Reviews and expert opinion Guru

A Solid Freelance Platform With High Fees

Guru is an immense platform for freelancers, targeting professionals rather than entry-level freelancers. You might notice that Guru’s service fees are substantially high compared to the rest of the market.

However it offers every tool and feature to facilitate getting an assignment completed and ensure top quality of the work that you commission.  The wide choice of freelancers and the platform’s easy search functionality will enable you to match your project to the most qualified freelancer.

Why Choose Guru?

• Wondering if Guru is the best option for getting your project done?
• High service fees ward off the low-skilled crowd
• It has all the necessary tools for the successful expansion of your freelancer team

Let us tell you about it!

Freelancers Cross the Borders

Guru reaches out across the world to include members from the UK to Australia. The only drawback are the hefty charges and fees required to qualify for membership in this impressive venture. It makes no difference whether you are happy with the services or not: so, this is a disadvantage for low-level users trying to make business on this site.

Guru includes people from all over the world. You can pick freelancers from the USA, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. However, some applicants from China, India, or the Philippines are under-qualified and overly pushy. This has aggravated many employers, who avoid hiring freelancers from these countries, although their quotes are very competitive in the market. Every new application for your project may o may not become the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration.

Guru is a finely executed tool, ensuring high quality for both sides of the freelancer-employer deal. Guru has been on the market for more than 10 years, proving they have stood atop of the business in providing an array of freelance services and acting as responsible mediators between clients and employees.

Here Is Where the Magic Happens

Guru doesn’t follow other freelance websites that run contests and incorporate complicated experience points-based rating systems. The feedback score is critical for both employers and freelancers. You will not find many people accepting work from you or hiring you if you have low feedback points.

You may describe working projects in whatever terms you choose, but bear it in mind that direct contact information disclosure is a big no-no on Guru and can get your account suspended or terminated.

Among other debatable Guru features is the special time-tracking software, which allows customers to track freelancer activity on hourly contracts.

A Touch of Humor and Personality to See You Through

The Guru layout is polished and the navigation is intuitive, until you stumble upon their blog. In this area, Guru can use some plastic surgery and a little more structure and tagging. This critical source of invaluable information is not easy to navigate.

The search functions are simply stunning, allowing you to browse and filter job postings and freelancer profiles with ease.

Guru definitely offers a touch of humor and a dash of fun to the entire experience. The latter is pleasant up to the point you are charged hefty commissions on every transaction. The happy smiley faces that pop up when you are filling out registration forms may seem misplaced at times, but they are harmless.

We Don’t Want to Talk to You

Guru Help Center does not feature live-chat or a phone line, but the “Answers” message board and extensive FAQ section + the e-mail based ticket system should be able to help you resolve any questions. The thing is – their FAQ and blog combined is an overwhelmingly detailed tool that can really help you with anything, even if it’s you second-ever time on the Web. If it is your first-ever experience on-line altogether the “Answers” will help you. No, seriously – even if you are an alien. Maybe this is the reason Guru indicates your initial location as “Earth”?

• Brilliant FAQ subdivided into client-specific sections
• E-mail support
• No live-chat
• No phone help line

Here's Where It All Gets Very Complicated

Unless you are an expert mathematician or statistician, you may have difficulty sorting out the service and membership fees, deducted from the employer’s payment every time a payment is issued. There are three types of accounts with monthly fees, depending on the sector you are working in. If you pay in bulk you get 20% discount.

• Payment System – Verified credit card account or PayPal
• Payment Protection – Guru-specific SafePay system that requires additional registration and verification
• Payment Disputes – Mediation and Arbitration available only to registered SafePay users who have initially attempted to settle the dispute themselves + only if the sum in question is no less than $25

Depending on your membership type and the activity feedback-based-level on Guru, you pay 2,95% for each transaction + 4,5%-11,95% per monetary operation. This percentage system can be a bit complex to understand, but the FAQ section provides in-depth answers to most questions.