European freelancer marketplace with vetted senior tech and design talent
Malt is the largest freelancer marketplace in continental Europe, with a strong concentration of senior developers, designers, product managers and data professionals across France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. We picked it because, unlike Upwork, it is not a global race to the bottom on hourly rate. Malt freelancers tend to quote day rates in the 400 to 1,000 EUR band and are positioned as senior contractors, not gig workers. For a European company that needs a freelance backend engineer for a 3-month project, Malt is one of the few places to find pre-vetted senior supply at scale.
You post a brief or search the directory directly, shortlist freelancers, and start a conversation inside the platform. Malt provides a contract template, mandatory professional liability insurance via Hiscox up to 1.5 million EUR per project, and an escrow-style invoicing flow that pays the freelancer monthly while you receive a single consolidated invoice. The Malt Strategy product offers a more managed version with a Malt account manager curating the shortlist for higher day rates and longer engagements. There is also a Malt Teams product for ongoing freelance management at scale.
For clients, the platform is free to join and search. Service fees are deducted from the freelancer side (around 10% on standard, lower on Malt Plus subscriptions for the freelancer) and there is a client-side fee on engagements that varies by company size and volume. For high-volume buyers a Malt Pro account adds vendor management features, a dedicated account manager and consolidated invoicing across many freelancers. There is no listing fee or pay-per-bid model, which is healthy compared with the lead-credit economics on Upwork. Day rates are negotiated directly and Malt does not artificially compress them.
| Marketplace | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Malt | Free, ~10% margin | Senior European freelance tech, design and consulting |
| Upwork | Free, 5-10% client fee | Global, large supply, mostly mid-level |
| Toptal | 50%+ markup, screened | Pre-vetted top 3% with a managed match |
| Comatch | Day rate + margin | Senior independent consultants in DACH |
| Fiverr Pro | Project-based | Productised creative work, smaller scopes |
Client accounts are free and there is no listing fee. You only pay when a freelancer is engaged. Use the link below to get started.
Agencies juggling multiple client projects often lack in-house depth across design, copywriting, and development. Malt lets teams source vetted talent on a per-project basis, scaling headcount without payroll overhead. Verified freelancer profiles reduce the risk of onboarding low-quality contractors mid-campaign.
Early-stage founders need design, copywriting, or backend work but lack time to source and vet freelancers individually. Malt's pre-verified talent pool and transparent rate cards let founders hire within hours rather than weeks, keeping development momentum alive on tight budgets.
Marketing teams facing campaign surges or one-off projects need temporary capacity without hiring. Malt enables quick sourcing of copywriters, video editors, and social media specialists for defined project windows, then scaling back without severance or ramp-down costs.
Quarterly access to product leadership.
Bonus credits redeemable on partner tooling.
We re-verify the offer every quarter so it never goes stale.
Hit the button on this page — opens the partner site in a new tab.
Check your investor or accelerator benefits portal for the Malt partner code. Y Combinator, Sequoia, and most Tier 1 VCs have codes available.
Renewals stay at the same rate — verified by us, not the vendor.
| Feature | Malt |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Cheapest paid plan | $0/mo |
| Annual discount | Up to 25% |
| Refund window | 30 days |
| Setup time | < 1 hour |
| Best for | Founders |
“Good for Germany and France — EU compliance built in”
“Better client quality than Upwork for European design work”
“Best platform for finding senior French-speaking tech talent”
