Are you looking for a Guru.com review? But you may wonder if it is a scam.
Regardless of how good a freelancer you are, you will inevitably find yourself on Guru.com. But is it real or a scam?
Presumably, you have already experienced the challenges of online business and working from home.
Even worse, you do not know who to trust, which is incredibly annoying when it comes to spending time and money with someone you have never met in person. It discourages many people from even trying.
As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with Guru.com. It means I’m not paid to write this review. So you can rest assured that you will get an honest and unbiased review from me.
At the end of this review, I’ll also tell you the best alternative to Guru.com that has enabled me to make a full-time passive income online.
What is Guru.com?
Guru.com is a marketplace that matches independent contractors with businesses and facilitates administrative tasks including secure cash transfers.
Marketplaces like Guru.com are as important to the gig economy as sites like Upwork and Freelancer. But this is a new economy, and many of the platforms in this space are still finding their footing.
So where does Guru.com stand compared to the others?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Guru.com has been around since 1998 (when it was called eMoonlighter.com), and despite strong competition, it’s done well.
Freelancing is a great way to make money online (or from home in general), and it’s one of the ways I’ve been able to supplement my salary thanks to Guru.com.
However, you need to take a diversified approach. You can earn money by exploring the Internet, watching movies and visiting websites, by using InboxDollars or by taking surveys on websites like Survey Junkie.
Completing Internet surveys won’t make you a millionaire, but they can help you get closer to your dream of working full-time from home.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Is Guru.com a Scam?
Unfortunately, when people see a lot of bad reviews, they start calling it a scam. And there are a lot of complaints on Guru.com.
Their current F rating with the BBB says a lot about their lack of responsiveness to customer complaints.
However, despite the negative feedback and criticism… When it comes to Guru.com, you will not be scammed. The company has been in business for a while, and its CEO, Inderpal Guglani, is a big deal in the business world.
However, scammers exploiting these markets are a serious problem.
There is no shortage of novel scams, and some may claim Guru.com is not doing enough to prevent them.
They may be right if complaints about the reliability of their rating system lead to consumers being taken advantage of.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
How Does Guru.com Work?
To become a freelancer on this website, you need to create an account, which you can do if you’re 18 or older.
After that, you can choose from a variety of options for one of two membership levels (freelancer or corporate), each with its own benefits and perks.
Bids
The main difference between free and premium membership is the number of “bids”, which in turn determines the maximum number of jobs you can apply for.
Members can submit 10 monthly bids for free and can upgrade to unlimited monthly bids for a small fee.
- 20 bids – $10
- 40 bids – $20
- 60 bids – $30
- 125 bids – $50
- 250 bids – $100
Your purchased bids do not expire, unlike your monthly bids, which do not carry over to the next month.
Memberships
In addition to these features, paying users enjoy reduced costs (the amount Guru.com collects for each job), bid rollovers, more visibility in employer searches, and a Q&A feature.
Membership categories include…
- Basic (free) – 120 bids/year and 8.95% job fee.
- Basic + ($11.95/month or $8.95/month paid annually) – 600 bids/year and 8.95% job fee.
- Professional ($21.95/month or $15.95/month paid annually) – 600 bids/year and 6.95% job fee.
- Business ($33.95/month or $24.95/month paid annually) – 600 bids/year and 5.95% job fee.
- Executive ($49.95/month or $39.95/month paid annually) – 600 bids/year and 4.95% job fee.
All membership levels have access to the optional auction.
Your Profile (Getting Jobs)
Once you’ve signed up and are ready to get started, you should prioritize creating a complete profile. This shouldn’t be too much of a challenge if you’ve done something similar before; however, if you’re not familiar with such platforms, proceed with caution.
Of course, you should list your services, qualifications, and prices. However, be sure to highlight your best features, tell your story, and provide testimonials.
The success of your profile in finding a job depends on how personal you can make it.
Companies want to hire people they feel they can learn more about than the information on their resume.
Additional Costs
Guru.com charges a 2.5% processing fee on employers’ bill in addition to freelancer fees (which range from 8.95% to 4.95%).
Competency ratings are an additional fee, but can help you get better jobs and stand out to employers.
- Basic members – $4.95/skill test
- Basic + members – $2.95/skill test
- All other members – Free
One of the more controversial aspects of Guru.com is the ability for freelancers to pay a fee and have bad reviews deleted from their accounts. The flawed review system I discussed earlier comes with this double-edged sword.
First impressions suggest it’s a win-win for independent contractors but in reality, it’s bad for excellent freelancers who want to excel and stand out.
What’s your competitive advantage if even the worst freelancers (and scammers) can afford to improve their online reputation?
Another obvious problem is the damage done to companies that rely on freelancers.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
How Does Guru.com Calculate Pay?
The open nature of the Guru.com marketplace means that prices are negotiable. Your salary is set based on the amount you bid, the number of other applicants, and the amount the company is willing to pay.
However, there are four other methods of determining compensation that can be negotiated depending on the size and complexity of the project.
- Milestones – It is helpful to create subtasks with their own descriptions and due dates, especially for large projects. Evaluate each section separately and adjust as needed as the project evolves.
- Tasks – Invoicing can be done independently for smaller projects and for many unrelated projects.
- Hourly – It can be difficult to negotiate hourly rates with clients who are unfamiliar with your freelance work. However, for those who have a steady client base, hourly work can be a reliable source of income. Hourly contracts involve sending a weekly invoice.
- Recurring Payments – In this hybrid, you are paid both on an hourly basis and when certain goals are met.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Guru.com Payment Transfer Methods
Safe Pay is Guru.com’s mechanism for guaranteeing that clients pay for your work before you even start. If this works as intended, you can be sure that you’ll be compensated for your services. However, there’s been criticism of employers having to certify such payments.
There are two sides to every story. It’s not that I disagree with freelancers who claim they haven’t been paid. But I can’t say that the employer is always right, especially in these cases.
Some companies may be dishonest, others may be genuinely concerned about their employees’ performance.
At Guru.com, you’ve a choice of four different ways to collect your money.
- Direct Deposit (US banks only)
- PayPal
- Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard
- Wire Transfer (To non-US banks)
How Much Money Can You Make?
The great thing about Guru.com is that you can set your own prices for all the tasks you do. You determine the amount of your salary yourself. However, as a new freelancer, it may take some time before you can confidently quote a fair price for your work.
You need to know the market for different jobs to estimate how much you can earn, and that takes time, research and expertise.
One thing Guru.com doesn’t make clear right off the bat is that there are different membership levels, each of which affects your earning potential.
The image above shows that with the free membership, you can only send out 10 offers per month. Your chances of being recruited increase dramatically when you upgrade to one of the paid plans, which allows you to submit 50 offers per month.
Both free and paid memberships have their advantages and disadvantages, so you should choose the one that best suits your needs. In general, it’s advisable to opt for the free membership if you don’t have much time and won’t be writing many applications.
However, if you’ve a lot of free time, an expensive membership is a good choice. To increase your chances of getting hired, you can send multiple offers. This way you can maximize your potential return on investment (ROI) from the monthly membership fee.
In general, I think Guru.com has a good chance of becoming financially successful. It’s really similar to other platforms for freelancers. Not the worst thing ever, but not the best either. The fact that there are so many employment opportunities is key.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Can You Use Guru.com On Mobile?
Although there is no dedicated app for mobile devices, the Guru website is optimized for use on mobile devices. Thanks to smartphone apps, it’s never been easier to apply on the go.
All of your tasks require the use of a desktop computer or portable laptop. Applications, payroll withdrawals, and checking the status of applications are the only mobile-friendly actions available on the site.
Who Can Join Guru.Com?
Since Guru is accessible from almost anywhere, you can become a member without worrying about geographical restrictions. However, a minimum age of 18 is required.
Use your existing Google, Facebook or LinkedIn account to sign up. Another option is to provide your own login credentials.
As mentioned earlier, Guru offers different membership levels, the first of which is free. Actually, it is not free because you have to pay $4.95 to validate your account.
Visit the members area of the platform to make all the necessary changes to your membership. Just go to the account settings page after logging into the website. Then, select the desired membership level by clicking on the “Membership” option.
Guru.com Support
You can access the Freelancer section of the Guru Help Center if you have problems with the site or your account. There you will find a list of the most important aspects of the website that you should know.
If you still have questions after browsing the site, you can ask them through the contact form. If you have an urgent question and would rather speak to a human, you can find a phone number where you can reach us on the Contact Us page.
Since there are several easy methods to get in touch with the site’s support staff, I would say that they provide a satisfactory level of service to their members. I also find the FAQ section very informative.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Guru.com Reviews and Complaints
At first glance, Guru.com seems to have all the qualities of a successful marketplace for freelancers.
But the vast majority of comments are critical. So, what’s going on?
Please note that these are not my complaints, but those of other Guru.com users.
The most common problems include…
- Low pay as freelancers undercut each other and too many companies look for the cheapest candidate.
- There are numerous reports of customers not being able to withdraw their money, which is a serious problem.
- Customer service is slow to respond.
- As mentioned above, the rating system is inaccurate as some scammers get 5 stars.
However, there are a few things to consider here…
Since people tend to report negatives rather than positives, it’s safe to assume that many Guru.com users are satisfied but do not want to share their positive experiences.
And of course, not everyone has a negative opinion. Some are more positive such as
- You can see who applied for the same jobs as you and who got the job.
- You have the opportunity to communicate directly with employers before you apply.
- The safe-pay mechanism ensures that the projects are funded.
Pros of Guru.com
- With a free membership you can test before you buy.
- Excellent for freelancers of many professions, skill levels and backgrounds.
- Ability to develop long-term client relationships.
Cons of Guru.com
- There are some red flags… and complaints about lack of payment are very common.
- Competition is fierce to see who can make the best offer.
- You pay to have negative reviews removed from your profile (which is great if you’ve been unfairly criticized but it also means you’re competing with freelancers who don’t care about quality or negative reviews)
Guru.com Review: Final Verdict
If you’re a freelancer who prefers to work from home, you aren’t tied to a particular service. You may argue that Guru.com isn’t the best option.
Nonetheless, it’s free to join and gives you the freedom to make your own judgment.
Prices are comparable to competing freelancer marketplaces, and ultimately the platform isn’t as important as the client – as long as you get paid, of course.
An online business is what you need if you’re serious about making money and, who knows, maybe even living the laptop lifestyle everyone dreams of.
Let me tell you the best way to start an online business in the next section.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Best Alternative of Guru.com to Make Passive Income
If you want to make a stable and secure stream of passive income, I would suggest you start an affiliate marketing business online.
Affiliate Marketing is perfect for anyone who is new to online business.
In fact, of all the online business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.
In affiliate marketing, you can actually run your business almost with zero cost and achieve a steady and sustainable passive income to pay for your bills. You don’t need any initial capital and can even do it as a side hustle.
And if you really want to learn affiliate marketing and build a business from scratch, I’d recommend you to get started with the most reputable platform for affiliate marketing: Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform for building your affiliate marketing business from scratch. It offers you a free account (including a free website) with comprehensive training on SEO (free traffic methods), which enables you to get started with affiliate marketing right away without paying a penny.
But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?
A 21-year old student from Wealthy Affiliate was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while using free traffic methods.
Wealthy Affiliate has existed for 15 years and there are many success stories in the past decade.
To give you more examples, here are some of the other inspiring success stories of Wealthy Affiliate members.
Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?
Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has free and premium membership.
If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the free starter membership here (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.
And as a starter member, you can get instant access to the community, live chat, over 500 training modules, 2 classrooms, networking, commenting, 1 free website, access to the keyword tool.
You can enjoy all these values without paying a penny.
So I strongly recommend you to register a free account and see it yourself.
