Sortlist is free for clients. We never charge you and never ask for your payment details at any point, and any pricing or payment for the project itself is between you and the provider you choose.
How Sortlist earns instead
Providers pay Sortlist for three things:
Visibility - paid placement on our directory pages, charged per click. Providers who do not pay still appear, in the organic listings.
Opportunities - a fee to apply to a project like yours.
Radar - a tool providers pay for to see which companies have shown interest in them. It plays no part in how providers are matched to your project.
What that means for your project
Because applying costs money, providers tend to apply only where they believe they can win the work. A provider who clearly does not match your brief has little reason to spend the fee on it. That is what keeps your applications few and relevant.
We also cap applications at 4 per project, so you are never left comparing dozens of options.
You can also approach providers yourself: if you find one in the directory that fits, contact them from their profile.
Can a provider pay for a better position?
A provider can pay for placement in the directory, and those listings are shown as paid. What they cannot pay for is their reputation. The reviews and rating on their profile come from clients who worked with them, and the Trusted Partner badge has to be earned.