WWOOF vs. Workaway vs. HelpX: a guide

Greetings, fellow travelers!

If you’re like my past self, you would probably like to know the differences between the different work-exchange programs that are out there,
but because you are not my past self, you can find out some important differences now, before you pay a bunch of money to join one (or two) and then realize it’s the wrong one for you. Here are the details, as well as my own experiences with the sites, in order of how highly I recommend them, from best to worst.

Fee: Fee: $25-30ish (depending on the euro’s strength) for a two-year membership, which can be used as an individual or couple/friends.

Pros:

– Nice map function. Reliable website, although it looks a little five-years-ago.

– Hosts all over the world, although there are fewer in places like NYC and Boston.

– Allows you to switch between having an individual or a couple membership for free, meaning you can travel alone or with a friend. Nice customer service, unlike Workaway.

– Allows you to make a profile for free, and hosts can contact you if they so choose. However, you need to pay in order to contact hosts yourself (although you can reply to folks who emailed you). As an example, I had two hosts contact me based on my profile, but neither was in a town that I wanted to go to.

Cons:

– Fewer hosts in center-city (at least on the East Coast).

– Website doesn’t look as nice.

My personal experience: None.

Fee: $25-30ish (depending on the euro’s strength) for a two-year individual membership.

$30ish for a couple/friends membership

Pros:

– Lots of hosts in center city as well as out in the country (for example, there are people in central London or New York who want you to maid for them for a few hours a day).

– Hosts all over the world.

Cons:

– Workaway is VERY nasty about bringing a friend; even if you are only staying for one day with your friend, they expect you to either spend another $30ish to start a joint account (which can only be used when traveling together), or your friend to create their own account (and of course, spend the money). They use some kind of thing to scour your messages for words that indicate you will be traveling with a friend, and will ban you if you don’t pay for that new account. Even if it’s for one day. – Their map-of-hosts function is wonky and you can’t access it at all until you pay to sign up.

– Glitchy website that looks nice, but sometimes is down or is glitchy

My personal experience: I stayed for a night with this amazing boatbuilding-co-op-on-a-coal-barge in the middle of London. It was the coolest thing ever.

WWOOF

Fees: vary by country. WWOOF UK was about $35 for 1 year.

Pros:

– WWOOF is the oldest and most famous of these three work-exchange programs, dating back to the ’70s.

– Every host is an organic farm of some kind.

– They are chill about traveling with a friend, or at least they don’t scour your emails for mention of a friend.

– Seems to be more of a community.

Cons:

– YOU HAVE TO PAY SEPARATELY FOR EACH COUNTRY! Registering for WWOOF UK does not allow you to also WWOOF in the US!

– Every host is an organic farm of some kind. Fewer options, especially in the city.

– Many, many unresponsive hosts–I get the feeling the website is never updated, at least the WWOOF UK site that I registered for.

My personal experience: I was not able to find anyone who would put me up during the winter, but my boyfriend and I helped out on a farm in relatively-nearby Wales during the day a few times, and it was really, really cool. We drove a tractor and led a pony!

tl;dr version: HelpX is the best combination of friendly, cheap, and useful, but Workaway might be better if you know that you want to be in center city. It’s worth checking both sites before deciding. WWOOF probably isn’t what you want if you travel in more than one country, and you also pay the same for a 1-year WWOOF membership as a 2-year HelpX/Workaway membership, although this may vary by country.

So, dear readers, do you have any experience with these sites, or others like them? Let me know in the comments! Or tweeeet me @SGTraveldeals. Whatever the kids do these days.

Fun travel fact: If you tell people you couchsurf, they will think you are really cool and edgy even though all you are doing is literally sleeping.