Compare freelancer proposals and choose who to hire
A side-by-side comparison of freelancer proposals with red flags, hidden costs, call questions, and ready-to-send replies.
The prompt
Help me compare proposals from freelancers and choose the right one. This is step 2 of the 'Hire and work with a freelancer' pack; paste the project brief from step 1 if you have it.
Project summary: [SUMMARY, or paste step 1]
What matters most, in order: [quality, cost, speed, communication, relevant experience]
Proposals: [PASTE each proposal or a summary: label, price, timeline, approach, samples, reviews]
Step 1 output (optional): [PASTE]
Work through:
1. A comparison table: price, pricing model, timeline, what's included, what's missing compared with my brief, relevant experience, communication quality.
2. Red flags in each (e.g. no relevant samples, vague scope, a price far below the others, full payment upfront, pressure to move off a platform's payment protection).
3. What each quote probably excludes that could cost more later (extra revisions, rush fees, licensing, hosting).
4. A shortlist of 2, with 4-5 questions to ask each on a short call.
5. A small paid test task if the choice is close.
6. A recommendation with reasoning.
Then draft a short message to the chosen freelancer to move forward, and a polite decline for the others. Base everything on what the proposals actually say; mark anything unclear as [ASK].
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore HR & Hiring prompts
What to fill in
- SUMMARY, or paste step 1
- quality, cost, speed, communication, relevant experience
- PASTE
- ASK
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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