The Best European Upwork Alternative in 2026
The best European alternative to Upwork in 2026 is Malt, based in France. It is European-owned, GDPR-native and production-ready.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Our top pick this year is Malt
Upwork alternatives are mainly CRM & Marketing. Browse that category for a wider shortlist beyond this list.
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Europe's largest freelance marketplace matching 700,000+ tech, data, design and marketing experts with companies through managed contracting, invoicing and compliance workflows.
Malt is a European freelance marketplace connecting independent tech, data, design and marketing experts with companies that need flexible external talent. Founded in Paris in 2013 and now operating across France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the Nordics, Malt has a community of 700,000+ freelancers and 70,000+ client companies.
The platform pairs algorithmic matching with a fully managed contracting, invoicing, compliance and payment workflow. Enterprise customers get Malt Strategy (consulting assignments), Malt Community (private talent pools), compliance checks on freelancer legal status and integration with SAP Fieldglass, Coupa, Beeline and internal vendor-management systems.
Key benefits:
- 700,000+ freelancers across tech, data, design, marketing and management consulting
- Algorithmic matching recommending profiles in hours based on mission brief
- Fully managed contracting, invoicing and payment across 8+ European countries
- Compliance and risk management with freelancer status checks under local law
- Malt Strategy and Malt Community for consulting projects and private talent pools
- Vendor-management integrations with SAP Fieldglass, Coupa and Beeline
- Ratings and reviews from verified missions on every freelancer profile
Malt is headquartered in Paris, France, and hosts all freelancer and client data on EU-based infrastructure under GDPR and French CNIL oversight. ISO 27001 certification, SCCs for sub-processors and a full DPA are standard on every enterprise contract.
Trusted by L'Oréal, Orange, BNP Paribas, Deloitte and 70,000+ companies across Europe, Malt is the reference choice for businesses that want a large, compliance-first freelance marketplace fully operated from the EU.
