Are you a freelancer or looking to become one for a better chance of financial freedom? When it comes to digital freelancing there are tons of websites out there connecting skilled freelancers to customers. All of them claim to be the best freelancers websites. But some are better than others. Some target a smaller niche or specialism. Which ones should you use? In this post we’ll take a look at some of the best freelance websites to make money online.
What is A Freelancer?
Firstly, what is a freelancer? A freelancer is an individual working on a self-employed basis. Freelancing is becoming a more popular way of earning a living, offering lots of benefits over regular employment. You get to be your own boss, can work from anywhere and only pick the work that suits you.
For people with the right skills to sell it can offer potentially high earnings. But unlike the security of a regular job, earnings are not guaranteed. To be successful as a freelancer you must be skilled, committed and able to market yourself to potential customers.
Before you visit the best freelance websites, view this post covering the benefits of freelancing to get started.
There are many freelancing websites for allowing freelancers to sell their skills and services which we’ll take a look at 10 of the best freelance websites. These sites are a way to easily reach your target audience and promote your work. It is usually best to register across multiple sites to take advantage of the most opportunities.
What Are The Best Freelance Websites?
The platforms listed below are among 10 of the best freelance websites to make money selling digital services online.
Fiverr
Fiverr is one of the world’s largest and most recognizable freelancing platforms. It’s an easy to use site that’s great for both experienced freelancers and beginners.
It’s called Fiverr as it started out as a way to sell small jobs for $5 but has since grown into much more than that. Freelancers are able to set their own prices and it’s free to join and take on work – Fiverr takes 20% commission from each transaction.
It’s scale means whatever type of work you offer you will be sure to find opportunities across small and large scale projects. There are currently over 200 categories and you are free to add any service you offer.
Due to the popularity of the platform and generally low barriers to entry means there may be increased competition for jobs. But Fiverr is definitely a platform you should check out.
Upwork
Upwork is quite similar to Fiverr in being another large and established freelancing platform. It too has services listed across almost every category and industry.
Start by creating a free profile of your skills and work history to be better matched to suitable work. Once registered, there are several ways to find work. You can start by searching the marketplace and submit a proposal for jobs you want. Or use the project catalogue to set up ready to buy projects.
For anybody operating in development, design or marketing there are specialist recruiters that can match you with exclusive opportunities.
Upwork operates a sliding fee scale that’s based on your total billings with each client as follows;
- $0-$500 in earnings from a client – 20% service fee applied to earnings
- $500.01-$10,000 in earnings from a client – 10% service fee
- $10,000.01 or more in earnings from a client – 5% service fee
Competition is quite high but if you spend time and establish yourself there are lots of opportunities on Upwork.
FlexJobs
FlexJobs is a little different in that it’s not purely a freelance site as such. It is an online job board aimed at people looking for remote work and flexible job opportunities. But it definitely deserves a place on the list of best freelance websites due to the amount of freelance jobs available.
It’s not your regular online job board – all listings on the site are verified for legitimacy. So you can be confident of finding genuine and trustworthy employment opportunities. What you can earn depends on each job listing.
As FlexJobs specializes in remote and flexible jobs there are lots of freelancing jobs appear on the site across all industries and skill sets. So it is definitely worth checking out for anybody looking for quality work from home jobs or freelancing projects.
What are the pros and cons of working from home?
PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour aims to connect buyers and freelancers together better than other sites by using artificial intelligence. It is more of an exclusive site as each freelancer has to have their application verified. This is to ensure they only approve and match the top freelancers and providing a high quality service to buyers.
Freelancers set their own pricing and have good payment protection. Buyers are required to pay a deposit that is held until completion of the project.
Transaction fees are as follows;
- Over £5000-lifetime billing per buyer: 3.5% (excl. VAT) service fee.
- Between £250 and £5000-lifetime billing per buyer: 7.5% (excl. VAT) service fee.
- Below £250-lifetime billing per buyer: 20% (excl. VAT) service fee.
Find opportunities on PeoplePerHour.
Behance
Behance is a site owned and operated by software giant Adobe and is aimed at creative freelancers. It is different to other freelance sites in that it is more of a creative social network, allowing people to easily share their work with others.
Behance is a good network for all types of creative services such as animation, graphic design, photography, fashion and more. Use the site to get your work noticed by potential employers and expand your contacts. It is one of the best freelance websites for creatives.
LinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals to connect and a very popular way of finding work and making new business contacts. Making it among the best freelancers websites to discover business opportunities.
Create an account and add as much information to your profile including your skills and experience to help stand out. Prospective employers can view your profile and contact you with offers. You can also browse job postings on the site to find something that suits you.
Overall LinkedIn is a great place to showcase your work, enhance your network and find jobs.
SimplyHired
SimplyHired is an online job board that allows companies to post job opportunities for free. This means there are lots of jobs available including plenty of freelance positions. It is easy to find many positions for freelancers across all categories using the search function. Either search for opportunities or upload your resume and let recruiters find you.
It’s a very easy to use site that also comes with several other helpful features to help you land jobs. This includes a free resume builder, salary checker and company reviews. SimplyHired is a good choice whether you are looking for a full time job or freelance roles.
Insolvo
Insolvo is a smart freelancing platform utilizing artificial intelligence to match freelancers to jobs. There are lots of tasks to be found for both new and experienced freelancers. They claim that due to the smart AI technology it can help beginners get matched to work more easily than other platforms.
Insolvo also has good payment protection with the funds for the project reserved in the buyer’s account until completion. There is a 10% commission fee which is deducted from this payment.
In order to keep the platform high quality and fraud free there are some stricter sign up requirements. Each freelancer is required to pass a sign up test to receive a rating. There is also a subscription fee payable for this on Insolvo.
This is one of the best freelancers websites for beginners. Learn more information in our blog post explaining how to make money freelancing with Insolvo.
Latium
Latium is a freelancing jobs platform that allows users to use cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin for payments. The type of cryptocurrency is stipulated by the employer when a project is posted. Payments are still available in US dollars. Any type of freelancing service can be posted on Latium.
It is free to join Latium as a freelancer but there are also a couple of paid freelancer plans. These paid plans have added benefits which allow you to get the most out of opportunities with lower project fees. For $12 you can receive verification which allows a wider scope of projects that are available for verified users only. There is also a Pro plan which comes with a monthly fee starting at $7. This gives priority placement, verified status and lower fees.
Commission fees vary quite widely depending on the plan type and the method of payment received, but Latium is a great alternative platform. Learn more in our blog post covering earning crypto with Latium freelancing.
TaskRabbit
Finally, at number 10 on this list of the best freelancers websites is TaskRabbit. TaskRabbit is a same day service platform connecting taskers with people requiring odd jobs and errands. This tends to be geared more to offline jobs but there are still plenty of online and digital jobs as well.
Task categories cover almost anything you can think of that people require help with during their daily lives. This includes grocery shopping, waiting in line, gardening, cleaning, furniture assembly, handyman services and so much more.
You can set your own hourly rate and there are no commission payments on jobs, you get to keep 100% of earnings from each task. There is a one time $25 registration fee applicable in some locations. It is one of the best freelance websites for the variety of tasks available, especially offline.
The only downside to TaskRabbit is that it is not fully available worldwide yet. It is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Best Freelance Websites Conclusion
There are lots of sites that freelancers can use to find jobs including freelancing platforms, social networks and online job boards. The list above contains some of the best freelancers websites to make money online. These sites are suited to all areas of skills, expertise and services.
In addition to these there are more ways for freelancers to earn money online including the best freelance websites for writers. Find more articles like this on our blog including the following;
- Real ways to make money from home for free.
- Use Quora to promote your site and earn.
- Freelance ideas to make money online.
- Selling digital products online.
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