RentACoder vs oDesk
In recent days, a couple of blogs came out about RentACoder. I would like to compare this system with another - oDesk - so that beginning freelancers know where to start
Immediately make a reservation - I am not an employee of RentACoder or oDesk, and all of the following is solely my opinion based on my own experience
vs 
')
So, both systems are Western, allowing customers to find performers for their tasks. The process is about the same in both systems:
* Customer “posts” task description
* Artists vote - who, for how much and for what money is ready to perform the task
* The customer chooses from the performers who suits him best
* Contractor performs work
* Customer accepts it (or does not accept)
* Contractor receives money (in the case of acceptance) - both give each other marks
Both systems, acting as an intermediary, perform the following functions:
* Interaction between the customer and the performer;
* Ensuring the transfer of money (that is, the customer in the states do not have to steam how to transfer money to some Muhosransk);
* Guarantees, and to both parties - the customer is guaranteed that he will not spend the money for nothing, the contractor is guaranteed that in the case of the work he will receive money (although ... 100% of the guarantees, I think no one can give)
Now let's take a look at the details.
I was recently told about him here, because I will not write in detail - I will describe those features that will later be used when comparing with oDesk:
The main type of projects at RAC is fixed-price - that is, the customer says exactly what to do, the contractor says how much exactly it will cost and how much, exactly, it will take time (remember - “How many grams are exactly ?!”. As a result:
* The customer must describe in great detail what he wants (hmm - this happens very rarely);
* The contractor must evaluate the task in sufficient detail;
In case of an incorrect assessment, the executor risks failing to meet the deadlines (and get a low rating for it) - or fly over the money - when you have to plow half a year for a penny. It is clear that you can always try to explain to the customer that "everything turned out to be somewhat more complicated than you thought at the beginning" - but this will not always work out
As a result, there are very few “interesting” projects at RAC - interesting from the point of view of finances and long duration. That is, a $ 1000 project is already a big one for the RAC. It is understandable - large projects are more difficult to describe in detail and accurately assess. For the most part, this is either “make me a penny for 20 bucks” (which the Indians diligently do), or projects like “I don’t know what I want” (but also for 20 bucks) :)
Before starting work, the customer must transfer the amount of the “contract” to the RAC account. Thereby, the contractor is guaranteed that if the task is accepted, the customer will not be able to “squeeze” the money or say “they ran out of mine”. The customer is guaranteed that if he does not accept the task - the money will go back to him. For small tasks, this is acceptable — but for large projects it is no longer convenient.
In case of problems - the order will please arbitration. I did not get to him, but as far as I understood, the decision is more often made in favor of the customer - at best, everyone will remain with his (and both will lose - first of all, the time spent). In general, before the arbitration is better not to bring
RAC takes 15%, plus, until recently, getting money in Russia was possible only through WesternUnion (only today I was surprised to read about Payoneer), which is also expensive and inconvenient. Payment of money once a month.
Now consider the main differences oDesk-a. I'll start with the user interface and features. I would compare it like this: if RAC is a 20th century system, then oDesk is already the 21st century. At least RentACoder has not changed much in the last 5 years, oDesk also looks very modern (well, in terms of its capabilities, it is much more sophisticated)
ODesk has the ability to perform fixed-price projects, but this method is not basic - oDesk does not even guarantee payment for fixed-price projects (that is, they have no arbitration for this). But then, the main thing on oDesk is work by the hour.
That is, the customer often describes not what he needs to do, but what experience he needs. This all simplifies greatly:
* the customer does not need to spend time on detailed spec - besides, this is not always possible
* The contractor does not need to spend time on a detailed assessment of the task - it is important to assess their capabilities - how far you fit. Plus - lower the risk of "fly".
As a result, there are a lot of “long-term” projects for quite large sums on oDesk. That is - for me - so $ 1000 is an average project (or even below average)
The customer pays for the hours - how to guarantee him - that the time he pays, the contractor really spent on his tasks?
This is where the most interesting thing is - the performer, when performing “hourly” work, is obliged to set up a program that (here all Privacy supporters exclaim “WHAT A HORROR!”) - every 10 minutes, randomly takes a screenshot, and also calculates your “activity "- how many times have you pressed the buttons. All this information is recorded in your WorkDiary - and the customer (in fact, all team members) - can view it. To its credit, this program shows you what it "removes" and sends, and if anything, you can delete a particular screen (but then you may not be counted as working time). And it will be hard to explain to the customer that viewing a naked girl was part of your work (well, except if it involves work :))
It is good that office managers do not know about such a program!
"Voluntarily put yourself such garbage ????" - you say? Yes, but no one forces you to do it :) And actually - if you need to hang out with a friend - or read the mail - why should the customer pay for this time? Put OnHold and go ahead.
The customer must look through Diary - and if he doesn’t dispute that oDesk has counted up to a certain date, the watch is “counted” as counted. oDesk guarantees the performer payment of "counted" hours.
By and large, it only comes to such viewing if the customer is not satisfied with the work - for example, the clock drips - and the work is not going as it should. Then yes, there may be questions - and the customer will climb into Diary. But here, even if you have on all Eclipse screens taken - I think it will not help - why the customer should pay if he is not satisfied with the performance - the “contract” will be broken.
I found one plus (for myself) in this program - it “builds” - does not allow to relax in the course of doing the work. In the office, after all, how - while the server is loading - let me see what's new there on the “Habré” - and then by reference, and then on Wikipedia — oops — half an hour has passed, the server has booted long ago, and you don't know where.
When working “under supervision” - you simply do not allow yourself to relax - you concentrate more fully on the task, and as a result - the efficiency of labor is higher (hmm - but this is similar for “Learn to Work”).
oDesk takes 10%. Payment by week, several payment methods, Payoneer turned out to be the most convenient and cheap for me (at a price several times more profitable than Western Union for RAC)
* Both there and there are many Indians (50 percent of all performers) - who mercilessly dumping - get ready for a non-sickly competition;
* It is very difficult to get the first orders - as long as there is no “positive history” I advise you to dump on first orders - to work "for the rating." Then it will be much easier for you to receive “interesting” tasks, or even the customers themselves will “invite” you and you will have a problem of choice.
For myself, I don’t see any advantages in RentACoder compared to oDesk (although I managed to work a lot at RAC and despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything there for two years, so far, somewhere in 600th place overall)
It is more expensive (15% vs. 10%), less convenient, significantly less
RAC can be used to search for new customers, perform "pilots" - and then leave to work "directly"
It is forbidden to divert customers to work “directly” - but, IMHO, this is not necessary - those 10% are well worth the fact that oDesk takes on at least all money transfer packages.
Plus, there are a number of other features on oDesk, such as organizing your own “company” as part of the oDesk program, or refferals programs (by the way, about refferals - if someone after this article decides to look for happiness at the same time and create an account there You can follow this link : - it’s all the same to you - and you look at a drop of beer, but you can always use the “clean” direct link www.odesk.com ) - and many others
In general, whatever you choose, RAC, oDesk - good luck to you, and remember, if you work "conscientiously" - your money will always find you - no matter where you earn them!
Immediately make a reservation - I am not an employee of RentACoder or oDesk, and all of the following is solely my opinion based on my own experience
vs ')
So, both systems are Western, allowing customers to find performers for their tasks. The process is about the same in both systems:
* Customer “posts” task description
* Artists vote - who, for how much and for what money is ready to perform the task
* The customer chooses from the performers who suits him best
* Contractor performs work
* Customer accepts it (or does not accept)
* Contractor receives money (in the case of acceptance) - both give each other marks
Both systems, acting as an intermediary, perform the following functions:
* Interaction between the customer and the performer;
* Ensuring the transfer of money (that is, the customer in the states do not have to steam how to transfer money to some Muhosransk);
* Guarantees, and to both parties - the customer is guaranteed that he will not spend the money for nothing, the contractor is guaranteed that in the case of the work he will receive money (although ... 100% of the guarantees, I think no one can give)
Now let's take a look at the details.
RentACoder (RAC)
I was recently told about him here, because I will not write in detail - I will describe those features that will later be used when comparing with oDesk:
Fixed-Price Projects
The main type of projects at RAC is fixed-price - that is, the customer says exactly what to do, the contractor says how much exactly it will cost and how much, exactly, it will take time (remember - “How many grams are exactly ?!”. As a result:
* The customer must describe in great detail what he wants (hmm - this happens very rarely);
* The contractor must evaluate the task in sufficient detail;
In case of an incorrect assessment, the executor risks failing to meet the deadlines (and get a low rating for it) - or fly over the money - when you have to plow half a year for a penny. It is clear that you can always try to explain to the customer that "everything turned out to be somewhat more complicated than you thought at the beginning" - but this will not always work out
Few "interesting" projects
As a result, there are very few “interesting” projects at RAC - interesting from the point of view of finances and long duration. That is, a $ 1000 project is already a big one for the RAC. It is understandable - large projects are more difficult to describe in detail and accurately assess. For the most part, this is either “make me a penny for 20 bucks” (which the Indians diligently do), or projects like “I don’t know what I want” (but also for 20 bucks) :)
Guarantees
Before starting work, the customer must transfer the amount of the “contract” to the RAC account. Thereby, the contractor is guaranteed that if the task is accepted, the customer will not be able to “squeeze” the money or say “they ran out of mine”. The customer is guaranteed that if he does not accept the task - the money will go back to him. For small tasks, this is acceptable — but for large projects it is no longer convenient.
Problem solving
In case of problems - the order will please arbitration. I did not get to him, but as far as I understood, the decision is more often made in favor of the customer - at best, everyone will remain with his (and both will lose - first of all, the time spent). In general, before the arbitration is better not to bring
What's worth
RAC takes 15%, plus, until recently, getting money in Russia was possible only through WesternUnion (only today I was surprised to read about Payoneer), which is also expensive and inconvenient. Payment of money once a month.
Now a little about oDesk
Now consider the main differences oDesk-a. I'll start with the user interface and features. I would compare it like this: if RAC is a 20th century system, then oDesk is already the 21st century. At least RentACoder has not changed much in the last 5 years, oDesk also looks very modern (well, in terms of its capabilities, it is much more sophisticated)
Payment by the hour
ODesk has the ability to perform fixed-price projects, but this method is not basic - oDesk does not even guarantee payment for fixed-price projects (that is, they have no arbitration for this). But then, the main thing on oDesk is work by the hour.
That is, the customer often describes not what he needs to do, but what experience he needs. This all simplifies greatly:
* the customer does not need to spend time on detailed spec - besides, this is not always possible
* The contractor does not need to spend time on a detailed assessment of the task - it is important to assess their capabilities - how far you fit. Plus - lower the risk of "fly".
Long-term projects
As a result, there are a lot of “long-term” projects for quite large sums on oDesk. That is - for me - so $ 1000 is an average project (or even below average)
Guarantees
The customer pays for the hours - how to guarantee him - that the time he pays, the contractor really spent on his tasks?
This is where the most interesting thing is - the performer, when performing “hourly” work, is obliged to set up a program that (here all Privacy supporters exclaim “WHAT A HORROR!”) - every 10 minutes, randomly takes a screenshot, and also calculates your “activity "- how many times have you pressed the buttons. All this information is recorded in your WorkDiary - and the customer (in fact, all team members) - can view it. To its credit, this program shows you what it "removes" and sends, and if anything, you can delete a particular screen (but then you may not be counted as working time). And it will be hard to explain to the customer that viewing a naked girl was part of your work (well, except if it involves work :))
It is good that office managers do not know about such a program!
"Voluntarily put yourself such garbage ????" - you say? Yes, but no one forces you to do it :) And actually - if you need to hang out with a friend - or read the mail - why should the customer pay for this time? Put OnHold and go ahead.
The customer must look through Diary - and if he doesn’t dispute that oDesk has counted up to a certain date, the watch is “counted” as counted. oDesk guarantees the performer payment of "counted" hours.
By and large, it only comes to such viewing if the customer is not satisfied with the work - for example, the clock drips - and the work is not going as it should. Then yes, there may be questions - and the customer will climb into Diary. But here, even if you have on all Eclipse screens taken - I think it will not help - why the customer should pay if he is not satisfied with the performance - the “contract” will be broken.
I found one plus (for myself) in this program - it “builds” - does not allow to relax in the course of doing the work. In the office, after all, how - while the server is loading - let me see what's new there on the “Habré” - and then by reference, and then on Wikipedia — oops — half an hour has passed, the server has booted long ago, and you don't know where.
When working “under supervision” - you simply do not allow yourself to relax - you concentrate more fully on the task, and as a result - the efficiency of labor is higher (hmm - but this is similar for “Learn to Work”).
How much is
oDesk takes 10%. Payment by week, several payment methods, Payoneer turned out to be the most convenient and cheap for me (at a price several times more profitable than Western Union for RAC)
General points and tips
* Both there and there are many Indians (50 percent of all performers) - who mercilessly dumping - get ready for a non-sickly competition;
* It is very difficult to get the first orders - as long as there is no “positive history” I advise you to dump on first orders - to work "for the rating." Then it will be much easier for you to receive “interesting” tasks, or even the customers themselves will “invite” you and you will have a problem of choice.
Comparison results
For myself, I don’t see any advantages in RentACoder compared to oDesk (although I managed to work a lot at RAC and despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything there for two years, so far, somewhere in 600th place overall)
It is more expensive (15% vs. 10%), less convenient, significantly less
RAC can be used to search for new customers, perform "pilots" - and then leave to work "directly"
It is forbidden to divert customers to work “directly” - but, IMHO, this is not necessary - those 10% are well worth the fact that oDesk takes on at least all money transfer packages.
Plus, there are a number of other features on oDesk, such as organizing your own “company” as part of the oDesk program, or refferals programs (by the way, about refferals - if someone after this article decides to look for happiness at the same time and create an account there You can follow this link : - it’s all the same to you - and you look at a drop of beer, but you can always use the “clean” direct link www.odesk.com ) - and many others
In general, whatever you choose, RAC, oDesk - good luck to you, and remember, if you work "conscientiously" - your money will always find you - no matter where you earn them!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/65895/
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