Contra Reviews 49

I was invited by contra platform on WhatsApp. They said to invest 4k.i invest 4k and they gave me 5600 after few minutes of processes. Then they said to invest 12 for merchant task, I said I have no such big investment. Their employe said u can invest 4k again. When I submit , ayesha named employe said I didn't know company rule please submit 8k more to complete the task because you already done 4k task. I said I have asked u earlier why didn't you tell me first. She said I was unknown of this. Then I said please return my money she denied and abused me. It's my request to contra group please return my 4k rupees because I am a student. 🥺

This platform has gone way downhill. It was nice when it started - a platform with no fees that takes no commissions. Clearly too good to be true, and only to build up a userbase. Now it is almost wholly pay-to-play and focuses on no skill, low skill work.

Seems all jobs are fake. I could not find any feedback from any application. Cancelling the free trial.

Pardon, previous my review was regarding other contra group, and I don't have any experience about this Contra.

Absolutely abysmal. I tried to use contra for some of my freelancing contracts given they were high value contracts. David and his team had significant overreach- reaching to my client (after they made a payment) without checking with me first and making them jump onto a call. On their own side- no accountability, no explanation for fees and delays and harassing my client without me on the call. Absolutely unacceptable.

My employer asked me to sign up on this site because withdrawals were "Free" and "Instant" to Payoneer. That was true for the first month and then out of the blue they added a 4 business day "security review period" and a 2% fee on instant withdrawals. So essentially they want to secure the platform but you can pay them extra not to. According to customer service they sent out an email notifying everyone which I was conveniently unsubscribed from though I am STILL receiving marketing emails... funny how that works in their favor. There are so many other platforms that offer faster payouts without a fee. Its deceptive and a money grab, I'd recommend going to Upwork or using Payoneers invoicing feature instead of this BS. The interface is clunky and confusing and they are constantly trying to force you to use features you don't need. The ONLY appeal was the free instant withdrawal and now I'd rather use Wise and cut out the unnecessary middle man.

Their service is absolutely pathetic.
It's especially abysmal for new freelancers.
I was interested in this platform and signed up a few days ago. I spent countless hours building my profile, posting portfolios, and purchasing a paid membership.
But they permanently banned my account for sending messages to a few experienced freelancers through the platform's built-in messaging feature, asking about their experiences.
If this is a violation, why does this feature exist?

EDIT for reply:

no, i don't need technical assistance, i understand why you think it's smart to force a designer to reupload every study. I'm telling you that it's a useless feature and good designers won't engage with the redundant work. i'm not recreating my whole case study on your platform that can't even hold the intricacies i hard coded into my actual portfolio, just for a job.

if an employer passes on me because they can't be bothered to click a link to see my full case study, I won't be upset missing out on the opportunity. there are plenty out there, i'm not desperate.

your perspective is skewed because you think your platform is the real tool here and it's not. a good designer doesn't need this site, just like they don't need behance, wellfound, upwork or whatever else that's available. please stop acting like it makes sense to force us to recreate our entire portfolio. it doesn't and no one else requires that to simply apply. it's incredibly narrow minded

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ORIGINAL REVIEW:

honestly, i wanted to like this. i see the appeal but its operating way too close to a social media account and not a job board.

it has virtually NO privacy for designers. i only want my case studies viewed by those i'm interested in roles for, not the whole word to view.

but this platform FORCES you to keep things public and interact with this engagement feature. it's also a little weird it makes you recreate your entire portfolio before allowing you to actually apply. I spend hours on my portfolio outside of your silly little website. i dont want to spend more time recreating it there too just because you want me to. I feel i just got half way through uploading and it being buggy and slow where I started asking myself what I was even doing. Make it easier not harder for us? if we dont want to reupload all our shit onto your platform, don't force us?

also its rather expensive too. 30 a bucks a month when i can source most roles myself on linkedin. pay all that and still not even get privacy or settings? no thanks

I wanted to post a job for a freelance SEO specialist. The first thing I didn’t like is that you can’t do anything — even browse the talent database — without registering, which is already annoying. Why would I create an account on a platform where I might not even find what I’m looking for?

Still, I went through the registration process and decided to post the job. I wrote the description using their own AI bot. However, the budget selection was very inconvenient — I couldn’t find a way to set an hourly rate. I personally find it much easier to work with hourly pricing rather than big fixed numbers.

In the end, I spent my time creating the job post, only for it to be rejected without any clear explanation. Formally, they wrote something like “check this, this, and this,” but in reality there was no clarity on what exactly I did wrong or what I needed to change for the post to be approved — especially considering the job description was created using their own AI tool.

After this experience, I don’t want to come back to the platform. It’s easier to return to the websites I used before, where the process is transparent and clear. Contra definitely needs to improve their moderation process and overall usability.

You apply for jobs there is zero feedback on all of them. Ok that's fine, it happens on most freelancing platforms but the other platforms show you the number of applicants before you even apply and afterwards. The number of jobs is not that much for my niche (Branding Design), you could reload the page a number of times only to see a new job days later. I freelance on Upwork, I have to filter so that I only see the jobs I want. Unfortunately you pay first to view few jobs that probably have a lot of competition (because the number of applicants is unknown)

Completely useless. No leads for a one year since I started the plan with Contra.

BEWARE, DO NOT USE!! I used contra's escrow facility for a job, the contractor did not do the work and offered a refund as he did not complete the work and they are refusing to release the funds back to us as now the contractor is saying they did the work although contra have the messages on their platfrom where he freely admits he did not do the work and that he is happy to refund even asking me how to refund the monies.

I recently posted a job on Contra to find a web developer to help build a simple static website, and the job was rejected without any explanation by Contra. They rejecting the job post without stating any reason. My job post didn’t violate any terms.

I had only just signed up, which now I know was a waste of time. I’ll be sticking to more reliable freelance platforms like Upwork instead. I mean, to just reject a job post and not provide any guidance or clues to show why is just careless.

If you’re looking to quickly post a legitimate job to find web developers or other professionals, I can’t recommend Contra. Stick to traditional freelancer websites.

Filling up the profile information is endless and difficult. Seems impossible to apply for jobs on this platform.

1. For a gaming video: "Leveling up and crushing dreams"
2. For a vlog: "Just another day, another adventure"
3. For a comedy sketch: "Laughing throu

If you're a serious company, looking to pay freelancers to get work done, do not use, your company and workflow is at risk. Contra can break all your contracts and block you without notice or explanation.

Contra blocked me for hiring multiple people at once, without any apparent reason.

I am a large agency, hiring multiple freelancers for top-notch quality.

I discovered Contra, and found that I can find several great designers there.

I see most freelancers have no income, so this made even more sense. As they would likely be open for part-time of full-time opportunities.

However, after contacting 10+ designers, my account has been blocked (I suppose it is because I contacted multiple people), despite me doing any wrongdoing. I even have a contract open with my first hire there.

this company is directly limiting opportunities to freelancers by blocking people like me, looking to hire and pay top-wages.

Most of their freelancers have 0 income, and I am not surprised.

I have never encountered before a platform that is actively working to block opportunities from its users. A true platform is there FOR their users, and no one should be telling their users what they should, or should not work on.

Many of the freelancers I contacted were delighted of the opportunity. Some of them expressed extreme excitement, now their new full-time opportunity is vanished because of Contra's "ego".

it's a shame.

I Have yet to receive any explanation.

ps: company now fully blocked me. I cannot even pay the remainder of my contracts to my freelancers. They would rather have their users unpaid than give me an explanation.

Avoid this company at all cost.

As a freelancer, I really love working on Contra. The biggest advantage for me is that they don’t take any commission from my earnings, unlike Fiverr which charges 20% on everything, even tips. As someone dedicated to brand and packaging design, I’ve found some great opportunities here, though I do notice that the platform tends to have even more options for web designers and developers.

Another highlight is the community. It feels very solid and supportive, almost like X but specifically targeted toward creatives, which makes it a lot more relevant. The support team is also fantastic, every time I had an issue, I reached out and received a response almost immediately.

On top of that, I love that Contra allows me to withdraw my earnings in crypto. Honestly, the day this option disappears, I’ll have to reconsider my commitment to the platform because it’s such an important feature for me.

Overall, Contra has been a refreshing and valuable platform for freelancers, especially compared to others I’ve tried.

I’ve been using Contra for two years now, and the team has made a lot of progress - the product has evolved in a great way. Today there are far more jobs available than even a year ago, and the jobs tend to have a higher average price than on other platforms, which makes it worth spending time and investing in your profile.

It’s also super convenient to sign contracts and get paid, as Contra acts as a mediator between you and the client. Plus, you get to keep 100% of the revenue from each project.

This summer, a couple of leads came simply from people reaching out to me via direct messages. If they keep releasing useful features, the platform could become an industry standard for high-quality projects and freelancers.

I’ve been working through Contra for a while now and honestly it’s been a game changer. Payments are super smooth, no fees like other platforms, and I’ve met some great clients here.

What I really like is how the team actually listens, anytime I had a question or feedback, they were quick to help out. Feels like they’re building something that actually supports freelancers long-term, not just another marketplace.

I’ve been using Contra for just over two years, and it’s had a huge impact on my freelance career. The platform consistently brings in high-quality leads, helps me showcase my work, and makes running a sustainable business actually feel doable. I went from testing the waters to going freelance full time thanks to the opportunities I've found on Contra.

Without a doubt, Contra's secret sauce is their team—they genuinely advocate for freelancers and it shows. Supportive, responsive, and always building with creatives in mind.

If you’re looking for meaningful projects (and not lowball offers, sketchy clients, etc), I can’t recommend it enough.