Freelancer review by Inspector Jones

In a word, Freelancer is huge. They are the largest outsourcing marketplace in the world, with over 7 million registered users, and having acquired GetAFreelancer, Scriptlance, vWorker/Rentacoder have a huge following.

Freelancer.com provides a marketplace for freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing. They focus on IT (Software Development, Mobile Development, IT administration/support), Writing (Articles, Blogs, Copywriting, Ghostwriting), Design/Multimedia/Animation, Data Entry, Virtual Assistants, Data Mining, and Marketing/Advertising. However, you can use freelancer.com to procure almost any freelance service.

Before you choose Freelancer, here are the key things you need to know.

First, one of Freelancer’s strengths is in software development. Software development projects run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, and there are a huge number of skilled developers. If you are looking for IT work, Freelancer is a good choice.

Second, it is very fast. You can mark jobs as urgent, to make the process even faster. There are millions of workers, so you are likely to get quality applicants very quickly. You can be up and running, with an employed freelancer in a matter of hours.

Third, Freelancer has a good system for minimising your risk. For hourly contracts, you can see screenshots of what your freelancer has been working on, and ensure that they really worked the hours logged. You can also hide your project details from search engines or public view, and you can also require freelancers to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Finally, Freelancer does offer competitions, but I do not recommend them. These competitions attract multiple different entries, and the entire prize is awarded to your choice of winner. This is typically used for design or naming. If you are considering design competitions - I recommend you look at alternatives to Freelancer like 99designs, Designcrowd, or crowdSPRING.

Recommendations

I recommend Freelancer for small businesses and entrepreneurs needing software development, specialised freelancers, or unskilled work. It is fast, inexpensive and convenient.