Best Freelance Websites
Freelancing is a type of self-employment where a freelancer provides services on a contract or project basis. Freelancers have a certain set of skills, which they exhibit on their profile and target the corresponding jobs. In the last two decades, several freelancing platforms have been online, providing a portal to service providers and service buyers an opportunity to find one another.
Most freelancing platforms are free to join and post, but they charge from a freelancer’s earnings after completing his job. Some websites also ask for a regular subscription for a job posting; these websites provide appropriate facilities to be competitive with other free service providers. How to select the best Freelance Website?
Some websites target a specific market segment for professionals to narrow down the complexity due to the diversity of jobs posted.
How to Get Started as a Freelancer?
When a person with a certain skill set starts as a freelancer, they should gauge their skills to secure jobs on multiple platforms. Due to many freelancers on every platform, the competition has become much tougher compared to a decade ago. Some websites are better suited for a beginner, while others may have more experts than beginners or intermediate freelancers based on skills or work experience. How to Become a Freelancer?
In the past two years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of freelancers across all the platforms; the main reason is COVID-19, which made a large population jobless and people with jobs work from home.
Freelancers have always been in the work-from-home category, and when the job-holding population became part of such a culture, they had more free time, leading them to look for jobs on freelancing platforms. These people already had the experience to back their skills, making them more eye catchy to potential clients.
9 Best Freelance Websites to Find Work
- Fiverr.com
- Upwork.com
- Toptal.com
- Freelancer.com
- Flexjobs.com
- Simplyhired.com
- Guru.com
- Linkedin.com
- Behance.net
- Peopleperhour.com
1. Fiverr.com
Fiverr is one of the many popular freelancing platforms; it is mainly suitable for beginner freelancers. Fiverr lets freelancers post their gigs, utilizing a specific set of skills and the buyers see these gigs and contact the service provider to discuss a job they need to do.
Fiverr also has a bidding system where a buyer posts a job for freelancers to see and bid on. Due to huge competition, the bidding ends up extremely low. This way, it is more beneficial for the buyers than the freelancer. But there is also the fact that most low bidders are beginners with less experience, producing low-quality work.
Fiverr does not let the client and the freelancer contact outside of their platform; if found doing so, the webpage will block their account permanently. Fiverr works as a middleman; it takes the money from the buyer and holds it till the job is completed, and the customer is satisfied.
There is also a 20% payment deduction on project completion and an additional 3% on the withdrawal.
Fiverr uses common and easy payment methods
- Bank transfer through Payoneer
- PayPal
- Fiverr revenue card
2. Upwork.com
Upwork is also a very popular freelancing platform; it has individual freelancers and companies and enterprisers who post as freelancers. On this platform, most people can score projects and deals that go a long way. It also allows freelancers to be hired as full or part-time remote employees.
Upwork is mainly used by experts and advanced freelancers with ample experience and skill sets. A freelancer sets up a profile detailing his expertise and experience with all the relevant data; it also provides a system to gauge one’s skills by taking tests by Upwork. This testing system helps freelancers become more appealing to potential clients.
Upwork also implements a bidding system, where a client posts a job request along with their budget range; when a freelancer bids for the job, he is then interviewed by the client before the deal is made.
Upwork also uses a similar payment method, with a set service charge as well
3. Toptal.com
Toptal is the platform for the most expert freelancers out there. Its motto is top 3%. Toptal lets a freelancer join after a five-step screening process, and it includes a language and personality assessment followed by an in-depth skill review, which clears the person for a live interview where he is given relevant problem-solving tasks; if passed, then he is given a 1 to 3 weeks long project-based test. After all these 4 steps, the person is then required to be always at 100% quality level.
Toptal helps member freelancers score projects with multinational companies like Microsoft, Airbnb, Google, etc.
4. Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is the oldest freelance platform that gained a worldwide range, and it was first launched in 2004. Expert and advanced freelancers also use freelancer, which caters to many categories, and due to its popularity, many freelancers have secured full-time jobs through it. Freelancer.com also has a grading system for freelancers to test their skills and earn a badge, which makes them more attractive to potential clients.
Freelancer.com, popular for being the oldest is also popular for having many scam clients; no other platform has as many fraud cases as this website.
4. Flexjobs.com
Flexjobs is a platform for people looking for part-time or full-time home-based jobs. It is a subscription-based portal with multiple packages that lets you see and apply for jobs. The screening process used here is all specific to the company or organization to which the individual applies.
5. Simplyhired.com
It is a freelancing website that charges no subscription and posts jobs from other platforms. You can get hired as a full time from here as well.
6. Guru.com
Guru.com is a similar platform to other freelance portals. A profile detailing your skillset is set up, after which you can scroll through the jobs offered and bid on them. It is almost the same as Upwork and freelancer.com. Guru is best for both beginners as well as advanced freelancers.
7. Linkedin.com
LinkedIn is a huge online platform for both freelancers and job-seeking individuals. Most of the jobs posted here are on-site and full-time. Many companies and enterprises have a presence on this platform through their staff members. Linkedin has a vast number of jobs posted each day, but ten times more applicants apply for the same job, making the competition a bit more challenging.
8. Behance.com
Behance is an exclusive platform for designers and creative people. Freelancers here can post their portfolios and different skill-based work for the clients to look at. Artists and artisans also use this platform to exhibit and sell their work.
9. Peopleperhour.com
This platform offers freelancers to earn on an hourly basis. A freelancer can freely join this portal by first sending an application, which a mediator then approves. After approval, the freelancer can see different job postings, which are quite similar to other popular websites.
Conclusion
There is a large number of Best Freelance Websites on the internet, most have fierce competition going on all the time, and some even have scammers and frauds laying around in forms for both buyers and freelancers. If a person wants to become a freelancer, he should be very confident in his skills; otherwise, wherever he goes, clients can always choose another freelancer for their job.
