Help & frequently asked questions

FreelancerPeople is a curated freelance marketplace where buyers hire vetted professionals and sellers turn their skills into work. You can order a ready-made packaged service — we call these SERVEs — or agree a custom contract shaped around your project. Every payment is held in escrow from checkout until the work is approved, so both sides are protected.

Use Sign up with your email to create a free buyer account in minutes. Verifying your email helps keep your account secure and unlocks the full experience. You can upgrade to a seller workspace at any time without creating a second account.

Yes, creating an account and browsing the marketplace is free. You only pay when you place an order or fund a contract, and the exact total, including any platform fee, is always shown at checkout before you confirm. There is no subscription or membership to start selling.

A buyer account lets you hire talent, place orders, and manage contracts. A seller workspace adds the tools to publish SERVEs, send custom offers, and get paid for your work. The same login can switch between buying and selling, so you are never locked into one role.

Buyers can browse and order without identity verification. Sellers complete KYC identity verification before withdrawing earnings, which keeps payouts secure and compliant. You can hire, sell, and message long before that step is required.

FreelancerPeople runs in any modern web browser on desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone — there is nothing to install. The layout adapts to your screen, so you can browse, message, and manage orders wherever you are. For the smoothest experience, keep your browser updated to a recent version.

No app is required — the marketplace works entirely in your browser, so you can sign in from any device and pick up where you left off. If your device supports it, you can add the site to your home screen for quick access. Everything from hiring to payouts happens in the same web experience.

You can choose your preferred interface language in your settings, and the site remembers it across visits. You can also set the display currency so prices show in the units you think in. The currency you are actually charged in is always confirmed clearly at checkout.

Use the search bar or browse by category to explore SERVEs, then filter by things like level, rating, delivery time, and budget to narrow the list. You can also open a freelancer's profile to see their packages, portfolio, and reviews before deciding. Saving a few favorites makes it easy to compare and come back later.

Browse SERVEs or talent, open a service, pick a package, and continue to secure checkout. You can also message a seller to request a custom contract with its own scope and price. Your funds are held in escrow until the work is delivered and approved.

A SERVE is a packaged service with a set scope, price, and delivery time that you can order instantly. A custom contract is negotiated directly with a seller for work that needs a tailored scope or budget. Both run on the same escrow protection, so your money stays safe either way.

A fixed-price contract sets one total for an agreed scope, funded up front and released on approval. An hourly contract is billed weekly against the hours your seller logs, so it suits open-ended or ongoing work. You will see which type a seller is offering before you fund it.

Choose your package or accept a seller's custom offer, then continue to checkout. You can pay with your buyer wallet balance or another supported method, and the full total including any fee appears before you confirm. Once funded, the contract opens with its own workspace for files and messages.

Your seller submits the finished work in the contract workspace, where you can review files and leave feedback. Each package lists how many revisions are included, and you can request changes within that scope. Clear, specific feedback helps your seller turn revisions around quickly.

Once you are happy with a delivery, approve it from the contract workspace to mark the work complete. Approval is what releases the escrowed payment to your seller, so only approve when you are satisfied. If something still needs attention, request a revision instead of approving.

If a delivery is late, you can message your seller in the contract workspace to check on progress. When a contract stalls or cannot be completed, you can open a case in the Resolution Center. Because your payment is still in escrow, it remains protected while the issue is worked out.

Yes — enter a valid campaign code at checkout and the discount is applied to your order total before fees. The total updates instantly so you can see exactly what you will pay.

Yes — you can message a seller to ask questions, share your brief, or request a custom offer before committing to anything. Once you start a conversation or place an order, the seller can reply to you freely. Keeping the chat on FreelancerPeople is what preserves your records and escrow protection.

Yes. Use the save option on a SERVE or a freelancer's profile to add them to your saved list, so you can find them again without searching. Your saved items stay with your account across devices. It is a simple way to shortlist options while you decide who to hire.

After a contract completes, you can rate your seller and write a review from the order, which then appears on their public profile. If you were especially happy with the work, you can also add an optional tip as a thank-you. Honest, specific reviews help other buyers and reward great sellers.

Absolutely. Open their profile or your past orders to start a new SERVE order or request a fresh custom offer. Repeat work often goes faster because the freelancer already understands your style and needs. Every new order runs on the same escrow protection as the first.

When you fund an order or contract, your payment is held securely in escrow rather than going straight to the seller. It is only released once the work moves through delivery and you approve it. This protects both sides: sellers know the funds are committed, and buyers know money is not released until the work is done.

Your payment stays in escrow until the delivery is approved or the contract otherwise completes under its terms. Until that point it remains protected and is never paid out early. For hourly contracts, approved weekly time is settled on the schedule shown in the contract.

FreelancerPeople charges a service fee that supports escrow protection, support, and the tools that run the marketplace. The exact amount is always shown at checkout before you confirm, so there are no surprises. The same fee structure applies to every seller — there are no paid tiers.

Your buyer wallet holds funds you can use toward orders and contracts on the marketplace. You can top it up and then apply the balance at checkout for a faster payment. Wallet activity is recorded so you always have a clear history of what you have spent.

If an order is cancelled or a dispute is resolved in your favor, the refund is returned by our Payment Team to your original source or your buyer wallet. Because funds sit in escrow until work is approved, an unreleased payment can be returned without it ever reaching the seller. The Resolution Center is the right place to start when a refund is in question.

Payments are processed through secure, encrypted channels, and FreelancerPeople does not store raw card details on the platform. Keeping all payments on the marketplace is also what makes escrow protection possible. If anyone asks you to pay off-platform, decline and report it to our Trust & Safety team.

At checkout you can pay using your buyer wallet balance or another supported payment method shown on the payment screen. Whichever you choose, the full total — including any platform fee — is displayed before you confirm. Keeping payments on the marketplace is what makes escrow protection possible.

Yes. Before you confirm any order or contract, the payment screen shows the full breakdown — the price, any platform fee, a discount from a valid coupon, and the final total. Nothing is charged until you review that total and confirm. There are no hidden charges added afterward.

Every payment is recorded in your wallet and order history, so you always have a clear record of what you spent and when. You can open any order to review its details and amounts at any time. If you need something more formal for your records, our Support team can help.

Activate your seller workspace from Become a seller, then publish your first SERVE with packages, pricing, and delivery times. New listings go live after our Marketplace Team reviews them. A complete profile and clear packages help buyers choose you with confidence.

From your seller workspace, build a SERVE by describing the work, setting one or more packages, and adding pricing, delivery times, and any extras. Strong images or sample work and an honest scope make your listing easier to trust. Once submitted, our Marketplace Team reviews it before it appears in the marketplace.

When a contract completes, your net earnings after the platform fee move into your earnings balance. From there you can withdraw to your connected payout method through your wallet. Our Payment Team handles the withdrawal once your account is eligible.

After a contract completes, earnings pass through a short clearance window before they become available to withdraw. This brief hold helps protect both sides while the order finalizes. The same clearance window applies to every seller, and your exact clearance date is always shown in your earnings history.

Identity verification, or KYC, confirms who is receiving payouts and helps keep the marketplace safe from fraud. You complete it once before your first withdrawal, and our Trust & Safety team reviews the submission. Until it is approved you can keep selling, but withdrawals stay paused.

Seller levels recognize consistent, high-quality delivery over time, based on signals like completed orders, ratings, and reliability. Reaching a higher level can unlock added visibility and tools. Levels are earned through your real performance, not bought.

Every seller gets the full analytics suite for free — core engagement metrics plus advanced funnels, trends, revenue, benchmarks, and exports. There is nothing to unlock and no paid tier; the same tools are available to every seller from day one.

Yes. When a buyer contacts you about work that does not fit a standard SERVE, you can send a custom offer with its own scope, price, and contract type. Once the buyer funds it, the payment is held in escrow just like any other order. This is ideal for larger or more specialized projects.

Yes. From your public profile you can post a public reply to any review on your completed contracts. A calm, professional reply is a great way to show future buyers how you handle feedback.

A complete profile, clear packages, and honest delivery times help buyers trust a new seller. Strong sample work and a quick, friendly response to messages make a real difference early on. As you deliver well and collect reviews, your visibility and reputation grow over time.

A level reflects your overall standing as a seller, earned through consistent, high-quality delivery over time. A badge highlights a specific quality or status — for example, an identity or plan-related mark — shown alongside your level. Together they help buyers understand your track record at a glance.

Yes. When you build or edit a SERVE, you can offer optional extras and add-ons that buyers can include at checkout, such as faster delivery or extra revisions. This lets buyers tailor the order to their needs and lets you price additional work fairly. Each extra is shown clearly before the buyer pays.

Selling is free to start — there is no subscription or membership. Every seller gets the full set of selling tools, including advanced analytics, from day one. A platform service fee applies to your earnings; the current rate and the number of live SERVEs you can publish at your level are always shown in your seller workspace, with no paid tier to unlock.

If you and the other party cannot resolve an issue directly, open a case in the Resolution Center. Share the details and any evidence, and the case is reviewed fairly with the escrowed funds held safely in the meantime. Most issues are best solved by talking first, but the Resolution Center is there when you need it.

Funds for the contract stay in escrow throughout the dispute, so neither side can move them while the case is open. Once a resolution is reached, our Payment Team applies the outcome, whether that is releasing payment, issuing a refund, or splitting it as agreed. Keeping money in escrow is what makes a fair review possible.

If you see behavior or content that breaks our rules, use the report option on the relevant profile, message, or listing. Reports go to our Trust & Safety team, who review them confidentially. You can also reach out through Contact if something needs urgent attention.

Our Trust & Safety team protects the marketplace by reviewing reports, investigating suspicious activity, and acting on accounts that break the rules. Account actions and enforcement are always handled by this team, never by other users. Their goal is to keep buying and selling safe for everyone.

Keeping payments and communication on FreelancerPeople is what protects you with escrow, records, and support if something goes wrong. Off-platform payments lose those protections entirely and are against our rules. If anyone pressures you to move off the platform, decline and report it to our Trust & Safety team.

Your conversations and the files you share in a contract are visible to you and the other party on that order, not to the public. Payments are processed through secure, encrypted channels. If a contract goes to the Resolution Center, only the people who need to review it can see the relevant details.

Files you attach in chats and requirements stay available for download for a period after you upload them. Very large files may expire after a while, and if a file is no longer available you will see a clear note where the download used to be. Saving important files locally is always a good habit.

Keep payments and communication on FreelancerPeople. We will never ask for your password or request off-platform transfers. Enable login alerts in settings and use a strong, unique password.

You can update your password from the security section of your workspace settings. If you cannot sign in, use the password reset link on the Sign in page to set a new one by email. Choose a long, unique password you do not reuse elsewhere.

Yes. You can enable two-factor authentication in your security settings for an extra layer of protection. With it on, signing in requires both your password and a second verification step. We strongly recommend turning it on for any account that handles payments.

Once an email address or phone number is verified, it is locked and cannot be changed by self-service for security reasons. If you need to update a verified contact detail, our Support team can help after confirming your identity. Reach them through Contact.

Open your workspace settings to manage your profile, notifications, privacy, security, and payout preferences. Changes save to your account and apply across the marketplace.

You can request account closure through your settings or by contacting our Support team. Before closing, make sure any open contracts are completed and any available balance is withdrawn, since closure ends access to your workspace. Our Support team can walk you through the steps if you have active orders.

The same account can act as both a buyer and a seller, so you never need a second login. Once you have activated a seller workspace, you can switch between your buying and selling views from the navigation. Each side has its own dashboard, contracts, and tools.

Your security settings list the devices currently signed in to your account, with details like the device and last activity. You can sign out any session you do not recognise, or sign out everywhere except your current device in one step. Reviewing this now and then is a simple way to keep your account secure.

A small tick next to a name means that user has completed identity verification with our Trust & Safety team. It is a quick signal that the person behind the account has been verified. It does not reveal any of their private documents — only that the check was completed.

Notifications keep you up to date on messages, contracts, payments, and account activity, and you can open them from the bell in the navigation. Announcements share marketplace-wide updates from the FreelancerPeople team and open on their own page. You can fine-tune which updates reach your inbox in your notification settings.