Digitization and the advent of the freelance economy have been changing the way businesses work. This 2018 Morgan Stanley report points out that the advent of freelancing platforms and the ability to work on the cloud have opened up new channels for companies to find better talent. One such channel is online freelance marketplaces.
Types of Websites for Hiring Freelance Developers
Freelance developer websites can be segmented into three general categories in terms of hiring practices, talent quality, and pricing. They are:
- Bidding websites
- Order-based websites
- Vetted talent websites
Bidding Websites
Bidding websites are similar to traditional job boards. These platforms require you to post a job requirement along with your budget and subsequently invite bids from freelance developers. Bidding websites give you volume and affordability but can be sometimes found lacking in quality.
Generally, top developers don't prefer bidding websites as it requires a huge time investment on their part to find projects, due to the highly competitive space.
Such platforms do not have vetting processes in place and rely heavily on customer reviews & ratings.
Freelance sites such as Upwork and Guru are based on this model.
Order-based Websites
Similar to bidding websites, but aimed at smaller projects, order-based freelance websites are online marketplaces that allow freelance professionals (both creative and technical) to earn money selling their services as ‘products’.
The focus is on showcasing very specific skill-sets, and advertising one-off job orders rather than bigger projects. Consequently, the entry barrier for freelance developers to register and land jobs on these platforms is lower.
Fiverr falls into this category of freelance websites.
Vetted Talent Websites
Top freelance developers prefer vetted talent platforms. This allows them to save time otherwise spent on searching for relevant projects. Further, such platforms have a stringent screening process and hence guarantee quality in terms of both freelancers and projects.
From the clients’ perspective, this model allows them to work with highly curated talent, saving time & energy of having to perform extensive screening themselves.
Vetted talent platforms ensure a freelancer is matched with projects that best suit their skillset and needs.
Websites such as Flexiple, Toptal, and Arc.dev fall under this head.
Top 7 Websites to Hire Freelance Developers
Here are the Top 7 websites to hire freelance developers:
1. Flexiple
Flexiple is a premium, tech-only (developers & designers) online platform that sources the best freelance talent who have previously worked at top tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, etc.
Freelancers are manually vetted to ensure their proficiency in multiple criteria like technical skills, quality of projects, and overall reliability. This detailed screening process ensures that companies get to work with the very best.
Further, Flexiple provides a smooth hiring experience by offering personalised recommendations and flexible time-based payment models. Processes are kept aligned to your project success by ensuring responsive support throughout the length of the engagement.
Pricing:
Flexiple provides freelance developers at affordable rates of $30 to $80 per hour. There are no recruiting fees that apply and developers can get started on projects within a week.
2. Toptal
Toptal is an established player in the premium freelance developers’ market. It has expanded its presence from engineering to also include design, financial consulting, project management, and product management.
Toptal’s USP is its rigorous screening process and large community. Its multi-stage vetting process consists of code reviews, portfolio review, real-time testing, and an English language skill test.
Pricing:
Start-ups can find Toptal pricey due to its high hourly rates ($80-$200) driven by high commission rates.
Read our review on Toptal here.
3. Arc.dev
Arc.dev initially started as CodementorX, a mentoring platform for developers. Typically, developers could seek help from the network for problem-solving, skill improvement, etc. Today, it continues to carry the tag of a “leading on-demand mentorship platform for developers” but has also developed a solution to help companies hire freelance developers.
Akin to other premium websites, Arc.dev has a stringent vetting process that utilises assessment tools to ensure quality. Arc.dev focuses on enabling companies to hire full-time remote-working developers for the long-term. Arc also takes care of compliance, payroll, and benefits.
Pricing:
Hourly rates for freelance developers start from $60 and can go to $200+, which makes the platform unsuitable for start-ups or for small projects.
4. Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent is relatively new and offers a completely free service for companies looking to independently hire freelance developers as well as agencies. With more emphasis on the use of software to match freelancers with projects, there is no manual vetting process to ascertain their quality.
It is a transparent marketplace that allows clients to browse through freelance developer profiles and to get in touch with them directly. Hubstaff Talent functions more like a database of freelancers who sign up on the platform. It has no additional features to help you in hiring the best talent for your needs.
Pricing:
It’s free for both business owners (clients) and freelancers.
5. Upwork
The result of a merger between Elance and Odesk, Upwork is one of the largest and most popular freelance marketplaces with a bidding system.
It is not a developer-only platform and caters to more than 50 categories of jobs ranging from data entry to graphic design. It doesn’t have a vetting process, hence, the onus is on you to evaluate talent.
Pricing:
Upwork focuses on volume and affordability, with freelance developers bidding to get clients at low-cost rates. Hence, rates can range anywhere from $8/hr to over $100/hr.
Read our review on Upwork here.
6. Guru
Guru was set up back in 1998 as eMoonlighter, for highly qualified workers seeking short-term, one-off contracts. Over the years, it has slowly diversified from being a developer-only platform and has grown into other streams like accounting, admin, designing, and others.
Similar to Upwork, Guru has now become a pure freelance marketplace. It has a large pool of workers from across the globe and is focused on volume and affordability.
Also, there is no strict vetting or screening process in place. Rather, ratings are provided to help employers select developers. This means you’d have to put in significant work in interviewing and qualifying freelance developers, as ratings are not a reliable benchmark of ensuring quality.
Pricing:
Guru gives you more flexibility than Upwork in terms of quality and pricing, allowing you to pick from highly qualified to low-cost developers.
7. Fiverr
Fiverr is the platform that popularized the order-based concept of engaging freelancers. Services are usually offered for one-off, small, specific tasks, and caters to more than 250 categories – from voice-overs and logo design to website & app development.
Freelancers are termed ‘Sellers’ and offer their services for everything in the price range of $5 to $995. They can choose to sell their services at three different price points based on the complexity of the task.
To help clients in choosing the right freelancer, Fiverr provides a ‘Seller Level’, which is a status earned by the freelancer based on ratings, performance, quality of past work, etc.
How to Choose the Right Platform for your Business?
Each website mentioned above has its own use-case. The key is to understand these nuances and choose the one that aligns with your requirements. The particulars include how big or small your project is, what technology it calls for, what your budget is, etc.
Below are the three broad categories of projects to guide you through your decision-making process. So, if you want to hire freelance developers for:
1. Short and cost-constrained project
When you have a small project – that almost qualifies as a task rather than a project – bidding websites and order-based websites such as Upwork, Guru, and Fiverr are the ones to consider.
The volume of freelance developers on these platforms will allow you to find candidates in your budget range, who are willing to take up smaller projects. In any case, make sure to spend sufficient time in evaluating the developers prior to starting the projects.
2. Longer and affordable projects
If you have a long-term project but want to keep costs low, then pure-marketplace freelance websites like Upwork and Guru are the right fit. You get volume in applications as well as a wide pool of freelance talent ranging from less experienced to highly experienced developers.
However, the quality will still be an issue, and you would need to put in the hard work of vetting developers based on various factors. This is because relying only on their ratings will not give you the complete picture. To evaluate freelance developers properly, you need to dig deeper into their portfolios and past work experience.
You could also consider affordable freelance developer websites such as Flexiple that can provide vetted freelance developers from $30-80/ hour. Such platforms do the hard work for you in evaluating developers and do a good job of recommending the best ones for your needs. Additionally, their 1-week trial period allows you to start the engagement without any risk.
3. Quality is everything
Eventually, quality is what sets apart the high-performers from the rest. Big or small, no matter the size of the task, if your long-term focus is consistent value-based growth and excellence, then look no further than premium talent platforms.
For instance, on Flexiple, you will only find the top 1% freelance developers who go through an exhaustive hiring process, while Toptal gives you elite freelancers on a wider range of verticals. As we know, complex products require the best talent, and these premium networks are ideal to build them.
Not sure how to choose the right freelance developer before making the decision to hire? Here’s a guide on how to evaluate freelance developers.
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