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Best Freelancing Platforms for Hiring Developers

How to Choose the Right Freelancing Platform

When looking for a specialist for your business you may address various ways of hiring a professional. And one of them is hiring a freelancer. You can find one due to freelancing platforms.

Freelancing platform is a website to find and hire a specialist you need on a freelance basis. It is a very easy, comfortable and reliable way to find a programmer. Its main advantage is that you can choose a professional from the wide range of dedicated programmers that will correspond to all your requirements. Besides it is important to mention that each platform can be evaluated by the three main categories that are pricing, talent quality and hiring practices.

Thus, there are several types of freelancing platforms. They differ in the way you are looking for a specialist within it and its quality. We prepared a description of each one for you to choose the right platform for your business.

  • The first type is bidding websites. It is similar to common job boards as you just post your requirements and budget there and after that freelance developers will place a bid to get this project. It is a good variant as there are a lot of different talents ready to complete your task for the different price but there are also no quality guarantees. And one more point is that there is an extremely low amount of experienced specialists so it is too expected that you will find a beginner there.
  • The second type is order-based websites. It is similar to the previous type but here freelancers themselves can post their services as products. The main disadvantage of this type is that it may be difficult sometimes to find a highly experienced specialist there as well as a specialist for the long-time cooperation. But you can find creative and unusual candidates here.
  • The third type is vetted talent websites. There is a serious control of talents on the platforms of this type. That is why top freelance developers prefer such platforms. For you as a client it gives high guarantees that is super important when hiring a freelancer. There is also a feature on many platforms that it can find the best talent for you depending on your requirements. But it also means that most likely the price will correspond the quality and force applied to it hence be comparatively high.

Each type has its own pros and cons so it is just your decision which one is more relevant for you and your business. There are a lot of really good platforms in each of these types. Due to them you can find a reliable freelance software developer for hire.

Tips on How to Choose the Right Company

First of all, you need to evaluate your project. Is it a short project with a low budget or vice versa? It determines the platform and specialist you will be looking for. For the short projects or separate tasks, the best decision will be addressing freelance platforms such as Upwork, Guru, and Fiverr. If you have a long-lasting project with a low budget, then it may be effective to appeal to Upwork and Guru.

Secondly, you should decide which level of quality is needed for your project. If you are looking for excellent quality, then collaborate with Toptal or Mobilunity.

When you already have an image of your needs it is time to start looking for a specialist actively. We prepared a top 10 sites to hire freelancers that includes the best web developer freelance platforms. Keep reading to find your perfect one!

10 Most Popular Freelancing Platforms

Upwork

It is probably the best and most popular site to hire freelancers. It is also the biggest freelancing platform.

This platform offers a highly competitive freelance environment. That is why it may take some time to find your best programmer. But you surely will as there are plenty of specialists of various specializations. There is also different pricing hence you will find one that corresponds to your budget.

Upwork is good for the beginning. If it is your first try to find a freelancer, you should not know a lot about it. You can just post a job description, set a budget and place a bid. After that programmers will apply you on their own.

Pros:

  • Large talent pool
  • It is to find a specialist that will correspond to your budget
  • Upwork ensures security of financial operations
  • You should nor look for a specialist by yourself, just post a job description
  • You can pay only for the working hours

Cons:

  • Probability to face with scammers or unprofessional developers
  • This platform has problems with the support team. More often it is useless
  • There is no verification for specialists
  • Success of the projects is poor

Freelancer.com

It is an Upwork alternative and its main competitor. Freelancer is one more bidding freelance platform. So mostly it has similar strengths and weaknesses. Describing it generally we can say that it is a worldwide freelancing marketplace where you can hire a programmer of any specialization and for any price.

Pros:

  • Large pool of talents with different specializations
  • Specialists suitable for any budget
  • This platform made an app for tracking working hours hence you can pay only for them
  • You can chat with your developer in real time

Cons:

  • As it is a bidding platform most likely you may spend a lot of time checking candidates and looking for the best one
  • As Upwork do Freelancer.com also has problems with clients’ support
  • Besides there is high probability to face scammers

Mobilunity

It is an outstaffing company where you can also hire specialists for your project on a freelance basis. For example, you can find here a part-time web developer for your project. It does not matter if it is a short project, a separate task or long-lasting cooperation. You can find all of it in Mobilunity. It is a great Freelancer.com alternative and best alternative to Upwork.

Also managers may help you to find the best suitable programmer just for your needs. Mobilunity has a huge experience in providing IT services and plenty of satisfied clients worldwide. There are specialists of all specializations you may require. Moreover, as it is a Ukrainian company it is really cost-effective.

Pros:

  • Wide range of specialists with different specializations
  • Cost-effectiveness
  • Huge experience
  • Plenty of satisfied clients

Cons:

  • It provides specialists from Ukraine that may be difficult sometimes (time zones or cultural differences)

Toptal

This platform is a great alternative to Freelancer.com and Upwork. As they say on their own, Toptal is a house for the best 3% of developers. They have a serious screening process with skill reviews and different tests. Thus, if you use this platform, you will surely get the best of the best specialist.

Also managers of the platform work with each client separately looking for the best programmer according to the client’s requirements. But there is also a job board so you can find a specialist on your own.

Pros:

  • Only highly experienced programmers
  • Vetting process
  • Personalized recommendations from the platform corresponding your needs
  • Trial period

Cons:

  • Comparatively high prices (but it really corresponds the quality)
  • Poor support services
  • It fits badly to small projects

Fiverr

This platform mainly offers programmers of different specializations for separate tasks and short projects. On Fiverr freelancers can propose their services themselves. The cost depends on the complexity of the task and may correspond to one of the three levels.

This platform also has a convenient searching system with multiple filters. Thus, you can find a needed specialist easily. There is also a system of evaluating freelancers from the platform that is helpful when comparing them.

Pros:

  • Wide range of talents
  • Cheap and qualitative services
  • Filters that make searching easier
  • Good customers support

Cons:

  • Probably you may tackle with low quality of work
  • Unprotected financial transactions
  • Applicants are not vetted
  • It is good only to small tasks

Guru

This platform is a good alternative to Upwork as it is similar to it. Moreover it can be a good Fiverr alternative. It has a great pool of specialists worldwide and its core feature is availability of the services. You can find professionals here for any budget. But this platform has no verification for the candidates so you should do it yourself to hire a really good one. But if you manage it you can even find a programmer on Guru for the long-time cooperation. That is why it is a good alternative to Fiverr.

This platform also suggests a comfortable searching system with various filters so you can focus on the concrete sphere you need. Besides, Guru also has a board where you can leave your suggestions.

Guru also gives its users “Work Rooms” where you can contact your specialist and work on your project.

Pros:

  • Large amount of talents with different specializations and prices
  • Ability to find a developer for your long-lasting project
  • Several ways for searching a specialist
  • Its own platform for contacting with specialists

Cons:

  • No verification system
  • You may have a lot of time and effort to find a specialist

Gigster

This platform suggests teams of freelancers for the clients’ needs. You just need to post your requirements and platform will form a team for you. More often such a team includes 5 specialists. Generally, it looks great but the issue is that sometimes the algorithms work badly.

Also it has a verification process so that you will get really dedicated specialists on Gigster. And it determines its cost. This platform requires a high budget.

Pros:

  • You can find a whole team on a freelance basis here
  • Strict verification process
  • Strict security laws

Cons:

  • Algorithm sometimes works badly
  • It is expensive

PeoplePerHour

It is one of the oldest freelance platforms. Here you can find nearly any specialist you may need. The main feature of this platform is that all customers are required to make a deposit. That is why this platform is much safer than others. It is a good alternative to Freelancer.

There is no developers’ verification on this platform but it suggests 4 categories for evaluating them. Thus, you can check reviews to make sure that you can rely on this specialist.

Pros:

  • You can find here a specialist quickly and hassle-free
  • It has systems for tracking progress and reviews
  • Wide range of talents
  • It is safe

Cons:

  • There is no system for tracking working hours though it offers hourly rates
  • System of extra fees

Codeable

This platform specializes in selecting WordPress professionals. It is a good choice when you need to hire a freelance developer. But you cannot hire a specialist of other specialization here. It is a great alternative Fiverr in this particular field.

There is a strict verification system on this site with a 45-day trial period for programmers. It makes this platform one of the best from the quality side. But it also determines its high prices.

Pros:

  • High safety of the platform and trustworthy specialists
  • Protected payments from the platform’s side

Cons:

  • Expensive services
  • Only WordPress developers

UpStack

This platform is a good Guru alternative. It suggests professionals worldwide. Here you can find a dedicated freelance specialist for your team.

UpStack has an 8 point hiring process to ensure the safety of such collaboration. Thus, there are specialists on this platform with the best technical and soft skills. There are also programmers with nearly any specialization. For example, you can easily find a freelance frontend developer here.

Pros:

  • Wide range of specialists with different specializations worldwide
  • Ability to find a programmer for any size of the business
  • 8-point verification system
  • Perfect customers’ support

Cons:

  • It may be expensive for some companies
  • Bad for short-time cooperation
  • Smaller range of candidates comparatively to other platforms

So there are a lot of really helpful freelance programming sites where you can find a specialist that will correspond to all your requirements. Hopefully you found your perfect one from our list of best sites to hire developers.

Outstaffing vs Hiring Freelancers

There is always an ability to address an outstaffing company instead of looking for a specialist on programming freelance sites. And here is a comparative table that will show you the difference between them.

OutstaffingFreelance
Pros– huge experience of developers
– plenty of talented specialists
– it is cost-effective
– you can find developer with necessary specialization
– high guarantees
– control of the process from the company’s side
– wide range of specialists with different experience and specialization
– relatively low cost
– ability to start working fastly
Cons– probably it may take some time to find “your” company as there are a lot of good ones– probably it is not suitable for a long-term cooperation
– low guarantees
– low controlcultural issues

So outstaffing is a more reliable and profitable way of cooperation. You will have guarantees from the company with low cost and large pool of talents as on the freelance platform. It also gives you more control of the process and its results that is very important. Also there will always be the third (company’s) side in the communication between your and developer that can alleviate all possible difficulties.

And the best variant is outstaffing Ukraine. As there are comparatively low salaries in Ukraine it will be really cost-effective to cooperate with developers from there. Also its time and culture is near to European overall so it will not be so difficult to understand each other.

So choosing outstaffing in Ukraine will be the best decision!

Mobilunity Is a Reliable Provider of Outstaffing Services in Ukraine

Mobilunity is a Ukrainian company with more than 10 years’ experience in providing IT services. It counts more than 200 dedicated programmers and more than 40 satisfied clients all over the world. There are such famous companies as Linux, Buttonorder, Zenchef, Qrates, Minedia, Gleat, FinExpert and many more.

We have a tremendous experience in consulting and development, especially in team building. Thus, we can easily and without wasting time help you build a dream team. Besides, you can hire dedicated specialists with us for your existing team as well. 

Mobilunity is a company with high guarantees and professionals you can trust. Anything you can just imagine can be done due to experts hired with us!

It does not matter if you need a programmer for a separate task, a specialist for your already existing team or a programmer for a long lasting project. You can find all of that in Mobilunity!

Looking for a best site to hire programmers hassle-free and quickly? Do not be embarrassed, contact us and get help right now!

All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.

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