In this article, I break down the top freelance platforms to hire freelancers for everything from digital marketing to legal attorneys and beyond. I offer a deep dive into the pros, cons, and ratings for each one including.
We offer this website completely free to our visitors. To help pay the bills, we’ll often (but not always) set up affiliate relationships with the top providers after selecting our favorites. However, we do our best not to let this impact our choices. There are plenty of high-paying companies we’ve turned down because we didn’t like their product.
An added benefit of our relationships is that we always try to negotiate exclusive discounts for our visitors.
Toptal is an exclusive freelance platform that upholds stringent standards. They accept only the top 3% of applicants, ensuring businesses have access to an exceptional pool of highly skilled and professional developers for their projects.
With a strong focus on quality, the platform offers a seamless experience for companies to connect and collaborate with elite frontend and backend developers. Additionally, if you're looking for AI prompt engineers, Toptal is a great platform to find talent.
Who Are They Best For? Toptal is best for companies that need top full-stack developer talent but may not be ready to commit to full-time hires.
Pricing: Toptal allows freelancers to set their own prices starting from $60 per hour. You also need to put down a refundable $500 deposit. If you’re not satisfied with the performance of your freelancer in the first two weeks, you can request a full refund.
Top Pick for Finding Editors & Proofreaders – 4.5/5 Rating
Reedsy specializes in connecting authors and publishers with professional editors, proofreaders, and designers.
The site is well-known for its high-quality services and experienced freelancers who cater to a wide range of niche genres, including fiction, non-fiction, and children's books.
Who Are They Best For? Authors, publishers, and businesses looking for specialized editing and proofreading services.
Pricing: Though pricing varies depending on the type of service being offered and the experience level of the freelancer, the platform is generally considered to be more affordable than traditional publishing industry services.
Top Pick for Digital Marketing Talent – 4.0/5 Rating
MarketerHire simplifies the process of hiring exceptional marketers.
Backed by a talented team, MarketerHire actively recruits and onboards the top 5% marketers with extensive experience, proven expertise, and strong communication skills.
The platform offers a wide range of freelance marketing experts, including:
Within just 48 hours, MarketerHire hand-matches you with a digital marketer who is the perfect fit for your project and budget. Most client projects begin within a week. Their pricing structure is transparent, and they don't require long-term contracts, allowing you to hire hourly, part-time, or full-time positions.
Who Are They Best For? MarketerHire is best for high-growth businesses, startups, and enterprises seeking to augment their teams with top-tier marketing talent.
Pricing: No placement fees, but freelancers set their own rates.
Rates usually look like this:
Hourly: $80-$160+/hour
Part-time (20% discount for 20-hour commitment): $1,200-$2,400+/week
Full-time (20% discount for 40-hour commitment): $2,400-$4,800+/week
Visugu provides unlimited projects and revisions each month for one flat fee, offering a 24-hour turnaround for certain projects.
You’ll be assigned your own dedicated account manager who will oversee your project and get access to royalty-free stock video, plus the company uses royalty-free music, meaning no extra fees.
Who Are They Best For? Visugu is best for individuals and content creators.
Pricing: Visugu offers one-time projects for $199, the “Casual Package” for $499 monthly, and the “Director Package” for $699 monthly.
Top Pick for Finding Voice-Over Talent – 4.0/5 Rating
With a straightforward name that communicates precisely what they provide, Voices is a freelancing site dedicated to matching voiceover talent with companies who need it.
Clients post a call for auditions and quickly receive multiple samples from talented voiceover artists to choose from.
Who Are They Best For? Voices.com is best for media and entertainment companies looking for voiceover talent.
Pricing: Voiceover talent set their own prices based on their level of experience, but Voices.com also offers per-project one-time-fee options starting at $150 for a professional voicemail recording and going up to $1,000 for an online ad. Voices.com also offers client plans that start at $299 per month.
ValueCoders employs a large variety of full-time data analysts that are the best in their field, so you don’t have to hunt down a bunch of freelancers to put together a team.
Plus, since they are located overseas, costs to scale will be lower.
Who Are They Best For? Enterprise businesses, businesses with large teams looking for data analysts.
Top Pick for Software Testing Talent – 4.0/5 Rating
UserTesting connects software developers with actual human testers from their target audience.
These testers will provide companies with feedback, letting them know what worked and what didn’t, so companies can adjust their software accordingly and release a better product.
Who Are They Best For? UserTesting is best for startups and small businesses in the beginning stages of their journey.
Pricing: Per-user pricing starts at $250 for a one-time fee.
Panda Copy offers a flat rate every month accompanied by an unlimited amount of content and revisions.
They have a dedicated team of copywriting experts that churn out large amounts of high-quality blogs, articles, copies, social media content, and stories.
Who Are They Best For? PandaCopy is great for agencies, small businesses, and established blogs seeking writers.
Pricing: $49.99/week for the Personal Plan (1,000 words per day), $99.99/week for the Professional Plan (2,000 words per day), and $174.50/week for the Business Plan (4,000 words per day).
Rev is considered the most trusted site for transcription services.
Rev uses a combination of over 70,000 freelancers and AI to ensure their clients get the most accurate transcription possible, offering advanced speech-to-text APIs. These speech engines are trained in multiple topics, industries, and accents to produce quality transcription.
Who Are They Best For? Rev is best for large enterprise businesses needing transcription services.
Pricing: Pricing for audio & video transcription is $1.50 per minute, English closed captions are $1.50 per minute, and global translated subtitles are $5-$12 per minute.
Top Pick for Finding Accountants & Bookkeepers – 4.0/5 Rating
Colson Strategies offers everything from bookkeeping to CFO support plus programs dedicated to helping businesses learn the basics of bookkeeping themselves.
They also offer personalized sessions to get businesses set up for success on Quickbooks and a bookkeeping checklist.
Who Are They Best For? Colson Strategies is best for small-to-medium-sized businesses seeking accounting and bookkeeping.
Pricing: Their basic bookkeeping package starts at $395/mo, their Core package starts at $597/mo, and their premium package starts at $1,495/mo.
Best for teams looking for a highly specialized freelancer. – 4.0/5 Rating
Upwork connects specialized freelancers with companies looking to fill a project role.
The platform includes a wide variety of freelancers, including:
web and UX designers
content writers
video editors
marketing automation experts
Developers
and many more.
For employers, it’s free to join and easy to post a job opening. Partner with a wide array of talent at no cost until you hire. They offer proof of quality, including ID verification and work samples.
Who are they best for? Upwork is best for teams looking for a highly specialized freelancer.
Pricing: 5% Client Marketplace Fee for all payments you make to freelancers, along with a $4.95 contract initiation fee. For access to premium features, including premium job postings, you’ll have to pay more.
Awesomic is a graphic design company with a strength in UI/UX design that offers a wide variety of services to help businesses create the most well-branded, efficient, and enjoyable product possible for their customers.
This includes crafting experiences for both desktop and mobile versions.
Who Are They Best For? Awesomic is best suited for businesses starting from scratch in terms of design since Awesomic is almost like a graphic design marketing agency.
Pricing: Awesomic pricing starts at $35/day ($699 billed monthly) and goes up to $99/day ($1,995 billed monthly.) They also have 1-on-1 options with custom pricing.
Designers are all pros; you can tell they know what they’re doing.
You can set up brand profiles (or different websites/companies you manage) and upload things like logos, guidelines, font, colors, illustrations, and references.
You can like or dislike images for rapid feedback.
You can assign tasks under different groups to be organized.
Cons
Output- You get less but more focused output compared to other graphic providers.
Top Pick for Finding Virtual Assistants – 3.5/5 Rating
Onlinejobs.ph is the best place to find talented virtual assistants from the Philippines.
All of their virtual assistants are fluent in English, affordable, and are experts in everything from WordPress to SEO and even video editing.
Who Are They Best For? Onlinejobs.ph is best for companies of all sizes who need to hire affordable virtual assistants.
Pricing: Clients can choose from 2 pricing plans, Pro and Premium; Pro: $69/month, contact 75 applicants/month, no background checks, and Premium: $99/month, contact 500 applicants/month, unlimited background checks. The rates are monthly but you can cancel as soon as you find a candidate, so it’s more of a one-time recruiting fee.
Top Pick for Finding Data Entry Specialists – 3.5/5 Rating
Axion Data Services provides each client with pre-trained expert data entry specialists.
Their data entry operators have to go through a rather rigorous testing process, proving that they can type 50 words per minute.
Their work is done in real-time and is made instantly available to you on a record-by-record basis.
Who Are They Best For? Axion Data Services is best for education, media, and finance businesses seeking data entry services.
Pricing: In general, fees range from $0.25 to $2.00 per data record; however, prices have been as high as $22 for a complex document, and as low as 10 cents per record.
Working Not Working’s simple dashboard design makes it easy to immediately see illustrators’ work right from the homepage, so no more taking forever to post a job and wait for freelancing illustrators to find you.
One of the reasons we (and other companies) like Working Not Working is that they have a selective process. Illustrators that wish to have a profile on their site need to either go through a vetting process or get invited.
Working Not Working has worked with some of the top businesses in the country (think Google, Apple, and Facebook) but their freelancers offer affordable pricing.
This freelance site does come with some stipulations. Users will need to pay a monthly fee to access freelance illustrators on the site.
Who Are They Best For? Ideal for companies of all sizes looking for illustrators.
Pricing: Solo subscription is $450 and includes 1 job post, while a team subscription is $3,600 and includes 3 user seats with 3 job posts.
TranslatorPub has expert translators available who are fluent in:
Spanish
German
Chinese
Italian
Japanese
French
Portuguese
English
Businesses can post to job boards what language they need to be translated, the deadline, a short description of what all the work will entail, and an optional pay rate.
Who Are They Best For? TranslatorPub is best for agencies with translation needs, including editing and proofreading, in multiple languages. They are also our top pick on our list of best websites to find work as a translator.
Pricing: Pricing varies greatly depending on the freelance translator you hire but you also have the option to set your own rates.
Law Clerk offers paralegal and attorney services to law firms that need specialized attorneys for short-term projects or longer-term agreements.
Who Are They Best For? Law Clerk is best for law firms looking to reduce costs by outsourcing some work.
Pricing: Clients set the fee for project-based work (average price is $575). You can hire an attorney for hourly work starting with a retainer of $2,000. The remote associate subscription starts at $3,000 per month and allows you to build your team for less overhead.
Top Pick for Affordable services in every specialty – 3.5/5 Rating
Anyone can create a profile for any specialty on Fiverr, making it perfect for any type of business seeking freelancers.
We like this for beginners because it’s so easy to make a new profile and get started in no time. You also have access to a large community of freelancers so you can find the perfect match for your project.
Who Are They Best For? Affordable services in every specialty, ideal for small businesses and startups with smaller budgets.
Pricing: Freelancers get to set their own rates and negotiate with clients as they wish.
Looking for more top freelance sites but need to browse by category? Check out our below freelance website reviews to either expand your portfolio or hire a freelancer for your next project.
There are typically three ways a freelance website works:
You can search and filter freelance worker profiles and invite a candidate to work on your job.
You can post a job and wait for freelancers to apply.
You can sign up and a recruiter will match you with pre-screened job applicants.
Different Types of Freelance Website Pricing models
Freelance websites typically make money by charging in these ways:
Charging a % of billable hours – Sites like Toptal and Upwork will markup the freelancer’s rate and charge the employer on a per project or monthly basis.
Recruiting fee only – Some sites will charge a one-time recruiting fee to match you with a candidate.
Design contests – Sites like 99designs will charge a fee to run a design contest where multiple graphic designers submit alternatives and you pick your favorite.
Charging the freelancer – Some sites only charge the freelancer to submit their profile. These are to be avoided.
Do I have to Generate a 1099 for Gig Workers?
Check with your accountant, but many websites will generate a Form 1099-MISC on your behalf when payments are made to a U.S. contractor through their platform (usually above a $600 threshold). If you pay contract workers directly you are typically on the hook for tax forms. The exception to this rule is if you hire foreigners working outside the U.S. or use a payment processor like PayPal who will generate the 1099 for you.
How I Determined Star Ratings for Each Platform
These are the factors I considered when evaluating freelance marketplaces.
Ease of Use – Some websites are easier to use than others. The two most important usability features for me are search+filtering and the ability to see your previous communications with contractors during your selection process.
Platform Cost – Many platforms will markup contractor rates and charge you ongoing fees. I prefer platforms with a one-time fee or allow me to hire a contractor directly.
Quantity & Quality of Freelancers – There are literally hundreds of freelance marketplaces out there. But I prefer the big names because they attract more candidates and increase the chance of you finding the right hire.
Freelancer Specializations – While many platforms have overlapping job specialties listed, most become known for some type of specialty. For instance, Toptal is known for high-end coders and financial consultants while OnlineJobs.ph is known for Filipino virtual assistants.
Employer protections – What systems are in place to weed out scammers and low quality contract workers?
Escrow payment processing – Some sites will put your freelancer payment into an escrow account and only release it after you’ve confirmed the work was completed.
Background checking and ratings/review system – Some sites, like OnlineJobs.ph will provide background checks on applicants. And equally important, it’s good to see reviews from other employers to help weed out any bad apples.
Dispute resolution – Most sites will provide a mechanism to address employer-contractor disputes to help protect both parties.
Employee time tracking and screen capture software, like Timeproof. Some sites provide systems for workers to record hours worked and automatically take occasional screenshots during working hours to provide proof.
Freelance Statistics – Understanding data and trends surrounding the freelance industry is very helpful when evaluating freelancer sites. It goes beyond just evaluating the platforms with the biggest market share. Knowing how others compensate freelancers, the most popular freelance positions, and the overall outlook of the gig economy will equip you to make better decisions. To acquire more insight on freelancing as a whole, check out our Freelance Statistics post.
The big difference between freelancing sites is usability
You'll find qualified freelancers (and duds) on every site and some people have profiles on multiple sites.
Did you know that there are approximately 1.1 billion freelancers around the world? Read our post for more freelance statistics.
That’s why I focus on freelance sites that are easy to use. To get a feel for which site works best for you, test-drive freelancers from several sites by creating a freelancer test assignment.
Choose the Best Freelancing Platform For Your Business Needs
Now you’re equipped to pick the perfect freelance site for your projects this year.
Whether it's Toptal's elite talent or Fiverr's diverse pool, the right choice can elevate your project to new heights.
Ready to dive in?
Head over to the freelance website that resonates most with your project's goals. Your ideal freelance partner is just a click away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are freelancing websites?
Freelancing websites are online marketplaces where skilled workers can create a profile and connect with businesses to earn income as an independent contractor.
Which freelance site is the best?
The best freelance site for you depends on your project needs and budget. Overall, Fiverr and Upwork are best for a wide array of freelancing options. Toptal is the best platform for hiring developers, and MarketerHire is the best platform for hiring digital marketing talent.
What is the best websites to find freelance work?
Fiverr and Upwork are the two most popular freelance sites for beginners (up to a point). While it's easier to get started with these sites, you still need to provide quality services and market yourself well to increase the likelihood of getting more gigs.
What is the largest freelance platform?
Upwork has over eighteen million registered freelancers and five million registered clients. Three million jobs worth over $1Bn USD are posted annually, making Upwork the largest freelancer marketplace in the world.
Is Fiverr better than Upwork?
Fiverr and Upwork both offer access to a huge pool of freelancers in dozens of specialties. Upwork requires more setup time to post your project, but it’s better for larger, long-term projects. Fiverr is quicker to hire freelancers on, making it ideal for smaller tasks.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.