7 Best On-Demand Job Apps

Upwork has three plans for hiring gig workers through its system—the Client Marketplace, the business plan, and the Enterprise Plan. You can also take advantage of its Any Hire Plan to manage full-time or outsourced employees.

• Client Marketplace (5% per transaction or 3% per transaction if you are a US business paying through a checking account): 30 invites to freelancers per job post, search job posting, multiple payment methods
• Business Plan (10% per transaction or 8% per transaction if you are a US business paying through a checking account): Everything in Marketplace, plus access to pre-screened top 1% of talent, talent shortlist, on-demand coaching, 24/7 premium customer support, monthly invoicing
• Enterprise (custom): Everything in Business plan, plus dedicated accounts and program management, integrations, talent onboarding workflows, customized reporting and invoicing, compliant services subscription

Any Hire: The Any Hire program lets you bring in your outsourced freelancers, and full-time employees are available for hire as well. Upwork will then serve as an Employer of Record.

• Contractors ($49 per month + 3% transaction fee): Hire professionals in 180 countries, payment in 120+ currencies, manage compliance and onboard, time tracking and work diary, 24/7 support
• Full-time Employees (starting at $199+ per employee per month + 3% transaction fees): Contractor plan plus employee benefits, payroll, tax filing, and expenses

• Ability to hire full-time workers: Upwork offers an end-to-end solution for full-time hiring that includes the ability to try out a contract relationship before transitioning to full-time employment. It’s opened its payroll, compliance, and contract management tools to non-Enterprise Suite clients to help SMBs pay talent found on and off Upwork. Finally, it’s expanded its Enterprise Suite with onboarding workflows, systems integrations, and advanced reporting.
• Wide range of rated freelancers: Upwork has over 10 million registered freelancers in 180 countries doing everything from administration to logo design and app development. Freelancers undergo a simple approval process to be on its site, and you can narrow down candidates by qualification, rates, pay, and more. Alternatively, Upwork’s Talent Scout program will find you a qualified and vetted freelancer. Fiverr and Giggrabbers have a similar program.
• Flexible payment options: Pay gig workers by the hour, by the project, or as they reach milestones. Upwork can pay in over 120 currencies (there may be an extra fee).
• Manage all employees through Upwork: Any Hire lets you hire and manage your own freelancers and full-time employees through the Upwork system for payroll and team management. This unique tool is very useful if you work mostly with freelance gig workers and only have a few full-time employees.
• Mobile app: Like most of the products on our list, Upwork has separate apps for clients (employers) and professionals (freelancers). The client app lets you post jobs, correspond with applicants, and hire and pay them. The professional app is also highly rated, although Fiverr’s app has better ratings.

Handy differs from most of the on-demand work sites on our list in that it does not share its prices online. You will need to fill out a form stating your location, job, expected hours, and start date, and Handy will call you to provide a quote and arrange an appointment.

Housekeeping services may require a contract of three to nine months, with a cancellation fee. Be sure you understand the terms before agreeing to a quote.

• Available professionals worldwide: Handy can connect you with vetted professionals in nearly 200 cities across the United States, Canada, and the UK. While TaskRabbit has a presence in more countries, it’s in fewer specific cities.
• Vetted professionals: Handy vets all its professionals (via Jumio and Checkr). They go through screening for certifications, background checks, and company affiliations. Handy does not just look at qualifications but also experience with home service.
• It handles the employees for you: Handy differs from most of the sites on our list in that it handles finding, assigning, and insuring your temp worker for you, including workers’ comp.
• Handy Happiness Guarantee: If you have problems with a worker, you can contact Handy at any time. If you paid for the service and are not satisfied, Handy will send another professional at no charge for your next booking.
• Mobile app: The Handy app for clients lets you track the locations of your professionals, manage booking details, communicate with them, rate and tip them, and more. The Android score has gone down further since our last update, with complaints about the service rather than the app itself. (The Handy app for employees is called Angi Services.)

With $5 projects, called “gigs,” Fiverr has the lowest entry point of all the freelance websites. However, that is the base price; many freelancers on the site charge extra for faster turnaround or extra features (like multiple image formats). Long-term projects can go as high as $15,000.

On top of that, you pay a 5.5% service fee on the purchase amount and tips, plus an additional $3 fee for purchases under $100.

• Projects within a day: Unlike Upwork, you can specify that you need a project completed within 24 hours and get sellers who are able to meet that need. Fiverr also flags sellers who are online with a green dot so you can contact them in real time.
• Pay in advance/escrow: Unlike most of the work-on-demand apps and platforms that we reviewed, Fiverr requires you to pay in advance. The payment is put in escrow and paid out to the seller upon completion of the project. You can preload your Fiverr account and use it for more than one seller—a nice feature if you have a budgeted amount for a project needing multiple freelancers.
• Easy talent search: Fiverr sellers offer an incredible variety of projects at budget prices. The filters include project options (such as language for a voice-over), budget, seller level of experience and rating, and how fast you need the project done. Fiverr also lists alternatives in case your first choice does not work out.
• Gig subscriptions: If you like a freelancer’s work, it’s easy to hire them again. Fiverr offers a subscription option for repeat work. No other service on our list offers this option. Alternatively, you can create a list of your favorite sellers to quickly reach them again.
• Mobile app: Fiverr offers only one app for both clients and professionals. The reviews are excellent, but there are complaints about the ability to download finished files. The app lets you find freelancers and communicate with them.

Pricing is custom and varies by shift type, shift volume, position type, location, and other factors.

If looking for a full-time worker, you get 100 free messages on Pro Search, after which, Instawork contacts you about pricing for additional messages.

• Wide network of part-time and full-time workers: Instawork’s database includes 4 million vetted workers, some of whom are seeking full-time positions. Rather than posting a job, you search profiles for prospective candidates and reach out to them. Instawork says it’s 30% faster to find an employee than by going through applications.
• Limited free hiring: Once you find likely candidates, you can contact them via the network for interest. Instawork’s Pro Search program lets you send 100 messages free, making it a great option for finding full-time workers if your hiring needs are small. Many on our list, like Upwork, let you hire freelancers for full-time work but charge a fee.
• Highly vetted and incentivized workers: Workers on Instawork undergo background checks and interviews before being admitted to the platform. Further, Instawork rewards top workers with additional opportunities and free instant pay.
• GPS tracking of workers: Instawork was the only on-demand worker app we found that lets you track your workers on a map to see if they are en route to your business and when they arrive on your property. This is good too for events or catering work. The mobile app lets them clock in and out as well.
• Fill shifts in hours: Instawork says shifts fill in just hours, and they boast a 97% to 98% show rate, depending on the industry. You’re notified within minutes of someone picking up a posted shift.
• Mobile app: Like several on our list, Intawork has separate apps for workers and businesses. They all rate very highly. The business app includes a time clock, timesheets, GPS tracking of workers, and the ability to submit shifts and ratings.

Qwick’s pricing is simple: You set the hourly fee for your worker, and Qwick adds a 40% service fee to that—the highest fee on this list. You can also pay your worker tips, which are not included when calculating the service fee.

Unlike Upwork or Handy, Qwick does not charge you a hiring fee if you like a worker and want to take them full-time.

• In-depth vetting: Qwick’s vetting process is not as in-depth as before, but it ensures employees have at least a year of relevant experience and attend orientation. Clients also rate professionals; if someone’s rating falls below 3.5 out of 5, they are removed.
• Certifications: Qwick makes sure workers have the certifications they need for the jobs they accept, such as food handling or alcohol serving. They also have TIPS/Basic Title IV certifications where needed. This helps ensure you stay compliant with local law. For most services on our list, you need to ask about certifications yourself.
• Workers’ comp: Like Handy and Instawork, Qwick handles worker’s insurance, including workers’ compensation.
• Excellent success rate: Qwick boasts a 98% fill rate and says it can find you a temp in a matter of minutes rather than days.
• Rehiring/Firing tools: If you like a worker, you can add them to your favorites to request for future shifts. If you rate them 5 stars, they get dibs on future shifts from you. However, if you have a no-show or a poor worker, you can complain to Qwick within two hours of the shift to get a refund.
• Mobile app: Qwick has one of the highest-rated apps for employers on our list. The employee app is similarly well-regarded. Managers using the app can view shift rosters, rate professionals, and create a custom pool of favorite workers for filling future shifts.

Giggrabbers charges its service fee to the freelancers, which means the service is free for you, but the professional may include the fee in their prices. It charges $49.95 per job if you want help hiring a freelancer and setting up your project.

• Hire talent: You can find talent in three ways with Giggrabbers: 1) search its database for freelancers, 2) set up a project and take bids, or 3) purchase an Enterprise Plan or Account Management service and have Giggrabbers assign a qualified freelancer to you. This is similar to Upwork.
• Crowdfund your freelancer: Giggrabbers has a unique option to help you develop a crowdfunding campaign to pay your freelancers for the project. Included in the project development tool, it makes it easy to set up a campaign to share with friends, family, or fans through social media. Thus, it’s possible to get your talent completely free.
• Enterprise plans: Giggrabbers’ enterprise plans are unique in that they are package deals focused on marketing campaigns and include graphics creation, web design, and copywriting. You pay a large up-front fee in return for dedicated talent and support from Giggrabbers.
• Mobile app: Giggrabbers lacks a mobile device. If you like the convenience of mobile, consider Fiverr or Upwork.

Band of Hands charges a one-time sign-up fee of $499. After that, it charges per employee per pay period for the payroll and benefits. This is less expensive than others that have salary markups and is even cheaper than many payroll software programs.

• Weekly: $12 per pay period per employee
• Biweekly: $24 per pay period per employee
• Semimonthly: $24 per pay period per employee

You set the employee pay rate. You can hire employees as W-2 workers or 1099 contractors. You are responsible for workers’ compensation and, for W-2 workers, payroll taxes, including FUTA and SUTA.

• W-2 employees without W-2 hassle: Band of Hands takes care of the onboarding, payroll, and even benefits for the workers it provides. All you do is create the jobs and take them on. This service includes additional onboarding tools if you have specific documents that need to be signed, time tracking tools, and more. The others on our list do not provide as many services.
• Payroll: Band of Hands uses Paycor for paying employees. You set the pay schedule and Band of Hands handles the rest with employee time clocks as part of the program. It also handles PTO, breaks, and other compliances.
• HR Tools: Band of Hands is the only on-demand work app that also includes a full HR suite that takes employees from hiring to firing for you, with audits and compliance, employee rights, and more.
• Invite preferred workers: If you would like to invite a particular person to sign up for a future job, then you need to set the job to private and invite them through the app. Others on our list let you reach out individually to favorites or give them the first right of refusal to new jobs.
• Mobile app: Band of Hands has only one app on Android for both clients and professionals (most other providers on our list offer separate applications). The Google app lets you post jobs and communicate with professionals, while the Apple app seems to be only for accepting work.