Upwork, formerly Elance-oDesk, has a bit of a learning curve when you first get up and running. You’ll have to learn the artistry of writing effective proposals, and you may have to bid below your pay rate to build up your feedback rating. Many freelance jobs are posted on Upwork, but there’s a hungry audience competing for them. Unless you’re an Upwork superstar, bidding on a project that already has 30 proposals usually isn’t worth it.
That being said, some freelance designers secure plenty of work on Upwork and score project after project. Upwork can be worth the time — it offers the potential for great returns once you’ve established yourself on the freelance platform.
Designhill is a creative marketplace that connects employers with freelance designers. Employers can create a project contest to find creative freelancers and receive a variety of design entries to choose from. Or, they can find freelancers by searching for specific services on the homepage or placing an order for a creative service. Freelancers can post jobs for either short, part-time gigs or more dedicated, long-term work.
Designhill has a lot to offer whether you’re a graphic designer, web designer, WordPress site builder, or pursuing other types of design. Designhill further courts its creatives by offering them the chance to design their own T-shirts, have them printed, and sell them in their online shop. This is a nice touch, giving freelance designers yet another way to get their work out there and make some money off their artistry via a freelancing platform.
Toptal pitches itself as a place to find the top 3% of freelance talent. Their screening process is so rigorous that out of the thousands of submissions they get every month, they only accept a few into their ranks. This exclusivity sets them apart from so many other freelance job sites out there. It may seem intimidating getting in, but if you do, you’ll get the chance to put yourself in front of some pretty big names — Airbnb, Duolingo, and Shopify are companies that have used Toptal to share job opportunities for designers, software developers, and finance experts, product managers.
Whatever your field, especially if you're a creative, you should have a LinkedIn profile. Keeping your profile up to date helps you build your network and connect with people via the integrated messaging system.
You can post examples of your work for each role you've had, making it more than just a resume. And by having your skills searchable on this platform, you're bound to bring in some traffic to your profile and connect with people who may be looking for your exact design expertise.
Another smart feature that LinkedIn has rolled out is LinkedIn Services Marketplace, which helps businesses find freelancers who are qualified to work for them. Potential employers can filter by different specialties like content marketing, design, data entry, and more. LinkedIn Services also sends project leads your way via email, giving you the chance to write a proposal and bid. It’s like having a recruiter who is always looking out for you.
Thanks to LinkedIn job postings, this is one of the most reliable sites for online jobs, whether you’re looking for remote jobs, part-time gigs, or full-time freelance work. There’s a reason why LinkedIn is one of the best websites for freelancers: they continue to deliver what job seekers are looking for.
We Work Remotely boasts that they get around 4.5 million visitors to their job boards. That’s huge. They have a multitude of job postings in categories like programming, design, sales, marketing, customer support, and more. We Work Remotely is one of the most well-known sites for online jobs, including both freelance and full-time gigs.
People or companies seeking to hire freelancers or virtual assistants have to spend a fixed price of $299 to list on We Work Remotely, which acts as a screening process and weeds out a lot of low-quality job leads. With heavy hitters such as Google, Amazon, and InVision all listed as companies who’ve posted on it, this is a legitimate platform for freelancers. And what's even better, you don't have to create a profile — all you need to do is click on a job link and be brought straight there.
When you fill in your Behance profile with great project samples, your work is put in front of an audience of like-minded creatives. And if your work earns the coveted spot of featured project, you'll get even more positive exposure. Who knows who might see it and might want to hire you?
If you’re still figuring out how to get work as a freelancer, SimplyHired has a lot of great resources that go beyond a simple freelance job board. You’ll find guides on resume writing, cover letter writing, and other information to help you out. SimplyHired even has a free online resume builder if you need to revamp yours.
This site doesn't charge employers for job postings, which opens a floodgate of job opportunities. And for freelance workers wanting to be seen by potential clients, SimplyHired makes it super easy to upload a resume and get your profile up and running.
Their job search functions also come in handy, letting you narrow down your searches only to what you’re interested in. Having a focused search is much more valuable than sites that display only loosely related results.
Dribbble is one of the most popular freelance websites for designers of all specialties. So if you’re looking for freelance design jobs ranging from graphic design to product design and everything in between — you need to set up a profile on Dribbble.
Having a high-quality Dribbble profile is a great way to market yourself and show potential clients what you’re capable of. Dribbble gets a lot of traffic, with plenty of clients looking for talented designers. All you need to do is write a stellar bio and show off the best of your portfolio.
Dribbble also gives you an easy way to update your work availability and lets you flip the switch on and off whenever you need to. And if you upgrade to the pro level, you get access to an exclusive freelance design job board.
Fiverr got its name because it originally facilitated quick freelance gigs for five dollars — but it’s grown quite a bit since then. Now, you can set your own starting prices, packages, and add ons. Many savvy freelancers use lower sticker prices for small projects to lure in new clients. Kind of like giving them a cheap sample so they’ll want to contract you for larger projects.
Hire a HackerIt’s worth noting that Fiverr also builds payments right into the platform, so you don’t have to worry about invoicing your clients or sending them Paypal reminders. Once you complete the buyer’s order, the money is transferred to your account. So while some freelancers dismiss Fiverr because of its humble beginnings, it’s a great freelancing website for beginners as well as anyone willing to offer a range of rates for different work.
PeoplePerHour markets themselves as doing a better job of pairing clients with professionals compared to other websites for freelancers. With the help of artificial intelligence, PeoplePerHour aims to bring freelancers and clients together in a more streamlined, precise way.
Once clients submit the project scope, the artificial intelligence system analyzes the details and matches the project with qualified freelancers. Those freelancers are invited to submit their proposals — setting their own prices — and clients choose from a curated selection.
PeoplePerHour remains one of the best freelancer websites because clients and freelancers alike can avoid wasting their time searching for the right fit. Plus, PeoplePerHour builds payments into the system to protect both parties from messy payment disagreements.
Guru has an authentic, grassroots feel to what they do. They encourage transparency on their freelance platform and value trust, making sure that whatever your role, expectations are met. These sensibilities also extend to their job postings, which all clearly communicate what a project entails.
Guru has a built-in vetting process for freelancers, which helps freelancers prove their credibility to potential clients and simplifies the hiring process. Invoicing for your work is simple too, with multiple payment terms and secure payments integrated into the site.
Freelancer covers many different facets of freelance work — everything from design work like graphic and logo design to marketing work such as SEO and copywriting jobs.The wide variety of specializations makes Freelancer one of the best freelancing sites to search for opportunities. You can even find freelance gigs in multiple languages including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and more.
Job seekers can filter jobs by several categories including fixed price projects, hourly rate projects, contests, skills, and languages. And every job listing shows an average bid along with the current number of bidders, so you know what to expect before applying. So if you're looking for flex jobs, remote work, and other freelance gigs — Freelancer is a great option.
Working with startups can be exciting. You may get the chance to shape a brand’s identity and flex your creativity a bit more than with established companies. Wellfound, formerly AnglelList Talent, connects freelancers with these up-and-coming businesses.
Wellfound not only makes it easy to find cool startups, but also streamlines the application process for you — one application for thousands of jobs. Who knows which startup will rise up and become the next huge company? You may just get to be a part of the next big thing.
Clients can court multiple designers, allowing them to find just the right fit. Like many freelance sites, they offer crowdsourcing to do their work. If that’s your thing, you should definitely check out DesignCrowd. Just keep in mind that you’ll be competing with other freelancers on every project without earning an hourly rate for your work.
99designs is another great website for freelancers that allows designers to connect with businesses around the world. If you’re a designer looking for freelance work online, 99Designs is a great place to start. You can choose the design styles and industries that interest you
If you’ve ever checked out the Working Not Working magazine, you know that they’re serious about design and empowering those with the tools to help people grow in their careers. This branch of their company works so well in complementing this mission.
Their landing page features profiles of some of the creatives who inhabit this space. Read through these bios and you’ll see that the creative professionals who come here are serious about their craft, with impressive credentials and skill sets. You’re among good company if you sign up for your own account.
If you're a Webflow freelancer looking for web design and web development jobs, becoming a Certified Webflow Partner is a great way to find highly motivated clients. Companies turn to Webflow Partners for a variety of services such as platform migrations, custom code, rebrands and redesigns, no code app creation, ecommerce, and more.
If invoicing and chasing down payments is your least favorite part of freelancing, YunoJuno could be a useful freelance platform for you. You send your invoice directly to YunoJuno and they pay you within 14 days — protecting you from messy back and forth with clients.
