The world of work has transformed. Today’s employees don’t need a physical office space to remain productive. Instead, team members can be just as effective from a distance, thanks to many developments in technology.
The advent and advancement of the cloud, stronger internet connections, and the best freelance websites make running a remote team more viable.
Many organizations are now seeking out freelancers where they would once have needed permanent employees. In this new and improved flexible working environment, there are endless opportunities for a budding digital nomad to build a career with little more than an internet connection and some initiative.
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How, though, can contractors looking to work from home discover those opportunities. With the help of the best freelance websites, that’s how.
Let’s take a look at some of the best portals and platforms for finding and keeping freelance work. Sign up to and use even a small selection of these, and you can give your freelancing career a real shot in the arm.
15 Best freelance websites to build your client list fast
1. SolidGigs
SolidGigs takes freelancing to the next level by providing both job opportunities and training resources. On this site, you’ll find a weekly Gig list, full of new work to do, as well as a Courses and Tools section.
The Weekly Gig list includes some of the best jobs available on the web from dozens of other freelancer sites. Alternatively, the Courses and Tools section ensures that freelancers have the skills required to excel when they grasp the available opportunities.
2. Paperell
Paperell is a specialist website specifically designed for academic freelancers. Packed full of opportunities to write things like term papers and dissertations, Paperell ensures that you get to make the most of your talents.
The service is fully vetted, and you can build a profile for future Gigs based on reviews that you get from your clients.
You will need to pass a number of spelling and grammar tests before the platform accepts you. That’s not a bad thing, however, as it makes it less likely that someone less qualified will undercut you.
The best man or woman for the job – and let’s face it, that will often be you – will find it easier to take the opportunity.
3. PubLoft
Created specifically for freelance writers, this website includes opportunities for content marketing and client management. PubLoft aims to help freelancers keep their work pipeline strong.
This means that you can spend more time actually getting projects done. Rather than wasting time worrying about finding people who want to buy your services.
PubLoft also helps out with things like invoicing and making sure you get paid. That’s something that people who don’t work freelance often overlook. For independent contractors, invoicing and chasing payments can take up loads of your valuable time. The help in this area is what makes PubLoft one of the best freelance websites around.
4. FlexJobs
FlexJobs provides a brilliant platform for freelance work and encourages everyone to consider this new way of working. The site collects jobs from all over the world, with tons of different opportunities to try each day.
If you want to have the widest selection of roles to choose from, then you’ll need to pay for a monthly subscription. It’s well worth the additional outlay.
Having a paid subscription gives you access to a wider network. That ensures that you won’t miss the perfect project when it comes around.
5. Upwork
Upwork is one of the better known freelance websites out there. This portal offers opportunities regardless of what kind of freelancer you are. There are jobs or projects for graphic designers, web developers, writers, and more.
Check out the job feed daily for a seemingly never-ending stream of new options to explore. Just remember that this platform has a bit of a learning curve, and you have to constantly work on improving your rating.
It’s the freelancers with the highest ratings who get the most work. That can be a little frustrating at first. It does mean, though, that the most qualified freelancers ultimately get the best gigs. In the end, that’s how it should be.
6. Designhill
Got a passion for design? Designhill will give you the kind of jobs you’re looking for. This unique website is all about building relationships between designers and clients. Employers create project contests, which brings design entries straight to them.
Alternatively, if you’ve built a good enough profile for yourself, then new clients can always track you down directly. Designhill also courts creatives by giving them the means to design and sell their own merch in the form of t-shirts!
7. Toptal
This site is perfect if you’re hoping to build a reputation for yourself as the best freelancer money can buy. Toptal pitches itself as the place to find the leaders in freelance talent. That’s why the company has an extremely strict screening process.
That process means that even though people submit thousands of entries a month, only a handful of experts are accepted into the ranks. If you get through the screening process, you can work for leading names like Airbnb and Zendesk.
If you’re confident you’re the cream of the crop, this is a site for you. It could put you in touch with that client who can secure your long-term working future.
8. We Work Remotely
With millions of users signing up every month, We Work Remotely is one of the bigger freelancer websites out there. The company posts a variety of jobs on a regular basis, often with a big focus on design. As the name suggests, the site is particularly aimed at freelancers who work from home.
The companies looking for design work on this website need to spend a fixed price of around $299 on their design. This helps to avoid any low-quality job leads that wouldn’t appeal to professional designers.
Companies like Amazon and Google have posted here before. It’s a portal for serious freelancers to find big-ticket projects from significant clients.
9. SimplyHired
The great thing about SimplyHired is that it doesn’t charge for job postings. This means that you get a massive flood of opportunities every day.
However, it also means that you’ll need to spend more time sorting through your options. The portal, too, isn’t limited to freelance or remote opportunities. Other, more traditional jobs get posted there, too.
The SimplyHired site makes it super easy to load up your resume and start developing an effective profile. There’s also a great search function if you’re hunting for specific job types. It’s this that makes SimplyHired useful to freelancers, and deserving of its place on our list of the best freelance websites.
10. Dribbble
Dribble is another website that’s all about supporting designers. This site is packed full of fantastic and well-paying projects that will help you to build an amazing portfolio.
Having a good Dribble profile will give you a fantastic opportunity to market yourself and show off what you’re capable of.
The site also benefits from tons of traffic, so there’s no limit to the number of clients you may find. It may be called Dribble, but you’re more likely to find a torrent of new opportunities through this portal.
11. Aquent
Aquent isn’t as well-known as some of the freelancer sites on this list, but it still stands out as an incredible opportunity for digital nomads.
The company has won several awards and has a reputation for delivering high-quality workers for digital, marketing, and creative purposes.
You need a couple of years of experience in your field to benefit from this site. If you have that grounding, though, it’s not bad to use a portal that’s not flooded with less experienced contractors.
You know that you’re competing for work on a level playing field. There won’t be a low-skilled freelancer swooping in with an unfeasibly low bid.
12. Valilly
With an AI-enhanced recruitment process, Crowded brings more intelligence into the remote working landscape. The AI in the website helps to find the most suitable applicants for each job listing.
That’s great for taking some of the legwork off the plates of the freelancers themselves.
Crowded ranks everyone based on their skills, experience, and price. Employers, therefore, can find the skills that they need faster. This feature is also helpful for freelancers, as it means you don’t have to manually apply for every role.
13. 99Designs
This is another of our best freelance websites that focus specifically on graphic design jobs. 99Designs supports experts in finding jobs for creating logos, book covers, websites, and so much more.
Like some of the other graphic design sites on the web, clients start contests that everyone can participate in. This is a handy site for showcasing your work if you’re a beginner in the design space.
It gives you the chance to get your work seen by major potential clients. 99Designs also posts plenty of articles to help you learn along the way.
14. Skyword
If you’re specifically looking for content writing or creative writing jobs, then you might want to check out Skyword. This website is brimming with listings for content strategists, editors, content managers, and more.
Additionally, there are opportunities for people all over the world. Clients come from 27 different counties, so there’s no limit to who can get involved. With such a large pool of opportunities, you’re sure to find the right project for you. No matter where you are in the world.
15. The Creative Group
The Creative Group, otherwise known as TCG, helps freelancers to find jobs that they actually want to do. To help build an eye-catching profile, you can upload your resume or add a LinkedIn profile to the site before you begin looking for a job.
Once you’ve found an opportunity that’s suitable to your skills and interests, it only takes seconds to apply. That’s excellent news for freelancers whose time is especially precious. Fewer hours wasted tendering or bidding for work, means more time to actually buckle down and do the work.
16. Vollna
If you are looking to maximize your job searching and get more opportunities, then, look no further. Vollna crawls the best websites 24/7 to get the best job listings specifically tailored to your freelance business. Created by a fellow freelancer, Vollna is a unique freelance job site that sends all the latest freelancing jobs posted on freelance platforms such as UpWork, Freelancer, Peopleperhour, etc straight to your inbox or your mobile phone, regardless of your location or timezone.
Choosing the best freelance websites
Finding the best freelance websites to sign up to and use can be a complicated process. Solutions like video conferencing suites or a team collaboration tool are more widely available. That opens the door for remote work for a broader range of organizations.
That trend is reflected in the prevalence of remote work portals online. More freelance sites seem to be appearing on a daily basis.
That’s by no means a bad thing. It means there are more places in which to seek that perfect project. You do need to be more selective, though, when deciding which are the best freelance websites for you.
There are a few things to keep in mind when building the portfolio of sites you will use. Here are a selection of the principal factors to consider:
Relevance
Some sites out there support all kinds of freelance working. Many, though, are designed for a specific niche. Your first job is to find the sites that are tailored to contractors with your skills. These are the portals where you’ll find better opportunities.
Reputation
Read the reviews and insights from other people who have used these websites before. If you notice a lot of bad press around a site, then there’s a good chance you’re going to have a hard time making an income from it. Things to look out for include whether funds are placed into escrow to protect your income. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for reports of lots of projects which never get awarded to any freelancer.
Variety
Remember that not every job posted on a freelancer site will be right for you. Finding places that feature lots of different opportunities every day will give you more choice. What’s more, you’ll have a higher chance of getting accepted for a job if there’s more to choose from.
Requirements
What you have to do to join a site and to win work through it will differ. Some portals make freelancers work hard to gain acceptance. Others allow potential clients to request unpaid trials to test you out. You need to weigh the pros and cons of any website’s demands. You don’t want to devote hours of your time to a portal that won’t deliver high-value work.
Remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to one freelancing portal. You can always sign up to more than one of our best freelance websites. In fact, that’s a more sensible course of action.
Not all opportunities will feature on any one site. Spreading your net a little wider gives you more chance of landing that perfect project.
Some freelance sites also take a little longer to get a foothold on. You must improve your reputation and build a portfolio of work to show prospective clients.
It’s a good idea to sign up to a mixture of sites including those and others that allow you to get work a little more quickly. That way, you’re looking after both your short and longer-term career prospects.
Building your own website or online portfolio could also help with attracting client attention. Prospective clients will be impressed if you can point them to a professional site away from the freelancing portals.
Good Luck!
As the world of work continues to evolve, there are countless opportunities out there for anyone who wants to avoid the traditional 9-to-5 work life. If you’re excited to start exploring what might be possible in the gig economy, now’s the perfect time to begin searching.
Go and create a profile on some of the best freelance websites that we mentioned above and start building up your experience.
The more happy clients you can create, the easier it will be to find new opportunities in the months and years to come. Freelance work is a marathon not a sprint, but it never hurts to get off to a flying start.
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