What are the best freelancing sites and platforms to get you started in your freelance work? Let’s have a close look at the pros and cons.
Freelancing as a career has really taken off over the last couple of years (especially remote freelancing amidst the global coronavirus pandemic). More and more people want to break away from the mold of working a typical day job, clocking in each morning and clocking out each evening. Working for yourself allows you to determine your own schedule and start to do more of what you truly enjoy.
The beauty of doing freelance work is that anyone can do it. There are opportunities for freelance jobs in most industries and at all skill levels. You don’t need to have any special skills to get started in freelancing (though it certainly helps you to get higher paying jobs). In this article we’ll go over the best freelancing sites and include some tips for starting your career.
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Best freelancing sites and platforms to get you started in your freelance work
Check out the best freelance platforms to begin your freelance career and start working for yourself.
1. Toptal
Toptal touts itself as one of the best freelancing sites, having the top 3% of freelance talent available in business, design, and technology, which makes it very appealing to business owners who need specialized skill sets to complete certain tasks. Some of Toptal’s clients (who hire freelancers) include the Cleveland Cavaliers, AirBNB, Motorola, and Calm. As a freelancer on this platform you would have access to opportunities with big name brands.
The way that Toptal is able to provide the top talent is through their freelancer application process. There is a screening process for each type of freelancer and you have to prove that you really are in the top 3% of talent available by performing tests in your field of expertise.
Types of freelance work available: Developer, Designer, Finance Expert, Project Manager, Product Manager
Pros:
- Work with large brands
- More opportunity for skilled work
- You can work remotely
- You don’t have to pay to find work on Toptal
Cons:
- Some people don’t like the screening process
2. Guru
Guru has been bringing freelancers and businesses together since 1998 from their offices in Pittsburgh, PA and Noida, India. Their platform is one of the best freelancing sites because it is built on trust as they provide a transparent and secure environment for their clients and the freelancers that work with them.
To become a freelancer on Guru, all you need to do is sign up and create your free profile. Then you can start bidding on jobs and begin working.
Types of freelance work available: Programming, Design, Writing, Translation, Administrative, Business, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Legal, Education, and more
Pros:
- Ensure that freelancers get paid for work completed
- You can leave feedback for your clients, and they can leave feedback for you
- Easy to stay organized on their platform
- Add-on app and Chrome extension available
Cons:
- Relatively high fees taken out of earnings (With most of these platforms, generally a portion of client’s pay goes to the platform before you get your cut, but some take more than others)
- Fake clients sometimes get approved (be careful of scams)
- You have to pay to get your bid higher on the list for competitive jobs
3. Freelancer
Freelancer is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketing site, according to the number of users and projects on their platform. Over 53 million employers and freelancers throughout the world use this site to find freelancers and freelance work, making it one of the best freelancing sites for you to consider.
To start freelancing through Freelancer, you need to complete your profile by selecting your skills and expertise, uploading a professional photo, and completing their Verification Center checklist. Once that’s done, you can start browsing through jobs, writing pitches, and working.
Types of freelance work available: Freelancer has over 1800 different categories of work available, so you’re likely to find something that you can do here
Pros:
- Easy communication with potential clients
- Multiple money withdrawal options (ACH, Paypal, and more)
- Get jobs quickly
Cons:
- Fake clients can get through
- Because there are so many categories available, you may have to do a lot of searching to find the quality of jobs you want to take
- Fees taken out of freelancer’s pay are high (many refuse smaller projects due to this)
4. Fiverr
Fiverr has worked to create one of the best freelancing sites, a platform where buyers (clients) and sellers (freelancers) can easily communicate and review one another. This allows new buyers and sellers to create a reputation for themselves on the site and gain new relationships through the trust they build with their partners.
To get started, you can sign up for free, create your Gig, and wait for clients to submit an order for your work. Fiverr works to ensure that each freelancer is paid on time, every time.
Types of freelance work available: Designer, Developer, Writer, Video Editor, Musician, Voiceover Artist, Social Media Marketer, and more
Pros:
- You don’t have to bid on jobs, you can wait for buyers to come to you
Cons:
- Difficult to get started on the first few Gigs without previous reviews on the platform
- Fiverr takes a 20% cut of what the buyers pay
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking site devoted to helping people connect with other like-minded professionals, whether that’s to find a new job, promote professional services, or simply to gain insights from others in your industry.
You may not think of LinkedIn as one of the “best freelancing sites,” but there are a couple of different ways you can get freelance work from your LinkedIn profile. The first is to optimize your profile for the type of work that you want to do. List your skills, experience, and any portfolio items you can. Employers and business owners are always using various softwares to seek out individuals with the skills they need to complete certain jobs within their companies. So you may find that businesses start reaching out to you for your services.
On the other side of that, you can join job groups and browse through the open positions that are available in your field of expertise and start applying (a lot of these can be freelance work too).
Types of freelance work available: Anything you can find
Pros:
- LinkedIn acts a professional resume for you
- It can bring job opportunities directly to you without even searching
Cons:
- Many employers on LinkedIn are seeking out individuals who will work as employees for their company, and not freelancers
6. Upwork
Upwork’s one of the big dogs in this category and is definitely in the group of best freelancing sites. Upwork’s mission is to create economic opportunities to help people have better lives. They want to give individuals the freedom to work for themselves and do the type of work they most enjoy.
To join Upwork as a freelancer, you just need to create your free profile and start bidding on jobs. Upwork has fixed-price protection where clients pay for the project and then your earnings are released to you as certain project milestones are completed.
Types of freelance work available: Developer, IT, Designer, Sales, Marketing, Writing, Translation, Administrative, Customer Support, Finance, and more
Pros:
- Upwork screens clients
- Time tracking capabilities
- Secure payment collection
- Feedback and rating system so you can see others’ experience with the clients you want to work with
Cons:
- A lot of competition for higher quality jobs, which sometimes forces freelancers to lower their bids to stay competitive
- High fees taken from client pay before you get your cut (20% of the first $500 and then 10% until you hit $10K in earnings, after that it goes to 5%)
7. We Work Remotely
We Work Remotely (WWR) is a freelancing platform that specifically caters to those who want to hire or work remotely. Since 2013, they have been connecting businesses with freelancers in remote positions across several different industries. Some of the world’s leading tech companies use this platform.
To use the platform, you just have to start looking through jobs. And when you find a job you want, you just need to fill out the application for the job. No sign up necessary.
Types of freelance work available: Programming, Design, Management, Finance, Product Development, Customer Support, and Other (several different types of jobs fall under this category, like SEO, Researchers, Recruiters, and more)
Pros:
- Great for people looking for remote opportunities
- Free
Cons:
- Not the most user-friendly platform
8. SimplyHired
SimplyHired is a job posting site, similar to Indeed, so not all of their opportunities are independent contract and freelance work. But you can find some good remote and freelance opportunities if you’re willing to put in the work for it.
The easiest way to find freelance work is to type “freelance” or “independent contractor” in the search bar and see what opportunities are out there.
Types of freelance work available: All kinds
Pros:
- You work directly with the client (so the platform doesn’t take a cut of your pay)
- Search through local opportunities
Cons:
- It may take longer to find good freelancing jobs since all job types can be listed here
9. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour started in 2007, and their goal is to connect freelancers with clients to help them break the 9 to 5 mold and work more flexible hours doing the things they enjoy.
To get started on PeoplePerHour, you have to apply to become a certified freelancer. Once your application is approved, you’ll get access to projects and job listings and can start providing your services to new clients.
Types of freelance work available: Programming, Writing, Translation, Design, Digital Marketing, Video & Photo Work, Business, Music & Audio, Marketing, Branding, Sales, Social Media
Pros:
- Secure payment options (PeoplePerHour makes sure you get paid for your work)
- Apps available
- Ratings system available for buyers and freelancers
Cons:
- A lot of competition for jobs
- High fees are deducted from your pay
- Not the best customer support
10. Solidgigs
Solidgigs will email you job alerts for “the best 1% of freelance jobs on the web.” Right on their homepage you can enter your email address to get the process started.
The way it works is Solidgigs scours the web for top quality freelance gigs and then sends them to your inbox for a monthly fee. You can do a 30-day trial for $2 and then pay $19/month after that to continue to get new leads for jobs. This takes away the need to spend hours searching for these opportunities yourself.
Here’s what Solidgigs offers you when you sign up:
- Hand-pick gigs daily
- Weekly gig list from approved companies
- Freelance courses and tools
- Interviews with successful freelancers
Types of freelance work available: All types
Pros:
- Solidgigs helps weed out a lot of the scammy jobs out there and sends you the legit opportunities that they’ve found
Cons:
- Solidgigs is still fairly new so there isn’t a lot of information about the platform yet
11. FlexJobs
FlexJobs seeks to provide freelancers and individuals with the opportunity to strike out on their own and work from the comfort of their own homes and offices. FlexJobs finds the best remote opportunities available so that you don’t have to.
This is a service that you have to pay for. They have a 1 week ($6.95), 1 month ($14.95), 3 months ($29.95), and 1 year ($49.95) option. All you need to do is sign up, pay for your plan, look through the jobs on their site, and start applying.
Types of freelance work available: All types
Pros:
- FlexJobs screens every opportunity before posting it on their site
- Money-back guarantee
- Save time looking through jobs
Cons:
- Not all jobs are exclusive to FlexJobs and many can be found outside of their site
- Salaries are rarely posted
12. Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent is a free service that connects business owners with freelancers that fit the needs of their jobs. All you need to do to get started is create your freelancer profile and optimize it with your skills and experience. From there, companies will find your profile and contact you directly about their job opportunities. You can also search through available job postings and start applying for new jobs.
This is a great way to just add another outlet for finding job opportunities and new clients. It’s free and business owners are already looking there, so why not?
Types of freelance work available: All types
Pros:
- Tons of new jobs added each week
- Free to use
- Time tracking capabilities
Cons:
- Because anyone can use it, there are a lot of low paying jobs to sort through, starting as low as $2/hour
- Limits to integrations
13. CloudPeeps
CloudPeeps started its journey in mid-2011 and officially launched in 2015 to help empower freelancers to start their own businesses and do their best work. Businesses can post jobs for free, but to search through and apply for jobs, freelancers must select on of CloudPeeps three plans:
- Free – 15% of what clients pay will be taken as a commission
- Standard ($9/month) – 10% commission for CloudPeeps
- Plus ($29/month) – 5% commission for CloudPeeps
Additional features are included with the paid plans too. Learn more on their pricing page.
Once you’ve been active on CloudPeeps for more than 24 month and have invoiced over $5,000, you have the opportunity to become a Pro Peep and start earning higher wages on the platform.
Types of freelance work available: SEO, Social Media Management, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Graphic Design, Web Development, Public Relations, and more
Pros:
- Freelancers can offer packages that anyone can search through and purchase
Cons:
- Extensive process to create profile, and it must be approved by CloudPeeps before you can start looking through jobs
- You are limited in how many jobs you can apply for each month depending on your plan
14. Truelancer
Truelancer is devoted to helping freelancers and clients find lucrative opportunities and partnerships through the jobs that are posted. While this platform features design and creative related jobs, anyone can find freelance work on Truelancer. The best part is, you can look through their available jobs before signing up on their platform.
Types of freelance work available: All types
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Funds are on hold from client until work is finished and approved
Cons:
- Limited support capabilities
- You have to pay for credits to submit proposals
As you establish your presence on the best freelancing sites, start managing your online reviews to keep a stellar online reputation
It’s important for freelancers to have a solid online reputation because that’s a big part of finding new clients. Outside of the best freelancing sites and platforms you search for jobs on, you want potential clients to be able to find you online and see that you are a legit person who can provide great work for them.
If you have a website devoted to your business (and you should) and/or a Facebook business page, you can benefit from reputation management software that alerts you to new reviews and allows you to remind your clients that you appreciate their valuable online feedback, which in turn helps future clients trust you more.
Womply has a simple platform that allows you to monitor and respond to reviews in a timely fashion. Sign up for Womply Free to learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights.