Running a successful location independent business can be time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be. You can outsource all the dull and repetitive tasks that waste your time. In fact, you could outsource your entire business, then sit back and swap laptop work for ocean views. To help you achieve this, we have enlisted the best outsourcing websites like UpWork of the year for you. And we will constantly update the page throughout 2018 and beyond.

What’s in it for you:

• Learn how to outsource efficiently
• Compare the best outsourcing websites like UpWork to find the perfect outsourcing site for your needs
• Find out why UpWork isn’t the best outsourcing website any longer

Please be a respectful and responsible location independent entrepreneur.

C. Kaiser

 

A First Word Of Outsourcing Wisdom

As a very first word of wisdom, please let us remind you that when outsourcing tasks, you deal with real human beings.

Please treat them all with respect, and please be responsible enough to pay them a fair remuneration for their time and effort. Profiting from geoarbitrage is fine, but exploiting other humans to make more money is not cool.

Outsourcing can be a win-win situation for everyone, with you saving money compared to hiring local freelancers as well as a lot of time, and some remote freelancers earning a fair living to provide for their families. Please bear this in mind. Thank you!

Save Time By Outsourcing

The single most valuable commodity in life as in business is time. We all need more of it, yet nobody can produce it. As startup, freelancer or digital nomad, your location independent business might sell or offer many things, but time probably isn’t on the list. So what to do?

Well, that’s going to be a matter of great difficulty. Since we cannot produce time, the only thing we can do, is save time. And to do so, hiring freelancers and outsourcing tasks is the key.

Whether you decide to outsource marketing and sales, want someone to create content for you, search for accounting outsourcing services, need skilled designers for logos, business cards and websites or opt for SEO outsourcing – the list is long, and the choice is yours.

You can outsource any task you can think of (bar breathing and eating). Make use of that. Click To Tweet

What To Look For When Outsourcing

Right now there is a massive influx of freelancers seeking jobs, and you can definitely give them something to do. You have work that you need done, and you need to make sure that it is done efficiently.

Fortunately, there are a ton of different freelancing websites out there that you can use to get the ball rolling. At the same time, there are obviously a few requirements these websites need to meet.

Most of all, you want your freelancers to be highly reliable and you want to make sure that they get the job done right. That’s a tall order, so we’ve taken the liberty of compiling a list of the best outsourcing websites on the internet, ensuring that you get the best on the market and the best job done in the end.

Time is money. To make your dream come true, you need a lot of both. Start outsourcing today! Click To Tweet

 

Note: We have sorted the list by usefulness (as we judge it). In case you are short on time (which could actually be a reason why you’re looking for the best outsourcing companies in the first place), check the top listed options to start with. Then come back for more in case they don’t fulfill your expectations. Remember to bookmark this page for easy reference.

Update: Despite naming the article ‘best outsourcing websites like UpWork’, we have also included a review on UpWork itself. However, since the latest developments indicate that other outsourcing websites will soon overtake the current giant on the market, we have pushed the UpWork review to the very end of the article. More on that… at the very end.

How To Outsource Efficiently

Outsourcing tasks is supposed to save you time, not create more work for you. Hence it is important that you outsource efficiently.

The most important rule for efficient outsourcing is proper communication. Bear in mind that the freelancer you’re hiring has no idea what is happening in your head, so you need to explain to her clearly what exactly you want. Draw a sketch, write down notes and send images or samples of similar websites/products/designs/articles of what you’re expecting.

In case you are planning to work with a Freelancer on an ongoing basis, it makes sense to schedule an introductory call. This way you can get to know the freelancer, and can efficiently communicate details about your business, its philosophy and the tasks you need help with.

Understandably, efficient outsourcing is best learned by doing. As on outsourcing sites like Fiverr you can outsource tasks for as little as 5 USD already, don’t overthink this and get cracking. The more you practice, the better you’ll get, and the more time you can save by having others do the work for you.

Get going! Here are the best outsourcing websites like UpWork for you:

 

PeoplePerHour: Our Favorite Outsourcing Website

In our opinion clearly the best outsourcing website out there at the moment. If you really want to save time and get some task outsourcing done, try PeoplePerHour.

PeoplePerHour has some great deals for you and a really simple layout. In fact, many freelancers have turned to this site after turning their backs on UpWork. By now, around 100,000 professionals are waiting to fulfill your orders.

As you sift through the jobs, you’ll notice that each one shows the number of available proposals attached to it. This helps that you aren’t going to be bogged down with proposals once you feel you have enough for the job.

You’ll also notice that PeoplePerHour offers outsourcing options for pretty much anything, whether you need someone for:

• Programming
• Graphic Design
• Translation
• Writing
• Tutorial Creation
• Or more

You’re going to be able to find exactly who you need using the eclectic pool of freelancers that PeoplePerHour has to offer. We really recommend taking a close look at this website – we predict a bright future.

Note: In case you never used PeoplePerHour before, click this link to receive 30 GBP free credit to spend on the site.

Our verdict: Choose PeoplePerHour.com to outsource any kind of tasks. Chances are you won’t need to look at any other outsourcing websites ever again. PeoplePerHour can be extremely valuable for bigger projects (e.g. website creation, app programming) or ongoing projects (e.g. hiring a VA, accounting). Outstanding: It is completely free for you to outsource your projects! (There is a 1.9% transaction fee for PayPal payments, though.)

 

Fiverr: Outsourcing Jobs For 5 USD

Over time, Fiverr has turned into one of the fastest growing outsourcing websites. And it has good reason for being such. Take the name, for example. As it implies, the site centers around five dollar jobs. And yes, more often than not you can expect pretty good results for as little as one fiver.

And there’s another thing that makes Fiverr really different: It doesn’t make you come up with a fully scripted project before you can get started. Rather, you can review freelancers, looking over their qualifications and their pricing. If you like what you see, you can send them a message and get started on your project. What we really like about this system: You can talk to people even if you don’t have a clear idea of what your project should encompass. Then you develop ideas together.

You can also easily search for users that have the skill set that you require. For example if you need someone who is good at developing website front-ends, Fiverr will help you to find it. If you need someone who can write filler for your website, then Fiverr can help you to find that as well. Basically for any task you need done, it’s never wrong to quickly check who you can find on Fiverr.

Fiverr is definitely great if you need some input and aren’t sure where your project is going. This isn’t the most complex service, it’s all about simple transactions for small projects. Usually these can be completed in a relatively short period of time.

Also, rates often are surprisingly cheap. Bear in mind that you get what you pay for. Don’t expect anyone to design an entire website for a fiver. But especially for smaller projects, such as logo design or similar, Fiverr is certainly the place to find.

Our verdict: Fiverr.com clearly is our outsourcing platform of choice when it comes to small, one-off projects.

Related: Is Fiverr better than Upwork? To help you get started, this article about Upwork vs Fiverr will present an overview of how both platforms work, including their features and benefits. Be more familiar with both platforms and ready to start hiring a team of remote workers.

 

LowPriceArticles: Outsource High-Quality Content Creation

When you’re in the market for content (and, to be honest – who isn’t?), you want something that’s going to stand up to the scrutiny of the internet. And that’s often a challenge.

Sometimes, finding freelance writers that actually care about their work can be a difficult. Ask any digital nomad you can find: Finding good content creators is usually one of their biggest headaches.

This is why LowPriceArticles easily made it into the top 3 of the web’s best outsourcing websites: They do create amazing content. Low Price Articles has employed a team of dedicated experts able to turn out incredible articles at stunningly low prices. Best of all, there’s no registration required. Just place your order and get content back via email, usually 2-3 days later. It’s that easy.

Yes, the initial impression of their website might not look as professional as many of the other sites we have listed. To test the waters, we first placed a 10 USD article order with them. We got it back within two days. No doubts left.

All their writers are native US Americans, so you don’t waste time in the aftermaths with improving language or grammar. Plus, their support team is really incredibly helpful. Since our first order here we have not used any other platform to outsource content anymore.

Note: LowPriceArticles.com is the same amazing crew that created StafflessSEO.com, a huge help in increasing your SEO rankings.

Our verdict: LowPriceArticles is probably the best outsourcing website when it comes to affordable, high-quality content creation.

 

Freelancer: Perfect Outsourcing Website For Contests

Freelancer has been around for a while, and it is one out of very few outsourcing websites that had over 10 million jobs posted so far! The range is as extensive as it gets, from IT professionals and writers to programmers and designers. You will find someone here who can do what you need.

You can decide whether you need someone for a fixed-price project or want to employ a freelancer on an hourly rate. Either way you get the opportunity to set milestone payments, which is very valuable, especially with larger projects: Instead of offering the full price after project completion, you can agree on small goals, which the freelancer is rewarded for.

Let’s say you want to have your website designed. The total project value is 500 USD. Now you set small goals for once the color combination is agreed on, the top menu takes on shape or the blog article template delights you. This keeps the overall goal attainable. Plus, the freelancer stays motivated to put in effort every single day, instead of pulling an all-nighter just before the final deadline.

One of the fun functions on Freelancer is running contests: Let’s say you need a new logo, but aren’t exactly sure what it should look like. You simply post a contest, with as many or as few specifications regards color, image, text etc as you like, set a budget and wait for creative designers to submit their ideas.

Throughout the contest, you can rate submissions and give feedback. We highly encourage you to do so, since freelancers can’t mind-read (we think). Wait a day or two for some entries, then give feedback to the best to point them in the right direction. Many freelancers are actually willing to submit a second and a third entry, so long they know they’re heading into right direction.

You don’t necessarily have to choose a winner, but karma kindly asks you to. Remember, there are real humans dedicating real portions of their limited lifetime into the tasks. If you’re unsure, contests start at as little as 10 USD. Do everyone a favor and be prepared to invest at least that much.

Very handy: Thanks to contests you can see many different designers at work. And even if they don’t hit the nail entirely on the head in the beginning, you can then contact and work with the best one to perfect your plans.

Update: Due to its massive popularity, unfortunately the bots have discovered Freelancer.com as well. Trying to outsource a simple text can easily result in dozens (if not hundreds) of offers, and sifting through can take a while.

Also, the prices are constantly increasing. By January 2017, employers pay 3 USD or 3% (whichever is greater) on fixed price projects, and 3% on hourly paid projects. Especially for smaller projects this is quite a heavy fee, so we recommend using other outsourcing websites like Fiverr for small projects.

However, it is still an excellent platform to run contests on. Bots can’t compete in contests (not yet, at least). So we highly recommend to make extensive use of this function where suitable.

Our verdict (updated): Freelancer has long been our go-to-website for outsourcing most kind of tasks. We still use it for its handy contest function, but might shop for competitors here as well, due to the high fees for low-value contests. If you know a good site – share the love in the comments!

 

SuperTasker: Hassle-Free Outsourcing

The team behind SuperTasker is the same as behind PeoplePer Hour. Compare their logos, if you don’t believe us.

SuperTasker does one thing incredibly well: Save you time.

The difference to other outsourcing websites like UpWork is simply: You don’t post a project to then source through dozens of applications. Instead, you send a project to SuperTasker, at a fixed price, and they simply do it. At that fixed price. With as many revisions as you need.

If unhappy, SuperTasker promises a hassle-free money-back guarantee. Brilliant, right? (Note: We have not yet had the need to test this money-back guarantee. If you have experience with this, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!)

As time is money, you will understand that for saving you so much time, SuperTasker also charges more than freelancers on other platforms. However, this extra investment quickly diminishes when taking into account the opportunity costs you’d pay on other outsourcing websites to sift through applications, discuss your project with various freelancers etc etc. Here you post it, and it gets done. It’s that simple.

Our verdict: Same as PeoplePerHour, SuperTasker simply works. And saves you loads of time. After all, that’s what you’d expect from good outsourcing websites, right? So give them a go!

 

Guru: Hire Freelancers In Any Domain

Guru.com also is one of the outsourcing websites that can set your business for success. It claims the services of more than 350,000 different freelancers across a wide variety of different industries.

Some of the freelancers specialize in areas like:

• Graphic & Web Design
• Programming & App Development
• Writing & Translation
• Legal, Management and Finance Advice
• As well as many many more.

 

Unlike other sites that we’ve run across, Guru.com allows you to post a project for free, which means you won’t be risking your hard earned money for a result that leaves much to be desired.

Another thing that makes Guru different: It doesn’t just require you to make a listing and then allow freelancers to jump on it. Well, it does, in a way, but it also delivers you a list of qualified freelancers that meet the requirements you’ve set forth. You may then proceed to choose the ones that meet your needs, and the ones that you feel will fulfill your project requirements adequately.

If you happen to have a larger project in the works: Use Guru’s specialized teams to save time and allow you to communicate in group discussions. You will also be able to contact different team members privately. It’s surprisingly easy to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Payment is much easier with Guru than with many other products out there. The SafePay service helps to guarantee that the money is going to the right place. Additionally, purchases give you 2% back in loyalty cash. You can use that money on future projects, and Guru.com has plenty of freelancers who are happy about repeat business.

Without a doubt, Guru is one of the most efficient outsourcing sites on the internet. It is definitely an economical choice for you and your company whether you’re just starting out, or are a well-established digital nomad already.

Our verdict: In case PeoplePerHour isn’t for you, try Guru. They also have loads of skilled Freelancers, and we find the platform suitable for outsourcing bigger and long-term projects.

 

Craigslist: Find Not-Yet-Freelancers

When it comes to finding freelancers, Craigslist is largely overlooked because it’s not one of the typical outsourcing websites. Nonetheless, it’s still a great way to find freelancers.

It’s free to use, and while it’s often used to post work in specific cities, you can usually find hubs (large cities) where freelancers from all areas will regularly look for work. There are thousands of people out there looking for work, and many of them are right there on Craigslist.

Bonus: You can actually find skilled professionals who haven’t thought about freelancing work so far, but are looking for jobs as employees. With some negotiating you can convince them of the beauty and freedom of freelancing. More often than not they’ll show their gratitude by working for you at very special conditions.

Our verdict: Craigslist is a great all-rounder, and, since it is often overlooked amongst the wealth of other outsourcing websites, you might discover some little-discovered talent here. Just don’t get too distracted by all the other wonderful things on offer!

 

Facebook: Excellent Outsourcing Website Camouflaged As Social Network

Same as Craigslist, many people overlook Facebook when thinking of outsourcing tasks. However, this is actually one of the most promising sites to source from. For starters, simply join a couple of digital nomad groups (such as the Digital Nomads Start-Up Community), and let people know what you are looking for. Digital nomads hiring digital nomads – what better team work could there be?

As you sure know how Facebook works, we won’t dive into detail here.

Since Facebook isn’t a freelancer portal in the classical sense, it also doesn’t offer any payment gateways for outsourcing services (yet). Hence, you will have to find an agreement with your fellow digital nomad, usually resulting in PayPal transactions.

Our verdict: Facebook is a great way to find freelancers, and excellent to support fellow digital nomads. Due to the lack of a proper payment solution, we recommend to start with small projects first, to build up trust. Big ticket orders can follow later.

 

Constant-Content: Content Outsourcing With A Quality Promise

Constant Content is a great spot for freelance writers to make money.  Vice versa, it is also a great place for you to start hatching your outsourcing plans. Constant Content’s strict editorial process ensures that
you get the best possible content and a good return on your investment.

Note: As of today, we have not yet used Constant Content. However, thanks to their convincing quality promise, it came onto our radar, so we thought we let you know it exists. If you already used Constant Content and would like to shoot us some feedback, we’d love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below.

Our verdict: As stated, we haven’t used Constant Content yet. However, we will keep an eye on it in case LowPriceArticles stops exceeding our expectations.

 

LinkedIn Profinder: LinkedIn’s Approach To Outsourcing

This service is pretty new to the arena and it really helps small businesses out. As the name suggests, it’s part of the gigantic professional network LinkedIn, and also works with the information given on the respective profiles.

It can easily find professional freelancers to assist you in project based work across a wide variety of different fields. These include copy-writing, content strategy, blogging, and even technical writing if you wish.

Since the environment is a very professional one, the prices are a bit higher than e.g. on Fiverr. But especially when it comes to content, SEO and technical writing the results are generally of higher quality as well. It seems as if ‘You get what you pay for’ does hold true.

Our verdict: As so far other outsourcing websites like PeoplePerHour or Guru fulfilled all our needs, we have yet to try LinkedIn Profinder. However, as LinkedIn is a trusted name, we have a feeling it won’t be long until we’ll test their services. Let us know in case you have already!

 

ContentMart: Order Content From The Self-Appointed #1

Content Mart markets itself as the #1 Content Marketplace. With only about 20,000 completed orders, we are not entirely sure who they compare themselves with… (But we decided to let this argument slide for the time being.)

Content Mart, as you might have guessed already, fully specializes in content. Proof reading, product descriptions, blog posts, SEO texts, informative articles – you can find it all here, created by qualified copywriters.

You’ll have to register for an account, as with most other outsourcing websites, which is quick and easy. Inside, you’ll find that it has a pretty good community, so feel free to make friends. After all, there certainly are quite a few digital nomads offering their services on here already – maybe you’ll meet them soon?

Note: We have not worked with Content Mart much so far, because of their (in our opinion) unjustified claim of being the #1 Content Marketplace. We rather rely on LowPriceArticles in case we need anything written. But in case these guys are not for you, give Content Mart a try – and let us know what you think.

Our verdict: In case none of the other outsourcing websites can fulfill your content needs, give Content Mart a try – and shoot us your opinion. We’re always happy to adapt and update our articles where needed.

 

UpWork The Former Giant Amongst Outsourcing Websites

Last but not least, the site most similar to UpWork: Upwork itself.

Since Elance and ODesk joined forces in 2015 to become UpWork, this is probably the currently biggest freelancing portal on the web. When you need to outsource projects online, this is often the first port of call for digital nomads. UpWork has almost become a synonym for ‘outsourcing website’.

There are millions of businesses that have chosen UpWork as their resource for task outsourcing, and with it you have the power to review every single potential employee. It’s like interviewing people for an actual job. And it leaves all the power in your hands.

One of the site’s strengths is that you can review the project at each stage of completion: Daily logs allow you to see just how well you happen to be progressing.

UpWork also permits you to prepare and easily observe the time management of your freelancers. This helps you to ensure that they are focusing on the right things. It guarantees that they’re making the most out of your hard earned money. Very useful.

When it comes to the payments, UpWork allows you to customize milestones that issue payments to the freelancers as they meet project requirements, one at a time. In other words, you don’t have to commit massive chunks of cash all at once, which is definitely better for your budget.

Freelancers will also be motivated to put their best foot forward at all times rather than waiting till the last minute and rushing the job. After all, if they have all of their money up front, why should they care? Freelancers at UpWork are some of the best on the market thanks to this payment system!

Managing a project can be hard, but UpWork does a great job of making it simple. Overall, it’s a safe and reliable means of task outsourcing.

Update: Unfortunately, UpWork has lost a lot of its charm over the course of 2016. The management has become greedy and the fees have risen. In addition, many freelancers have programmed bots to automatically bid for your projects, so you get flooded (aka spammed) with offers that only remotely resemble what you are looking for.

Due to the rather unfair conditions for freelancers, quality decreased while prices rose. Before considering using UpWork to outsource projects online, we recommend quickly checking user and freelancer opinions on UpWork on Quora.

Our verdict: Since 2016 we are not supporters of UpWork anymore, and have turned to other outsourcing sites as listed above. However, we don’t want to eliminate the possibility that you might find what you are looking for here, so feel free to give it a try. In case you do, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Maybe at some point UpWork moves upwards again?

 

Summary: Let Outsourcing Websites (Help) Run Your Business!

Outsourcing allows you to hire workers from around the world, each with their own unique set of skills. In the end, you can run a business with an entire staff at your disposal while taking time for yourself. Explore new places, work in new locations every day. And most importantly, become the success that you’ve always dreamed of being.

It’s all in your hands now, and the freelancing websites that we mentioned above can help get you where you want to be. Whether you need a writer, a programmer, a graphic designer, or anything else, the answer is out there and someone is waiting to fill the position. Make sure to make use of the magic of outsourcing!

We wish you all the best of success. More time to travel. And more money to spend.

Final note: As all these outsourcing websites constantly develop and evolve, we’d be very happy to hear from you with updates and news. Have you used any of the platforms? What are your experiences? Has anything changed that we should communicate to the digital nomad community?

Drop us a line in the comments. Thanks to outsourcing you save so much time now, that you can afford to write a line, right?