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Professional Services · head to head

Freelancer.com vs Productive

Freelancer.com logo

Freelancer.com

Professional Services

Find the best freelancers for any job online

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Productive logo

Productive

Professional Services

Run projects, budgets and resources in one place

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Freelancer.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Freelancer.com employers pay 3% or $3.00 USD minimum on fixed-price projects when awarding; Productive essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Freelancer.com and Productive actually diverge.

Attributes where Freelancer.com and Productive differ
AttributeFreelancer.comProductive
Starting priceFree$10/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Professional Services).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Freelancer.com

  • Posting projects and collecting competitive bids without upfront costnot Productive
  • Engaging hourly contractors with flexible staffing and per-payment feesnot Productive
  • Running design contests where employers only pay if satisfiednot Productive
  • Securing work payments held by platform until contractor approvalnot Productive
  • Identifying vetted freelancers through Verified by Freelancer badgesnot Productive

Productive

  • Team resource planningnot Freelancer.com
  • Project and expense managementnot Freelancer.com
  • Time tracking and invoicingnot Freelancer.com

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Freelancer.com

  • Employers pay 3% or $3.00 USD minimum on fixed-price projects when awarding
  • Freelancers pay 10% or $5.00 USD minimum on fixed-price projects
  • Preferred Freelancer Program charges 15% on recruiter projects
  • Maintenance fee up to $14.00 per month for accounts inactive 6+ months
  • Withdrawal fees range from $1.00 to $25.00 depending on method

Productive

  • Essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional
  • Ultimate tier for complex organizations is quote-only, listed as Let's talk with no published price

Pricing, plan by plan

Freelancer.com

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Freelancer.com review.

Productive

$10/month
  • Essential$10/month
    • Budgeting
    • Resource planning
    • Project and task management
  • Essential Annual$12/month
    • All Essential features (billed annually at 20% discount)
  • Professional$25/month
    • All Essential features
    • HRIS and Invoicing integrations
    • Recurring budgets
  • Ultimate$null/month
    • All Professional features
    • Revenue forecasting
    • Scenario Builder

Which should you pick?

Choose Freelancer.com if

  • You want to start without paying.
Freelancer.com review

Choose Productive if

Nothing in the data separates Productive from Freelancer.com on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Productive review

Questions people ask

Is Freelancer.com or Productive better?
Neither clearly leads. Freelancer.com starts at Free and Productive at $10/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Freelancer.com or Productive?
Freelancer.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Freelancer.com and $10/month for Productive.
Does Freelancer.com or Productive run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Freelancer.com for free?
Yes. Freelancer.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Productive starts at $10/month.
What is Freelancer.com best used for?
Freelancer.com is most often used for posting projects and collecting competitive bids without upfront cost, engaging hourly contractors with flexible staffing and per-payment fees, running design contests where employers only pay if satisfied, securing work payments held by platform until contractor approval. Of those, posting projects and collecting competitive bids without upfront cost and engaging hourly contractors with flexible staffing and per-payment fees are not what Productive is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Freelancer.com: What are Freelancer.com's fees?

Employers pay 3% or $3.00 USD (whichever is greater) when awarding fixed-price projects and 3% on hourly payments. Freelancers pay 10% or $5.00 USD minimum on fixed-price projects, 10% on hourly payments, and 10% or $5.00 USD on contest prizes. The Preferred Freelancer Program charges 15% on recruiter projects.

Source
Productive: How much does Productive cost per month?

The Essential plan starts at $10/user/month (or $12/user/month billed annually). The Professional plan costs $25/user/month. Pricing is per user, so multiply by team size.

Source
Freelancer.com: What are the payment processing and withdrawal fees on Freelancer?

Payment processing fees are $0.30 USD plus 2.3% for credit card, PayPal, or Skrill. Withdrawal fees are $1.00 for PayPal/Skrill/Payoneer and $25.00 for international wire transfers.

Source
Productive: Does Productive offer a free trial?

Free trial information is not displayed on the pricing page. Contact their sales team via the website for trial availability and custom Ultimate plan pricing.

Source
Freelancer.com: What optional upgrades are available for Freelancer projects?

Featured and Urgent upgrades cost $10.99 each, Private/NDA/IP Agreement upgrades cost $22.99 each, and Full Time projects cost $240.00. Projects also have a Verification Badge option at $99.00 (regular), $79.00 (Preferred), or $59.00 (Rising Stars).

Source
Productive: What features does the Essential plan include?

The Essential plan includes budgeting, resource planning, project and task management, time tracking, expense management, reporting, time off management, and API access with 5 custom fields.

Source
Productive: What is the difference between Professional and Ultimate plans?

The Professional plan includes HRIS integrations, advanced reports, and team collaboration tools at $25/user/month. Ultimate adds revenue forecasting, scenario builder, multiple subsidiaries, and custom integrations at custom pricing.

Source
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