The UK has around 2.05 million freelancers, according to IPSE's latest research, making up 49% of the country's 4.2 million solo self-employed workers. For recruiters and in-house talent teams, that is a large pool of people who are not on job boards in the usual sense. Many find their next contract through a freelance platform, a referral or a recruiter who already works with platforms.
The rules around hiring them also changed this year. From 6 April 2026, the thresholds that decide whether a company counts as "small" under the off-payroll working rules (IR35) went up, which moved thousands of businesses out of the group that must issue status determinations. That affects which platforms suit which hirers, and it is one reason recruiters are looking at the platform market again.
This guide covers the seven freelancing websites UK recruiters and hiring managers use most for freelance roles, what each costs, and where each fits alongside agencies and job boards.
What changed with IR35 in April 2026
Under the off-payroll rules, a medium or large end client must decide each contractor's IR35 status and issue a status determination statement. A small company does not: the contractor's own limited company makes that decision. From 6 April 2026, a company is small if it meets two of these three tests, as set out in the new thresholds:
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Annual turnover of £15 million or less (previously £10.2 million).
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Balance sheet total of £7.5 million or less (previously £5.1 million).
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50 employees or fewer (unchanged).
For recruiters this means more SME clients can engage contractors without running their own status checks. It does not remove risk for larger clients, and groups need to look at the size of the whole group, not one subsidiary. Platforms with built-in IR35 workflows matter most to clients that are still medium or large.
The 7 platforms at a glance
Fees as published or reported in October 2026. Several platforms changed their pricing in 2025 and 2026, so check before quoting them to a client.
How UK recruiters use each platform
PeoplePerHour
Founded in London, PeoplePerHour has a large base of UK freelancers in design, development, writing and marketing. Its tiered commission drops from 20% to 7.5% once a freelancer has billed a client £250, and to 3.5% above £5,000, which encourages repeat work with the same client. Recruiters use it to source project freelancers for SME clients who do not need a full agency process.
YunoJuno
YunoJuno is less a job board than a system for managing freelancers once they are hired. It is free for freelancers and charges hirers a percentage of contractor payments. Its main draw for UK hirers is compliance: IR35 status workflows, right-to-work checks and audit records. Agencies and in-house teams that engage dozens of contractors a year are its core users.
Malt
Malt operates across the UK, France, Germany and Spain, with a strong pool in tech, data and marketing. Clients pay a service fee based on their plan, and Malt handles invoicing. It is useful for recruiters filling roles where the freelancer may be based elsewhere in Europe.
Upwork
Upwork gives UK hirers access to a global pool, which helps for hard-to-fill technical skills and for work that can be done in any time zone. Fees apply on both sides, with the freelancer fee varying between 0% and 15% by contract. Compliance support is mostly limited to its enterprise offering, so most UK users handle IR35 themselves.
Jobbers.io
Jobbers.io is an international marketplace where hirers post freelance jobs and neither side pays a commission. Freelancers buy credits to submit proposals, and rates and payment terms are agreed directly between the two parties. For recruiters and small hirers, the appeal is that the full budget goes to the freelancer. The limits are worth stating plainly: there is no escrow and no IR35 tooling, so the hirer arranges the contract, payment schedule and status assessment, as it would with any direct contractor.
Fiverr
Fiverr suits work that can be specified upfront and delivered as a package. UK marketing and content teams use it for short jobs such as graphics, voiceovers and copy edits. It is rarely the right choice for ongoing roles, because scope changes need new orders.
Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com charges employers 3% or $3 per project and freelancers 10% or $5. It attracts many bids per project, often from outside the UK, which suits price-sensitive work but takes time to screen.
Where platforms fit alongside agencies and job boards
Platforms have not replaced recruiters for most UK contract hiring. Senior interim roles, regulated sectors and engagements inside IR35 still tend to go through agencies or umbrella arrangements, partly because the agency takes on compliance work the client does not want. Platforms tend to win on short, well-defined projects, remote work and roles where the client wants to see portfolios and reviews before speaking to anyone.
Common ways recruiters combine the two:
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Using platforms to benchmark day rates before briefing a client.
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Sourcing freelancers on platforms for SME clients that sit below the new IR35 thresholds and do not want agency fees.
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Moving repeat freelancers from a commission-based platform to a commission-free one, or to a direct contract, once trust is established. Check the platform's terms first, as some restrict taking relationships off-platform for a set period.
IR35 checklist when hiring through a platform
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Identify the end client. The off-payroll rules look at who receives the services, not which platform processes payment.
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Check size against the new thresholds. Use group figures where the client is part of a group.
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Issue a status determination statement if the client is medium or large, and keep the reasoning on file.
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Confirm the contracting route. A freelancer working as a sole trader is outside the off-payroll rules, but employment status still has to be considered.
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Review the platform's terms on who is the contracting party, IP ownership and liability.
Choosing the right mix
For most UK recruiters and hiring managers, the question is not which single platform to use but which combination. A common setup is one compliance-led system for larger clients (YunoJuno, or an agency arrangement), one or two marketplaces for project sourcing (PeoplePerHour, Malt or Upwork), and a commission-free option such as Jobbers.io for clients who want direct relationships at no platform cost. Keep a simple record of each platform's fees and compliance responsibilities, and update it each April when tax thresholds change.
