CrowdWorks
CrowdWorks operates Japan's largest online crowdsourcing and freelance talent matching platform, connecting 7.4 million registered workers with 1.07 million client companies. It supplements marketplace commissions with SaaS (CrowdLog), agent-based IT matching, DX consulting, and a new AI services line.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What CrowdWorks does
CrowdWorks Inc. (株式会社クラウドワークス, TSE Growth: 3900) operates Japan's largest online crowdsourcing and talent matching platform, connecting 7.438 million registered workers with 1.072 million client companies as of September 2025. Founded in November 2011 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since December 2014, the company runs a two-sided marketplace where companies post projects and freelancers bid on them, charging commission on completed transactions. The core platform is supplemented by specialized talent matching modules: CrowdWorks Agent (sales-staff-driven enterprise matching with a 6.3M+ database), Tech Direct (IT professional direct matching, 35,000+ IT freelancers), CrowdLinks (high-class side job matching), and CrowdWorks Consulting (DX consulting).
The company operates a hybrid revenue model combining marketplace commissions, professional services/agent fees, and recurring SaaS subscriptions. CrowdLog (productivity/work-time visualization SaaS) has reached 900+ cumulative client companies, with roughly 30% being large enterprises of 300+ employees. Human & Human provides HR analytics SaaS. The group also includes 18 acquired subsidiaries covering IT staffing (CODEAL, INGATE, CLOCK·IT), DX consulting (Sonicmoov, skyny, CrowdWorks Consulting Inc.), generative AI tools (AI Tech - 110K users, 190M yen ARR), RPA (Peaceful Morning), side-job matching (Shuuumatu Worker), and creator staffing (YU-CRE). FY2025 net sales reached 22.65 billion yen (vs. 17.113 billion in FY2024, ~32% YoY growth), with gross profit of 9.566 billion yen.
Distribution leverages a multi-channel GTM: self-serve platform for SMBs/individuals, dedicated field sales for enterprise Agent/Consulting engagements, government relationships across 12 ministries and 80+ local municipalities, and an M&A program organized around the YOSHIDA300 plan targeting 300 billion yen in revenue. The company has executed 18 cumulative M&A deals and runs an active M&A Conference (MAP 2026) connecting startups, corporates, VCs, and advisors. Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward AI services (AI CloudWorks launching July 2026, AI-BPO from March 2026, AI Implementation Support Plan) and DX consulting democratization for SMEs.
CrowdWorks firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CrowdWorks
- Legal name
- 株式会社クラウドワークス
- Website
- https://crowdworks.co.jp
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- CrowdWorks operates Japan's largest online crowdsourcing and freelance talent matching platform, connecting 7.4 million registered workers with 1.07 million client companies. It supplements marketplace commissions with SaaS (CrowdLog), agent-based IT matching, DX consulting, and a new AI services line.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CrowdWorks is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
CrowdWorks business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Commission (クラウドワークス): Commission fees charged on transactions between clients and freelancers on the CrowdWorks crowdsourcing platform. Revenue generated as a percentage of total transaction volume (総契約額) multiplied by take rate.
- Agent Services (クラウドワークス エージェント, テックダイレクト): IT talent staffing and direct matching services where CrowdWorks' sales staff propose freelancers to companies. Revenue from placement and agency fees for matching highly skilled IT personnel for 3-5 days/week engagements.
- SaaS Subscriptions (クラウドログ, Human & Human): Monthly/annual subscription fees for cloud-based productivity improvement SaaS products. CrowdLog visualizes employee work hours; Human & Human provides HR analytics and engagement surveys. 900+ companies have adopted CrowdLog.
- AI Services (AIクラウドワークス, AI-BPO, AI研修): AI specialist job matching service with concierge support (free for workers, commissions from enterprises), AI-BPO services for process automation, and AI utilization training programs (46,000-176,000 JPY per person with government subsidies).
- Consulting Services (CROWDWORKSコンサルティング): DX consulting engagements where productivity improvement consultants identify core management issues, select solutions, and provide PM/PMO support for projects using CrowdWorks' 7 million freelancer database.
- Other Services (PARK, メンバーペイ, etc.): Skill EC service PARK, monthly subscription payment service MemberPay, and other ancillary services generating additional transaction and subscription revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free platform access for freelancers and companies to post/bid on projects |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Tech Direct: Premium talent matching with screened candidates |
| Per seat | Pay-as-you-go | AI Academy corporate training: 46,000–176,000 JPY per person |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | AI Implementation Support Plan (AI実装伴走プラン): starting 110,000 JPY |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
CrowdWorks product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CrowdWorks operates Japan's largest online crowdsourcing marketplace connecting over 7.43 million registered freelancers and side workers with 1.07 million client companies, enabling direct online work commissioning and fulfillment. Beyond the core marketplace, the company provides specialized talent matching (Agent, Tech Direct, CrowdLinks, AI CloudWorks), DX consulting, SaaS productivity tools (CrowdLog, Human & Human), AI-BPO services, and corporate AI training.
Product overview
CrowdWorks operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on Japan’s No.1 online crowdsourcing platform (CrowdWorks) connecting 7.43 million freelancers with 1.072 million companies. The core platform is supplemented by specialized talent matching modules: CrowdWorks Agent (comprehensive HR solutions with 6.3M+ database), Tech Direct (IT talent direct matching), CrowdLinks (high-class side job matching), and CROWDWORKS Consulting (productivity improvement consultants). A parallel SaaS business includes CrowdLog (work time visualization, 900+ clients), Human & Human (human capital analytics), and AI CloudWorks (AI professional matching, launched May 2026). Acquired brands include AI Tech (generative AI tools), Peaceful Morning (RPA), and skyny (DX consulting). Supporting infrastructure includes PARK (skill e-commerce), MemberPay (payment service), and CrowdWorks Academy (reskilling). Group subsidiaries include Shuuumatu Worker, Yu-CRE, Sonicmoov, and CrowdWorks Consulting Inc.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- クラウドワークス: Japan's No.1 online crowdsourcing platform connecting companies with freelancers
- クラウドワークス エージェント (CrowdWorks Agent)
- テックダイレクト (Tech Direct)
- CROWDWORKS コンサルティング
- クラウドリンクス (CrowdLinks)
- クラウドログ (CrowdLog)
- AIクラウドワークス
- PARK
- メンバーペイ (Member Pay)
- みんなのカレッジ (Minna no College)
Products and services
- CrowdWorks (クラウドワークス) Crowdsourcing Platform Japan's No.1 online crowdsourcing platform connecting 7.43+ million registered freelancers and side workers with 1.07+ million client companies for direct work procurement and fulfillment across categories including IT, design, writing, marketing, and consulting.
- CrowdWorks Agent (クラウドワークス エージェント)
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced payroll reconciliation from 2 days to 30 minutes for a small clinic using AI training
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use CrowdWorks
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
CrowdWorks technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability13 records
Feature5 records
CrowdWorks partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and regional.
- 株式会社Sonicmoov (Group subsidiary)coreSonicmoov provides UX-design-led web and app development for CrowdWorks group clients. Engaged in local government DX initiatives (Kumamoto Uto City, Fukuoka Hirokawa Town, Oguni City) under the 地域活性化起業人制度. FY2024 to FY2025 sales outside Tokyo/Kanagawa/Saitama/Chiba grew approximately 5x.
- Yoom株式会社coreAPI integration between CrowdLog (CrowdWorks' productivity SaaS) and Yoom's workflow automation platform. Enables automatic data sync with 750+ apps (Slack, Salesforce, Chatwork, etc.) via natural language AI-driven workflow setup. Users can trigger time tracking from existing business apps. Reduces manual data entry and enables automatic work-hour reporting.
- 株式会社PeopleXsupportingCo-host of 13-week AI utilization webinar series for executives. PeopleX contributes AI hiring/adoption expertise and market knowledge to the educational webinar content. Webinar targets business leaders considering AI implementation.
- 株式会社SilverXsupportingPrimary co-host of 13-week AI utilization webinar series (10 of 13 sessions). SilverX contributes AI native talent hiring/consulting expertise. Delivers demos of AI tools across sales, content, and administrative use cases.
- 株式会社AlgomaticsupportingCo-host of DX-focused session (Session 4) in the 13-week webinar series. Algomatic contributes LLM/generative AI technology expertise and practical DX implementation knowledge to the webinar curriculum.
- Peaceful Morning株式会社 (Group subsidiary)supportingPeaceful Morning's Microsoft-certified DX freelancers provide RPA/low-code implementation support. Peaceful Morning became a Microsoft Certified Partner and offers products/services leveraging CrowdWorks' 1,200+ DX-skilled freelancer database for enterprise clients.
- SmartHRsupportingCrowdLog integrates with SmartHR's ID management function, enabling security risk reduction and IT department workload savings for joint clients. Linked via API to enable seamless data exchange between HR systems and time management.
- skyny株式会社 (Group subsidiary)coreSystem integration company specializing in PM/consulting talent for DX, security, and IoT. skyny provides DX execution consulting and project management personnel to CrowdWorks' consulting service. Supports 'DXコンサル民主化' (democratization of DX consulting) for SMEs.
- 北海道上川市 (Hokkaido Kamikawa Town)regionalRegional collaboration partnership for DX promotion in local government. CrowdWorks Consulting supports municipal DX initiatives under a 未来共創パートナーシップ協定 (future co-creation partnership agreement) to solve regional social and corporate challenges through digital transformation.
- ネオファースト生命保険株式会社supportingNeofirst Life Insurance provides content cooperation for CrowdWorks' 'じぶん安心ナビ' (Personal Safety Navigator) web media, targeting freelancers with insurance, health, and lifestyle protection information.
- アディッシュ株式会社supportingBusiness partnership where CrowdWorks provides 6.8 million worker database for customer success talent proposals by Adish. Enables cross-referral of talent between the two platforms in the customer success/BPO domain.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CrowdWorks competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Wantedly: Japan-listed recruitment and company-information platform. Overlaps with CrowdWorks in online talent discovery and employer branding, though its core focus is full-time hiring rather than freelance matching.
- BizReach: Japan-listed mid-career job platform with a focus on professional and managerial roles. Comparable as a Japanese online talent matching platform but primarily serves full-time hiring rather than freelance/gig work.
- Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest HR services conglomerate operating Indeed, Rikunabi, and staffing businesses globally. A broad incumbent with significant overlap in talent matching and staffing, though CrowdWorks' freelance focus is a distinct niche within Recruit's broader HR portfolio.
Direct peers
- Upwork: The largest global online freelance marketplace connecting businesses with independent professionals for knowledge work. Directly comparable to CrowdWorks' core marketplace business, though operating at much larger international scale and with a similar take-rate model.
- Fiverr: Global freelance services marketplace with a transaction-based model similar to CrowdWorks. Comparable in core marketplace mechanics, pricing philosophy, and target use cases (project-based knowledge work), though Fiverr's international footprint is significantly larger.
- Lancers: Japan-listed freelance and crowdsourcing marketplace (TSE Growth). The most direct domestic competitor to CrowdWorks' core platform business, with similar target customers and a comparable online matching model in the Japanese market.
- Timee: Japan-based side-job/gig platform focused on hourly shift work. Competes with CrowdWorks in the Japanese gig marketplace space, particularly overlapping with Shuuumatu Worker (a CrowdWorks subsidiary) in the side-job matching segment.
Emerging players
- Freelance Start (Hajimari): Emerging Japanese freelance platform targeting IT engineers and offering agent-style support. Operates in the same Japanese freelance marketplace category as CrowdWorks Agent and TechDirect, with a narrower focus on IT talent.
- Toptal: Global freelance platform focused on the top 3% of software engineering, design, and finance talent. Comparable to CrowdWorks' TechDirect and CrowdLinks premium services, with a similarly vetted, high-skill talent focus but at much larger international scale.
- PeopleX: Japan-based AI-focused HR/advisory firm that co-hosts CrowdWorks' AI webinar series. Operates in the adjacent AI talent and adoption space, with potential overlap as both companies target AI-skilled worker placement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CrowdWorks social profiles
Digital presenceCrowdWorks compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
CrowdWorks financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CrowdWorks leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
CrowdWorks subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries12 records
CrowdWorks funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CrowdWorks M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A7 records
Investments9 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CrowdWorks
What does CrowdWorks do?
CrowdWorks operates Japan's largest online crowdsourcing marketplace connecting over 7.43 million registered freelancers and side workers with 1.07 million client companies, enabling direct online work commissioning and fulfillment. Beyond the core marketplace, the company provides specialized talent matching (Agent, Tech Direct, CrowdLinks, AI CloudWorks), DX consulting, SaaS productivity tools (CrowdLog, Human & Human), AI-BPO services, and corporate AI training.
Is CrowdWorks a public or private company?
CrowdWorks is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was CrowdWorks founded?
CrowdWorks was founded in 2011. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is CrowdWorks based?
CrowdWorks is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does CrowdWorks make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Commission (クラウドワークス) is the primary driver. The others are agent Services (クラウドワークス エージェント, テックダイレクト), saaS Subscriptions (クラウドログ, Human & Human), AI Services (AIクラウドワークス, AI-BPO, AI研修), consulting Services (CROWDWORKSコンサルティング) and other Services (PARK, メンバーペイ, etc.).
Who are CrowdWorks's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Wantedly, BizReach and Recruit Holdings. Direct peers are Upwork, Fiverr, Lancers and Timee. Emerging players are Freelance Start (Hajimari), Toptal and PeopleX.
Does CrowdWorks have an API?
Yes. CrowdLog offers a public API that enables developers to integrate time tracking, attendance management, and project management capabilities into their applications. The API supports clock-in/clock-out operations (出勤開始/終了の打刻、休憩開始/終了の打刻、出退勤，注册、休憩時間の登録), data aggregation and search (工数レポートを検索、出退勤情報一覧を取得), and project management (プロジェクトを作成、ユーザー・工程・部署の割当と削除、予算の作成または更新). The API connects with over 750 applications through Yoom integration, enabling automated workflows for Slack, Salesforce, Chatwork, and other enterprise tools. Developer documentation is at www.crowdlog.jp.