Thumbtack, Upwork & Fiverr in Australia

If you’re like me, you’d generally have a preference for hiring someone on a once-off contract rather than taking the risk of hiring staff for a fixed period of time (at least for most jobs).

Some common questions you might be asking:

• Where do I find a freelancer nearby who can work on my website?
• How do I hire someone on Upwork?
• Can I find a Fiverr freelancer from Australia?
• Is Thumbtack available in Australia?
• What is the best freelancing site to find the person I need?

It can be useful to explain the difference between the top options when choosing a freelancing marketplace.

Fixed contract or pay-per-hour freelancer website

Sites like Upwork allow you to hire a freelancer on a per-contract or an hourly basis. The upside is the number of freelancers available and their breadth of skill. The downside is the 20% service fee and the potential to be bombarded with applications (sometimes over 100 applicants per job).

Pay-per-task freelancing website

Sites like Fiverr allow you to pay a fixed amount for a set task that has been listed on their site. The upside is the fixed price and the ability to see reviews from satisfied customers. The downside is the 20% service fee and the extra steps to order custom work.

Receive quotes from freelancers marketplace

Sites like Thumbtack (currently only available in the US but may enter Australia soon) & Airtasker offer the ability to list your Jobs To be Done and then have contractors bid on completing the work. The upside is that the applicants are reduced and the downside is that you’re unable to choose from a large pool of talent.

Hire a local freelancer via their business website

Doing a search for a website designer in Geelong, as an example, will bring you a list of the businesses that provide these services. The upside is that you can easily see a portfolio of their work whilst the downside is that you’ll often pay more for the service and it can be hard to compare prices on the services they offer.