Upwork
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Good fit if you occasionally need freelance help and can stomach the fee stack; poor fit for full-time hires or freelancers who can find work elsewhere.
Comparison
Upwork vs Fiverr
Upwork and Fiverr both land on Depends.
Fiverr
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy for small, low-stakes one-off tasks where seller quality variance is tolerable.
| Compare | Upwork | Fiverr |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Occasional freelance hires | Cheap one-off tasks (design, quick fixes) |
| Who it's not for | Full-time, long-term hires | Anyone sharing sensitive files or logins |
| Privacy | Runs a HackerOne bug bounty and enterprise security program; one alleged, unconfirmed recruiter/freelancer database leak circulated.⁹ | April 2026: misconfigured cloud storage exposed tax forms and private user files; Fiverr denies a breach. |
| Support quality | PissedConsumer and Trustpilot complaint volume; dispute stories | Trustpilot service complaints dominate |
| Public sentiment | Sentiment splits: clients still find talent easily, but many freelancers and some clients say fees, Connects, and support have eroded the value.³ | Buyers like cheap, fast gigs, but Trustpilot service reviews are poor and new sellers struggle to land orders.13 |
| Biggest gotcha | Freelancers buy Connects per bid; spend adds up before earning anything | Company denied the 2026 leak while private files appeared in Google search |
Pick Upwork when
- Occasional freelance hires
- One-off projects without payroll
- Solo founders needing specialists fast
- Enterprises with managed freelance programs
When Upwork is not a fit
- Full-time, long-term hires
- Freelancers unwilling to pay for every bid
- Micro-budget jobs . fees swallow the project
- Buyers expecting hands-on dispute help
Pick Fiverr when
- Cheap one-off tasks (design, quick fixes)
- Small-budget buyers testing freelancers
- Lean entrepreneurs sourcing small digital jobs
When Fiverr is not a fit
- Anyone sharing sensitive files or logins
- Teams needing ongoing, long-term contractors
- Quality-critical projects where rework is costly
- Freelancers needing fast, predictable income
Sources
review
review
review
official
- 326 Upwork Reviews | PissedConsumerupwork.pissedconsumer.comreview
- What Is Upwork, and Is It Legit? | NerdWalletnerdwallet.comreview
- Upwork | Vulnerability Disclosure Policy . HackerOnehackerone.comsecurity
security
- Upwork Revenue and Client Stats (2026) . Backlinkobacklinko.comnews
- Upwork Case Study . OPSWATopswat.comnews
- Upwork Enterprise Security Featuresupwork.comofficial
- Fiverr Customer Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
review
- Fiverr Review: Finding the Best Freelancer . JustAnswerjustanswer.comreview
- Is Fiverr Worth It? Pros and Cons for Freelancersdianakelly.comreview