Guru
Guru.com is a global online freelance marketplace founded in 1998 connecting 800,000+ employers with millions of freelancers across programming, writing, design, engineering, and other professional categories. The platform provides SafePay payment protection, WorkRooms collaboration, and enterprise tiers for SMBs and large organizations worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Guru does
Guru.com (operated by Websoft, Inc., headquartered at 5001 Baum Blvd., Suite 605, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an online freelance marketplace founded in 1998 that connects employers with professional freelancers across nine major skill categories, including programming, writing, design, engineering, business, and legal services. The platform serves over 800,000 employers globally and has processed more than 1 million paid invoices spanning freelancers in the US, India, Pakistan, the UK, Philippines, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Customer segments span technology and IT firms, content and marketing teams, creative agencies, SMBs seeking flexible staffing, and enterprise clients with compliance requirements.
The platform's core technology centers on three proprietary components: SafePay, an escrow-style payment protection system where Guru holds funds until employer work acceptance; WorkRooms, a collaboration workspace for messaging, file sharing, and progress tracking; and Time Tracker, software that provides hourly billing transparency across multi-freelancer engagements. Adjacent infrastructure includes an electronic invoicing system (Guru Invoice Service), an arbitration service for dispute resolution rendered within 5–7 days, customizable Work Agreements, and a public developer API. Native iOS and Android mobile applications extend the platform beyond the browser, and payment rails integrate PayPal, Payoneer debit card, ACH, and wire transfer for global freelancer disbursement.
Guru's revenue model combines subscription and transaction-based streams. Freelancers pay tiered membership fees with associated service fees ranging from 5% to 20%, while employers incur a 2.9% payment handling fee on invoices and a 3.5% withdrawal fee on cash account redemptions. Arbitration carries a fee equal to the greater of $25 or 5% of the disputed job amount. The company positions itself as offering the lowest fees in the freelance marketplace industry and sells dedicated enterprise and agency tiers (Guru Enterprise, Guru Agency) with compliance benefits for larger buyers. The company has remained private and founder-led since inception, with Inder Guglani serving as founder and CEO, and currently operates with an 11–50 employee headcount.
Guru firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Guru
- Legal name
- Websoft, Inc.
- Website
- https://guru.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Guru.com is a global online freelance marketplace founded in 1998 connecting 800,000+ employers with millions of freelancers across programming, writing, design, engineering, and other professional categories. The platform provides SafePay payment protection, WorkRooms collaboration, and enterprise tiers for SMBs and large organizations worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Guru industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Freelance Marketplace
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Core HR & HRIS (BPACAPAA)
Keywords
Where Guru is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Guru business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Freelancer Membership Fees: Freelancers pay membership fees to access different participation levels on the platform, with varying bid allowances and features. Additional bids can be purchased separately.
- Job Fee: Guru charges freelancers a job fee based on membership type, deducted from the total amount paid by employers for completed jobs.
- Employer Payment Handling Fee: 2.9% fee added to invoice totals when employers pay freelancers through the platform.
- Freelancer Transfer Method Fee: Wire transfer fees charged to freelancers for fund disbursement. ACH, PayPal, and Payoneer debit card methods are fee-free.
- Arbitration Service Fee: Fee equal to greater of $25 or 5% of total amount paid for jobs when arbitration services are used for dispute resolution.
- Employer Withdraw Fee: 3.5% withdrawal fee when employers withdraw funds from their cash account.
- Service Fees: Platform charges service fees ranging from 5% to 20% for freelancers using the marketplace.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Service fees ranging from 5% to 20% depending on membership tier |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Employer Payment Handling Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Employer Withdraw Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Arbitration Service Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Guru product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Guru.com operates an online freelance marketplace that connects employers with professional service providers across nine skill categories including programming, writing, design, and engineering. The platform enables job posting, freelancer search, quote submission, hiring, in-platform collaboration through WorkRooms, and secure payment processing through SafePay, which holds funds until work is accepted. The company also offers enterprise-grade solutions (Guru Enterprise, Guru Agency), mobile applications for iOS and Android, electronic invoicing, time tracking, and an arbitration service for dispute resolution.
Product overview
Guru.com is a freelance marketplace platform providing a comprehensive ecosystem for connecting employers with professional freelancers across 9 major skill categories. The core platform centers on the marketplace, SafePay payment protection, and WorkRooms collaboration tools. Additional offerings include enterprise solutions (Guru Enterprise, Guru Agency), financial management tools (Purchase Order Solutions, Work Agreements), and mobile applications for iOS and Android. The platform processed over $250 million in payments to freelancers with a 99% customer satisfaction rate.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Guru.com Marketplace Core online freelance marketplace connecting employers with professional service providers across nine major skill categories — Programming & Development, Writing & Translation, Design & Art, Administrative & Secretarial, Sales & Marketing, Engineering & Architecture, Business & Finance, Education & Training, and Legal. Hosts 800,000+ employers and millions of freelancers worldwide.
- SafePay Payment protection service that secures employer funds before work begins. Guru holds the funds and releases them to freelancers only after the employer approves the completed work, or disputes are resolved through the Arbitration Service. Protects both parties from fraud and non-payment/non-delivery risk.
- WorkRooms Collaboration workspace enabling employers and freelancers to communicate, share files, track work progress, and manage project workflows within a secure environment on the Guru platform.
- Guru Mobile App (iOS) Native iOS application enabling freelancers and employers to manage projects, communicate, and process payments on the go. Available on the Apple App Store under developer Websoft Inc.
- Guru Mobile App (Android) Native Android application enabling freelancers and employers to manage projects, communicate, and process payments on the go. Available on the Google Play Store.
- Guru Enterprise Custom-built enterprise solution offering compliance and security benefits, dedicated support, and industry-lowest fees. Designed for large organizations requiring scalable freelance talent acquisition with enterprise-grade requirements.
- Guru Agency Specialized solution for agencies to manage freelance talent, featuring tools for team collaboration and client management within the Guru platform.
- Guru Invoice Service Electronic invoicing system enabling freelancers to issue invoices through the platform and employers to make payments via Guru Billing and Payment Services.
- Arbitration Service Dispute resolution service for SafePay transactions where Guru or a third party arbitrates disputes between employers and freelancers, with a decision typically rendered within 5-7 days. Fee equals the greater of $25 or 5% of the total job amount.
- Purchase Order Solutions Tools enabling employers to manage purchase orders and financial workflows within the Guru platform for streamlined procurement of freelance services.
- Work Agreements Customizable agreement templates and contract management features that allow employers and freelancers to establish clear terms (Fixed Price, Hourly, Task-Based, or Recurring) for project engagements, with the ability to amend agreements during the engagement.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% Customer Satisfaction Rate
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Guru
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Guru technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Guru partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Guru competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Upwork: Upwork is the largest publicly traded freelance marketplace with a global employer and freelancer base spanning similar skill categories (programming, writing, design, admin). It is the most direct competitor to Guru in terms of platform mechanics, global reach, and target SMB/enterprise segments.
- Fiverr: Fiverr is a publicly traded freelance marketplace that pioneered the gig-catalog model and now offers project-based services across categories that overlap directly with Guru's (programming, design, writing, digital marketing). It competes on fee structure, brand recognition, and mobile UX.
- Freelancer.com: Freelancer.com is a publicly traded global freelance marketplace operating across 9+ skill categories with a contest and bidding model similar to Guru. Founded in 2009 in Australia, it competes head-to-head with Guru in programming, writing, and design categories.
- Toptal: Toptal is a premium freelance talent marketplace that curates the top 3% of freelancers across software development, design, finance, and product management. It competes with Guru in the enterprise segment but at a significantly higher price point and tighter vetting standard.
- PeoplePerHour: PeoplePerHour is a UK-based freelance marketplace founded in 2007 that connects businesses with freelancers across similar skill categories as Guru. It targets the same SMB and mid-market employer segments with hourly and fixed-price engagements.
Emerging players
- 99designs (by Vista): 99designs is a Vista-owned design-focused freelance platform offering logo, web, and graphic design contests and direct hire. It overlaps with Guru's design category but specializes in creative work via contest mechanics, making it a partial competitor in one vertical.
- SolidGigs: SolidGigs is a curated freelance lead-generation service that sources jobs from platforms and delivers them to freelancers. It is comparable to Guru on the supply (freelancer) side as a complementary tool for finding freelance work, though it does not operate a marketplace of its own.
- A.Team: A.Team is an invite-only network of pre-vetted product, design, and engineering teams that compete with Guru Enterprise in the high-touch, team-based project segment. It targets the same enterprise clients that Guru Enterprise courts but with a curated, team-based delivery model.
Broad incumbents
- Amazon Mechanical Turk: Amazon Mechanical Turk is a broad crowdsourcing platform operated by AWS that connects requesters with distributed workers for micro-tasks. While it serves a different segment (micro-tasks vs. project-based work), it is a comparable platform for on-demand distributed labor and payment processing at scale.
- LinkedIn ProFinder (now Services Marketplace): LinkedIn (Microsoft) operates a professional services marketplace leveraging its 1B+ member professional network. It competes with Guru in finding consultants, writers, and designers but is a broad incumbent in the talent/employment space rather than a specialized freelance marketplace.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Guru social profiles
Digital presenceGuru financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Guru leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Guru funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Guru M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Guru
What does Guru do?
Guru.com operates an online freelance marketplace that connects employers with professional service providers across nine skill categories including programming, writing, design, and engineering. The platform enables job posting, freelancer search, quote submission, hiring, in-platform collaboration through WorkRooms, and secure payment processing through SafePay, which holds funds until work is accepted. The company also offers enterprise-grade solutions (Guru Enterprise, Guru Agency), mobile applications for iOS and Android, electronic invoicing, time tracking, and an arbitration service for dispute resolution.
Is Guru a public or private company?
Guru is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Guru founded?
Guru was founded in 1998. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Guru based?
Guru is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does Guru make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Freelancer Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are job Fee, employer Payment Handling Fee, freelancer Transfer Method Fee, arbitration Service Fee, employer Withdraw Fee and service Fees.
Who are Guru's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Toptal and PeoplePerHour. Emerging players are 99designs (by Vista), SolidGigs and A.Team. Broad incumbents are Amazon Mechanical Turk and LinkedIn ProFinder (now Services Marketplace).
Does Guru have an API?
Yes. Guru.com provides an API for developers. The footer navigation includes a link to APIs at https://www.guru.com/apihelp/help.html. The Terms of Service references the API in describing how registered users can interact with the platform programmatically. Developer documentation is at www.guru.com/apihelp/help.html.
What industry is Guru in?
Guru's product category is Online Freelance Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAPAA, Core HR & HRIS. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7372.