If you’re looking to fatten your wallet this year then check out these 7 best freelancer sites.
These sites are built to make sure you get the opportunity to meet high quality clients without having to find all the work yourself.
Freelancing is hard. You’re operating like a small business owner trying to find clients, complete the work, and get paid (and chase down payment too!).
Let these sites lighten the load a bit. They’re going to connect you with premium clients who need your services!
In this article I’m going to review the best freelancer sites guaranteed to help you find work quickly, and actually help you get paid.
Let’s begin!
Best Freelance Websites of 2021
Upwork – Best Overall
Upwork is my personal favorite for freelancing sites right now. In fact, you can read my full review here. [INSERT LINK]
It’s one of the best freelance websites for both the freelancer and the client needing work. It’s great for beginners and seasoned pros needing a couple extra clients to fill their schedule.
They offer a range of work like web design, web development, copywriting, content writing, SEO, custom support, virtual assistant, graphic design, and much much more.
What’s nice about Upwork is the clients range from small businesses to large corporations. Hint: Upwork has a secret service they only provide to their enterprise clients!!
Yes – there will be a bit of a learning curve as you start. Especially if you haven’t gotten work as a freelancer before.
They’ll require you to write proposals to clients looking for work, and if you don’t have a reputation it can take some time to find work on the site.
The good news? I’ve already provided a full article on how to become successful on Upwork!
You can charge by the hour or by the project with Upwork. Making it a diverse platform for your skillset.
The major issue I have with Upwork is they’re not cheap, for both the client and the freelancer. You’re going to lose 20% of your payment for the first $500 in contract and 10% after that.
Otherwise it’s a very solid company with a long track record.
Pros
- Finding clients is easy.
- There are a lot of job opportunities for every kind of freelancer.
- Collecting payment is done through Upwork with their escrow system.
- Upwork provides dispute reconciliation
- Great amount of companies searching for developers and designers and marketers.
- Awesome search tool to find high quality job postings
Cons
- Takes a large cut of your pay in the beginning of the contract
- Due to high competition good providers have to lower prices to compete
- Messaging platform is bad
- Muddy terms of service and rules. Nobody really knows what gets you in trouble.
- Cannot under any circumstances take clients off the platform unless you pay a heavy fee
- Requires you to pay Connects or Monthly program
Fiverr – Best For Beginners
Fiverr is one of the companies who essentially started the “gig” economy. Many people dismiss Fiverr because they believe it provides low quality clients and a race to the bottom for price, however I believe they’re short sighted.
In my opinion, Fiverr is one of the best platforms to get your start as a freelancer. Why? Because you can create jobs based on your skills and competence, rather than applying for positions and going through an interview process.
A good example is YouTube thumbnails. Let’s say I’m the client trying to get YouTube thumbnails for my videos, I could go to Upwork and go through the process of hiring designers hoping they have the experience, or I could go to Fiverr and find a freelancer who specializes in YouTube thumbnails.
You really can create a niche and specialization as a freelancer on the site, and it ends up being more of a passive process for the freelancer than other freelance sites.
The only thing is you want to pick really simple and easy to complete projects because prices typically start at $5 although I’ve seen them range from $5 to $500.
Pros
- Clean and clear website design, easy to navigate, easy to use
- Clear and easy to understand concept
- Active and fun community with supportive forum
- Make money doing something you love
Cons
- Low Income
- Limited ways to get paid
- 14 day hold time on funds
- Buyers Can Be Frustrating to Work With
- Frustrating Deadlines
- Hard to Make Constant Money
- Fiverr’s 20% Commission
Freelancer.com – 2nd Best Overall
Currently one of the largest online marketplace for freelance work, with over 45 million employers and freelancers, comes Freelancer.com. Founded in 2008 with the goal of competing directly with oDesk & Elance (now called Upwork after their merger), Freelancer provides a large amount of opportunity to connect for work.
In my opinion, Freelancer has the broadest range of both local and remote jobs available. They include design, architecture, content writing, accounting, SEO, software development, human resources, operations, and beyond. If you have a skill, you’ll make good money on Freelancer.
It is completely free to get started on their platform. They don’t require you to pay a monthly fee or purchase “Connects” to apply to positions like Upwork. Although they do have a fee structure when you get paid which looks like this:
- Fixed Price Projects: 10%
- Hourly Projects: 10%
- Services: 20%
Their percentage cut for the work created is flat typically, unlike Upwork who will take much more.
The reason why I put them as number 2 behind Upwork is the quality of clients and total amount of contract value. In my experience so far Upwork generates far greater quality in terms of clients, and the contracts amount are typically more valuable compared to Freelancer.
Pros
- It’s very easy to get started on Freelancer.com
- Easy to communicate with current and prospective clients using on-page chat.
- Multiple money withdrawal options include ACH, PayPal, and others.
- Flat fee structure rate which is less than Upwork.
Cons
- A lot of low-quality projects with excessive demands compared to price.
- Need to have tiered membership fee if you want to compete on their website.
- Not likely to get exclusivity for the project. Lots of projects get posted on the different major websites.
- The desktop app is tough to use.
TopTal – Best For Freelance Pros
Toptal coined the phrase: “Hire the top 3% of freelance talent.” They don’t budge an inch from this promise and demand the same from their freelancers and clients.
Toptal is where world-class freelancers go for the best jobs. Their screening process is tough, more like brutal, and they only accept a very select group of people every month to join their organization.
This exclusivity is what makes them unique and lucrative for you, if you can manage to join them!
They offer services like most other freelance marketplaces, but what you’ll find is more enterprise level clients who need an expert quickly.
Pros
- Very high financial reward.
- Lots of flexibility for picking the perfect client.
- Toptal has a strong community and they provide a lot of support for their freelancers.
Cons
- Very difficult to get into.
- Even though Toptal only takes 3% of applicants, there’s not enough project work to go around for everyone.
- Not a place for beginner freelancers with no experience.
- You cannot set your hourly rate. You have to ask an internal recruiter to do this for you.
ProBlogger – Best Overall For Writers
ProBlogger is a unique freelance platform in that it only focuses on providing high quality freelance writers access to the best blogs on the internet.
If you’re a writer, you want to join ProBlogger.
It was first started by Darren Rowse with the goal of connecting bloggers who needed help growing. It quickly morphed into a location for those looking to create content and find great remote writing opportunities.
Businesses will post job offerings (only for content writing) onto the “Job Board” where freelancers can view and apply.
Pros
- Free for freelancers to join
- Many blogging professionals like ProBlogger because they don’t want content mills.
- Quick and simple interface with one dashboard that will manage your listings.
- Pretty large audience (over 300,000 bloggers)
Cons
- Only built for writers.
- Large amount of competition
- No messaging platform like the other websites
Textbroker – Best For Beginner Writers
Textbroker is what you might consider a content mill. In fact, it is a content mill. They hire writers at a large scale for writing content at low cost.
Textbroker acts as the middleman, where they facilitate the orders and then put them into a pool of writing assignments for you to complete. Textbroker will distribute payments to the writers once the assignments are completed to the clients standards.
They operate in a large number of countries which means it’s perfect for every language as a writer.
They will rate you based on a per word price model. You’ll get reviewed every couple articles you write to double check spelling, content, and grammar. The more high quality content you write, the higher your ranking.
Here’s the raking and pay per word system:
- 2 Stars: $.007/word (average quality)
- 3 Stars: $.01/word (good quality)
- 4 Stars: $.014/word (very good quality)
- 5 Stars: $.05/word (excellent quality)
Here’s the deal though…
You’re most likely never going to make it to 5 stars. It’s very difficult even for seasoned writers.
Once you get a ranking, you’ll gain access to the author pool where you’ll complete projects that you pick from.
At that point you’re off to the races!
Pros
- Anyone can sign up.
- Huge selection of languages and countries offered.
- They Actually Pay.
- Great For New Writers.
- Large pool of available work.
Cons
- Very low pay to start.
- Difficult rating system.
- Churn and burn mentality.
TaskRabbit – Best For Non-Digital Freelance Jobs
Freelancing doesn’t need to be digital! TaskRabbit has proven this since 2008 when they first started connecting freelancers for odd jobs like plumbing, moving, shopping, gardening, and much more.
The reason why I added it here is because you don’t need a digital skill to be successful freelancing. You need the willpower to make extra money!
The process is straightforward. You create a profile and list all the categories you can complete, plus your rate per hour. You’ll need to pass a background check and take an orientation class, and once complete you’ll be considered a “Tasker.”
At this point you’ll receive alerts for work nearby where you can choose which ones interest you the most. You’ll communicate directly with the client about the project details and accept the work if you want.
After that you complete the work, submit an invoice, and get paid directly through TaskRabbit’s platform.
Much like the other freelancing sites you’ll receive ratings and feedback about your work based on your performance.
Pros
- Flexible jobs and schedule.
- Pick your own hourly rates.
- A+ rating with the BBB which means they’re legit.
- You can earn more with better skills.
Cons
- Tasks must be completed in person (bit of an odd situation with COVID)
- Have to be in the city where the tasks are requested.
- Rigorous screening process along with background checks.
- Customer service for freelancer help is spotty at best.
- Pure time for money exchange.
Executive Summary On The Best Freelancer Sites
Given today’s situation there’s no better time to start freelancing for extra money. If you’re working a corporate job you have no excuses for building a lucrative side income stream via freelancing.
You’ll have the opportunity to create a solid book of business that will pay dividends down the road for years to come.
I know this because I started freelancing in 2015 and it’s been a changing experience for me and my family. Plus, I’ve become more efficient and I’m able to work at a job while simultaneously freelancing on the side for legitimate side income.
If you have any questions, ask below!