The top freelancers out there are the most commercially savvy and have their fingers in many client pies! With the continued increase in freelancer platforms, websites and market places (similar to yours truly!) freelance work is becoming more and more accessible. Each platform offers unique features, pros, and cons, catering to a diverse range of skills and preferences. In this guide, we’ll explore the top freelancer and remote working websites, compare their strengths and weaknesses, and help you find the right fit for your freelance journey.
1. Upwork
Pros:
- Wide Range of Jobs: Upwork boasts one of the most extensive collections of freelance work across various domains.
- Well-Established: As one of the oldest freelancer websites, it has a vast client base.
- Flexible Payments: Multiple payment options, including hourly and fixed-price contracts.
Cons:
- Competition: Due to its popularity, competition for jobs can be fierce and rates rock bottom.
- Service Fees: Upwork charges freelancers a fee, which can be a percentage of earnings meaning the already low rates are chopped even further!
2. Freelancer
Pros:
- Global Opportunities: Freelancer connects freelancers with international clients in several languages.
- Diverse Job Categories: You can find jobs ranging from IT to writing to design.
- Contests: Participate in contests to showcase your skills and win projects.
Cons:
- Fee Structure: Freelancer charges various fees, including project fees and withdrawal fees.
- Quality Varies: Job quality can vary as clients have different expectations and the briefs are often not particularly in-depth.
3. Fiverr
Pros:
- Service-Based Gigs: Fiverr is known for its gig-based model where freelancers offer specific services.
- User-Friendly: An easy-to-navigate platform with a global client base.
- No Bidding: No need to bid on projects (phew!); clients choose you based on your gig descriptions.
Cons:
- Low-Paying Jobs: Some gigs can be quite low-paying, and it may take time to establish higher pricing.
- Fees: Fiverr takes a percentage of your earnings and given how many freelancers are on there already it’s really tough to make headway and cut through the competition.
4. Guru
Pros:
- Quality Jobs: Guru often attracts clients looking for high-quality work.
- Workroom Collaboration: Offers WorkRooms for efficient project management.
- Different Payment Methods: Accept payments via various methods, including checks.
Cons:
- Limited Free Bids: Free membership limits the number of bids you can make per month.
- Service Fees: Guru charges freelancers service fees and membership fees. In the competitive environment you’ve got to be quick to respond which can make it tricky to get enough jobs to justify the membership fees.
5. Toptal
Pros:
- Elite Marketplace: Toptal is known for its high-quality talent pool and matching freelancers with top clients.
- Screening Process: Rigorous vetting process ensures quality talent.
- Good Earnings: Higher potential earnings due to premium clientele.
Cons:
- Exclusivity: Toptal is selective, so not everyone can join and the vetting process is lengthy so if you’re going to go through it you really need to commit.
- Competitive: High competition for projects, and the selection process can be challenging.
6. PeoplePerHour
Pros:
- UK Focus: Great for UK-based freelancers with clients predominantly from the UK.
- Hourlies: Freelancers can offer fixed-price services called “Hourlies.”
- No Bidding: Clients often reach out to freelancers directly.
Cons:
- Limited Global Reach: Primarily UK-focused, which may limit international opportunities.
- Fees: Service fees and payment processing fees apply.
- Job quality: Quality of jobs varies massively and the bidding wars can be aggressive and a bit soul destroying if you’re continually getting outbid.
7. 99designs
Pros:
- Design-Centric: Ideal for designers, 99designs specialises in graphic and web design projects.
- Contests: Participate in design contests to showcase your skills.
Cons:
- Niche Market: Limited to design-related work, which may not suit all freelancers.
- Contest Model: Some freelancers may find the contest model competitive and challenging; the process requires a lot of time investment often for little reward.
8. FlexJobs
Pros:
- Remote Work: Specialises in remote and flexible job listings, making it suitable for freelancers both in the US and globally.
- Quality Listings: Focuses on vetted job listings to ensure high quality.
- No Scams: Less risk of encountering scam job listings as it’s more recruitment focused as opposed to project focused.
Cons:
- Membership Fee: FlexJobs charges a membership fee for access to premium listings.
- Limited Categories: The roles are often full-time, employed roles as opposed to freelance which goes against the grain of working for yourself!
9. We Work Remotely
http://www.weworkremotely.com/
Pros:
- Remote Opportunities: Great for freelancers looking for remote work.
- Quality Listings: Focuses on high-quality remote job listings as companies have to pay a fee of $299 to post their vacancies.
Cons:
- Often Full Time: Similar to FlexJobs, We Work Remotely focuses more on full-time employment as opposed to freelance.
- Membership Fee: We Work Remotely charges a membership fee for access to premium listings.
10. Freelance Writing Gigs
http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/
Pros:
- Writers’ Paradise: Ideal for freelance writers looking for writing jobs.
- Frequent Updates: Regularly updated with new writing opportunities.
- No Bidding: Typically, clients post job listings and directly hire writers as well as specifying the hourly rate up front.
Cons:
- Niche Focus: Limited to writing-related work, which may not suit all freelancers.
- Competitive: The writing industry can be highly competitive.
- US focused: Highly targeted towards the US market and often requires freelancers to be US based.
11. Yours Truly…Interim Digital
So, where do we fit in amongst all these market players?
Pros:
- Live Project Opportunities: Our most compelling point of difference is that we’re not a market place or a platform, nor are we a job positing board. We bring live briefs that have already been curated and negotiated direct to our freelance community members and all we expect in return is for them to smash the projects out of the park
- Excellent Briefs: As we work predominantly with the worlds top digital agencies the briefs that we bring to the community are thorough and often for great, global brands.
- Top Dollar: Our community are the most highly skilled digital freelancers in the market so we ensure they’re paid accordingly.
- No Fees: Interim is an invite only community; you can’t pay to join and instead must either be referred to us or apply directly at which point we organise a vetting chat. If your experience stacks up and culturally you’re the right fit then happy days, you’ll pass the Interim test 🙂
- Vetted Community: We don’t use AI, we use the human eye to vet every single one of our freelancers. Yes, this makes the process lengthier for us and means we have smaller numbers of freelancers in our community but, what we lose in time we make up in skillset. We work with the worlds top agencies who expect the worlds top support so by vetting every community member we ensure that we consistently deliver.
Cons:
- You’ve Got to be Quick: Because we go the extra mile to secure the briefs for our community they literally fly off the shelf when we offer them out to the community. On average, a project brief takes less than 1 minute to allocate because of our quick fingered community members!
There You Have It!
There’s no getting away from the fact that the freelancer world is massively competitive. Whether you’re battling for gigs on an auction site or replying to a live brief from us, you’ve got to not only be fast but be excellent to stand out from the crowd.
Ultimately, the right platform can kickstart or elevate your freelance career but the key is to try a few to help spread out your opportunities. Don’t put all your eggs in one platform; instead take your time to establish your self on several whilst also working with clients directly. That way you’ll give you and your pipeline the best opportunity of filling up.