Last Updated on February 16, 2026 by Sussan Porras

Finding exceptional marketing talent can make or break your growth strategy. While Upwork has long been a go-to platform for businesses seeking freelance help, it’s not always the best fit for companies looking to build strategic, long-term marketing capabilities, or find someone who’s truly aligned with your company culture. If you’re a founder, CMO, or business leader searching for marketing expertise that goes beyond project-based work, you need alternatives designed specifically for your needs.

The Challenge with Traditional Freelance Platforms

Upwork serves a valuable purpose in the freelance economy, connecting businesses with independent contractors across virtually every discipline. However, when it comes to finding top-tier marketing talent for strategic initiatives, the platform presents several challenges:

The application fee model. On Upwork, freelancers pay to apply for jobs and can pay additional fees to boost their visibility. This means you’re often sifting through applications from people who may not be the best fit but are willing to pay for exposure.

Time-intensive vetting. You’re responsible for evaluating applicants, conducting interviews, checking references, and assessing whether someone’s portfolio matches their actual capabilities. For busy leaders, this can consume dozens of hours per hire.

Project-based mindset. Upwork is optimized for discrete projects with defined scopes. If you need ongoing strategic support or want to build a flexible marketing function, the platform’s structure isn’t designed for that type of engagement.

Variable quality. While talented marketers do use Upwork, the platform’s broad accessibility means quality ranges dramatically. Finding A-player marketers requires significant filtering.

Limited cultural assessment. When you’re hiring remotely through a marketplace, evaluating whether someone will mesh with your team’s working style, communication preferences, and company values becomes even harder. You’re making judgments based on profiles and brief calls rather than the deeper vetting that happens in traditional hiring.

Alternative Platforms Worth Considering

Fiverr

Fiverr has carved out a niche for quick-turnaround projects and specific deliverables. The platform works well when you need a logo designed, a social media graphic created, or a short piece of content written quickly and affordably. It is not for finding serious talent and you’ll have to wade through a lot of mediocre to find someone good. 

What makes Fiverr appealing:

The platform gives you access to millions of freelancers globally, making it easy to find someone for virtually any creative task. The interface is straightforward, pricing is transparent upfront, and you can see reviews from previous buyers before committing. For sellers, it’s an excellent way to build a portfolio and gain client testimonials without having to do their own business development.

The downsides you should know about:

Quality varies wildly on Fiverr. You’ll spend considerable time filtering through profiles to find legitimate talent among the noise. The platform takes a 20% commission from sellers, which can push talented freelancers to other platforms over time. Sellers also face pressure from Fiverr’s algorithm to respond instantly to inquiries—even low-quality ones—or risk being penalized in search rankings. This creates a mismatch between thoughtful client-seller matching and the platform’s speed-first approach.

For strategic marketing work that requires deep understanding of your business, Fiverr’s quick-service model often falls short. You might get the deliverable, but you won’t get the strategic thinking behind why it matters or how it fits into your broader goals.

Best for: One-off creative tasks, small deliverables, and projects with very clear specifications where you need affordable, fast execution.

Toptal

Toptal positions itself as a premium talent network, claiming to accept only the top 3% of applicants worldwide. In 2023 alone, Toptal received more than 2 million applications according to their website. The platform covers developers, designers, product managers, consultants, and some marketing roles, with a rigorous vetting process designed to ensure quality. Their client roster includes Bridgestone, Calm, the Cleveland Cavaliers, USC, and many other recognizable brands. Toptal emphasizes speed, promising to match you with talent within the first 48 hours.

What works in Toptal’s favor:

The vetting process genuinely does filter for quality. You’re getting access to experienced professionals who have passed multiple screening rounds. Toptal provides dedicated account managers who support you throughout the engagement, and they require a $500 deposit upfront, which filters out tire-kickers and ensures you’re working with serious clients. The matching process is efficient; you’re not browsing hundreds of profiles but instead receiving curated recommendations.

The trade-offs to consider:

Toptal comes with premium pricing that reflects their curation model. Beyond the higher hourly rates, there’s a separate monthly fee for their talent search services. You also can’t freely browse their freelancer network; you need to submit a project to get access to talent details. While Toptal excels in technical and design roles, their marketing talent pool is smaller and matching can be slower for these positions. The platform also requires longer-term commitments and less flexibility than you might want if your needs are evolving quickly.

For freelancers, Toptal offers high-paying projects but has an extremely difficult entry process. Payment can take around four weeks, and you have less control over contract terms since Toptal manages the client relationship.

Best for: Companies with substantial budgets seeking vetted technical talent or designers, willing to commit to longer engagements, and who value having dedicated support managing the relationship.

Catalant

Catalant focuses on independent consultants and former executives, primarily serving the strategy and operations space. According to their website, they have 100,000 vetted independent consultants in their network, including Fortune 500 operators and partners from top-tier consulting firms. These consultants average 19+ years of experience and bring serious strategic firepower to business challenges.

What Catalant does well:

You’re getting access to experienced operators who can command consulting firm-level fees ($100-$500+ per hour) and deliver high-value strategic work. Catalant handles the administrative burden, like invoicing, payments,and contracts, so both clients and consultants can focus on the work itself. Their matching process uses guided workflows to quickly connect specific expertise with precise business problems. For consultants, it’s a way to do meaningful work with major companies while maintaining independence.

Where Catalant has limitations:

The platform is not purpose-built for marketing talent specifically. While you might find consultants with marketing backgrounds, you’re more likely to get general business strategists than hands-on marketing practitioners. Some users report that Catalant can feel more like a high-end staffing agency than a true strategic partnership, with inconsistent communication and support. The platform is designed for experienced professionals, so it’s not beginner-friendly. Project availability can also be cyclical, and the fast-paced environment isn’t for everyone.

Best for: Strategic business consulting, operations projects, and executive-level advisory work where you need deep experience in corporate strategy, finance, or operations.

Right Side Up

Right Side Up operates as a curated network specifically focused on marketing talent, positioning itself between traditional freelance marketplaces and consulting firms. Rather than an open marketplace where you browse profiles, they function as matchmakers, connecting companies with pre-vetted senior marketers from their network. They can recommend talent within two days and kick off projects within two weeks.

What works in Right Side Up’s favor: 

The platform specializes exclusively in marketing expertise (it takes one to know one) with growth marketing, ecommerce strategy, paid acquisition, content marketing, and building marketing functions. You’re working with senior-level marketers from high-growth companies and Fortune 500 brands who can provide strategic guidance alongside execution. Right Side Up handles administrative tasks like matching, invoicing, and payments. The platform offers flexibility with no long-term contracts, scalable hours, and the ability to hire contractors full-time if they’re a good fit. The company is fully remote with a people-first culture.

The trade-offs to consider: 

Engagements are typically hourly rather than project-based, which may not suit all work styles or budgets. Income for contractors can vary based on client demand. The curated matching process means you don’t have the autonomy to browse and select from the full network yourself—you’re relying on Right Side Up’s judgment about fit. Premium marketing talent comes with corresponding rates that may be higher than open marketplaces.

Best for: Companies seeking senior marketing talent who can provide strategic thinking and execution, need flexible engagement models without long-term commitments, and want a curated matching process rather than sorting through applications themselves.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

The best platform for finding marketing talent depends entirely on what you’re trying to accomplish.  Here’s when each platform makes the most sense:

When Fiverr Makes the Most Sense

Fiverr is purpose-built for several common scenarios:

You need a quick turnaround on simple deliverables. When you need a podcast thumbnail, a simple infographic, or basic social media graphics created within 24-48 hours, Fiverr’s gig-based structure delivers fast results without lengthy onboarding.

You have extremely tight budget constraints. Startups and small businesses operating on shoestring budgets can access global talent at price points that would be impossible through other platforms or traditional agencies.

Your specifications are crystal clear. If you can articulate exactly what you need, dimensions, file formats, style references, copy length, and don’t need strategic input, Fiverr’s transactional model works efficiently.

You’re testing ideas cheaply. Before investing in expensive design work or content production, you can use Fiverr to create quick prototypes or test concepts with minimal financial risk.

You’re building a portfolio of vendor relationships. Once you find reliable freelancers on Fiverr, you can build ongoing relationships for repeated small tasks, creating your own curated network over time.

When Toptal Makes the Most Sense

Toptal is purpose-built for several common scenarios:

You need technical talent you can trust immediately. When hiring a developer or designer where a bad hire could set back your product roadmap by months, Toptal’s rigorous vetting process provides confidence that you’re getting legitimate expertise.

You’re willing to pay premium rates for premium quality. If your project budget allows for higher hourly rates and monthly fees in exchange for vetted talent and dedicated support, Toptal’s model delivers corresponding value.

You want a managed relationship. The dedicated account managers at Toptal handle communication friction, scope discussions, and relationship management, valuable if you don’t have capacity to manage freelancers directly.

You’re committing to longer engagements. Multi-month projects where you need consistent talent justify Toptal’s structure better than short-term or variable-hour arrangements.

You need talent for technical or design roles specifically. Toptal’s strongest talent pool centers on developers, designers, and product managers. If these are your needs, rather than marketing-specific expertise, you’re accessing their core strength.

When Catalant Makes the Most Sense

Catalant is purpose-built for several common scenarios:

You’re facing high-stakes strategic decisions. When you’re considering M&A opportunities, restructuring operations, or making major strategic pivots, Catalant’s Fortune 500 operators and top-tier consulting backgrounds bring serious firepower to complex problems.

You need executive-level thinking without executive-level hiring. Accessing someone with 20+ years of experience for a specific project is more feasible than hiring them full-time, and Catalant specializes in exactly this scenario.

You value administrative simplicity for high-value work. When project fees justify premium rates ($100-$500+ per hour), having Catalant handle contracts, invoicing, and payments removes friction from what should be a high-trust relationship.

Your challenge requires deep operational expertise. If you’re optimizing supply chain, restructuring finance operations, or solving complex business operations problems, not marketing challenges, Catalant’s consultant base aligns well with these needs.

You need rapid access to specific expertise. Catalant’s guided workflows can connect you quickly with consultants who have direct experience in your specific industry challenge, bypassing the learning curve you’d face with generalist talent.

When Right Side Up Makes the Most Sense

Right Side Up is purpose-built for several common scenarios:

You’re building marketing functions from scratch. If you’re standing up a growth, marketing, or ecommerce function and don’t have the in-house expertise yet, Right Side Up provides both the strategic guidance and the execution team to get you moving quickly.

You need specialized marketing expertise. Your in-house team might be strong on brand and content but lacks paid acquisition expertise. Or you’re excellent at B2B marketing but entering consumer channels for the first time. Right Side Up can fill these specific gaps with calibrated talent.

You have urgent needs but slow hiring processes. Multiple open job requisitions, long interview cycles, budget uncertainty…these realities mean you need help now but can’t wait for traditional hiring. Right Side Up bridges this gap while maintaining quality standards.

You want senior marketing talent without agency overhead. Traditional agencies bring account managers, overhead, and one-size-fits-all approaches. Right Side Up gives you senior marketing talent working directly on your business, with strategic guidance but without the bloat.

You need coverage during transitions. An employee is on parental leave, your VP of Marketing just departed, your acquisition lead accepted another offer; these situations require immediate expertise while you figure out the longer-term solution.

Cultural fit matters for marketing collaboration. If you’re building a team, even a flexible, part-time one, and need people who genuinely align with how your company operates, Right Side Up’s vetting for cultural fit alongside skills becomes invaluable, especially if you’re planning to eventually bring someone on full-time.

For businesses serious about building marketing capabilities, not just completing tasks, the curation, strategic guidance, and flexibility that Right Side Up provides represent a fundamentally better approach than traditional freelance marketplaces. You’re not just hiring hands to execute your plans; you’re gaining partners who can help you figure out what the right plan actually is.

The Bottom Line

The platform you choose should match the problem you’re actually trying to solve. If you need a logo by Friday, Fiverr gets you there. If you’re rebuilding your tech stack, Toptal’s vetting saves you from costly hiring mistakes. If you’re navigating a major strategic inflection point, Catalant’s executive-level expertise justifies the premium.

But here’s what I’ve learned after years in this space: most marketing challenges aren’t about finding someone to execute tasks, they’re about finding someone who can diagnose what’s actually broken and knows how to fix it. Can this person tell you why your acquisition costs are climbing? Do they know which growth playbook makes sense for your stage and business model? Will they spot the strategic gaps you don’t even know to ask about?

That’s the distinction between hiring hands and hiring expertise. Traditional freelance marketplaces optimize for the former. Curated networks like Right Side Up and to some extent, Toptal and Catalant in their domains optimize for the latter.

For businesses serious about building marketing capabilities rather than just completing tasks, prioritize platforms that vet for strategic thinking alongside execution skills, provide guidance on what to do and not just how to do it, and offer flexibility as your needs evolve. The right platform isn’t the one with the most freelancers or the lowest prices. It’s the one that consistently connects you with people who make your marketing function genuinely better.