Malt
Paris freelance marketplace that bills clients through a plan-based service fee
Quick Overview
| Company | Malt Community SA |
|---|---|
| Category | Freelance Platforms |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Founded | Not stated |
| EU Presence | Yes - France (EU) |
| Data Location | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Open Source | No |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Self-Hosting | No |
| Main Features | Freelancer profiles, client plans (Starter, Advanced, Enterprise), invoicing through Malt, payment advance, mission protection, business referral programme, Malt Start offer |
| Pricing | Client service fee as a percentage of the freelancer invoice depending on plan and country; see Malt help centre |
| Best For | European companies hiring freelancers in France, Spain, Belgium, Germany and the UK who want Malt to handle billing |
| Replaces | Upwork, Toptal |
Detailed Review
Malt is one of the larger European marketplaces, listed on country sites such as malt.fr, malt.de and malt.com. Search results from its own help centre and legal pages name Malt Community SA, registered in Paris, as the legal entity.
Malt's own pages sit behind a bot check, so this entry relies on excerpts of its help centre and legal pages and states only what those excerpts say.
Plans on the Client Side
According to the help centre, clients choose between Starter, Advanced and Enterprise. Starter and Advanced are priced as a percentage of the freelancer pre-tax invoice, with different rates per country, and clients receive separate invoices for the freelancer work and for the Malt service fee.
Malt states that freelancers pay no fees directly, though a second help article describes a freelancer commission that falls over time, so read the quote page before accepting.
What the Fee Covers
Malt says its fees fund platform tools, account management on higher plans, a cash advance so freelancers are paid quickly, and mission protection of up to EUR 20 million.
A business referral programme pays freelancers 5% of the invoiced amount for 12 months on projects they pass on, subject to a minimum budget.
Several Country Sites
The marketplace runs separate sites per country and language, which helps when you hire across borders but means the fee table you see depends on where your account is registered.
Our review could not verify member counts or category breadth from the pages that loaded, so none are stated here.
Limitations to Consider
This review rests on search excerpts from Malt help pages because the site blocked direct fetching, so category depth, member numbers and current rates could not be confirmed. Fee statements in different help articles disagree on the freelancer side, so compare the quote page. Client fees vary by plan and country, which makes budgeting across markets awkward.
Who Should Use Malt
Companies in continental Europe and the UK that want one invoicing relationship and protection cover when they hire independent professionals.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Pan-European marketplace with country sites
- Malt invoices the work and the fee separately
- Payment advance for freelancers
- Mission protection stated up to EUR 20 million
- French legal entity in the Paris register
Cons
- Fee depends on plan and country
- Freelancer fee wording differs between help articles
- Not fully verifiable through automated fetching
- Fewer niche specialists than topic-specific platforms
Alternatives to Malt
Other European freelance platforms worth comparing before you decide:
Codeable
Denmark · Vetted WordPress developers with one estimate and a fixed fee
Kolabtree
United Kingdom · Freelance scientists, statisticians and medical writers on demand
freelancermap
Germany · IT project board with no commission and a free profile
YunoJuno
United Kingdom · Contractor management with a vetted creative and tech talent pool
See all European freelance platforms or compare them directly against Upwork on our alternatives page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Search excerpts of Malt legal pages name Malt Community SA, registered in the Paris commercial register.
Clients pay a service fee set by plan and country as a percentage of the freelancer invoice; freelancer-side statements vary by help article.
Malt describes mission protection of up to EUR 20 million as part of what the fees cover.