50 Top Sites to Find Work as a Freelancer
Making a living as a freelancer isn’t without its challenges. In fact, one of the most common complaints we hear from the industry is that it can be difficult to find work as a freelancer and to keep a steady supply of clients with ongoing contract templates or agreement templates.
This big list of websites is designed to show you exactly where new clients are waiting, taking you one step closer to signing lucrative contracts in dozens of freelance industries.
Freelance Writing Jobs
Don’t let the name fool you. While the Problogger site started out listing opportunities just for bloggers, it has evolved into a resource for anyone in the online content creation niche to find work. They also list jobs for editors, marketers, and SEO specialists!
This website is aimed at those starting out in the journalism field, and is one of the few sites that also features paid editorial internships. About half the jobs posted are open to remote work arrangements with freelance freedoms.
A degree in the media arts will make you a most qualified candidate for many of the freelance reporting positions listed on this site. Even without it, there is ample opportunity to apply for any of a dozen current freelance roles in writing, editing, and content planning.
These media niche jobs include writing, copyediting, and even ad buyer; register for free to get the ability to upload your resume and apply directly from your profile.
Freelance Coding, Designer, and Developer and Web Design Jobs
This clearinghouse of job listings is aimed at freelancers who want to work anywhere, and pulls in job listings from a variety of tech hubs. Use the easy sort function to display just the jobs for the language or platform you excel in.
This platform lists freelance software opportunities for those developers and designers who have met their strict performance standards. The expectation is that you will be a full-time worker – not “side-hustler” – and talent is rewarded with higher-than-average pay for a freelance site.
This members-only site lists just one unique development or design project a day. Sign up for weekly email lists or daily tweets alerts for when new jobs are posted.
A regularly-updated list of opportunities for designers and developers, this job board is curated by Smashing Magazine. While the jobs are mainly for freelancers, a few full-time careers pop up every now and again.
The top tech news site has expanded its offerings to include postings for a variety of positions in the tech sector. Find traditional job arrangements for most of the listings, with a few high-quality freelance positions sprinkled in.
Join a trusted name in tech with the Stack Overflow job board. Create a developer “story” and get your work seen in front of qualified hiring teams.
All of these jobs are for Ruby professionals! The site calls itself the “original” Ruby job board with over 5,000 jobs posted since 2005.
Made to pair female tech professionals with high-quality, long-term projects, the site allows a lengthy trial period for each accepted client to make sure you’re a match!
Envato Studio is a freelance marketplace for designers, developers, producers and digital creatives. All professionals are vetted before they can work. As a part of the Envato network, the site has paid out over $250 million in creator payments.
Are you a whiz at Joomla? This site lists freelance projects specifically for this skill.
This site is made and run by developers. Apply and you’ll be contacted when the right freelance opportunity comes along!
Other Freelance Sites
This site is aimed at companies looking to hire top marketers with skills in social media and influencer marketing. Both companies and individuals can submit their profile for consideration. Only carefully vetted and accepted freelancers can apply for open positions.
This membership site requires a payment to access most of their listings, although many are exclusive and not listed anywhere else. While not all the jobs are freelance, every listing is remote-friendly and can be done from home.
Every job on the Remote.co website has been hand-curated to ensure it’s legit. Find jobs in every industry – not just those in tech!
Hired offers a diverse set of opportunities across a variety of companies, matching you with only those that best meet your unique skills, interests, preferences, and priorities.
One of the largest freelance marketplaces, Upwork (formerly Odesk and Elance) lists opportunities for every imaginable industry niche. Developers, marketers, writers, and even accountants can find work, although the competition can be fierce in the more globally-established categories.
Tech start-ups are always in need of quality freelancers to join them on the ground floor. Find a variety of listings with hundreds of newly-funded companies all in one place!
Do you have mad design skills? Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your work to companies of every size. The Dribbble marketplace makes it easy to create and showcase your portfolio to the world.
This matchmaking company for creative freelancers currently has a long waitlist and very high standards. If you can get in, however, expect to work with the top start-ups and tech industries in the world.
Now owned by Adobe, this site helps professionals find work and display their talents. Jobs include both traditional and freelance arrangements in a variety of creative fields.
Freelance transcription, translation, and captioning professionals can find a variety of jobs on this site. Registration is free, and pay ranges from $1 per minute to $.10 per word.
This freelance-only website features a highly-customizable search feature and over 3,000,000 jobs at any one time!
You’ll have to create a profile with this site, but after that, you’ll have the chance to bid on projects. Completed work is subject to a fee, but bidding is complimentary.
Tired of communication across the country (or the world)? Get work from local businesses with this geographically-based platform.
Heavily focused in the tech sectors, this job board is run by the same folks who created Dribbble and Crew.
This of this site as a virtual temp agency. It focuses on contract work that can be done remotely.
Find a large online listing of remote and telecommute jobs – most of which are freelance arrangements.
You’ll want to carefully research any job you find here, but many good freelance opportunities have been found in the “jobs” and “gigs” sections for major cities in the U.S.
In addition to having a large, searchable list of hand-screen telecommute jobs, they feature a database of over 8,000 companies who prefer to hire remotely.
While not a remote job site, it does have the option to customize search results to drill down on freelance opportunities. Use the “remote” and “virtual” location keywords to find these jobs.
One of the biggest job search engines has now made it easier to find remote (and therefore) freelance work. Customize your searches to get access to their growing list!
This site lists opportunities for everything from house painting to babysitting, but there are a good number of opportunities for creatives, developers, and content creators. Bidding costs money, depending on the scope of work, but only a handful of professionals compete for each gig.
Freelancers can send proposals to many companies needing quality hourly work done. Win bids to get work and grow your income!
Boasting work from the top 3% of freelance software developers, designers, and finance experts, Toptal is trusted by impressive companies such as Consumer Affairs, Rand McNally, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sure, your first gigs will only earn you $5 (minus applicable fees), but more established freelancers are earning much more, and the opportunities on this platform are endless.
This website was recently acquired by IZEA and requires content creators and writers to pass a few tests before they get started. Once approved, job bidding is easy and pricing is competitive.
Most writing freelancers use Contently for its amazing free portfolio platform, but did you know you can use it to find work, too? Select freelancers are given the chance to bid on work with top Fortune 500 brands.
This site bills itself as the “obsessively” curated community, and getting in can be tough. But once you meet their qualifications, expect to find freelance positions from top brands in several creative niches – updated daily!
Designed to match companies with professional writers, editors, translators and graphic designers, ServiceScape is certainly a service to explore as a freelancer starting or willing to grow their business
Currently only available to New York and London freelancers, this site features high-end work opportunities, direct communication with the client, and a 14-day payment policy.
Focusing solely on “microjobs,” the tasks on Zeerks are easy to do and take less time than larger projects. Pay ranges from a mere $3 to $200.
While it doesn’t list as many jobs as other sites, the type of work you’ll find here is varied. Sign up and start being considered for freelance positions in customer service, logo design, legal tasks, and more.
This resource calls itself “your telecommuting headquarters” and features a wide range of articles and new resources in addition to the 2,000 remote work opportunities it lists. Many are freelance in nature.
Another “micro” job site, Damongo lists jobs to be complete for a range of fees (usually $5 – 50.) Market your skills in editing, creative design, video animation, and more to a global audience.
Juiiicy is an invite-only site that pays designers to refer other designers for work. The closed community ensure only the best jobs are posted.
Connecting qualified technicians with competitive jobs in their local areas, Field Nation allows freelancers to grow their network, learn new skills, and earn as much – or as little – as they want.
Feel free to also check out the infographic from Hustlr on how to make money from your hobbies.
I hope this list helps you find more freelance work. Now that you know where to search, learn how to make a business proposal that stands out from the crowd. Let me know in the comments which freelance sites are your favorite!
