What: Zintro plays matchmaker between consultants and companies needing relevant expertise.

Expected pay: varies

Husl$core: $$$$

Commissions & fees: N/A (paid by employer)

Where: Nationwide

Requirements: 18 or older, pass a screening process

Review:

Zintro plays matchmaker between consultants and companies with relevant needs. Consultants list their services on the site, stating their expertise and experience. The site will email you when it has a project that fits your skills, noting what the project entails and what it pays.

Consultants are encouraged to provide specifics — the type of software/tools you have experience with; the niches where you have deep knowledge. That allows the site to better match consultants to clients. Consultants are also expected to review and understand rules pertaining to consulting-specific conflicts of interest.

The site used to work as a recruiter, collecting 15% commissions from freelancers. It has since changed its business model and now only takes fees from hiring companies.

Freelancers also no longer have the ability to set their own rates here. However, a site spokesman says 90% of Zintro’s consulting jobs pay between $150 and $300 per hour. 

Fees and compensation

The main complaints we see involve the time it takes for Zintro to pay its consultants. Although the site says pay will be remitted within two weeks of completing an assignment, some complain that payment took far longer. A site spokesman says this may be because the freelancers failed to upload a W-9 form, which is required before Zintro can remit payment.

Notably, if you want Zintro to promote your profile, you also have the option of paying a $250 annual fee. This is a rarely used feature, according to Zintro. It’s also not something we’d recommend, given that most consultants appear to get only occasional work from this site.

Recommendations:

Zintro is one of many online platforms that will allow you to find consulting work. None of them demand exclusivity. And since consulting is sporadic work, we’d suggest that you register with multiple networks to boost your chance of finding a gig. Others to consider include Maven, Gerson Lehrman, as well as related job sites for professionals, such as FreeUp, FlexProfessionals and OnwardSearch.

What their users say: (from Quora)

I have had 3 opportunities through Zintro. But I was only paid for one of them and bid on 10 – 20 times that number. The issue for me is you send off your proposal and never hear anything back. It would be good to get feedback. I get much more work through PeoplePerHour and Upwork.

Registered as an expert on Zintro for a long time. I usually receive a couple email  matches according to my work profile every week. I had applied for a phone consulting opportunity for a client and assisted them with their query and made some $$. If you have right skills, it could be a win win situation for both you and the client. However, do not consider this as a source of regular income.

From Glassdoor

Zintro contacts me a few times each month to schedule calls with their clients. The calls are pretty easy and the clients respect my time. Each hourly call pays ~$250.  But they don’t pay out on the same day, I have to wait 7-10 days typically.

A flexible company that pairs experts and consultants with consulting work. They are easy to work with and pay well. My only frustration is the time it takes to get paid once you finish your consulting call or engagement.

*Updated 1/12/2021