So you want to participate in the booming “gig economy” creating an additional income stream by working from home?
Members of my Python Freelancer Course ask this question a lot: what’s the best marketplace to sell your coding skills: Upwork.com or Fiverr.com?
This is a multi-dimensional decision problem, but I have a clear preference. Read on to learn which one.
Usability: There’s not a lot of differences in usability. Both sites are extremely simple to use and have powerful built-in capabilities. Yet, Upwork is a little more polished and deserves the point.
Costs: Upwork takes a massive 20% cut—and Fiverr does, too. No winner here.
Barrier of entry: Many Upwork profiles are initially rejected. While many would consider this a disadvantage, I found this one a huge advantage for Upwork. The average quality of freelancers is much higher. And this helps you as a freelancer, too. Because Upwork attracts better clients that are willing to pay more money. It’s just a more trustworthy platform. On Fiverr, people expect to hire a cheap freelancer for five bucks. On Upwork, they pay thousands of dollars for large-scale projects. It’s the much better marketplace because of the high barrier of entry.
Thus, I would always start at Upwork if possible. Only if it’s impossible for you to create a profile (because Upwork keeps rejecting you), you should consider selling your skills on Fiverr to improve your skills. But then switch to Upwork quickly to benefit from the high-quality clients.
If you want to learn how to get accepted at Upwork, build a thriving freelance coding business online, and have fun in the process, sign up for my Python freelancer course—it’s the most comprehensive and in-depth freelancing course in the web!
“I am honored to be learning from one of the most brilliant masters of Python. ” — Nick
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While working as a researcher in distributed systems, Dr. Christian Mayer found his love for teaching computer science students.
To help students reach higher levels of Python success, he founded the programming education website Finxter.com that has taught exponential skills to millions of coders worldwide. He’s the author of the best-selling programming books Python One-Liners (NoStarch 2020), The Art of Clean Code (NoStarch 2022), and The Book of Dash (NoStarch 2022). Chris also coauthored the Coffee Break Python series of self-published books. He’s a computer science enthusiast, freelancer, and owner of one of the top 10 largest Python blogs worldwide.
His passions are writing, reading, and coding. But his greatest passion is to serve aspiring coders through Finxter and help them to boost their skills. You can join his free email academy here.