Updated on 23 October 2026.
Written by the BeFreelancr team. This guide contains affiliate links.
A freelance platform can bring your first clients quickly, or eat a large part of your margin. They do not all work the same way: some sell packaged services, others ask you to answer job posts, others select a small number of experienced profiles. This guide explains the main models, the criteria to compare and the warning signs to look out for before you create yet another profile.
The 4 main types of platforms
1. Marketplaces for packaged services
You publish ready-made offers (a WordPress site, an article, a social media pack) with a price and a delivery time, and clients order directly. Fiverr works this way, and so does BeFreelancr.
- Pros: no proposals to write, and clients know the price upfront.
- Cons: you need offers that are well described and well priced to stand out, and very custom projects fit less easily.
2. Job boards where you send proposals
Clients post a project, and freelancers send proposals. Upwork, Freelancer.com and PeoplePerHour are the best-known examples.
- Pros: a large number of projects of all sizes.
- Cons: strong competition, proposals take time, and some platforms charge for the right to apply.
3. Selective networks
Access goes through a selection (interview, technical test), then the platform offers you assignments, often long ones. Toptal is a well-known example in tech.
- Pros: clients looking for experienced profiles, often for longer assignments.
- Cons: you have to pass the selection, and it is not designed for beginners.
4. Specialised platforms and contests
Some platforms cover a single trade. In translation, for example, ProZ.com combines a directory of translators and interpreters with job posts. According to its own terms, the site can be used for free, but paying members are listed first in the directory and can quote on member-only jobs.
- Pros: clients who come specifically for your trade, and tools designed for it.
- Cons: visibility often depends on a paid membership, and the audience is limited to one field.
Design contests, where several designers work and only one is paid, should be handled with care: you may spend hours on work that is never paid.
The 4 models at a glance
| Model | How it works | Best for | Main cost | Beginner-friendly? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace for packaged services | You list fixed-price offers; clients order directly | Services that are easy to standardise | A commission on each order | Yes, if your offers are clear |
| Job board with proposals | Clients post projects; you send proposals | Custom projects, varied clients | Commission, sometimes paid credits to apply | Yes, but expect time on proposals |
| Selective network | Selection first, then the platform offers assignments | Experienced profiles, long assignments | Mainly the selection effort; check each network’s terms | Rarely |
| Specialised platform | Directory or job posts for one trade | Established professionals in that trade | Often a paid membership for visibility | It depends on the platform |
5 criteria to compare before you sign up
- What you pay: a commission on each order, a subscription, fees to apply or to be featured. Read each platform’s current terms; fees change.
- Who invoices the client: you or the platform. It changes your bookkeeping, your VAT and how unpaid invoices are handled.
- Secure payment: is the client’s money held in escrow before you start?
- The type of clients: small businesses, large companies, individuals, international clients.
- How much demand there is for your skill there: a general platform can be very strong in development and weak in translation, and vice versa.
Which type suits you?
- You can describe your work as clear packages (a website, a set of articles, a monthly maintenance plan): start with a marketplace for packaged services.
- Each project is different and you like discussing the brief: a job board where you send proposals fits better.
- You have several years of experience in tech or consulting: try a selective network alongside your own clients.
- Your trade has its own professional community (translation, for example): look at the specialised platforms in your field.
Whatever you choose, do not depend on a single platform. Two or three channels you maintain well, plus your own network, are worth more than a presence on ten sites. If you are just starting, our guide How to start freelancing puts platforms back in context with the other steps.
Red flags
- A “client” asks you to continue the conversation or the payment outside the platform: you lose the platform’s protection.
- You are asked to pay to receive a job or to unlock a client’s contact details.
- Large unpaid “test” work before any order.
- Fees that are hard to find, or that you only discover when you are paid.
- No clear rules on disputes, refunds or when you get paid.
- Requests for your passwords, ID documents or bank details outside the platform’s official verification process.
And BeFreelancr?
BeFreelancr belongs to the first model: you sell packaged services at a fixed price, and BeFreelancr invoices the client. There is no subscription and no fee to be listed. On each sale, you keep 60% of the price excluding VAT; the remaining 40% is split between the affiliate who brought the client (20%), two referrers (5% + 5%) and the platform (10%). In other words, your share is 60%, not 90%: include it in your prices.
Its current limits, so you can judge for yourself:
- No quote-based offers yet: they are coming soon.
- Fixed-price packaged services: for now, it is not ideal for very custom or long projects.
- A 40% share that goes to affiliates, referrers and the platform, to factor into your prices.
- Euros only: prices and payments are in euros.
To see the services already listed and create your own: discover BeFreelancr (affiliate link). You can also look at current job requests (affiliate link).
Who writes this guide?
Freelance Skills is the blog of David Lefèvre, co-founder of BeFreelancr, a freelance services platform; the content is written by the BeFreelancr team. So we are not neutral when we talk about platforms. When we present other platforms, we also explain their strengths, and we point out BeFreelancr’s limits. This guide contains affiliate links to BeFreelancr: if you sign up or order through them, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Links of this kind are marked “affiliate link”. More about us and how we work.