Comparing PeoplePerHour and Freelancer.com

No matter the industry you are in, being a freelancer is not always the most straightforward career to get started in. To secure those projects and long-term clients, you will need to get yourself established, which can be hard to do without being able to prove the type of work you can do. 

This is why many freelancers decide that the best way to start their freelance career is to begin on a freelancer platform. There are a variety of platforms out there to choose from, and you will need to weigh up which one is best for you (or if you get yourself visible on several at the same time). 

To help you work out which platform will be best for you and your needs. Let’s take a look at two of the most popular choices. PeoplePerHour and Freelancer. 

A little more about PeoplePerHour

The idea of PPH is that it brings together buyers with freelancers. These freelancers can offer a wealth of talents and skills that the buyers are looking to pay for. On this one website, you will find writers and data input experts, designers, and social media wizards. All are waiting to be hired. 

The talent on PPH is worldwide, and not only can freelancers choose to bid on projects that match their skills, but they can also post what they call “hourlies”, whereby the buyer can buy a slice of their time, delivering a set service. For example, 50 product descriptions for £100. 

PeoplePerHour has an ethos of rewarding those who choose to work with their clients more long-term. The more you work with your selected clients, the lower your fees. This means that if you are looking for quick wins, you may find that this doesn’t work well for you. 

More information about Freelancer

Freelancer is not quite like other freelancing platforms and is a busy hive of short-term projects that vary in their type. It is often recommended that you choose Freelancer over PeoplePerHour if you are just starting out in freelancing, simply because of the sheer number of jobs that are available for you to bid on. 

PeoplePerHour vs Freelancer fees

Compared to other freelancing platforms out there, the fee and charging structure of Freelancer.com works a little differently. There is no incentive for you to continue to work with one client ongoing you are always charged the same fee, regardless of how much you have earned with that client over time. 

Fixed-price projects are charged at 10% of the overall price or $5, whichever is more significant. For hourly projects, you will pay a flat fee of 10%. A contest is either charged at 10% or $5 again, whichever is greater. 

In comparison, PeoplePerHour wants to reward those who work with clients long term, and therefore the fees that are charged are on a sliding scale. For the first £250 that you earn with one buyer, you will pay a 20% service fee. Between £250 and £5000, this goes down to 7.5% and then when you get above the £5000 mark, you will only have to pay 3.5%. 

How to freelance on PeoplePerHour 

PeoplePerHour is easy enough to sign up to be a freelancer. You simply need to provide them with either a Facebook login or an email address that can then be used to sign you in when you want to bid on projects or complete existing work. 

Once you have done this, you need to start building up your profile. This is your chance to showcase what you can do and who you are, which will appeal to those potential buyers. 

Your profile needs to contain specific key points:

• A profile picture
• A description of who you are and what you can do
• The categories that you work in (for example, writing and translation)
• Your average price, usually presented in a per hour format
• Any previous projects that you have completed

You can also set up your hourlies at this time. 

Once you are set up, you can start finding and bidding on projects that are appealing to you and match your skills. Not only this, but buyers can also find you and message you about upcoming projects. 

If you are successful when bidding for your chosen projects, then you can communicate with the buyer through the PPH portal, and then, when it is finished, you can invoice them for the work and transfer the money to your own account. 

How to freelance on Freelancer 

The process of setting up a profile on Freelancer is much the same as setting up on PeoplePerHour, whereby you need to create a profile. To do this, you can either use your Facebook account or create a login using an email. 

You then need to choose which of their skill categories are most relevant for you and your ability. If you have a free account, then you will be able to choose up to 20 different skills, and it is recommended that you try to match as many as you can as this will give you more of a chance to secure work on the platform. 

Unlike other platforms, there is no screening process when working through Freelancer, which means that you don’t have to worry about being denied the chance to have an account. However, you do need to know that you may find that the platform is somewhat oversaturated with other freelancers, which can mean that it is hard to secure work, especially if any of the other freelancers are offering incredibly low rates for the work that they are able to do. 

You may find that one freelancer platform works better for you than others. However, you may also find that you need to get yourself out there on several different options in order to get the best results. 

That way, you can apply for as many projects as possible and then, over time, be able to build up your portfolio and grow your experience. 

Here’s a list of different freelance marketplaces you might find interesting.