Frequently Asked Questions

LokalGig is a zero-commission gig platformbuilt for Malaysia’s first-time earners — home-based F&B sellers, craft makers, tutors, and freelancers who want to post their first paid gig online. Customers find you via search, message you on WhatsApp, and pay you directly. LokalGig never takes a cut.

Yes — 100% free forever for both sellers and buyers. No subscription, no listing fee, no featured-listing upsell, no commission on bookings. If we ever introduce paid features, the core (posting gigs, getting contacted, taking orders) will always stay free.

Zero. We never touch the money. Customers pay you directly via cash, DuitNow, online transfer — whatever you agree on. Our promise: we earn trust instead of commission.

Anyone in Malaysia with a skill or service they want to monetise: home-based cooks, kuih sellers, craft makers, tutors, freelance designers, aircon technicians, makeup artists, photographers, event MCs. If you can deliver the service and chat on WhatsApp, LokalGig is for you. We especially focus on first-time earners— people who haven’t sold a service online before.

No. You only need an email and a WhatsApp numberto start. We don’t require IC verification up front — instead, trust is built progressively through tenure on the platform, customer testimonials, and WhatsApp-active signals. You can post gigs and take orders immediately after sign-up.

Sign up, click “Post a gig”, and you have two options.
Option 1: fill in the form manually (title, category, description, price, tags).
Option 2 (recommended):click the “Malas nak tulis?” pill and paste rough notes in any language — our AI helper will generate a polished bilingual listing in about 10 seconds. You review, edit if needed, and publish. Full guide: how to create a gig that gets clients.

Paste & Polish is our AI gig writer. You paste rough notes (even in rojak or Manglish) — for example, “jual nasi lemak homemade, RM8 sepinggan, KL area only”— and it generates a properly formatted listing with title, category, description, tags, and suggested price. You get a bilingual output so both BM and EN buyers can find you. It’s free and takes about 7-10 seconds.

Any legal service or home-based product. Common categories: food & catering (kuih, lauk-pauk, kek, tempahan), handmade crafts, fashion & clothing (tukang jahit, baju kurung, custom tailoring, alterations), tuition (KPM subjects, languages, music), creative services (design, video, photography), home services (aircon, cleaning, plumbing), events (MC, makeup artist, photographer), digital work (web design, copywriting, social media). Not allowed: anything illegal, pyramid schemes, adult services, or unlicensed medical claims.

Absolutely. BM, English, rojak — all welcome. The entire app interface toggles between BM and EN. When you use our AI helper, it outputs both versions automatically so BM and EN searchers can both find you. Tulis dalam bahasa yang paling selesa untuk anda.

Direct from your customer. When someone contacts you via WhatsApp, you agree on the price, delivery, and payment method — cash on delivery, DuitNow, online transfer, whatever suits you both. LokalGig is not a payment processor. You keep 100% of what your customer pays.

No.We intentionally don’t touch money. This is our core design choice — it’s how we can promise zero commission forever, and it avoids the regulatory overhead of being a payment operator. You deal directly with your customer. Always verify payment before delivering.

Follow our Safe Dealing Tips, sourced from PDRM and CyberSecurity Malaysia: verify payment before delivering, meet in public for in-person exchanges, never share your banking TAC or OTP, be suspicious of buyers who pressure you to move to other apps, and report suspicious users. Read the full safe-dealing guide →

Since LokalGig doesn’t hold payments, we can’t refund or force a buyer to pay. Prevention is key:take deposits for custom work, confirm payment before delivering for pre-made items, and save your WhatsApp chat as evidence. You can report the user, and we’ll take action against patterns of bad behaviour. For serious cases (fraud, theft), report to PDRM.

Use the search barat the top of any page, or browse by category (F&B, craft, tuition, design, etc.) or by state (Selangor, KL, Johor, Penang, etc.). Click a gig you like, read the seller’s details, and tap the WhatsApp button to message them directly. Every conversation happens on WhatsApp, so no new apps to learn.

We don’t require mandatory IC verification because that creates a barrier for first-time earners. Instead, look for these trust signals on each gig: tenure, customer testimonials, response rate, WhatsApp-active status, and completed bookings. Start with small orders to test a new seller before large commitments.

Yes. Filter by category and Malaysian state to find services near you — for example, plumber in Kuala Lumpur, kuih raya seller in Shah Alam, renovation contractor in Kelantan, or aircon technician in Johor Bahru. LokalGig covers all 16 Malaysian states and federal territories. The platform’s beachhead focus is currently F&B and craft sellers in Selangor and Johor Bahru, so those areas have the deepest inventory, but every state is open and growing. Browse all services →

Often, yes — but it depends on the seller.Because contact happens directly on WhatsApp, you can ask the seller about same-day or urgent availability immediately. Many home services (plumbing, aircon, handyman, cleaning) and home-based F&B sellers can accommodate same-day requests, especially in beachhead areas like Klang Valley and Johor Bahru. Look for sellers with active response-time signals on their gig page, and message multiple sellers in parallel for time-sensitive needs.

Yes — LokalGig gigs show a starting price or price range, but the final price is always between you and the seller. Many sellers offer bulk discounts, package deals, or custom quotes. Just be respectful — most sellers are first-time earners, and their pricing already reflects their costs.

Yes, the core platform is free forever— that’s a founder commitment, not a marketing line. Future revenue will come from optional add-ons like premium placements, business tools, or B2B partnerships with organisations like HRD Corp and MARA — never from taking a cut of your earnings.

Four key differences:

1. Zero commission. Fiverr and Upwork typically take 10–20% per transaction. LokalGig takes 0% — seller keeps 100%.
2. WhatsApp-native contact. On Fiverr/Upwork, conversations are locked inside an in-app inbox. On LokalGig, the customer taps a WhatsApp button and messages the seller directly on the app Malaysians already use.
3. Malaysia-only, bilingual, AI-assisted. Full Bahasa Melayu and English across the product, plus an AI helper that turns rough notes (rojak OK) into a proper bilingual listing in ~10 seconds — built for first-time sellers.
4. Focused on services, not goods. Mudah and Carousell are general classifieds for second-hand items and ad-hoc listings. LokalGig is a focused launchpad for service-based gig work — plumbers, kuih sellers, tutors, photographers, designers, renovation contractors — with proper category structure and bilingual SEO.

If you’re searching for a “Fiverr alternative Malaysia”, an “Upwork alternative Malaysia”, a “Mudah alternative for services”, a “Carousell alternative for freelancers”, or a “local freelance platform Malaysia”— that’s us.

Because WhatsApp is already the default messaging app for every Malaysian. Adding an in-app inbox means sellers (especially first-time makcik usahawan) have to learn and monitor another app, miss messages, and lose the conversation once they leave the platform. By sending customers straight to WhatsApp, we remove that friction, the conversation lives on your phone forever, and LokalGig stays out of the middle — which is also how we can credibly promise zero commission forever.

LokalGig is built by Syed Mohamad Arif, a Malaysian engineer, with the goal of helping first-time earners in Malaysia launch their first paid gig online. The project started in 2026 and is currently in beta with a small pilot of sellers in Selangor and Johor Bahru. Read the full story →