Usually, if people are familiar with the idea of volunteering through work exchanges, it’s probably because they know about Workaway.
It makes sense, it is the biggest and most well-known site for travel volunteering. Unfortunately, most don’t know that there are other websites like Workaway.
They are great sites similar to Workaway, but smaller and less known. Trust me, they are still worth checking out.
Today we’ll go over 7 incredible sites like Workaway that you should consider using.
What Is Workaway?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If you don’t know what Workaway is, let’s quickly go over it.
Workaway is the biggest and most well-known work exchange site, with over 50k volunteer opportunities all around the world.
This online volunteering platform connects communities, hostels, families, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), etc. with travelers.
In exchange for helping out, travelers are provided with free food and accommodation.
You can find seriously amazing opportunities all around the world – everything from farm stays, house sitting, language exchanges, child care, environmental projects, and so much more!
Workaway is a great platform for finding lots of different types of opportunities all in one place.
That’s why it’s perfect for those just starting to do work exchanges since it gives a wide variety to choose from.
Check out my whole page on Workaway that answers common questions and links to all of my Workaway articles.
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links that will cost you nothing extra but offer me a little commission for any purchases made. These commissions help me continue to offer helpful tips. Thank you so much for your support.
Summary Of Websites Like Workaway
This is a lengthy guide, so if you don’t have the time to read each section in detail, here is a summary! Click on the links to jump ahead to the section.
Worldpackers – the best & highly recommended alternative to Workaway
TrustedHousesitters – great for those who love animals & don’t want physically demanding work exchanges
HelpStay – great for those who want lots of different support channels & to be part of a smaller work exchange community
WWOOF – good for those who only want to do farm stays and plan to slow travel in only 1 country
HelpX – good for those on a budget – $24 for 2 years of membership
Volunteers Base – good for experienced travelers that don’t need any extra frills and are watching their budget
Top 2 Recommendations For Websites Like Workaway
If you’re wanting the best websites similar to Workaway, my top two suggestions are Worldpackers and Trustedhousesitters.
They both shine above the rest based on things like how usable the website is, the support offered, safety, extra perks, etc.
Worldpackers
Founded in Brazil in 2014, Worldpackers was created to help travelers have transformative experiences, develop new skills, and make a positive impact.
Being in South America, they used to be focused on opportunities there, but they have grown to the point where they have volunteer gigs all over the world now.
Here are some things that Worldpackers do well.
Like Workaway, they don’t have a specific specialty, which means they have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities to choose from
You can browse opportunities without paying or needing to make an account. It’s nice to see what it’s like before committing to a membership.
Hosts are manually vetted and verified by the Worldpackers team. They have to complete the verification before being able to message travelers or post any opportunities.
Their website is beautiful, well-organized, and easy to use. They also have a convenient mobile app to use on the go.
Worldpackers insurance – a huge selling point for me. Basically, in case the host does not abide by what was previously agreed upon.
If this happens, Worldpackers will help you find another host nearby.
If they cannot relocate you, Worldpackers will pay up to 3 nights of accommodation in a shared room in a hostel in the same city/area.
This is something that no other work exchange site does!
It gives peace of mind to everyone, but especially to those who haven’t traveled or are new to volunteering through work exchanges.
The 24/7 support is quick to respond and attentive – which is essential since they offer insurance!
There are also a few different channels to contact them on.
Safety is a big priority, especially since around 60% of those using Worldpackers are solo female travelers.
Since they provide excellent support, Worldpackers insurance, manual verification of every host, giving official agreements between the host and volunteer, and more – it’s easy to see that they take safety seriously.
The main negative that comes up with Worldpackers is that it is a little more expensive than other work exchanges.
For one year, the solo plan is $49 and the couples/friends plan is $59. Honestly, you get what you pay for though.
If you are looking for a site that offers great safety and insurance, ways to make extra income online, and even a learning platform, then I think it’s worth the price.
If you want to know more about the incredible perks that Worldpackers offers, check out my article about how Worldpackers is the ultimate Workaway alternative!
Fortunately, since I’ve partnered with Worldpackers, I can offer my audience (you) a great discount.
$10 off your yearly membership or you can also use my code ‘MAPTREKKING’ to get the discount.
This costs you nothing extra but it means that Worldpackers offers me a small commission for any sign-ups.
Not only does this income help me continue to create helpful content for you, but you get a nice discount.
Trustedhousesitters
As I’m sure you can tell from the name, the main point of the site is to find trustworthy house sitting opportunities.
Though it’s not traditionally similar to Workaway, Trustedhousesitters is an online platform where you help out in exchange for free accommodation.
Usually, you’ll be helping take care of pets and watching over a home while the owners are away.
Since pets are the main focus here, it’s essential that you like animals and have experience taking care of them.
Work Exchanges vs House Sitting
Both work exchanges and house sits are great in their own way, it just depends on what you are looking for.
Work exchanges can vary greatly – you could be doing physical labor, doing a language exchange, working at an animal sanctuary, helping at a hostel, etc.
House sitting doesn’t vary as much so you know more about what you’re getting into.
One of the biggest things to note is that generally there is a lot less time you need to commit to house sitting.
It is less likely to be physically demanding and perfect if you need your own space since you’ll have the whole place to yourself!
If this sounds like it aligns with what you’re looking for, you have to check out Trustedhousesitters. Here’s why!
Joining Trustedhousesitters means you get access to unlimited, worldwide house sitting opportunities.
They have house sits in 130 countries, which is more than all other housesitting websites in the world combined.
There are both short and long-term accommodation stays available. The 1-year membership is $119/€99, so if you use it 6 times, it means you paid around $20 for each stay.
It is so much more affordable and cost-effective than traditional travel accommodation like hotels or resorts.
It’s also an affordable way to stay in expensive destinations like London or New York City.
Instead of a cookie-cutter hotel room, it’s great because you can find unique and amazing accommodation that could normally be priced quite high.
Trustedhousesitters is perfect for animal lovers and those with previous animal care experience.
They have great customer service & support for members, plus free access to a 24/7 vet advice line.
For more convenience, there’s an easy-to-use mobile app for your phone and free identity verification (this can help you get more housesits!).
They also are rated with 4.7 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot.
Though it’s important with any travel adventure, having travel insurance is even more important when doing work exchanges.This has to do with how you will most likely be more active during a work exchange.
Plus, many volunteer opportunities are set in gorgeous, but remote settings, so it’s important to be covered. It doesn’t matter where you are, emergency evacuations are expensive!
If you’re on a budget, check out SafetyWing for affordable coverage – their coverage is incredibly competitive ($40 for 4 weeks).Still need to know more? Check out these 12 helpful tips to find the right travel insurance for working and volunteering abroad.
3 Good Alternative Sites Like Workaway
Though Worldpackers and Trustedhousesitters are wonderful for finding alternative, affordable accommodation, there are still other options too.
If you’re still searching for something that fits your needs, you’ll need to check out these 3 great websites similar to Workaway.
HelpStay
Founded in 2014, HelpStay was started by an Irish guy who took a 6-month sabbatical from his IT desk job.
He traveled to Australia and New Zealand where he saw people exchanging their help and was eventually inspired to start his own platform.
HelpStay has a wide variety of opportunities to choose from that are located all around the world. A large part of the work exchanges is in Europe.
Some of the most popular places they list are Spain, the UK, Thailand, and France, and for these, they actually have individual volunteering guides!
They also have an active blog that has relevant volunteering content from travelers around the world.
For browsing opportunities, the website looks great and works well. You don’t have to make a payment or account to view the work exchanges available.
It’s straightforward to sign up. The 1-year membership is currently €29.99 ($35.50) for a single account and €39.99 ($47) for a couple/friends account.
They have a designated tab on the site for ‘support’ with a few different ways to contact and get questions answered.
You can directly email the founder, use the support forum on the website, and also join them on Reddit and their Facebook group to get any queries answered by the HelpStay team.
Some things to consider – they are still a small platform with 1,000+ hosts. They say this has to do with safety and trust though because they are thorough in vetting and approving hosts.
Also, they don’t have a mobile application, though that could be coming soon.
WWOOF
Founded in the UK in 1971, WWOOF stands for ‘World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms’.
WWOOF has been around for 50 years now – it’s kind of the original work exchange platform/organization.
The main focus is on homestays and farm stays. It’s a great platform for those who know they definitely want to do farm work and only farm work.
Helping out on a farm can be strenuous and can mean staying in very basic facilities sometimes.
If you’re someone who wouldn’t want to stay in isolated, ‘rustic’ accommodations, this platform might not be for you.
The main website looks nice and is easy to use, but there is no mobile application.
And it makes sense why they don’t because each country has its own WWOOF website where you need to sign up for a membership.
Unfortunately, the websites for different countries might not be as nice as the main site and you can also go to a specific country’s WWOOF site and find zero opportunities.
This means extra effort on your part and can mean searching could be unnecessarily confusing.
Membership prices vary between countries. As an example, for 1 year, WWOOF USA charges $40 for a single account and $65 for a couple/joint account.
I think WWOOF is great for slow travelers because they charge per country.
So if you know you’re going to do a working holiday in Australia, you can purchase just that particular membership.
If you plan to move around quite a bit or just like to leave your options open, it might be better to go with a platform with a wide variety of opportunities and countries available.
HelpX
Founded in 2001, HelpX was founded by an English guy who traveled extensively around Australia and New Zealand.
He did what we consider now as ‘work exchanges’ there, which inspired him to create Helpx.net.
Similar to Workaway, HelpX has a variety of different work exchanges to choose from.
Most exchanges are in Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. You can view opportunities without needing to make a payment or account.
Unfortunately, you can’t see the whole opportunity though – the reviews don’t show till you pay.
The website feels a bit outdated and it’s not intuitive to use at all. It feels like work to browse opportunities because the layout is lacking.
Also, I tried searching for opportunities in Europe and had the 4th and 5th results were work exchanges in Canada and Argentina?
For two years, the membership costs $24 (€20), but the payment is also not the most straightforward thing.
They state,
“…in order to contact any hosts directly, you will be required to upgrade to be a premier helper member. If you provide a comprehensive and inspiring helper profile you might get invited by a host to come and be a helper for them without having to upgrade. But realistically speaking, you will require to be a premier helper in order to truly benefit from being a HelpX helper. It costs just €20 to upgrade to be a premier helper, which lasts for 2 years worldwide for both single and twin memberships. The upgrade option will be available once your profile has been created and verified.”
So technically you can make a free account and *maybe* have a host message you first, then you don’t have to pay.
It seems unnecessarily confusing to me. And it doesn’t matter if you sign up for a single or couple account, you still have to pay the same amount.
Honestly, I don’t like that – other platforms make the single account cheaper.
Either way, I think HelpX is a great option if you’re on a budget and just need the bare minimum in a work exchange platform!
A Free Site Similar To Workaway
I know many people are trying to find information about how they can get free Workaway or find completely free websites like workaway.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many good options that are still free out there.
Volunteers Base
It’s not the most fun or easy to browse opportunities, but if you’re looking for a completely free option for volunteering, this is it!
The website is not the best- it is a little outdated. On the home page, there’s an icon to ‘sign up’ which takes you to Facebook to share an image about the site.
I find this strange. If you do click on a different button to make an account, it is straightforward at least.
They also have an option to send them a Whatsapp message, which is a little unusual for a work exchange platform.
I think Volunteers Base is a site to consider if you’re not concerned with safety since hosted aren’t vetted – there’s also no support.
If you are a very experienced traveler and don’t need any extra frills this platform could be worth a try.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide helped you discover how many great alternative sites like Workaway that are out there.
Every person is different so what you want in a work exchange can differ from what I want.
I do want to say that out of all the websites like Workaway that I went over, I think Worldpackers is the best.
Please let me know in the comments if you get to try any of these 6 great websites like Workaway!
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