A note from the founder

I’m Jonathan. I’m building Actuallize from the EU, on my own for now, for independent people and the clients who need their help. The first focus was illustration and design; the wider ambition includes writing, development and the everyday work that keeps a business going.

Why now. Two things changed in the last two years. The big platforms raised the real cost of a freelancer’s work well past the headline number — once bid credits, subscriptions and promoted listings are counted, freelancer-facing analyses put the effective rate between 16% and 34%, and one platform’s own annual report puts its take at over 30%. And in February 2025 the largest platform closed its fee-free “bring your own client” door. At the same time, a survey of 715 freelancers found that 72% had been ghosted by a client and 71% had been paid late. (Sources are on the compare page.) People had already moved the actual work to WhatsApp and email; what they lost was any protection for the money.

The promise. Great work should happen here, and money should never be wasted on the way — not on a middleman’s margin, and not on a card fee when a bank transfer would do. Three things follow, and each one is checkable on this site. The fee is the lowest I know of: 1% on a new client, 0.5% once you have worked together — and the repeat rate from day one when you bring the client yourself. Payment costs (card, bank and payout charges, set by the payment processor — not by Actuallize) sit on their own line at cost, and nothing is ever added to the client’s number. The money is protected before work starts, and a delivery approves itself after 14 days of silence, so a quiet client cannot leave you unpaid; if there is a real dispute, a person reads both sides and rules, at no arbitration fee. And there is no pitching contest: no Connects, no bidding, and a portfolio badge that only a paid, approved delivery can earn.

What I will never do. Sell access to clients. Charge a client a separate fee. Rank people by what they pay me. Watch anyone work — no screenshots, no keystrokes, no last-seen. Ban an account without a written reason and a person to appeal to. Let AI approve work or rule a dispute. Put a number, a logo or a review on this site that is not real.

What we don’t have yet. This is early and small. There is no SOC 2 report, no separate support desk, no two-factor sign-in. The Terms do not yet name a country of registration, because counsel review is still under way. The first people here are illustrators and designers I asked to join, and the clients they brought. Every money mechanism in this note is built and exercised end to end; live card payments are not switched on yet, and we will say so in the changelog the day they are. I am not going to pretend it is bigger than it is — the honest list is on the trust page, and it gets shorter in the changelog, never quietly.

How to reach me. Email hello@actuallize.com. I read it and I reply. If your account is ever restricted, the same address is where you appeal, and you will hear back from a person within 3 working days.

If you are an illustrator with a client you would rather keep, start with your invite link. If you are hiring one, post a brief.

— Jonathan