Jacques Bedard

Just a 2018 FYI for those considering between this option and workaway or helpx. Number of available hosts is where you lose out when you don't pay.

A couple of examples here that give you an idea.

Canada : 12 on volunteerbase, 1714 on workaway, 1725 on helpx
USA : 98 on volunteerbase, 2170 on workaway,  1653 on helpx

Nice idea, but it appears it never really took off.

Tom Harakiri wrote:It is very sad to see people thinking only paid things are worth it and anything for free made by volunteer work is suspicious and has a hidden agenda..

Didn't say that. It's not a question of paid versus volunteer or suspicious hidden agendas.

Couchsurfing is free and offers some security to hosts and surfers alike. These other sites have no feedback mechanism for either hosts or helpers.

But I'd argue that $15 a year is a small price to pay to show a host you are serious. It's not like the money is going to some faceless corporation.

Just a caveat for hosts, this site does not vet helpers in any way other than possibly registering their IP address. At least on workaway and helpx, helpers paying to register makes it less likely that they will misrepresent their name or location. Even couchsurfing which is free (to a point) has a verification system.