oDesk

Name: oDesk
Brand: oDesk
Rating: 4.1 (13556 reviews)

oDesk was an online marketplace that connected businesses with freelance talent for hourly and fixed-price work, providing platform services including escrow-based payments, dispute resolution, and time-tracking/work-diary tools.

Est 2004|Raised $46.6M|56 Ref Customers

LinkedIn 52K|Web traffic 6K|FTEs 120

MarketsMarketplace Software

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

- Upwork versus Fiverr: - Upwork is commonly used for longer engagements and hourly collaboration where a work diary and iterative work are valuable. - Fiverr is commonly used for defined, fixed-scope deliverables (for example, logos, landing pages, short-form copy) where buyers purchase a packaged service. - Fiverr’s buyer fee structure is relatively straightforward, though repeated add-ons and small-order charges can raise total cost for repeated purchases. - Upwork versus Toptal: - Toptal focuses on vetting and concierge matching for senior roles and tends to have higher pricing and narrower talent categories. - Upwork emphasizes market breadth and self-service hiring, which requires more internal screening processes. - Upwork versus Freelancer.com / Contra: - Freelancer.com often advertises lower apparent client fees but includes optional paid upgrades for features such as NDA or IP agreements. - Contra emphasizes different fee mechanics for freelancers; buyers should validate whether Contra’s dispute and compliance tooling meets organizational requirements.

	oDesk / Upwork (current Upwork policies)	Fiverr	Toptal
Starting Price	No subscription required; tiered client plans with a lower-tier single-digit service fee and a higher-tier single-digit service fee	No subscription required for basic purchasing; buys typically carry a small buyer fee and may incur extra charges for small orders or add-ons	Buyer engagements commonly involve a retainer or concierge model for senior talent (confirm current pricing with the vendor)
Suitable For	Ongoing hourly work, broad talent discovery, flexible contracting	Fixed-scope deliverables, quick turnarounds, packaged services	Curated senior talent for high-stakes or senior roles
Key Strength	Marketplace breadth, integrated payments, hourly tracking and protection tools	Speed and clear fixed-price offers, large catalog of packaged services	Vetting and matching model aimed at senior/verified talent
Key Weakness	Screening burden; layered fees; time-tracker privacy and workflow friction	Quality variance outside premium offerings; add-ons may increase total cost	Higher cost and narrower categories; less open marketplace flexibility

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

Upwork versus Fiverr:
- Upwork is commonly used for longer engagements and hourly collaboration where a work diary and iterative work are valuable.
- Fiverr is commonly used for defined, fixed-scope deliverables (for example, logos, landing pages, short-form copy) where buyers purchase a packaged service.
- Fiverr’s buyer fee structure is relatively straightforward, though repeated add-ons and small-order charges can raise total cost for repeated purchases.
Upwork versus Toptal:
- Toptal focuses on vetting and concierge matching for senior roles and tends to have higher pricing and narrower talent categories.
- Upwork emphasizes market breadth and self-service hiring, which requires more internal screening processes.
Upwork versus Freelancer.com / Contra:
- Freelancer.com often advertises lower apparent client fees but includes optional paid upgrades for features such as NDA or IP agreements.
- Contra emphasizes different fee mechanics for freelancers; buyers should validate whether Contra’s dispute and compliance tooling meets organizational requirements.

	oDesk / Upwork (current Upwork policies)	Fiverr	Toptal
Starting Price	No subscription required; tiered client plans with a lower-tier single-digit service fee and a higher-tier single-digit service fee	No subscription required for basic purchasing; buys typically carry a small buyer fee and may incur extra charges for small orders or add-ons	Buyer engagements commonly involve a retainer or concierge model for senior talent (confirm current pricing with the vendor)
Suitable For	Ongoing hourly work, broad talent discovery, flexible contracting	Fixed-scope deliverables, quick turnarounds, packaged services	Curated senior talent for high-stakes or senior roles
Key Strength	Marketplace breadth, integrated payments, hourly tracking and protection tools	Speed and clear fixed-price offers, large catalog of packaged services	Vetting and matching model aimed at senior/verified talent
Key Weakness	Screening burden; layered fees; time-tracker privacy and workflow friction	Quality variance outside premium offerings; add-ons may increase total cost	Higher cost and narrower categories; less open marketplace flexibility