Guru

Guru is an older freelance marketplace whose job fee drops as the membership tier rises, which is a different bet from the platforms that take a flat cut. Its SafePay escrow holds the client's money before work starts. Volume is well below Upwork's, so it works as a second source of leads rather than as the only one.

Basic is free and charges a 9 percent job fee. Basic+ is $11.95 a month at the same 9 percent, Professional is $21.95 at 7 percent, Business is $33.95 at 6 percent and Executive is $49.95 at 5 percent, with up to 27 percent off annual billing. Each tier raises the monthly bid allowance and the ranking boost. The arithmetic is straightforward: the membership pays for itself once monthly earnings pass roughly the fee divided by the percentage saved.

Freelancers who already win work on the big marketplaces and want a second source of leads with a lower cut. Somebody looking for their first client will find the job volume thin compared with Upwork.