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Upwork: Difference between revisions
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== Competition == | == Competition == | ||
Our research indicates that Fiverr, Freelance.com and LinkedIn are the major competitors of Upwork. We have examined each of them below. | Our research indicates that Fiverr,Toptal Freelance.com and LinkedIn are the major competitors of Upwork. We have examined each of them below. | ||
=== 1. Fiverr === | === 1. Fiverr === | ||
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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. | 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. Freelancer.com<ref>https://www.freelancer.com/about | === 3. Toptal === | ||
The company's name stands for "top talent". It claims to provide access to only the top 3% of freelancers worldwide<ref>https://www.upwork.com/resources/upwork-vs-toptal</ref>. 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<ref>https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-booming-toptal-no-stock-for-employees-or-investors</ref>. 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<ref>https://remote.co/company/toptal/</ref>. The table below compares Upwork and Toptal. | |||
=== 4. Freelancer.com<ref>https://www.freelancer.com/about | |||
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbarrie/?originalSubdomain=au | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbarrie/?originalSubdomain=au | ||
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https://www.freelancer.com/about/investor-pdf.php?id=168084920&name=FLN%20ANNUAL_REPORT_2021 | 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> === | 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, unlike Fiverr and LinkedIn, the competition from Freelancer.com is not intense. 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, unlike Fiverr and LinkedIn, the competition from Freelancer.com is not intense. 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" | ||