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There are 64 million people making money via freelancing in the United States alone. By 2028, it’s projected that number will climb to around 91 million people.
We’d all prefer not to have a boss looking over our shoulder every day, but how are you supposed to get clients when so many others are vying for the same work?
With an ever increasing supply, there is also an ever increasing demand in the market, so more and more places are popping up that can help match you with the right clients. That’s where freelance websites and marketplace can help.
If you already know what kind of work you’re going after, you’ll have a much easier time narrowing down which sites to use. If not, check out these freelance business ideas to help figure that out first.
Because some aren’t great, and some are just plain hard to find, I put together a long list of places you can find work online so you’re not waiting for weeks or months to land your first client, or get more clients.
Let’s do this.
Best Freelance Jobs Websites
1. Toptal
Best for Web Developers
Best For:
- Web Developers
- Finance Experts
- Product Managers
- Web Designers
- Project Managers
Toptal prides itself on only hiring the top 3% of freelancers in the design, development, finance, and project management industries.
As a Toptal freelancer, you are matched with companies who need your exact skillsets and you become part of their team. Not actually part of their team, but you are integrated into their systems and work with the rest of their team.
The Toptal screening process includes a screening call, and then 2 rounds of them testing your skills. It’s noted to be a challenging process designed to check your problem-solving skills and make sure you can work with speed and efficiency.
After those 2 rounds, you’ll be asked to complete a project. This is the final round, but it can take 1-3 weeks to complete, and will decide if you are “fit” to be in their talent pool of freelancers.
2. Flex Jobs
FlexJobs is a subscription-based website that scours the internet looking for open jobs. When you sign up, you get full, unlimited access to their jobs database, as well as the ability to create a rich profile and personalized portfolio that will be attractive to companies looking for the right worker.
They have all kinds of remote, flexible and freelance jobs for designs, writers, marketers, and pretty much any kind of work you can think of.
3. Truelancer
Truelancer is a freelancer marketplace that allows people to post jobs and freelancers can apply to those jobs. This is very similar to UpWork in terms of how they are setup.
Fees: Truelancer charges an 8-10% service fee on top of the Paypal fee you are charged for taking your money out of your “wallet”.
4. Virtual Vocations
Who It’s For: Remote & Work from Home jobs
Virtual Vocations is a place where all kinds of people can find work. After you create a free account, you can decide whether you want daily job listings or weekly listings.
If you want to sign up for a premium membership, you’ll pay around $15.99 per month, or $9.99 per month if you sign up for 6 months.
Once you sign up, you also get discounts on premium services like resume help, or assistance with LinkedIn profiles, as well as a telecommuting guide to help you with video interviews.
5. 10x Management
Who Its For: Freelancers who are among the best in their field
Who Can Apply: Anyone who thinks they can get through the application process
Fees: 15% of all earnings
10x Management is what I’ll call a “premium” job website on this list. They don’t accept all applicants and you will have to go through a pretty robust application process.
This company works with the best of the best and they say they only accept “a very small percentage of applicants.” They do have technical and personality based interviews, require references, and will cyber stalk you to make sure you are who you say you are.
Because they only work with top talent, this attracts hiring companies with more robust budgets to pay you. If you pass their selection process, they connect you with some of the largest companies and more impressive projects out there.
6. Yuno Juno
Yuno Juno was created by people with tons of experience freelancing. This one is only available for people in the UK.
You do have to apply and go through their screening process to be accepted. Requirements include 3 pieces of work history and 2 references that can prove that you are as good as you say you are.
This website is great for freelance designers, creatives and freelancers in the tech space.
They guarantee payment in 14 days which is HUGE when it comes to contract and freelance work.
7. FreeUp
FreeUp is another marketplace website that is aiming to be the best one on the internet. You can tell from their onboarding videos and general content that they are a true startup looking to grow this and become the next Fiverr or Upwork.
This is a good thing for freelancers because they are constantly updating things and making sure everything works for both ends of the platform (the freelancers and the hiring managers).
The jobs you’ll find on FreeUp seem to be more digital marketing, virtual assistants, web development, E-Commerce, Graphic Design and Customer Service based. This is a wide variety, but they don’t seem to cater to freelance writers just yet.
To apply to be a freelancer with FreeUp, you’ll need to upload your resume or CV and fill out their onboarding questionnaire. If you are moved to the next level, they’ll setup a Zoom interview and see if you are truly a good fit.
8. Upwork
9. Fiverr
If you’re looking to get more experience with one-off jobs for clients than Fiverr might be for you.
With Fiverr, you post your services and what you an offer to people to the website, and they can search the marketplace as they need those things and decide to go with your option or another freelancer’s service.
Fiverr has a marketplace of writers, marketers, web design talent, and other professionals from all kinds of skill levels looking for work. While there are a ton of people on here, if you have an in-demand skill or know how to market yourself well, you can do well on the Fiverr website.
There is a bit of an “art” to getting consistent, well-paying jobs on Fiverr, but if you can figure out the system, you can make quite a decent living from the platform.
10. LinkedIn Jobs
LinkedIn Jobs is great because it syncs up with your LinkedIn profile so you can get started faster than having to upload a full resume and re-enter your job history. No need to sign up for, yet another, website and email list.
You can also setup alerts to get notified when relevant job opportunities become available so you can apply and get noticed faster.
You can sort available jobs based on salary, location (if they aren’t remote), skills needed, and more. While it’s usually larger companies that post on LinkedIn, you can find some great freelance opportunities as well.
11. MarketerHire
Best for Freelance Digital Marketers
MarketerHire claims to only hire the top 5% of freelancer digital marketing talent and they have a lot of large companies to vouch for their great matching abilities.
Their screening process is more robust than other websites, and that’s because they need to ensure they are only bringing on the best talents for their clients all over the world.
12. 99Designs
Best for Designers
99Designs is a freelancer website has been around for quite some time now. The premise is that people come to the platform looking for help with a new logo, or a rebrand for their business.
Customers submit a brief, with some styles they generally like, and designers create some samples for them and they get to pick which one they like best at the end of the day.
It’s free to signup as a freelancer, but they do have fees – as with other marketplaces. There is an initial “setup” fee of sorts – $100 – which seems to be their fee to make sure you’re serious about this.
There is also a platform fee for every project that is based on your designer level – so as you take on more jobs and get a higher rating, you pay less per job. They start at 15%, but once you’ve been on there for a while and have more successful jobs they only charge 5%.
As a freelancer, you get paid within 3 business days, or even less once you are a “top level designer.”