These Terms govern your use of Fastest Freelancers, a United States-only marketplace connecting Clients and Freelancers. They explain how engagements, payments, and Escrow work, how disputes are resolved through AI Mediation, and the legal terms that apply to everyone on the Platform. Please read them carefully.
No. The tiered Processing Fee is non-refundable, even if a project is later cancelled or a dispute is resolved in your favor. Only the funds held in Escrow for the work itself remain refundable — the fee covers payment-processing and platform costs already incurred.
The Processing Fee is non-refundable, including where a Project is later cancelled, a milestone is refunded, or a dispute is resolved in the Client’s favor — it covers payment-processing and platform-administration costs already incurred.
Through the Resolution Center using a hybrid AI Mediation process backed by human review. After a direct-resolution attempt, either party can open a dispute, submit evidence in a structured dispute chat, and receive an AI-mediated recommendation. If either party disagrees, they can escalate it to a human Fastest Freelancers Support reviewer, whose decision governs how the disputed Escrow is released.
Disagreements between a Client and a Freelancer about scope, quality, delivery, cancellation, or release of Escrow are handled through the Platform’s Resolution Center using a hybrid AI Mediation process backed by human review.
Unless you and the freelancer agree otherwise in writing, ownership of the deliverables transfers to the Client once the applicable milestone or contest award is paid in full. Until then, the freelancer retains ownership.
ownership of deliverables transfers to the Client upon full payment for the applicable milestone or Contest award, and until then the Freelancer retains ownership.
Yes. Fastest Freelancers is a United States-only marketplace, and you must be at least 18 years old. You must reside and operate in the U.S. and provide or receive services from within the U.S.
Fastest Freelancers is a United States-only marketplace: you represent that you are a U.S. resident or a business entity organized under the laws of a U.S. state, that you reside and operate in the United States, and that you will provide or receive services from within the United States.
No. Freelancers are independent contractors — not employees, partners, or agents of the client or of Fastest Freelancers. They control how they do their work and are responsible for their own taxes and expenses.
Freelancers are independent contractors of their Clients, not employees, partners, agents, or joint venturers of either the Client or Fastest Freelancers.
Any unspent Escrow for the affected milestone is refunded to your Platform Wallet (funds already earned for approved work are released to the freelancer). The Processing Fee is not refunded. If the freelancer contests the cancellation, it goes to AI Mediation.
When a Project is cancelled by agreement or by a dispute outcome, unspent Escrow for the affected milestone(s) is refunded to the Client’s Wallet.
These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) form a legally binding agreement between you and Fastest Freelancers, Inc. (“Fastest Freelancers,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) governing your access to and use of the Fastest Freelancers website, applications, and related services (collectively, the “Platform”). By creating an account, posting a project, submitting a proposal, funding a wallet, or otherwise using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Platform. Fastest Freelancers is a United States-only marketplace: you represent that you are a U.S. resident or a business entity organized under the laws of a U.S. state, that you reside and operate in the United States, and that you will provide or receive services from within the United States. If you are using the Platform on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity, and “you” refers to that entity.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Platform.
Fastest Freelancers provides a marketplace and set of tools that allow Clients and Freelancers to find one another, agree on scope, exchange messages, transfer funds, and resolve disputes. The contract for services is directly between the Client and the Freelancer. We are not a party to that contract, are not an employer, employment agency, staffing agency, or general contractor, and do not supervise, direct, or control the work.
We do not guarantee the quality, safety, legality, or timeliness of any service, the accuracy of any listing or profile, or the ability of any Client to pay or any Freelancer to perform. Except for our role in AI Mediation and escrow administration described below, any dispute about the work itself is between the Client and the Freelancer.
You must register for an account to use most features. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it up to date. To fund a Wallet or receive payouts, you (or your payment processor) may be required to complete identity verification (“KYC”) and provide tax information.
Freelancers are independent contractors of their Clients, not employees, partners, agents, or joint venturers of either the Client or Fastest Freelancers. Nothing on the Platform creates an employment, agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship between you and Fastest Freelancers.
Posting and accepting work
Clients are responsible for accurately describing the scope, deliverables, timeline, budget, and acceptance criteria of each Project or Contest. Freelancers are responsible for reviewing scope before accepting and for communicating clearly about progress, changes, and delays. When a Client and Freelancer agree on a Project (or a Client awards a Contest), a direct contract is formed between them on the agreed terms, subject to these Terms.
Milestones and delivery
Projects may be structured into milestones. Client funds for a milestone are held in Escrow when the milestone is funded and are released to the Freelancer upon Client approval, automatic approval after any stated review window, or a dispute outcome. Freelancers should not begin work on a milestone until it is funded.
Contests
For Contests, the Client funds the prize when the Contest is posted. Freelancers submit entries subject to the Contest rules. The Client selects the winning entry within the stated period; if no eligible entry is selected within the applicable window, the funds are handled per the Contest rules and, where applicable, the cancellation and dispute provisions below.
No circumvention
To protect Escrow, dispute protection, and the integrity of the marketplace, Clients and Freelancers who meet through the Platform agree to transact through the Platform for the engagement and for a period of twelve (12) months afterward, and not to solicit or arrange off-Platform payment to avoid fees. Circumvention is a material breach of these Terms.
Payments, Wallet funding, Escrow, and payouts are processed by our third-party payment processor (currently Stripe). By transacting on the Platform, you also agree to the payment processor’s terms. You authorize us and our processor to charge your selected payment method and to move funds into and out of Escrow and Wallets as described here.
Processing Fee (non-refundable)
We charge a tiered Processing Fee to fund and administer each transaction. The applicable fee is disclosed to you at the time you fund a Project, Contest, or Wallet. The Processing Fee is non-refundable, including where a Project is later cancelled, a milestone is refunded, or a dispute is resolved in the Client’s favor — it covers payment-processing and platform-administration costs already incurred. Amounts held in Escrow for the work itself remain refundable as described below; only the Processing Fee is non-refundable.
Payouts
Freelancer earnings become available for withdrawal to a connected payout method after the applicable release or clearing period. You are responsible for providing valid payout and tax details; payouts may be delayed or held where verification is incomplete, where fraud is suspected, or as required by law.
Chargebacks and reversals
Initiating a chargeback instead of using the Platform’s dispute process may result in account suspension. You are responsible for chargebacks, reversals, and related fees attributable to your payment methods, and you authorize us to recover such amounts from your Wallet or other balances.
A Client may request to cancel a Project, and a Freelancer may agree to or contest a cancellation. When a Project is cancelled by agreement or by a dispute outcome, unspent Escrow for the affected milestone(s) is refunded to the Client’s Wallet. Funds already earned for approved work are released to the Freelancer.
The Processing Fee is not refunded on cancellation or refund (see Section 7). Refunds are issued to your Platform Wallet by default; withdrawals from the Wallet to an external account follow the normal payout process. If a Freelancer contests a cancellation, the matter proceeds to AI Mediation and, if necessary, human review under Section 11.
You are solely responsible for determining, collecting, reporting, and remitting all taxes associated with your use of the Platform and your earnings or purchases. Fastest Freelancers does not provide tax advice.
Clients and Freelancers may leave reviews and ratings after an engagement. Reviews must be honest, based on a genuine transaction, and free of unlawful, harassing, or deceptive content. You may not offer or accept anything of value in exchange for a review, post fake or retaliatory reviews, or manipulate ratings.
You grant Fastest Freelancers a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to host, display, and distribute your reviews and feedback in connection with operating and promoting the Platform. We may remove content that violates these Terms but are not obligated to monitor or verify reviews.
Disagreements between a Client and a Freelancer about scope, quality, delivery, cancellation, or release of Escrow are handled through the Platform’s Resolution Center using a hybrid AI Mediation process backed by human review. This process is designed to reach a fair, fast, and documented outcome and to determine how Escrow is released. It applies only to disputes between users about an engagement; disputes between you and Fastest Freelancers itself are governed by Section 19.
1. Direct resolution first
Before opening a formal dispute, the Client and Freelancer should attempt to resolve the issue directly through Platform messaging. Many issues are resolved by clarifying scope, revising a deliverable, or agreeing on a partial release.
2. Opening a dispute
Either party may open a dispute from the Resolution Center on a funded engagement. A dispute may generally be opened once a milestone or contest is funded and until the applicable review window closes. The party opening the dispute describes the issue and the outcome they seek (for example, full release, partial release, revision, or refund). While a dispute is open, the disputed Escrow is frozen and cannot be withdrawn by either party.
3. Evidence and dispute chat
Both parties are invited into a structured dispute chat and given a fair, equal opportunity to submit their position and evidence — messages, files, deliverables, the agreed scope, and Platform activity. The AI mediator may ask clarifying questions of either party. You agree to participate in good faith and to submit evidence honestly; fabricated or misleading evidence is a material breach.
4. How AI Mediation works
Our AI mediator reviews the agreed scope, the deliverables, the parties’ statements and evidence, and relevant Platform records, and proposes a resolution — for example, full or partial release of Escrow, a refund to the Client, or a revision-and-resubmit path. The AI mediator applies neutral criteria: what was agreed, what was delivered, and what a reasonable outcome is under these Terms. Its recommendation is presented to both parties with a plain-language explanation.
5. Acceptance, escalation & human review
If both parties accept the AI mediator’s recommendation, Escrow is released accordingly and the dispute is closed. If either party disagrees, they may escalate the dispute to Fastest Freelancers Support review, where a human reviewer re-examines the record — informed, but not bound, by the AI recommendation — and issues a decision on how to release Escrow. Escalation may be subject to a disclosed dispute-handling fee, which may be allocated to the non-prevailing party at the reviewer’s discretion. We may set reasonable time limits for each stage; if a party fails to respond within a stated window, the dispute may be decided based on the available record.
6. Effect of a decision
The Platform’s dispute outcome (whether by mutual acceptance of the AI recommendation or by human review on escalation) governs how the disputed Escrow is released and is final and binding for purposes of that release. The Processing Fee remains non-refundable regardless of outcome. A dispute outcome resolves the allocation of Escrow only; it does not adjudicate claims outside the Platform, and it does not limit either party’s separate legal rights against the other, which remain between those parties.
7. Good faith and abuse
Repeatedly opening bad-faith disputes, refusing to participate, attempting to move a funded engagement off-Platform to avoid dispute protection, or initiating a chargeback in lieu of the dispute process may result in an adverse dispute outcome, forfeiture, and account suspension.
You agree not to, and not to help anyone else:
We may investigate and take action — including content removal, warnings, feature limits, Escrow holds, suspension, or termination — for suspected violations. You may report violations or trust-and-safety concerns through the in-Platform report tools or at support@fastestfreelancers.com.
Work product between Client and Freelancer
Unless the Client and Freelancer agree otherwise in writing, ownership of deliverables transfers to the Client upon full payment for the applicable milestone or Contest award, and until then the Freelancer retains ownership. Freelancers represent that their deliverables are original or properly licensed and do not infringe third-party rights. Pre-existing materials and general tools, know-how, and techniques remain the Freelancer’s property, subject to a license sufficient for the Client to use the deliverable as intended.
Your license to us
You grant Fastest Freelancers a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and transmit the content you submit (profiles, listings, messages, deliverables submitted through the Platform, and reviews) as necessary to operate, secure, improve, and promote the Platform and to administer Escrow and disputes.
Our intellectual property
The Platform, including its software, design, trademarks, and content we provide, is owned by Fastest Freelancers or its licensors and is protected by law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to use the Platform for its intended purpose. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
Copyright complaints
We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Send notices to legal@fastestfreelancers.com with the information the DMCA requires. We may remove infringing content and terminate repeat infringers.
Clients and Freelancers may exchange confidential information during an engagement. Each party agrees to use the other’s confidential information only to perform the engagement, to protect it with reasonable care, and not to disclose it except as necessary to perform the work or as required by law. This does not restrict information that is public, independently developed, or rightfully received from another source.
The Platform relies on third-party services, including payment processing (Stripe) and communications providers. Your use of those services is subject to their terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for third-party services, and their availability or terms may change. Links to third-party sites are provided for convenience and are not endorsements.
THE PLATFORM AND ALL CONTENT AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT ANY CLIENT OR FREELANCER WILL PERFORM. AI MEDIATION OUTPUTS ARE AUTOMATED, MAY CONTAIN ERRORS, AND ARE NOT LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME OF THESE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FASTEST FREELANCERS AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PLATFORM OR THESE TERMS, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE PLATFORM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID TO FASTEST FREELANCERS IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THESE LIMITS DO NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Fastest Freelancers and its affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Platform; (b) your Projects, Contests, proposals, deliverables, or content; (c) your engagement or dispute with another user; (d) your violation of these Terms or applicable law; or (e) your violation of any third-party right.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and by applicable U.S. federal law, including the Federal Arbitration Act.
Informal resolution. Before starting arbitration, you agree to contact us at legal@fastestfreelancers.com and give us 30 days to resolve the dispute informally.
Binding arbitration. Except for the matters below, any dispute between you and Fastest Freelancers relating to the Platform or these Terms will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration administered by a recognized arbitration provider under its consumer rules, seated in the United States. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Class-action waiver. You and Fastest Freelancers agree to bring claims only in an individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding.
Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court for intellectual-property misuse or unauthorized access. This arbitration agreement does not govern user-to-user AI Mediation under Section 11, which is a separate Platform process.
Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing legal@fastestfreelancers.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.
You may stop using the Platform and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access — with or without notice — for any violation of these Terms, suspected fraud or illegal activity, risk to the Platform or other users, or as required by law.
On termination, funded engagements and open disputes will be handled to conclusion where practicable: Escrow is released per the applicable milestone, cancellation, or dispute outcome, and available balances are made payable subject to verification and legal holds. Sections that by their nature should survive — including fees owed, IP licenses, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute provisions — survive termination.
We may modify the Platform and these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice (for example, by posting the updated Terms with a new “Last updated” date or by email). Changes are effective when posted unless stated otherwise. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform.