A List of 30+ of the Best Freelance Websites

When I was new to freelancing, I had a hard time finding the best freelance websites for beginners. Over the years, I have realized that in order to find the best online job you have to know where to look for freelance work. Just like in most things in life, it is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. You have to find clients to find various sources if you want to have a steady flow of jobs and better control of your freelancing income.

Who is a Freelancer?

A freelancer is a person who is not fully committed to a certain company or employer. Freelancers are only hired for certain projects. The period and payment terms are agreed based on the project. The popularity of freelancing is on the rise and there are millions of freelancers working online from all around the world.

Advantages of Freelancing

1. You are your own boss.
2. You work when you want.
3. You work where you want.
4. No dealing with the taxman.
5. You can increase your own income by taking up more projects or building a team.

Apart from the ubiquitous Upwork and Freelancer. There are other hidden gems where you can find all types of jobs online. I combed through hundreds of freelancing sites and I came up with this list of the top 30 sites that are highly recommended for freelancers from all across the world. It is important to note that I did not include freelancing sites that do not offer long term contracts, but you can find a list of academic writing sites, transcription sites, and content writing sites on my other posts. You can find all types of freelance jobs on the sites listed below. Such jobs can be anything from writing to data entry.

• Upwork

Upwork was formed by the recent merger of two of my favorite freelancing sites – Odesk and Elance. The two merged to effectively compete against their biggest rival, which comes second on this list. Upwork is now my favorite site for finding freelance work. It is by far the best, largest, and easiest freelancing site to navigate and find jobs.

With over 1.5 Million clients on the site, jobs are in plenty and across as many job categories as you can imagine. Upwork offers hourly and fixed price projects, but they provide no vetting or screening for clients. Instead, they leave the interview process and technical assessment to the clients, who can then bid on the freelancers they want to hire. I used to do some jobs on Elance, but since the merger I am still trying to figure out whether I should give the new site a shot.

• Freelancer
• Peopleperhour
• 99designs

The biggest and oldest freelancing site in the world. A few months back the site signup up its 7 millionth freelancer, and it keeps growing. However, In spite of having thousands of projects uploaded daily, there are also thousands of freelancers applying for the jobs and the tough competition has probably turned Freelancer into the cheapest jobs marketplace.

The prices offered for projects are saddening. With a better reputation and ratings will come better-paying projects. It is a good place to start, although I have never liked how they charge you for almost everything unlike Upwork. Upwork and Freelancer are undoubtedly the largest freelancing sites out there.

Freelancer has responded to the merger of their two competitors by buying as many smaller freelancing companies as they could get their hands on. In case you are stuck between working on the two sites as a freelancer, we wrote a post comparing the two freelancing giants. One of the few gems that is often overlooked by contractors.

The best site for freelance graphic designers to find work. You can find jobs that involve advertising, merchandise, packaging, graphic work or illustrations. The site is exclusively for designers, and it uses a very interesting crowdsourcing model for the jobs posted on the site. Clients post jobs on the site along with a detailed description of their preferred design. Designers can also sell their designs on the site’s marketplace.

• Crowdsource
• Fiverr
• Toptal

Still my number one site for freelance jobs. The site uses a different model. On Fiverr instead of bidding on jobs that have been listed by clients, contractors have to set up a profile as well as ‘gigs’ that describe their different services. I realized that is easier to use the site since it requires minimal effort for you to find work.

Finding it hard to find jobs on Fiverr? Here’s my LinkedIn post on how to get more sales on Fiverr. The site has one of the toughest screening processes and they only accept 3% of the applications they receive to join their network. This strict screening process eliminates the cheap freelancers who make it hard to find work on most freelance sites.

• LinkedIn Profinder
• Flexjobs
• Guru

On Flexjobs the contractors are the ones who pay to use the site instead of the clients. Also, jobs are vetted before being posted as opposed to contractors. One of the older freelancing sites that has been around since 2001. There are hundreds of jobs posted daily but is has been less active in the recent years.

• Simply Hired
• Freelance Writing Gigs
• Behance Jobs

Find freelance writing, editing, and blogging jobs. For design jobs.

• Krop
• Demand Media

They no longer allow freelancers from Kenya, but you can sign up from other countries.

• Peer Hustle
• Aquent

The site helps marketing professionals and digital creative to find work across the globe.

• iFreelance
• Dribble
• WPHired
• Hirable
• Crowdsite
• Joomlancers
• DesignCrowd

A dribble pro account will give you access to jobs by companies looking for freelancers. Are you a WordPress developer? Then you can find high-value freelance WordPress jobs on this site. The site is a social media network where employers and contractors can meet and interact.

This presents a great opportunity to find projects that pay much higher than those from freelancer and Upwork. For designers. It has some of the best design competitions. It is a great way to get your designs out there. Are you a talented Joomla developer?

This is your chance to get paid working on Joomla sites during your free time. Due to the increasing popularity of Joomla as a CMS alternative to WordPress, Joomla skills will remain invaluable for a long time to come. A design marketplace that has plenty of jobs on logo design, business card design, advertising artwork and website design.

• Landing.jobs
• Seoclerk

I would advise you to start your freelance job search on Freelancer and Upwork before venturing down the list. Initially, you might have to accept the lowest rate on the sites. With a few stellar reviews you can gradually raise your rates. Which freelancing site do you use?