Discovering a better freelancing platform than Upwork

GP · 2024-12-11T20:15:27+00:00

As we all know that Upwork has become a sinking ship, I am trying to find a new platform that can help every freelancer in this forum, including me. Do let m...

Petra

Mark Perfectly summed up.

MariaT

Eve Nice to see you again Eve!

Eve

MariaT Nice to see you too! I was actually thinking about you a couple of weeks ago. I just relocated to Spain, so I was thinking about who I know in this country, so you came to mind. Hope you're doing well. :)

MommyOfDragons

What other platforms have you all tried? I actually haven’t tried anything other than Upwork.

MariaT

MommyOfDragons I also have an account on PPH. For a while I did well there, and I had one client that I worked with outside and another that I still do work for from time to time. Now, just like on Upwork, the work is bad or too cheap. It's desperate.
I've looked at other portals, but either it's very difficult to access or there are no clients or they don't work with design.
I have to do something on Linkedin, add work so that it can be seen, let's see if I can do it by chance :)

Mark

MommyOfDragons

I tried Freelancer for a bit just to see for myself, that thing was horrible, talk about race to the bottom.
I have never managed to get anything out of Fivver, I don't think I get it much like I am not sure I get Project Catalog
I did PPH a long time ago, nothing
I signed up for Bark and all I got was an endless set of emails that I can't imagine contained real clients. It was very sus.
I signed up for Contra back when it was a little more open and there where 7 jobs. Not 7 jobs in my category, just 7 jobs in like a month. I have read some stuff about it on Reddit and I am not very hopeful they are 5 years in and they seem to have pivoted to some kind of Freelancer Reputation site.
I can't imagine ever doing TopTal because I think it isn't really a free marketplace. I think they control everything and you don't get access to clients they don't want you to have access to (which is a common conspiracy theory on Upwork). They say you can pick your rate but I am not sure that is effectively true since they won't place you with a client at "too high" a rate. To me this smells contracting company. My understanding is you have to sign an NDA just to work on the platform. It's also so closed off, there is a sub on reddit for instance but it is private.

MariaT

Eve :)
Where are you living?
How good is your Spanish?

Eve

MariaT I'm in Torrevieja. My Spanish is somewhere between non-existent and terrible. I was planning on doing a Spanish course if I can find one in the area. I was thinking that could be useful, and also a good way to meet some new people.

human

I applied for Contra just to see how it goes. It doesn't look like a platform that I'd naturally fit in as there's something alarming with the eye-candy UI, excessive gamification, lacking transparency and a multiple-step application process.
Still, I forced myself to see through the application process, as I don't believe that I'd find a human-centric platform in 2024 anymore.

It may sound a bit depressing but I think the age of freelancing platforms is nearing the end.
The clientele is changing rapidly (at least in my niche), the overall respect towards freelancing seems to dwindle and clients hardly require any creativity anymore .

I don't think there are any real alternatives to Upwork at the moment. I've had some projects in Fiverr, mostly for leisure (I draw for fun). It worked well enough but it's not a fun place to be. Years ago I've worked in People Per Hour. Atrocious place with dubious data storage policies. I've had an interview in Toptal. My niche wasn't needed then. I've tried many other smaller platforms. No dice.
I think Contra would be the last one I try. No Linkedin for me.

Mark

Eve Eve in Torrevieja, sounds like a Netflix show.

FloConMate

Eve we can do some Spanish sessions :-) I'm not a teacher but at least you'll be able to practice and learn some Argentinean Spanish

MariaT

Eve You'll benefit from a few classes, and then you can start drinking some wine and talking to everyone you meet. In Spain, you usually do this to understand foreigners. And you'll need to learn a few swear words, which helps a lot! Also, Torrevieja is an area with a lot of tourists and they are used to speaking a bit of everything.
Whenever you want, just let me know and I can help you in any way I can. I'll be happy to do so.

Eve

Mark That would be the most boring show ever. Since I got here 2 months ago, I've left the house exactly 3 times.

But my trip here would have been a good show. We drove from Malta to Prague, since that's where we were supposed to move to, but after two months we didn't like it, so we just packed up the car again and headed south, and then we just ended up here. The sensible thing to do would have been to fly, but since I now have a dog, I didn't think that would be nice for her, so instead we bought a car and drove 5400 km (which is about 3355 miles) in a small convertible. Not exactly the ideal car for moving, but it was basically the only car we could buy in Malta with the steering on the left side (they use right in Malta). Along the way we experienced fun stuff like an overheated engine, a break-in in the car, food poisoning, and other fun stuff. So now I'm exhausted and the only thing I want to do is stay home and do as little as possible. The Eve in Torrevieja show will have to wait until next year.

MariaT

Mark :))

Tiffany

Eve The show could just be you sleeping, and then there could be a flashback to one of the steps in getting there to explain your exhaustion.

Petra

Eve Goodness, that sounds incredible! Did I miss why you left Malta? And what didn't you like about Prague?

Eve

FloConMate Thank you! That's very kind. To me, any kind of Spanish is better than my current Spanish, which consists of "Una cerveza por favor". For now, I've managed quite well with just that phrase, but more might be needed if I stay here long term.

Eve

MariaT Thank you! And yes, eventuelly I'll venture outside and see if I can meet some people. And you're right, there are lots of tourists here. The few people I've randomly met so far are all either Norwegian or Swedish, so it feels a bit like a Scandinavian colony. If I'd known that beforehand, I would have chosen a different area. But maybe it's the same all along the coast. Where do you live? Up north?

MariaT

Eve Yes, I live in the north, in a town (well, a village) in the north of the province of Burgos.
Now with snow on the peaks.

Sedonou Theonas M.

Bonjour, Hello, Hola : Trilingual virtual asssistant, Telemarketer and Translator but the things are not going well on upwork because of the connect's price. I have to buy every week 100 connects but.......Guys, I need something new !

Merci, Thank you, Gracias !

Petra

Sedonou Theonas M. - Your problem isn't the connects, it's that you are trying to a Jack of all trades rather than a master of one.

Eve

Tiffany I like it! I'll pitch Netflix. :)
Btw. Are you the Tiffany? From the Upwork forum back in the day?

Paula

Someone was recommending Shoutt on Reddit but I couldn't sing up because it's not for many countries, I'm from Argentina and it is only for Europe and US.