Useme vs. Ruul – choose your financial service

Useme vs. Ruul – similarities

First, read our list of similarities and benefits you’ll draw from both platforms.

International freelancing made easy

Doing business with foreign clients is often tricky and stressful. Two countries may have different currencies, tax liabilities, or types of contracts. Instead of focusing on the actual job, many freelancers spend time figuring out how to document their deals and legally get payment from overseas customers.

With a platform for freelancers, this worry evaporates. You can sell your work to local or foreign businesses and individuals – both Useme and Ruul facilitate deals with clients, no matter what country they live in.

Copyright transfer

To let your client use (i.e., copy, distribute, adapt, display, perform creative work) your unique or original work legally, you have to transfer economic rights granted by copyright. It’s a widely used procedure among freelancers from many fields. Ruul and Useme let freelancers pass on copyright within the invoicing process.

Copyright transfer through Useme happens automatically. In one step of the invoicing process, you’ll be asked to choose a copyright transfer option between the license, full ownership transfer, or no copyright transfer. The tooltip hidden under the i letter explains the provided copyright transfer options. The whole invoicing process is smooth and intuitive.

To transfer copyright through Ruul’s invoicing tool, you need to fill in a service agreement. After starting the invoicing process, the platform generates a digital document and lets you choose your type of copyright transfer in the Intellectual Property section of the contract.

Online invoice generator

You don’t have to use separate invoicing tools to create transaction documents. Professional invoices are generated automatically when you settle a deal through Useme or Ruul. All you have to do is fill in your and your client’s details.

No withholding tax

The amount stated on the invoice generated on Useme or Ruul doesn’t include any income tax. It’s up to the freelancer how and in what country they handle their tax obligations.

Automated VAT calculations

Useme and Ruul enable you to issue a VAT invoice, so the document includes VAT paid by the client in their country. When you type in your invoice amount, VAT is automatically calculated and added – you don’t have to worry about it.

Online contracts

All steps of the invoicing process happen online. Freelancers and their clients don’t sign, print, or send any physical contract. It’s possible and completely legal, based on the terms and conditions of Useme and Ruul.

Useme vs. Ruul – global coverage

Useme and Ruul let you invoice clients from around the world, which means they’re accessible worldwide. Both operate globally in 190 countries. They’re exclusive cross-border platforms for freelancers from any field and part of the world.

Identity verification

To send an invoice via Ruul, first, you need to set up an account and have it verified. The verification includes the KYC (Know Your Customer) process, which requires you to upload your identification document.

On Useme, you can start with filling in the invoicing form  and then proceed to account set-up and identity verification with your ID. Alternatively, you can first create an account and verify your identity in settings, and then invoice a client without any extra steps.

What’s the difference between Useme and Ruul?

The big question is who wins your freelance battle – Useme vs. Ruul. Which platform will cater to your needs and let you cash out your skills more? Let’s compare them and get you a reliable companion for your freelance journey.

Reviews – Useme vs. Ruul

Social proof is reflected by the number of committed users, but more importantly – by testimonials, they share to guide other freelancers. Ruul’s 300+ reviews add up to a rating of 4.7 stars on Trustpilot, whereas Useme scored 4.6 Trustpilot stars with an impressive number of more than 900 reviews.

Freelancer community in Ruul and Useme

No one will give you a better hint than your fellow professionals. Where to look for those hints? Compare the number of freelancers that used each platform. Ruul declares more than 75k freelance users, while Useme has inspired the trust of almost 170k freelancers! One of the reasons for such popularity is its firm position on the market – the platform has been pushing freelance careers forward for a decade.

Ruul vs. Useme – Payment methods

When it comes to international clients, a chosen payment method impacts the overall cost of the transaction. They’re born not only by the client (because they pay for work) but also by the freelancer (because of the currency exchange and service fee). With two different currencies, online payments from one traditional bank account to another will usually be the least profitable option. Luckily, both platforms offer other solutions as well.

Ruul offers financial transactions to a bank, PayPal, or Binance account. Useme lets you receive payments via traditional bank transfers or choose between three handy alternatives: PayPal, Wise, and Payoneer. If you’re looking for a service for freelancers with competitive pricing, consider Wise. They use a mid-market exchange rate without any markups and tiny conversion fees. They’re particularly transparent about their commissions and payment processing fees.

PayPal, however, provides you with an e-wallet used by freelancers who prefer having a separate space for their freelancing money. You can use it as a payment gateway in many online stores without transferring the money from PayPal to your bank account.

Payment collection time

The overall time from initiating a settlement through the platform to payment collection differs from case to case. It depends on how fast your client reacts, what payment method you choose, or how long banks process the payment.

Useme declares that 80% of withdrawals pump up freelancers’ wallets in 24 hours, no matter the currency. Fast and easy payment collection is crucial for smooth financial management. On Ruul, payouts come to freelancers’ wallets within 24 hours for their local currency, up to 3 days for foreign currencies, or instantly for cryptocurrencies.

Customer support

Newbies sometimes might feel intimidated by financial services for freelancers, but they’re never left behind! Both platforms offer customer service that helps freelancers settle their first deal and generate an invoice without a company.

Useme and Ruul have three ways of contacting a designated specialist: a contact form, helpline, and chat. You’ll find them on the Contact pages, listed in the footers. Moreover, they provide exhaustive repositories of the most common user issues, called Help Center in Useme and Support in Ruul.

Useme also informs you when you can reach them by phone and when they write back for messages. A professional and considerate team answers all questions as soon as possible from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (UTC+2). Reliability and proactivity of the customer service in Useme are also reflected in Trustpilot reviews.

Service fees

Both platforms offer a free account for freelancers – there’s no setup fee and no monthly subscription costs. A service fee applies to each transaction, i.e., each deal settled through the platform.

Ruul offers relatively low rates, but only if both parties live in the US and the payment’s currency is USD – then 2.75% of the invoice amount is deducted. However, any other country or currency implies a much bigger cut. For example, a transaction in euros between a client from Serbia and a freelancer from Spain will cost one of them 5% of the invoice amount.

On Useme, you don’t need to do the math every time you change the client. The flat service fee is always 4.99% or 0%. When your service fees hit a total of $99 in a month, that’s it – you’ll send each subsequent invoice with zero service fee until the end of that month. To check your payout, use our calculator – there are no hidden fees.

Useme for ambitious freelancers – extra features

Services offered by Useme and Ruul overlap to some extent. They both come in handy when it comes to invoicing without a company. However, Useme stands out as an all-in-one platform, providing far more functionalities and possibilities for career growth.

Marketplace

Imagine having access to thousands of job offers from clients who look for freelancers with your skills and interests. Moreover, you’ll invoice these clients without any red tape, no matter what country they’re from, and expand your online freelance business…

It’s possible with Useme Marketplace! Thanks to that, Useme is a mix of invoicing tools, such as Ruul, and marketplaces for freelancers, such as Fiverr. You can have the best of both worlds and settle deals with your current clients or find new ones. Just pick a job you find attractive, send an offer to the client, and wait for their move. For excellent client management, contact them through our messaging tool.

Escrow service

Have you ever worried about your payout? Collaboration with a new client can be stressful at the beginning – it’s totally understandable! Trust is built with time.

However, Useme lets you secure your money and work – your client won’t get work files until they deposit the money into Useme. Then, the platform holds it in escrow until you upload the files and the client accepts them. As you can see – Useme protects both sides of financial transactions. 

Demo

You don’t have to set up an account to try out Useme. You don’t even have to have a client or a job to do! Go through the invoicing process in Useme demo mode and play with functionalities offered to users without any consequences. It’s completely free and safe. Check how it works before deciding about Useme account.

And the winner is… Useme!

It’s easy to see the advantages of our intuitive, modern, comprehensive, and user-friendly platform. You can use it to settle a one-time deal or for a long-term collaboration. Features that solopreneurs appreciate the most and mention in their reviews most often include:

• Extremely easy and quick invoicing – you’ll send an invoice in minutes, and we’ll open your account automatically. All you need is your client’s details and email.
• Fast payment processing and convenient payment methods – 80% of payments reach the freelancer’s account within 24 hours. They can choose between a bank account, Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer.
• Helpful and effective customer service – our Customer Success team answers most questions within 24 hours.

But don’t take our word for it. Play with our demo and see how easy it is to freelance with Useme – no strings attached!