Where to Sell Freelance Services in 2026: Fiverr, Upwork or Direct Invoicing?

Profitvana Editorial Team · Updated November 9, 2026

Fiverr keeps 20% of every order; Upwork's freelancer fee, once a flat 10%, is now variable from 0% to 15% per contract; direct invoicing through PayPal costs 3.49% + $0.49, Stripe 2.9% + 30¢, Wise and Payoneer less for international clients. On a $500 project the marketplace fee is $50–100 and the direct fee is $15–20. What the marketplace sells for that money is the client, the escrow and the dispute process.

What you receive on each platform: $500 project, paid in full

Computed from each platform’s verified fee schedule in our registry, on the same sale, ranked by what lands in your account after fees and the label. Costs the schedule does not carry (optional promotion, returns, your time) are in the notes and the text below.

#	Platform	Fees	Label you pay	You receive	Schedule used
1	Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 on an invoice; +1.5% international cards; you find the client	$14.803% of price	—	$485.20	2.9% + $0.30
2	PayPal 3.49% + $0.49 Checkout; +1.5% international; full fee kept on refunds	$17.943.6% of price	—	$482.06	3.49% + $0.49
3	Payoneer Up to 3.99% + $0.49 by card; free from marketplaces; 1.2–4% to withdraw with conversion	$20.444.1% of price	—	$479.56	3.99% + $0.49
4	Upwork Shown at 10%; since May 2025 the fee is variable 0–15% per contract, fixed when you bid	$50.0010% of price	—	$450.00	10%
5	Fiverr 20% on every order, including tips	$100.0020% of price	—	$400.00	20%

What the 20% and the variable fee buy

Fiverr's 20% is the highest commission we track for services and applies to every order and every tip. In exchange the platform supplies the buyer, holds the money in escrow, handles disputes and pays out on completion, and for a new freelancer with no clients that is the whole business. Upwork replaced its flat 10% in May 2025 with a variable fee between 0% and 15% that is shown before you submit a proposal and locked for the life of that contract; it rewards bidding on the contracts Upwork wants filled and penalises others, and since 1 September 2026 freelancers with a non-US tax address pay $2.99 per withdrawal to a US bank.

Direct invoicing: cheap, and all the risk is yours

A Stripe invoice costs 2.9% + 30¢ ($14.80 on $500), PayPal Checkout 3.49% + $0.49 ($17.94), both plus 1.5% if the client is abroad and a conversion spread if the currency differs. There is no escrow: the client pays after delivery or on milestones you negotiate, and a non-payment is a collections problem, not a dispute ticket. PayPal keeps its full fee on refunds and charges $15–20 on disputes; Stripe keeps its fee on refunds and charges $15 per dispute. For clients abroad, Wise and Payoneer receive in local currency and convert at 0.5–2% rather than PayPal's 3–4%, which on recurring international income is the largest saving in this table.

The usual path

Most freelancers start on a marketplace, build reviews and a client list, then move repeat clients to direct invoicing where the marketplace adds nothing. Both Fiverr and Upwork prohibit taking a client you met on the platform off it, and Upwork charges a conversion fee to do so legitimately, so the direct channel is for clients who found you elsewhere. Pricing should include the fee of whichever channel the client uses: a $500 Fiverr order nets $400; the same client invoiced directly nets about $485.

Verdict

No clients yet: Fiverr or Upwork; the 10–20% is the cost of acquiring them.
Repeat and referred clients: direct invoicing through Stripe (domestic) or Wise/Payoneer (international).
Never: paying a 20% marketplace fee on a client you found yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Does Upwork still charge 10%?

Not as a flat rate. Since May 2025 the freelancer service fee varies from 0% to 15% per contract and is displayed before you submit a proposal; it stays fixed for that contract. Our calculator models 10% as a mid-point; enter the rate shown on your proposal.

Is Fiverr's 20% charged on tips?

Yes. Fiverr's service fee applies to the order value and to tips.

How this page is computed

The table runs one realistic basket for this category through the fee schedule of each platform as held in our registry, where every schedule carries the official page it was read from and the date it was last checked; category-specific rates (eBay’s sneakers, electronics, clothing, books and guitars rates, StockX and Whatnot tiers, Grailed’s price bands) are applied where they change the result. Platforms not yet in the registry are discussed but not ranked. Rates move: the change log records each change and this table recomputes with it.