. ($9)
Private: Hide project details from search engines and users that are not logged in. ($19)
Full Time: This project is for hiring a full time or commission-based position (e.g. Sales) and you will save money if you have ongoing work. Project fees are charged only if the project value exceeds $5000.00 USD calculated on the value of each payment made. ($199)
Recruiter: Our agent will clarify the project with you if necessary and will recommend a bidder based on your project requirements and the online bidder profile. The agent may also invite more freelancers to bid. ($29)
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): Freelancers are prompted to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement when working on a project. Freelancers agree to keep details discussed through private messages and files confidential. ($29)
Sealed: Seal all bids so that Freelancers cannot see what others are bidding. ($9)
Priority: List your project immediately by skipping the queue for admin to review your project. ($5)
Extend: Extend your project’s bidding period by 7 days to increase the amount of time to receive more bids. ($9)
Delete: Permanently remove your project from Freelancer, including all bids and attached files. Your project will also be removed from search engines the next time Freelancer is indexed. ($5)
Freelancer’s additional fees for contests are the following;
Featured: Featured contests attract more, higher-quality entries. ($30)
Top Contest: Get high quality entries! Top freelancers will be automatically invited to join your contest. ($30)
Urgent: Receive a faster response from freelancers and get your favorite entry in 1-2 days. Your contest will be guaranteed to make sure you get fast results. ($35)
Highlight: Make your contest visually stand out from the rest by highlighting your listing. ($15)
Sealed: Only you can see all the entries. Each freelancer can only see their own entry. It ensures you get unique ideas. ($30)
Private: Keep your contest confidential. Private contests are hidden from search engines and public users. ($25)
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): To keep your contest details confidential, freelancers must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. ($20)
Extend: Extend the duration of your contest by 3, 5, 7, 14, or 21 days. Your contest will be guaranteed to ensure freelancers that they will be awarded for their additional work.
(3 days = 15% of contest prize
5 days = 20% of contest prize
7 days = 30% of contest prize
14 days = 40% of contest prize
21 days = 50% of contest prize
Half of the costs will be used to increase the contest prize (rounded to the nearest whole number)
Unlock: Unlock a contest. Contest will be locked if no winner has been awarded within 14 days after the contest has been closed. ($5)
Is Freelancer a Scam?
Our readers have not indicated that Freelancer is a scam or conducts business unfairly. You’re invited to share your experience about Freelancer in the comments below.
This Freelancer.com review was updated May 2017.