These top 6 marketspaces viz. Guru.com, Elance.com, LimeExchange.com, Rentacoder.com, Getafreelancer.com and oDesk.com, together capture about 90% marketshare (based on the revenues reported by them), the rest being taken by smaller sites (scriptlance etc) and niche / skill specific sites (Joomlance, 99designs etc).

For ease of comprehension, I have tabulated the features offered by these top 6. I will build up on this review in another post by writing about how to enter a freelance marketspace as a newbie.

	Guru	Elance	LimeExchange	Rentacoder	Getafreelancer	oDesk
Rank	1	2	3	4	5	6
Membership	- Basic (Free)- 2 levels of paid	- Basic (Free) - 3 levels of paid	- Basic (Free) - 3 levels of paid	Free	- Basic (Free) - 1 level of paid	- Basic (Free) - 1 level of paid
Profile	Overview, Resume, Skills, Education, Experience, References, Photos, Videos, Portfolio	Overview, Resume, Skills, Education, Experience, References, Photos, Videos, Portfolio	Overview, Resume, Skills, Education, Experience, References, Photos, Videos, Portfolio	Resume, Skills (2 fields only)	Overview, Skills	Overview, Resume, Skills, Education, Experience, References, Photos, Videos, Portfolio
Project Fee	Fixed	Fixed	Fixed	- Fixed - Hourly	Fixed	- Fixed - Hourly
Skill Testing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Project Types	- Open- Invite Only - Guru Vendors only (highest paid plan) - Geographical Region specific (others can bid though)	- Open - Invite only - Select Providers (highest paid plan)	- Open - Invite only - Vantage Members (highest paid plan)	- Open - Invite only - Geographical Region specific (others can’t bid)	- Open - Invite only - Gold Members (highest paid plan)	- Fixed - Hourly
View Buyer History	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HTML in bid proposal	Limited tags	Limited tags	No	Yes	No	No
PMB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bid Limit / month	- 10 (Basic) - 100 (paid)	- 3 (Basic) - 20 to 60 for paid members	- 10 (Basic) - 100 (paid)	Unlimited	Unlimited	2 to 20 per week
Payment Mode	- Invoice - Escrow	- Invoice - Escrow	Escrow Only	Escrow Only	- Invoice - Escrow	- Invoice - Escrow
Fee Calculator (Gross & Net Fee)	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Commission	- 5% on invoice - 7% in escrow	6.75% to 8.75%	4% to 8%	15%	- $5 / 10%  (whatever is higher) - 0% (Gold)	10%
Project Agreement (with milestones)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Bidders Visible	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Average Bid Amount Visible	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Minimum Bid	$25	$30	No minimum	No minimum	No minimum	No minimum
Arbitration	Only escrow	Only escrow		Yes	No	For Hourly Projects Only
Payment Withdrawl Options	- Check - Bank Transfer - Paypal - Payoneer	- Check - Wire Transfer - Paypal - Payoneer - ACH	- Check - Wire Transfer - Paypal - Payoneer - Moneybookers	- Check - Wire Transfer - Paypal - Moneybookers	- Wire Transfer - Paypal - Payoneer - Moneybookers	- ACH - Wire Transfer - Paypal - Payoneer - Moneybookers
Unique Features	- Simple interface - Package deals - Proposal templates - Work Room	- Pioneer -Keywords for search results depends on  member type	- Coupon codes for hosting etc from Limedomains - Payment from other sites considered for ranking	- Thorough buyer verification		Desktop App to log hours worked

I would love to hear what you think about these sites and ofcourse this comparison.