The big picture

Where a platform actually lets you earn

Online work can be open in many countries, rides and delivery run city by city, and payout options decide who can really get paid. No country totals.

Drawn in 5 stages, the way an illustrator fills a field sketchbook. Press play to watch it drawn.

Where a platform actually lets you earnFreelanceSites sketchbook

Finished sketch: 5 stages, 143 pencil marks

Blocking in three doors and three columns
Three doors, ajar
The questions, and what waits behind each door
Shading from the upper left
Caption

What the sketch shows

"Available worldwide" on a sign-up page is not the same thing as money in your account. Platforms draw their borders in three different ways. This sketch draws them as three doors, so that one phrase stops doing all the work.

Global online work is the first kind. Freelance marketplaces, stock libraries, online shops and many teaching sites let people in a long list of countries open an account. Many is not all. A site can allow your country at sign-up and still block a category of work, ask for a tax form you cannot complete, or refuse every withdrawal method you have. Read the country list on the listing, not the headline.

Ride and delivery apps are the second kind. They do not cover the earth. They cover cities. You can live in a country where the brand is famous and still be outside the zone that pays drivers or couriers. Sign-up usually checks that zone, plus a licence, a vehicle and a local background check. If the app says it is not in your city, polishing a profile will not invent the trips.

The border people miss The third border is payout. An account that cannot send money to a bank, a card or a wallet you hold is not a way to earn, even when the work itself is allowed. Some platforms pay into their own balance first, then out through a service such as PayPal, Payoneer or Wise, or a local transfer. Each of those has its own country list, and the lists do not match.

Before you spend an evening on a profile, answer two questions. Can someone where you live do this work, and can the platform pay someone where you live? Trust the live country and payout notes beside this sketch. The drawing has no counts on it, because a tally of countries goes stale as soon as a company opens or closes a market.

Key points

A global online platform can accept sign-ups from many countries and still exclude yours, or exclude the payout method you can actually use.
Ride and delivery apps turn on city by city. Living in a country where the brand exists is not the same as living inside a zone that pays.
If the platform cannot pay a bank, card or wallet you hold, the account is not a way to earn.

Real numbers, from our listings

Upwork Fees: 0-15% variable service fee per contract (5% on Direct Contracts, 0% with Freelancer Plus) Minimum payout: Varies by method, from $5 via Direct to Local Bank Payout speed: Hourly: 10 days after the billing week ends (5 days sooner for Top Rated), fixed… See it sketched
Uber Fees: Service fee varies by trip Minimum payout: $1 of available earnings for Instant Pay Payout speed: Weekly, or up to 6x daily with Instant Pay ($1.75 per cash out, free in New York… See it sketched
Payoneer Fees: Withdrawals 1.2-4% ($1.50 USD to US), 0.5% conversion, $29.95/yr if under $6K See it sketched
Etsy Fees: 6.5% transaction fee + 3% + $0.25 payment processing (US) + $0.20 listing fee Minimum payout: Country dependent, examples PHP 100, MXN 40, ZAR 35 and TRY 50 Payout speed: Daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly deposits, 1-5 business days to bank See it sketched
DoorDash Fees: Paid per offer: $2-10+ base + 100% tips Minimum payout: No minimum for weekly direct deposit Payout speed: Weekly direct deposit (arrives about Wednesday), daily with Fast Pay ($1.99), or… See it sketched

Figures in the drawing are examples. These are the platforms' own listed terms, checked by our editors.

Keep exploring

Freelance sites, sketched Type sketch
Ride platforms, sketched Type sketch
Delivery platforms, sketched Type sketch
Payment receiving platforms, sketched Type sketch
Marketplaces, sketched Type sketch
Every sketch The sketchbook

More from the sketchbook

The big picture A town map of the ways platforms pay

Getting started Give future taxes a jar of their own

Money and fees From job done to money in the bank