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|Linkedin
|Linkedin
|8
|8
|LinkedIn is the most dangerous competitor given it's size. We believe it is unlikely that they will offer tools like timetracking in the foreseeable future
|LinkedIn is the most dangerous competitor given it's size and influece. We believe it is unlikely that they will offer tools like timetracking in the foreseeable future and will therefore not compete in the same niche as Upwork.
|-
|Toptal
|6
|Toptal is focused on only the top 3% of Freelancers and competes in the higher more professional market segments.
|-
|-
|Fiverr  
|Fiverr  
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|3
|3
|Freelancer seems to be badly run. We don't believe they are a strong competitor.
|Freelancer seems to be badly run. We don't believe they are a strong competitor.
|}
== LinkedIn ==
We view the impending competition from LinkedIn as the greatest threat to Upwork's success. LinkedIn is a marketplace that connects job seekers with employers. It has over 875 million members in more than 200 countries<ref>https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/10/26/upwork-upwk-q3-2022-earnings-call-transcript/</ref>. In 2016, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn ProFinder, a free service that enabled freelancers to connect with clients from their locality. The service only allowed freelancers to send up to 10 proposals for free. After that, one needed a LinkedIn Pro subscription which costs around $60, to send more proposals for free. The other key disadvantage of the LinkedIn ProFinder is that it was one-way. That is, freelancers could not send proposals for which they have not received invitations. Also, the freelancer could not review a client<ref>https://aboundsocial.com/linkedin-profinder-hiring-landing-gigs-more/</ref>. In March 2021, LinkedIn upgraded it to LinkedIn Service Marketplace. The new marketplace enabled freelancers to bid for proposals outside their locality. During the launch, LinkedIn said that the marketplace started with 250 job categories but would later expand to 500 job categories. Six months after its launch, 2 million providers had joined the marketplace, proving it is rapidly growing<ref>https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/announcing-launch-linkedin-services-marketplace-matt-faustman/</ref>. We believe if LinkedIn introduces more features common to marketplaces like Upwork, such as payment features, hourly tracker, the ability for freelancers to bid for jobs without relying on invites, etc., LinkedIn Service Marketplace will eat Upwork's market share.
== Toptal<ref>https://www.upwork.com/resources/upwork-vs-toptal↵↵https://www.toptal.com/about↵↵https://www.benzinga.com/sec/insider-trades/upwk/hayden-brown↵↵https://www.toptal.com/press-center/toptal-applications-surge
https://www.upwork.com/resources/upwork-vs-toptal
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-booming-toptal-no-stock-for-employees-or-investors
https://remote.co/company/toptal/</ref>==
The company's name stands for "top talent". It claims to provide access to only the top 3% of freelancers worldwide. Toptal was founded in 2010 by Taso Du Val and Breanden Beneschott. Taso Du Val has been the company's CEO since its inception, while Breanden Beneschott was the COO until he was ousted in 2018. Unlike the other three Upwork competitors mentioned in this article, Toptal is the only competitor not listed. It has over 500 employees and no headquarters. The table below compares Upwork and Toptal.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!CEO ownership
!2020 revenue
!Number of clients in 2022
!Time it takes to locate a freelancer
!Time it takes a freelancer to join the platform
!Trial window for client-freelance relationship available?
!Where freelancers come from
!How much does it charge clients?
!Does it vets clients?
!Industries covered
!Experience needed?
!Deposit needed from clients?
!Account types
!Awards badges?
!Service fees levied on freelancers
!Security
!Job categories
!Types of clients
|-
|Upwork
|Hayden owns less than 1% of the company
|$374 million
|over 818,000
|less than 3 days
|24 hours
|No
|More than 180 countries
|3-5%
|No
|12
|No
|No
|Freelance basic and freelance plus
|Yes
|20-5% of earnings
|Takes security of the platform seriously
|More than 90
|All types
|-
|-
|Toptal
|Toptal
|Taso owns 100% of the company
|Around $300 million
|Over 21,000
|90% of clients hire within 24 hours
|Up to 5 weeks
|Yes
|More than 100 countries
|Unspecified markup fees on top of freelance fees
|Yes
|5
|5
|Toptal is focused on only the top 1% of Freelancers and therefore only a partial competitor.
|2 years experience needed
|$500 deposited is needed, which is credited on first invoice or refunded
|One account type
|No
|No service fee
|No much information about Toptal's security features
|Only 5
|Mainly start-ups and large enterprises
|}
|}


== 1. Fiverr ==
===== Our assessment of competition from Toptal =====
Toptal is known for high-quality clients and freelancers. That is why startups and large enterprise clients mainly use it. However, its strict screening process limits the number of users on the platform. Also, the fact that only clients pay transaction fees makes the platform expensive compared to Upwork. Besides, the few job categories on the site make it less attractive. Therefore, competition from this company is moderate.
 
== Fiverr ==
Fiverr was founded in 2010 by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger. Micha Kaufman has been the company's CEO since its inception, while Shai Wininger left his CTO position in 2019 to join his startup company, Lemonade, as CEO. As of December 2021, Fiverr had 787 employees. It is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Below is a comparison of Upwork and Fiverr.
Fiverr was founded in 2010 by Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger. Micha Kaufman has been the company's CEO since its inception, while Shai Wininger left his CTO position in 2019 to join his startup company, Lemonade, as CEO. As of December 2021, Fiverr had 787 employees. It is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Below is a comparison of Upwork and Fiverr.


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Even though Upwork and Fiverr are on par with each other, Upwork is more attractive to corporate clients due to its lower take rate and availability of hourly contracts. Therefore, as the world shifts to a freelance workforce, Upwork will benefit more than Fiverr. Fiverr may have great marketing, but Upwork recently started spending heavily on brand marketing. If Upwork's brand marketing pays off, it will outperform Fiverr further. We also feel that Fiverr's 20% fee imposed on freelancers is disadvantageous to freelancers who have worked with a client for a long time. That will likely force them to work outside the platform. Nevertheless, in October 2020, Upwork launched Project Catalog, which is similar to the "gigs" feature in Fiverr<ref>https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/upwork-launches-project-catalog-beta-a-new-way-for-businesses-and-independent-talent-to-instantly-work-together</ref>. If clients were attracted to Fiverr instead of Upwork because of that feature, that is no longer the case.
Even though Upwork and Fiverr are on par with each other, Upwork is more attractive to corporate clients due to its lower take rate and availability of hourly contracts. Therefore, as the world shifts to a freelance workforce, Upwork will benefit more than Fiverr. Fiverr may have great marketing, but Upwork recently started spending heavily on brand marketing. If Upwork's brand marketing pays off, it will outperform Fiverr further. We also feel that Fiverr's 20% fee imposed on freelancers is disadvantageous to freelancers who have worked with a client for a long time. That will likely force them to work outside the platform. Nevertheless, in October 2020, Upwork launched Project Catalog, which is similar to the "gigs" feature in Fiverr<ref>https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/upwork-launches-project-catalog-beta-a-new-way-for-businesses-and-independent-talent-to-instantly-work-together</ref>. If clients were attracted to Fiverr instead of Upwork because of that feature, that is no longer the case.


== 2. LinkedIn ==
== Freelancer.com<ref>https://www.freelancer.com/about https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbarrie/?originalSubdomain=au https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-can-upwork-ipo-learn-from-freelancercoms-stock-michael-a-brooks/ https://www.freelancer.com/faq/topic.php?id=36 https://www.freelancer.com/feesandcharges https://www.freelancer.com/hire https://www.freelancer.com/support/payments/milestone-payment-for-employers-2228/ https://www.upwork.com/direct-contracts https://www.freelancer.com/faq/topic.php?id=5 https://www.freelancer.com/about/investor-pdf.php?id=168084920&name=FLN%20ANNUAL_REPORT_2021 https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/881b56ef-812d-456d-89e5-98eef866460e#:~:text=Marketplace%20take%20rate%20for%20the,marketplace%2C%20resulting%20in%20strong%20retention.</ref>==
We view the impending competition from LinkedIn as the greatest threat to Upwork's success. LinkedIn is a marketplace that connects job seekers with employers. It has over 875 million members in more than 200 countries<ref>https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/10/26/upwork-upwk-q3-2022-earnings-call-transcript/</ref>. In 2016, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn ProFinder, a free service that enabled freelancers to connect with clients from their locality. The service only allowed freelancers to send up to 10 proposals for free. After that, one needed a LinkedIn Pro subscription which costs around $60, to send more proposals for free. The other key disadvantage of the LinkedIn ProFinder is that it was one-way. That is, freelancers could not send proposals for which they have not received invitations. Also, the freelancer could not review a client<ref>https://aboundsocial.com/linkedin-profinder-hiring-landing-gigs-more/</ref>. In March 2021, LinkedIn upgraded it to LinkedIn Service Marketplace. The new marketplace enabled freelancers to bid for proposals outside their locality. During the launch, LinkedIn said that the marketplace started with 250 job categories but would later expand to 500 job categories. Six months after its launch, 2 million providers had joined the marketplace, proving it is rapidly growing<ref>https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/announcing-launch-linkedin-services-marketplace-matt-faustman/</ref>. We believe if LinkedIn introduces more features common to marketplaces like Upwork, such as payment features, hourly tracker, the ability for freelancers to bid for jobs without relying on invites, etc., LinkedIn Service Marketplace will eat Upwork's market share.
 
== 3. Toptal<ref>https://www.upwork.com/resources/upwork-vs-toptal↵↵https://www.toptal.com/about↵↵https://www.benzinga.com/sec/insider-trades/upwk/hayden-brown↵↵https://www.toptal.com/press-center/toptal-applications-surge
 
https://www.upwork.com/resources/upwork-vs-toptal
 
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-booming-toptal-no-stock-for-employees-or-investors
 
https://remote.co/company/toptal/</ref>==
The company's name stands for "top talent". It claims to provide access to only the top 3% of freelancers worldwide. Toptal was founded in 2010 by Taso Du Val and Breanden Beneschott. Taso Du Val has been the company's CEO since its inception, while Breanden Beneschott was the COO until he was ousted in 2018. Unlike the other three Upwork competitors mentioned in this article, Toptal is the only competitor not listed. It has over 500 employees and no headquarters. The table below compares Upwork and Toptal.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!CEO ownership
!2020 revenue
!Number of clients in 2022
!Time it takes to locate a freelancer
!Time it takes a freelancer to join the platform
!Trial window for client-freelance relationship available?
!Where freelancers come from
!How much does it charge clients?
!Does it vets clients?
!Industries covered
!Experience needed?
!Deposit needed from clients?
!Account types
!Awards badges?
!Service fees levied on freelancers
!Security
!Job categories
!Types of clients
|-
|Upwork
|Hayden owns less than 1% of the company
|$374 million
|over 818,000
|less than 3 days
|24 hours
|No
|More than 180 countries
|3-5%
|No
|12
|No
|No
|Freelance basic and freelance plus
|Yes
|20-5% of earnings
|Takes security of the platform seriously
|More than 90
|All types
|-
|Toptal
|Taso owns 100% of the company
|Around $300 million
|Over 21,000
|90% of clients hire within 24 hours
|Up to 5 weeks
|Yes
|More than 100 countries
|Unspecified markup fees on top of freelance fees
|Yes
|5
|2 years experience needed
|$500 deposited is needed, which is credited on first invoice or refunded
|One account type
|No
|No service fee
|No much information about Toptal's security features
|Only 5
|Mainly start-ups and large enterprises
|}
 
===== Our assessment of competition from Toptal[edit | edit source] =====
Toptal is known for high-quality clients and freelancers. That is why startups and large enterprise clients mainly use it. However, its strict screening process limits the number of users on the platform. Also, the fact that only clients pay transaction fees makes the platform expensive compared to Upwork. Besides, the few job categories on the site make it less attractive. Therefore, competition from this company is moderate.
 
== 4. Freelancer.com<ref>https://www.freelancer.com/about https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbarrie/?originalSubdomain=au https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-can-upwork-ipo-learn-from-freelancercoms-stock-michael-a-brooks/ https://www.freelancer.com/faq/topic.php?id=36 https://www.freelancer.com/feesandcharges https://www.freelancer.com/hire https://www.freelancer.com/support/payments/milestone-payment-for-employers-2228/ https://www.upwork.com/direct-contracts https://www.freelancer.com/faq/topic.php?id=5 https://www.freelancer.com/about/investor-pdf.php?id=168084920&name=FLN%20ANNUAL_REPORT_2021 https://investors.upwork.com/static-files/881b56ef-812d-456d-89e5-98eef866460e#:~:text=Marketplace%20take%20rate%20for%20the,marketplace%2C%20resulting%20in%20strong%20retention.</ref>==
Freelancer.com is another competitor for Upwork. However, we are not scared of competition from Freelancer.com. It was founded in 2009 by Matt Barrie, its CEO to date. The company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2013, where it managed to achieve around $1 billion in market capitalization. The company says on its website that it has 63,976,270 employers and freelancers globally. Freelance.com is known for the acquisitions of many outsourcing marketplaces. Some companies it has acquired are GetAFreelancer.com, EUFreelance.com, LimeExchange, Scriptlance.com, etc. It has 286 employees and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Below is our comparison of Upwork and Freelancer.com.
Freelancer.com is another competitor for Upwork. However, we are not scared of competition from Freelancer.com. It was founded in 2009 by Matt Barrie, its CEO to date. The company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2013, where it managed to achieve around $1 billion in market capitalization. The company says on its website that it has 63,976,270 employers and freelancers globally. Freelance.com is known for the acquisitions of many outsourcing marketplaces. Some companies it has acquired are GetAFreelancer.com, EUFreelance.com, LimeExchange, Scriptlance.com, etc. It has 286 employees and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Below is our comparison of Upwork and Freelancer.com.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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