It is completely free to register, post jobs, and hire on Elance. Elance makes money when the work is delivered and payments are made through Elance. When candidates quote an hourly rate or a fixed price, the quote includes the Elance fee, which is between 6.75% and 8.75%. When you pay Elance for work performed by your contractor, Elance deducts the fee and immediately transfers the rest to the contractor. In other words, the cost of using Elance is included in the price quoted by your contractors and Elance only makes money when you approve and pay for the work.   

Service Fee: 
The Service Fee is Elance’s earned commission and ranges between 6.75% and 8.75% of payments made to contractors for work delivered (this includes Elance's fee and Payment Processing costs charged by credit cards and banks).

The Service Fee varies as follows:

8.75% - standard Service Fee for relationships less than $10,000

6.75% - discounted Service Fee for relationships that exceed $10,000 and new relationships referred to Elance

The Service Fee applies to all payments that a client makes to a service contractor identified on Elance in the first 2 years.  After 24 months the Service Fee applies only for payments made through Elance. For additional information, please refer to our Terms of Service.

Contractor Membership Plans

Contractors who join Elance select one of four membership plans that best fits their needs ranging from free (ideal for getting started) to plans suited for contractors who are active in seeking clients and submitting proposals.