Upwork vs Gigster
Side-by-side from the Top 11 rankings of The 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent and The 11 Best Fractional CTOs. Last verified June 17, 2026.
The short answer
Upwork ranks higher on Top 11 (#2 vs #8) for Startups and SMBs hiring freelancers for design, dev, and marketing / Non-technical founders needing senior engineering leadership. The biggest marketplace with the widest talent variety and budget flexibility.
At a glance
| Upwork | Gigster | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #2 / The 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent | #8 / The 11 Best Fractional CTOs |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 9 | 7.9 |
| Best for | Largest talent marketplace | Managed teams with tech leadership |
| Pricing | $$ (5% fee on payments) | $$$$$ (Project-based, $50k+) |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco, USA |
| Founded | 2015 | 2013 |
Upwork
The biggest marketplace with the widest talent variety and budget flexibility.
www.upwork.comSee full entry in The 11 Best Freelance Platforms for Hiring Talent
Gigster
A one-stop shop for building products, bundling tech leadership with a full development team.
gigster.com/Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.