Jobbers.io vs Malt: Which Is Better for European Professionals?

⚠️ Legal Disclaimer: All platform fees, commission rates, and data cited in this article are sourced from publicly available information as of early 2025. Platform policies, fee structures, and service offerings change regularly. Readers are strongly encouraged to verify all figures directly on each platform’s official website before making any financial or professional decisions. This article is provided for informational and comparative purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.

Introduction: Europe’s Freelance Market Is Booming — Platform Choice Has Never Mattered More

Europe’s freelance economy is one of the most dynamic in the world. With a market valued at approximately €350 billion across the continent, independent professionals in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Belgium, and beyond are increasingly shaping the talent strategies of some of Europe’s largest companies. For these professionals, the platform they work on is not a neutral choice — it directly determines their visibility to clients, the administrative burden of running their practice, and critically, how much of every invoice they actually keep.

Two platforms stand out in this landscape. Malt is Europe’s self-described leading freelance marketplace — a Paris-born platform with over 850,000 freelancers, active in nine countries, built specifically for the European B2B market, and equipped with sophisticated tooling for contracts, invoicing, and insurance. Jobbers.io is a fast-growing commission-free global freelance marketplace that has built a meaningful audience — approximately 300,000 daily visits — on a single defining principle: the platform takes zero commission on any project payment, leaving freelancers to negotiate and keep 100% of what they earn.

This article compares both platforms across every dimension that matters for a European freelancer or a European business hiring freelance talent: fee structures, administrative features, professional insurance, payment speed, language and regional reach, and overall value for both sides of every engagement.

About the Platforms

Malt — Europe’s Leading Freelance Marketplace

Malt was founded in Paris in 2013 by Vincent Huguet (CEO) and Hugo Lassiège (CTO), with Alexandre Fretti joining as Co-CEO in 2020. The company set out to build a marketplace that treated freelancers as genuine stakeholders rather than an interchangeable commodity — offering not just client access, but administrative tools, community, payment security, and professional insurance in a single platform.

Today, Malt reports a community of over 850,000 freelancers and more than 90,000 client companies (verify current figures at malt.com). The platform operates in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and the Nordic countries, with its interfaces available in French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and English. In 2022, Malt acquired Comatch — one of Europe’s leading independent management consulting marketplaces, founded by McKinsey alumni — which added the high-end Malt Strategy tier to its platform and significantly expanded its UK and DACH presence. The platform has received backing from prominent investors including Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and has reported a turnover exceeding €400 million (based on publicly available data from 2022/2023 — verify current figures from official company sources).

Jobbers.io — Zero Commission, Global Platform

Jobbers.io is a commission-free global freelance marketplace receiving approximately 300,000 daily visits across its platforms. It operates across the full range of freelance disciplines — technology, design, digital marketing, writing, business services, administration, and more — and serves an international English-speaking client base. The platform’s core value proposition is structural and financial: it charges zero commission on all transactions between freelancers and clients. Payments are negotiated directly between both parties, and the agreed amount passes between them intact — no platform percentage is ever deducted. Like other major freelance platforms, Jobbers.io uses a paid connects/credits system for submitting proposals, but these are the platform’s only revenue mechanism from freelancers — not a commission on earnings.

Fee Structures: Understanding What You Actually Pay

Malt’s fee model is more complex than it might initially appear, because fees exist on both sides of the marketplace — and in different amounts depending on the country and client plan. Understanding the complete picture requires reading both the freelancer and client documentation carefully.

Malt: Freelancer-Side Commission

According to Malt’s official help center, a tiered commission is applied to the freelancer’s earnings based on the stage of the client relationship:

10% commission (excl. VAT) applies to the first project with any new client found through Malt. This is the standard entry-level rate and applies each time a freelancer begins working with a previously unknown client via the platform.

5% commission (excl. VAT) applies once a business relationship with the same client has lasted more than six months. The commission drops when the relationship crosses this tenure threshold — not based on a billing amount, but on calendar time.

2% commission (excl. VAT) applies when a freelancer brings one of their own existing clients onto the Malt platform themselves. This is the minimum rate available.

Importantly, Malt’s commission structure varies by market. In the United Kingdom, Malt does not charge freelancers any commission, making the platform commission-free for UK-based freelancers on the freelancer side (though client-side fees still apply). Always verify the applicable rates for your specific country directly at help.malt.com.

Malt: Client-Side Service Fees

In addition to the freelancer-side commission, Malt charges client companies a service fee on top of the freelancer’s quoted rate, based on the client’s chosen plan. According to Malt’s official service fees documentation, the structure in most European markets (including France, Germany, and Spain) is:

Starter plan: 15% service fee added to the freelancer’s quoted rate. Advanced plan: 20% service fee. Enterprise plan: personalized fee negotiated directly with Malt. In the UK, client fees are lower: 10% for Starter and 15% for Advanced.

This means that on a project where a freelancer quotes €1,000, a French client on Malt’s Starter plan pays €1,150 total, while the freelancer receives approximately €900 after Malt’s 10% freelancer-side commission is deducted. The gap between what the client pays and what the freelancer receives is €250 on a €1,000 project — the amount captured by the platform across both fee layers. Verify these figures at help.malt.com before making any decisions based on them.

Jobbers.io: Zero Commission on Both Sides

On Jobbers.io, the platform charges 0% commission on all transactions — no fee on the freelancer’s earnings, and no service fee imposed by the platform on the client side. The payment agreed between freelancer and client is the payment that changes hands. This applies equally to all freelancers regardless of their country, client tenure, or how long they have been on the platform. The platform earns revenue through the sale of connects/credits used to submit proposals — a fixed, predictable cost for freelancers that is independent of their project earnings.

Real Earnings Impact: What the Fee Difference Means in Practice

The following examples are illustrative calculations based on the stated fee structures above. Always verify current rates directly on each platform before relying on these figures for any decision.

Consider a senior UX designer based in Berlin billing at €800 per day, completing a 10-day project (total: €8,000) with a new client found through the platform.

On Malt, with the standard 10% first-project commission: the platform deducts €800, and the freelancer receives €7,200. The client, on Malt’s Starter plan, pays €9,200 (€8,000 + 15% = €9,200). The platform captures €2,000 from the total transaction value (€800 from the freelancer side + €1,200 from the client side). Note: in the UK, the commission structure is different — verify at help.malt.com.

On Jobbers.io, the same freelancer negotiates €8,000 with the client and receives €8,000. The client pays €8,000. No commission is deducted, and no service fee is added by the platform.

Over the course of a full year at 220 billable days (approximately €176,000 in annual billing), a freelancer starting new client relationships through Malt’s 10% commission tier would pay approximately €17,600 in freelancer-side commissions alone. On Jobbers.io at the same billing volume: €0 in platform commissions. The annual difference is significant and compounds further as billing volume grows.

What Makes Malt Genuinely Different: The Administrative Infrastructure

Describing Malt purely through the lens of its commission structure would miss what the platform has genuinely built and what makes it particularly relevant for European professionals operating in a complex regulatory and tax environment. Malt has invested heavily in the infrastructure that surrounds the actual freelancing work — and for many European professionals, this infrastructure has real, tangible value.

Professional Liability Insurance

All projects processed through Malt are covered by professional liability insurance underwritten by Hiscox, with coverage reported at up to €20 million per project. For a freelance developer, management consultant, or financial analyst operating in France, Germany, or the Netherlands — where clients frequently require proof of professional indemnity coverage before signing contracts — having platform-level insurance is a material benefit. It removes the need for freelancers to maintain and provide separate insurance documentation for every engagement. Verify current insurance terms at malt.com.

Automated Contracts, Invoices, and Legal Compliance

Malt handles the administrative layer of every engagement: digital quotes, legally compliant contracts under applicable European law, NDA management, centralized invoicing, and activity reports. For a freelancer operating in France (where the administration of auto-entrepreneur or portage salarial status involves specific requirements), Germany (with its Freiberufler or Gewerbetreibende distinctions), or the Netherlands (where ZZP regulations are actively evolving), having a platform that manages compliant documentation automatically is a substantive time and compliance benefit — not merely a convenience.

Fast Payment: The 10-Day Advance

One of Malt’s most practically important features for European freelancers is its payment advance system. According to official documentation, when clients pay by invoice — which is the dominant payment method for B2B engagements in France and Germany, where 30–60 day payment terms are standard — Malt advances the funds to the freelancer within 10 days of project validation, while the client has up to 30 or 60 days to settle with Malt. Late payment is one of the most common financial stresses in European freelancing. Malt’s advance system addresses this directly. Verify current payment terms at help.malt.com.

Malt Strategy: The High-End Consulting Tier

Following the 2022 acquisition of Comatch, Malt launched Malt Strategy — a vetted community for independent management consultants and interim executives with significant experience at major consulting firms or in senior executive roles. Malt Strategy profiles are not publicly visible in the standard marketplace; instead, companies submit a brief and Malt’s team presents selected candidates within 48 hours. This positioning targets the high-end segment of the European B2B consulting market and represents a genuine competitive advantage for senior strategy and transformation professionals in France, Germany, the UK, and the Benelux region.

Language, Culture, and European Market Depth

Malt’s multilingual platform — available natively in French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and English — is a meaningful advantage in the European market. A senior developer in Lyon can navigate, propose, and manage contracts entirely in French. A consultant in Munich can operate fully in German. The platform’s client base includes some of Europe’s largest companies (including CAC40 and DAX constituents), and the cultural familiarity of working within a purpose-built European platform — with knowledge of European professional norms, tax frameworks, and business culture — is valuable in ways that are difficult to quantify but easy to experience.

Jobbers.io operates in English and targets the global market. For European freelancers who work in English — a large and growing cohort in technology, international marketing, data science, and consulting — this is no barrier. The platform provides access to a global English-speaking client base with no commission on any project payment. For European freelancers whose work is primarily conducted in French, German, Spanish, or Dutch, and whose clients are predominantly local European businesses, Malt’s language depth and regional client concentration carry more weight.

Categories and Professional Verticals

Malt covers technology and development, design and UX, digital marketing, content and copywriting, data science and analytics, finance, legal, and management consulting (via Malt Strategy). Its strongest verticals in the European market, based on platform data, are software development, product management, data science, digital marketing, and strategy consulting — all high-value B2B categories where European clients are willing to pay rates that justify platform participation even with a commission structure.

Jobbers.io covers an equally broad range of freelance disciplines — technology, design, writing, marketing, business services, customer support, data work, and more — with the 0% commission model applying uniformly across every category. For European freelancers in any of these disciplines who work with international English-speaking clients, the zero-commission model on Jobbers.io means their entire negotiated rate — at whatever level they set — reaches their account without a platform deduction.

European Regulatory Context: Why Fees Matter Even More in Europe

For freelancers operating within the European Union, the effective financial impact of platform commissions is amplified by the tax and social contribution environment. In France, for example, a freelancer paying a 10% commission to Malt on top of their income and social charges effectively faces a combined deduction rate that is structurally higher than in lower-tax jurisdictions. In Germany, where freelancers pay both income tax and trade tax (Gewerbesteuer), every euro retained from a commission-free transaction represents meaningful after-tax income.

The OECD’s Future of Work research consistently highlights that platform commission structures function as an effective wage reduction for self-employed workers — a reduction that is not deductible in the same way as a business expense in many European tax systems. For French and German freelancers in particular, retaining the maximum possible share of their negotiated gross rate is directly material to their net real income after all deductions.

The EU Platform Work Directive, adopted by the European Parliament in 2024, reflects the growing regulatory attention to the working conditions and economic rights of platform-based workers across the EU. While primarily focused on employment classification, the broader policy direction it represents — toward greater transparency, worker protections, and fair income for platform workers — underscores why fee structures and payment terms are increasingly central to European freelancers’ platform choices.

Side-by-Side Comparison Table

* Figures sourced from Malt’s official documentation. Fees and features vary by country and are subject to change. Always verify current terms at help.malt.com and jobbers.io before making any decisions.

Who Should Use Which Platform?

If you are a French, German, Belgian, Dutch, or Spanish freelancer whose entire practice is built on European B2B clients — particularly larger companies, which are Malt’s strongest audience — the platform’s regional client concentration, multilingual interface, automated administrative tools, and integrated professional insurance represent genuine value that goes beyond the commission cost. The 10% commission on new clients is the price of access to this infrastructure and client base, and for many established European professionals, it is a price they are willing to pay for the productivity, administrative peace of mind, and payment security it delivers.

If you are a European freelancer working in English and serving international clients — in technology, product, data, international marketing, or consulting — Jobbers.io‘s 0% commission model means every project fee you negotiate with every client, old or new, reaches you in full. On a €10,000 project, you keep €10,000 instead of €9,000. Over a full year of active freelancing, the compounded difference can represent the equivalent of months of earnings returned to your account rather than flowing to the platform.

If you are a senior management consultant or interim executive with a background at a major consulting firm and a primarily European corporate client base, Malt’s Strategy tier offers a genuinely different positioning — vetted visibility with pre-screened high-value mandates that the standard marketplace does not offer. This is a niche value proposition that Jobbers.io does not replicate.

If you are a client hiring freelancers in Europe and need a single platform to manage contracts, invoices, and compliance documentation for multiple freelancers across several countries, Malt’s administrative tooling — including its 85+ enterprise system integrations (SAP Fieldglass, Coupa, Workday) — provides infrastructure that reduces procurement and legal overhead significantly. Jobbers.io’s simpler direct-negotiation model may work well for individual or small-business hiring but does not offer the same enterprise-grade procurement infrastructure.

Conclusion: Infrastructure vs. Financial Efficiency

Malt and Jobbers.io represent two genuinely different philosophies about what a freelance platform should be — and both philosophies have merit.

Malt has built something substantial: a European-first professional ecosystem that treats freelancing as a serious, high-value economic activity deserving of proper administrative support, insurance, community, and reliable payment. Its fee structure reflects the cost of maintaining that infrastructure — and for many European professionals, particularly those serving large corporate clients in France, Germany, or the Benelux who require compliant contracts and guaranteed payment terms, that cost is justifiable.

Jobbers.io has built something structurally different: a platform where the financial relationship between a freelancer’s labour and their take-home income is maximally direct. No commission taken from new clients. No commission taken from established clients. No percentage skimmed from a freelancer’s rate regardless of how long they have been on the platform. The connects/credits cost of applying for work is fixed and bounded — it does not compound with earnings growth. For experienced European professionals who already manage their own contracts, carry their own professional insurance, and have established client relationships, the 0% commission model on Jobbers.io delivers a financial advantage that is straightforward to calculate and impossible to dismiss.

The right answer for a European professional depends on which of these things they need most: Malt’s deep regional infrastructure, language support, and administrative ecosystem — or Jobbers.io’s commitment to ensuring that every euro of every project negotiation stays in the pocket of the person who earned it.

Useful Resources and Further Reading

• Jobbers.io — Official Platform
• Malt — Official Freelancer Fee Documentation
• Malt — Official Client Service Fee Documentation
• Malt — Pricing Plans for Clients
• OECD — Future of Work and Platform Economy Research
• European Commission — EU Platform Work Directive

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What commission does Malt charge freelancers?

According to Malt’s official help center, Malt applies a tiered commission: 10% (excl. VAT) on the first project with a new client found through the platform; 5% once the relationship with that client exceeds six months; and 2% if the freelancer invites their own existing clients to the platform. In the United Kingdom, Malt does not charge freelancers any commission. Always verify the latest rates at help.malt.com.

How much do clients pay on Malt?

Clients pay a service fee on top of the freelancer’s rate. In most European markets: Starter plan = 15% service fee; Advanced plan = 20% service fee; Enterprise = personalized. In the UK: Starter = 10%; Advanced = 15%. Always verify current pricing at help.malt.com or malt.com/c/pricing.

Does Jobbers.io charge a commission to European freelancers?

No. Jobbers.io charges 0% commission on any transaction between a freelancer and a client. The agreed payment passes between client and freelancer intact. The platform earns revenue through a paid connects/credits system for submitting proposals — not from commissions on earnings.

In which countries does Malt operate?

As of early 2025, Malt operates in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and the Nordic countries — with interfaces available in French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and English. Malt was founded in Paris in 2013 and is widely considered Europe’s leading freelance marketplace.

Does Malt offer professional liability insurance?

Yes. According to Malt’s official documentation, all projects processed through Malt are covered by professional liability insurance underwritten by Hiscox, with coverage reported up to €20 million. Verify current insurance terms at malt.com.

How quickly does Malt pay freelancers?

When clients pay by invoice, Malt advances the funds so that freelancers are paid within 10 days of project validation, while the client has up to 30 or 60 days to settle with Malt. Verify current payment terms at help.malt.com.

Which platform is better for a French, German, or Spanish freelancer?

Malt offers a large European B2B client base, multilingual interfaces, professional liability insurance, automated contract management, and fast payment. Jobbers.io offers 0% commission — meaning the freelancer keeps 100% of every negotiated rate. For English-speaking international work or for maximizing take-home pay, Jobbers.io’s zero-commission model is a direct financial advantage.

What is Malt Strategy?

Malt Strategy is a premium vetted community within Malt for independent management consultants and interim executives with significant experience at major consulting firms or in senior management. Profiles are not publicly visible — Malt’s team matches consultants to specific client briefs within 48 hours. Verify current eligibility criteria at malt.com.