Worldpackers vs Workaway – Key Differences and Comparison
Whether you’re looking for a profound cultural experience or to get to know the local culture while you travel, an exchange site like Worldpackers or Workaway can help you get there.
From my personal experience using Worldpackers to travel to South Korea, these volunteering platforms can help to take most of your worries out of the picture, connecting you to your dream volunteer opportunity.
But the question is – Worldpackers vs Workaway – which one should you choose?
Spoiler alert, I personally went with Worldpackers. But that doesn’t mean you have to. Here is a review of each platform so you can make your own choice as to whether Workaway or Worldpackers is better for you.
Table of Contents
- Quick Summary – Worldpackers or Workaway?
- Worldpackers vs Workaway – Features Comparison
- Which Features Best User Experience?
- Which is Cheaper?
- Which Offers More Value for Your Money?
- Which Features More Volunteering Opportunities?
- Which Has Verified Hosts?
- Which Involves Fewer Working Hours?
- Which Offers Travel Buddies?
- Which Has the Best Support Team?
- Which Pays Volunteers?
- Which Has the Best Review System?
- Which Offers Insurance?
- Verdict – Why Worldpackers Is Our Pick
- FAQs About Worldpackers vs Workaway
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Quick Summary – Worldpackers or Workaway?
Worldpackers and Workaway are two different work exchange sites for travelers with a few key differences. Although both have pros and cons, Worldpackers offers more value for money, with an active supporting community, an academy for volunteers and digital nomads, verified hosts, and an experience insurance that allows you to relocate with other hosts in case something goes wrong during your stay.
This is why I chose them for my first work exchange, as I covered in detail in my full Worldpackers review.
Enter code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout for $10 off your Worldpackers membership.
Workway is also a top platform for volunteering abroad and doing work exchanges. Workaway is a pioneer work exchange platform that was founded in 2002. It features more than 50,000 work exchange opportunities with a wide variety of NGO, social impact, and eco-projects.
It also has a policy that obliges hosts with businesses to pay a minimum wage to volunteers. This platform may be better for experienced volunteers.
Key Advantages of Worldpackers
- Affordable
- Value for money
- Active online community
- Experience insurance
- Volunteer positions in Latin America
- User-friendly and modern website
- Variety of hostel volunteer positions
- Direct chat with Worldpackers team
Key Advantages of Workaway
- Cheaper than Worldpackers
- More volunteer opportunities and places to stay in Europe
- Businesses that hire volunteers need to pay them
- No additional fees from hosts
- More farming and NGO programs
- Tool to create a reference letter
- Tool to find travel buddy
Worldpackers is best for:
- First-timers in work exchange
- People without independent travel insurance
- Travelers that would like a support community
- Latin America backpackers
- Finding opportunities in hostels
- Digital nomads starting out
Workaway is best for:
- Experienced volunteers
- Travelers looking for opportunities in Europe
- People looking for more NGO’s and permaculture projects
- Europe backpackers and digital nomads
Enter code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout for $10 off your Worldpackers membership.
Worldpackers vs Workaway – Features Comparison
Both Worldpackers and Workaway are work exchange sites that offer travelers volunteer opportunities in hostels, eco-projects, or NGOs in exchange for free accommodation.
In the following table, I will be comparing both work exchange sites in the categories of user experience, price, value for money, communication with hosts, volunteer offerings, travel safety, and supporting community.
| Feature | Worldpackers | Workaway | 🏆 Winner |
| User Experience | Intuitive and user-friendly platform with an academy for learning | User-friendly website although somewhat archaic-looking | Worldpackers |
| Price | $ | $44 annual membership for solo traveler / $56 couples or friends | Worldpackers (with discount) |
| Value for Money | Global exchange opportunities plus online community, travel academy, and insurance | Global exchange opportunities in different programs around the world | Worldpackers |
| Volunteering Opportunities | More than 140 countries | 50,000 opportunities in more than 180 countries | Workaway |
| Host Verification | Manual check and review of new hosts | Manual check and review of new hosts | Tie |
| Limit to Working Hours | 32 hours a week | 25 hours a week | Workaway |
| Find a Travel Buddy on Platform | Doesn’t sport an exact tool | Tool for solo travelers to find a travel partner inside the same platform | Workaway |
| Online Community and Support Team | Active community of experienced travelers, backpackers, and volunteers you can contact directly | Self help articles, email contact, live chat for members | Worldpackers |
| Pay to Volunteers | None | Policy for businesses in Workaway to pay their volunteers | Workaway |
| Reviews | Transparent review system designed to avoid revenge reviews | Text of negative reviews not always published, although existence of negative review is | Worldpackers |
| Includes Insurance | Yes | No | Worldpackers |
Which Features Best User Experience?
While the Workaway platform might seem simpler, Worldpackers provides is more intuitive, easy to follow and it features a more modern look.
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers
Which is Cheaper?
Both Worldpackers and Workaway work exchange sites offer single and couple annual memberships. They are priced very similarly.
The base price of the Workaway plan, which costs $44 for solo travelers and $56 for couples, is technically cheaper if you were to pay full price for both.
The Worldpackers membership costs $49 for solo trips and $59 for the couple or friends plan. BUT you can knock $10 off that if you sign up through this link and enter promo code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout.
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers … if you use this link and enter promo code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout
Which Offers More Value for Your Money?
Although Workaway offers an annual membership for a lower fee than Worldpackers, Worldpackers offers more benefits in exchange for the membership fee volunteers pay.
Volunteers that travel with Worldpackers get experience insurance that relocates a volunteer in case a trip doesn’t go as planned. Worldpackers also sports a curated list of verified hosts, a travel academy, and a support community.
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers
Which Features More Volunteering Opportunities?
While Worldpackers keeps growing, Workaway is a work exchange site that has existed since 2002, and so it has more than 50,000 volunteer options in 180 countries.
Worldpackers website offers opportunities in around 140 countries so far, although they have a bigger pool of hosts in South America. Ultimately, it depends where you want to go.
🏆 Winner: Workaway
Which Has Verified Hosts?
One of the things that makes Worldpackers shine is their curated list of hosts. All the hosts in Worldpackers are verified which increases the credibility of both the volunteer opportunity and the platform. Workaway also states that they check and review new host profiles before sign up, though the exact extent of what that entails is not entirely clear.
🏆 Winner: Tie
Which Involves Fewer Working Hours?
One of the top disadvantages of Worldpackers is the top limit of working hours. Even if the average is 20-25 hours a week, hosts on this platform can ask volunteers to work up to 32 hours a week. Workaway’s limit is lower, with a max of 25 hours per week.
🏆 Winner: Workaway
Which Offers Travel Buddies?
One of the nice features of Workaway is that you can search for another volunteer on their platform to share the experience with. Many potential volunteers hold back because they are afraid. Having the chance to find someone to volunteer with is a great opportunity to make friends and feel safer.
🏆 Winner: Workaway
Which Has the Best Support Team?
While both volunteer sites have a community of travelers, there’s no denying the Worldpackers community is more active. Not only is there communication between volunteers, but also the supporting team behind the platform is great.
You can contact other volunteers to ask questions, share experiences, contact hosts, and be a creator on the platform. In case something goes wrong with your stay, you can use the exclusive internal chat feature to let the team know about it. Each message gets answered individually.
In Workaway, you can use their contact form to communicate with the team.
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers
Which Pays Volunteers?
Recently, Workaway implemented a policy that businesses on their website hiring volunteers need to pay their volunteers a minimum wage. This is to avoid businesses from holding dishonest labor relationships with volunteers.
Up to this day, Worldpackers doesn’t have a similar policy, and some hosts might even charge an extra fee for staying with them.
🏆 Winner: Workaway
Which Has the Best Review System?
When doing a work exchange, the two most important factors are trust and honesty.
Worldpackers publishes all reviews. To avoid revenge reviews, they keep your counterpart’s review private until you’ve finished yours. Both reviews get published when both parts write one.
Workaway states that a smiley face indicating a negative rating is published on the site “but the text is kept confidential.” They state that they “do this to stop an escalation of a situation where people often want to retaliate to the opinions left.”
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers
Which Offers Insurance?
The most impressive feature of Worldpackers is its Experience Insurance at no extra cost. This insurance covers you in case something goes wrong with your host. If your experience is bad, you can message the Worldpackers team about it.
This insurance is unique to Worldpackers and it gives volunteers peace of mind. Workaway doesn’t offer insurance, but it invites travelers to buy travel medical insurance through World Nomads.
🏆 Winner: Worldpackers
Verdict – Why Worldpackers Is Our Pick
Worldpackers is a newer work exchange site, and there are still a few areas where it has yet to catch up to Workaway. But the truth is Worldpackers provides more value for the money.
With Worldpackers, you get support in a guiding community, a learning academy, and insurance that covers your work exchange. All the platform hosts are verified which means more safety during your trip and fewer negative experiences.
Enter code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout for $10 off your Worldpackers membership.
FAQs About Worldpackers vs Workaway
What is better, Workaway or Worldpackers?
Worldpackers is better for people doing work exchange for the first time, and people that want an active travel community. Workaway is better for experienced travelers and to find more work exchange options around the world.
How do I become a digital nomad with no experience?
People that want to become digital nomads without any previous experience can use platforms like Worldpackers and Workaway to volunteer abroad in exchange for free accommodation while acquiring new skills.
Which is cheaper, Workaway or Worldpackers?
If you pay full price, Workaway is cheaper than Worldpackers. Workaway’s membership costs $44 for individuals and $56 for couples, while Worldpackers costs $49 for individuals and $59 for couples. You can get $10 off Worldpackers if you go here and enter code TRAVELLEMMING, though, in which case it would be cheaper than Workaway.
What are the differences between Workaway and Worldpackers?
The major differences between Worldpackers and Workaway are the active travel community, the candid reviews, and the experience insurance of Worldpackers. The fact that businesses have to pay volunteers in Workaway is another difference, but aside from that, they’re both work exchange websites.
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I hope this Workaway vs Worldpackers comparison was helpful to you! When you’re doing a work exchange, you should choose the platform that fits your needs. Read My Full Worldpackers Review for more information.
Enjoy your work experience abroad!
Enter code TRAVELLEMMING at checkout for $10 off your Worldpackers membership.
So many issues I had with the Workaway platform during my Brazil escapade for a year, hard to count. First you need to be aware, that only volunteers pay a subscription, not the host, but still – as clients – they have less rights than hosts. If you had am extremely bad experience with a host, you can publish a review, but it will be erased to keep an ilusion of a perfect scenery. Many hosts are scammers and even after many reports, their profiles have not been taken down. Even though I paid, I cannot send out copy-paste messages to hosts more than a few, if I do, my account would be blocked for a week Like, seriously? I couldn’t use my account for days that I paid for, and when I wrote a complain, I wouldn’t receive my money back, in fact the contact with the administration is very difficult and seems authomatic, same responses all over again. I really do not recommend this website, there are much better ones, and it’s a pity I can’t even express how I feel on more reliable information sources. I feel terribly deceived and if I knew before, I would choose Worldpackers or Wooff.
Thank you very much for your advice! I’ll take him into account!
Great advice, I was in doubt witch one to choose but now I not in doubt anymore. Thanks! Sorry for your bad experience 😔