20+ Leading Freelance Platforms to Help You Find Work in 2025
1. Upwork
Upwork is a remote work marketplace that connects businesses with skilled independent professionals from around the world. Whether you’re an accounting expert, developer, web designer, copywriter, customer service worker, or any other type of skilled freelance professional, you’ll find projects that match your skill set on Upwork.
As a freelancer, you can get started by going to upwork.com and clicking the “Sign Up” button to create your Upwork profile. Enhance your profile by adding a work portfolio, introduction video, educational background, certifications, licenses, and more to showcase your skills, abilities, personality, and experience.
Pros:
Upwork attracts clients from around the world, offering freelancers a variety of projects at competitive hourly rates.
The most popular freelancing professions (including writers, designers, developers and marketers) can earn from $30 to $50 per hour.
The platform offers payment protection on both hourly and fixed-price projects to make sure you get paid for the work you do
Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI, is built into your everyday workflow. All freelancers have access to Uma. Get help writing your proposals so you can win more jobs and earn more.
Upgrade to Freelancer Plus for full access to Uma to help you brainstorm, review, analyze, write, code, and more for your projects on Upwork.
Freelancers can get paid in a variety of ways, such as PayPal or direct transfer.
Cons:
Upwork’s talent marketplace can be competitive. New freelancers may find it challenging at first as they find their feet and build up their portfolio.
Costs:
Signing up for Upwork is free. Its freelancer service fee is a flat 10% fee on most contracts—with some exceptions for direct, BYO or payroll contracts. For independent professionals looking for more, Upwork’s Freelancer Plus plan can be beneficial. For $20 a month, freelancers receive perks such as extra Connects (100 total, per month), a customized profile URL, and full access to Uma. Think of Uma as a powerful work companion to help you get work done faster than ever for your projects on Upwork.
Interested in seeing how Upwork can help propel your freelance career forward? Sign up today.
2. Workcroft
Through Workcroft businesses get more done, connecting with freelancers to work on projects and assignments from machine learning, AI, generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, AR, Virtual Reality, VR, big data, data mining, data ETL, analytics, financial analysis, research, web and mobile app development to SEO, social media marketing, content writing, graphic design, admin help and thousands of other projects. Workcroft makes it fast, simple, and cost-effective to find, hire, work with, and pay the best professionals anywhere, any time.
Pros:’
On Workcroft, you'll find a range of top talent, from programmers to designers, writers, data scientists, data engineers, analysts, researchers, and more.
Invite candidates to submit bids, then interview and hire your choice.
Each project includes a standalone workspace of your choice by your team and your freelancer
Pay your freelancer by the hour, or a fixed price for the entire project or for each milestone, or a fixed cost on a project-to-project basis.
Workcroft is a great place to find more clients and to run and grow your own freelance business.
Cons:
Can be more competitive to get started.
Costs:
All projects include any payment method of your choice or client’s choice - helping ensure that you get paid for all work successfully completed through any payment method you or your client prefer.
Workcroft charges freelancers a sliding fee based on the freelancer's lifetime billings with a specific client. In other words, the more business a freelancer has done with a client, the more they’ll earn. Sign up today
3. Toptal
Toptal helps a variety of highly qualified freelancers find work. Professionals specializing in software development, project management, and business consulting can particularly benefit from this site. However, note that Toptal has a rigorous five-step selection process for identifying the best workers in any field.
The intense process begins with an English test and project assessment. Only the top 3% of freelancers are accepted on the platform. Those who make it through can apply for job posts from well-known businesses like Airbnb. Freelancers who fail the test have to wait several months before taking it again.
Pros:
The site has premium job posts from well-known businesses.
Only top-tier professionals can get through the site’s screening process.
The platform has free tools for time-tracking, invoicing, and receiving payments.
Cons:
Freelancers have to go through an intensive and exclusive screening procedure to use Toptal. Very few freelancers make the cut.
Toptal is great for businesses looking to complete large-scale projects, like developing and maintaining huge software applications. Freelancers who perform smaller tasks like updating landing pages may have difficulty finding work on the site.
Costs:
Toptal doesn’t take any fees from freelancers, but companies can easily spend over $200 per hour to hire a freelancer on the site.
4. Fiverr
Fiverr makes it simple for digital freelancers to find people looking for their services. There are many project listings on Fiverr, from content creation and video production to app design to almost any other type of project you can imagine.
Fiverr has a very simple model: Sellers (freelancers) can create free profiles listing the gigs (services) they offer without sending bids or pitching prospects. Buyers (businesses) can simply purchase the services that work best for them.
Pros:
Fiverr has a large selection of service categories.
Registration is free for freelancers.
The platform offers online courses to help freelancers learn skills.
Cons:
Fiverr charges freelancers a large fee on commissions.
It can take some time for freelancers to get paid.
Costs:
After a seller finishes a gig, Fiverr takes 20% of their commission. It can take a few weeks for a seller to be able to withdraw payments from the site as well.
5. Designhill
Designhill connects freelance artists and designers with businesses seeking things like website, logo, and catalog design. In addition to offering a large list of design opportunities, the site is helpful for freelancers learning to manage their businesses.
Designhill has resources that allow freelancers to open their own stores to clients all over the globe. Its management tools can also help freelancers measure profits, make business cards, and create digital marketing materials.
Pros:
Designhill lets you create a free online store.
The site has a reliable live chat support team.
There are no service fees for freelancers.
Cons:
Designhill is exclusive to designers.
It has a seven-day window for clients to request changes to logo designs, which might delay acceptance and payment.
Costs:
Designhill is free to use for freelancers.
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals and is one of the most reputable career resources around. You can create a profile on the site to showcase your experience, education, work history, past projects, and skills to businesses looking for new talent.
You can also create and share posts to give companies a glimpse into who you are and what interests you. LinkedIn has a huge list of freelance and full-time opportunities.
Unlike most of the platforms we’re discussing, LinkedIn isn’t a dedicated job site for freelancers, but it features a range of opportunities for independent professionals. Freelance graphic designers, developers, copywriters, and more can look for work using LinkedIn.
Pros:
LinkedIn helps you network with professionals from a wide variety of industries.
The site can expose you to the most current news and trends about your industry.
Cons:
Because so many professionals use LinkedIn, standing out can be difficult.
Maintaining a current and professional LinkedIn page requires continuous updates.
Costs:
Freelancers can use basic LinkedIn features for free. For $39.99 a month, a Premium account offers learning courses, allows users to track employers who view their profile, and increases the number of connections users can make.
7. SimplyHired
SimplyHired features a wide range of freelance jobs, though it isn’t specifically for freelancers. The site has an easy-to-use interface that helps job seekers find opportunities from all over the web. Some job fields featured on the site include finance, SEO, marketing, and administration.
Applicants can customize job searches based on factors like their preferred industry, location, and interests. SimplyHired also lets you view company pay scales and reviews written by former or current workers.
Pros:
The site will send you email alerts when new jobs that meet your experience and criteria become available.
The site has resources you can use to help your professional development.
Cons:
Businesses can post jobs on the site for free. Scammers may use the site to create fake job openings and contact you.
It can be hard to get noticed on a large site like SimplyHired.
Costs:
Freelancers can apply for jobs and create profiles on SimplyHired for free.
8. Dribbble
Dribbble is mainly for designers, artists, and marketing professionals. Creative professionals can make portfolios of their past work on the site to increase their odds of landing contracts.
The Dribbble platform is great for creatives to showcase their work. It caters to people looking for full-time employment as well as freelancers. However, freelancers have to sign up for the Pro plan to access contract job lists.
Pros:
The site has a large network of employers and professionals from around the world.
It has an assortment of portfolios from inspiring artists and creators.
Cons:
Freelance jobs are only offered to users with a Pro account.
You have to apply for a designer account on Dribbble.
Beginning designers may have difficulty getting accepted to use the site.
Costs:
A Dribbble Pro account costs $8 a month (billed annually) for freelancers. Pro members also get a boost in the search results for hiring managers.
9. Guru
Guru caters to freelancers worldwide who are experts in things like programming, graphic design, and project management.
The site makes it simple for freelancers to create profiles, advertise their skills, peruse job listings, and send bids to potential clients. The service will propose job opportunities that match your work experience, skills, and preferences. Guru features both long- and short-term projects that you can apply for.
Pros:
The site has SafePay protection to make sure you’re compensated for your work in a timely manner.
Guru customizes job listings based on specifications.
Cons:
Fake businesses might approach you on the site looking to scam you.
The website’s interface isn’t very user-friendly, making its huge library of job posts difficult to navigate.
Costs:
A Guru basic membership is free for freelancers. However, based on your membership type, the site takes a fee between 5% and 9% for completed freelance invoices. Paid plans can cost as much as $50 a month and give freelancers access to various tools to expand their businesses.
10. Freelancer.com
As the name suggests, Freelancer is a job site exclusively for freelancers. The site is a great space for professionals like web developers, social media experts, and marketing specialists to find work.
The site also features contests for things like design work that can help freelancers earn extra cash, add to their portfolios, and build a positive reputation on the site.
Pros:
The site has a progress tracker that shows your growth as a freelancer.
24/7 customer support and live chat help you navigate the site.
Cons:
The interface is less intuitive than many other sites.
You’ll need to watch out for scam businesses that may contact you.
Costs:
Freelancer is free to use for freelancers. However, the site takes 10% of your earnings for fixed projects and contests or $5.00, whichever is greater, and 10% for hourly projects.
11. Flexjobs
Flexjobs is a subscription service that connects job seekers with flexible work. This includes freelance jobs, part-time and full-time seasonal work, jobs with alternative schedules, and temporary work.
The Flexjobs site caters to an assortment of professionals with skills like content marketing, copywriting, administration, and transcription. Flexjobs verifies that every job on the site is trustworthy and comes from a reliable source. You also won’t find any ads.
Pros:
Every job post on the site is guaranteed to be legitimate.
The site offers a helpful, reliable customer support team.
The site offers things like skills testing and career advice to help catapult your career.
Cons:
The site is more expensive for freelancers than many other options.
Some job opportunities listed aren’t exclusive to the job site. You might even be able to find some of them on free sites.
Costs:
Flexjobs is a subscription site, so you’ll have to sign up for a paid account to use it. FlexJobs starts at $2.95 for a 14-day trial.
12. 99designs
Freelancers can find work designing websites, logos, clothing, and a variety of other products on the 99designs job site. It lets you create a profile that showcases your experience and past work to gain the attention of high-quality potential clients.
99designs will evaluate your work and give you a designer level. Higher-level designers are more likely to get seen and hired by businesses. When you search for jobs on the site, you can narrow your search to specific industries and project types.
Pros:
The site is tailored to skilled designers.
You’ll get access to a design community that can be helpful and inspiring.
99designs offers payment security.
Cons:
Beginners with lower designer levels may find it hard to get noticed and secure work.
The site charges high service fees relative to other job sites.
Costs:
When you start with a new client using 99designs, the platform charges $100. Based on your designer level, you’ll also pay a fee from 5% to 15% of your commissions.
13. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour allows businesses to find qualified and diverse talent in areas like design, digital marketing, technology and programming, business, and music and audio.
Freelancers looking for work can sign up on PeoplePerHour, create a profile highlighting their skills, and submit their application. Once accepted, they can start applying for projects.
Pros:
You can negotiate rates with clients.
The platform provides a project stream tool to help freelancers and clients collaborate effectively.
Clients can deposit funds into an escrow account, ensuring you get paid for your work.
Cons:
You have to compete with many freelancers for work, which limits competitive pricing.
The platform charges high freelancer fees compared to other options.
Costs:
PeoplePerHour charges a 20% service fee for projects less than £250 (about $300), 7.5% fee for projects from £250 to £5,000 (about $6,200), and 3.5% above £5,000.
14. TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit is a different type of freelancer website. Instead of offering opportunities to professionals, it helps people who can complete everyday tasks find consumers who need same-day services.
Typical TaskRabbit jobs include household maintenance, simple chores, or product delivery. Freelancers on the site set their own hourly rates and build profiles listing their services.
Pros:
You can customize your hourly rate.
The site doesn’t charge a service fee.
Cons:
The site isn’t available in all areas, especially in rural locations.
Skilled professionals might want to seek work elsewhere for better pay.
Costs:
When you freelance on TaskRabbit, the site will perform a background check and analyze your application. Once approved, you’ll have to pay $25 to start picking up gigs on the site. After that, the site won’t charge any service fees.
15. ServiceScape
ServiceScape is for freelancers specializing in writing-related disciplines, like editing, translation, and ghostwriting. It helps workers create and present freelance writing samples to a large database of potential clients.
On ServiceScape, businesses contact writers—not the other way around. Writers don’t bid on jobs or send proposals, so writers who use ServiceScape will want to have outstanding profiles that attract clients.
Pros:
The pricing structure for writing jobs can be customized.
The site lets you work on your own schedule.
The platform facilitates great communication between freelancers and recruiters.
Cons:
The platform charges a fee of half your commission for every project.
The site caters to a very limited selection of professionals.
The site doesn’t accept U.S. taxpayers living outside the country or non-U.S. taxpayers living in the country.
Costs:
When you accept a job on ServiceScape, you’ll have to pay the platform 50% of your rate when you finish the project.
16. Behance
Behance combines a job site with a social media site for creatives. Professionals like artists, photographers, animators, and digital designers can create and share portfolios with a huge audience. The site helps them get discovered by clients from around the world.
You can follow other professionals like you would on Facebook or Instagram. The more posts appear on your feed, the more likely you’ll come across a great business opportunity. Freelancers also get job notices that fit their skills and abilities.
Pros:
The site helps freelancers reach and network with a global audience.
Freelancers can create, share, and view personal content.
Cons:
Behance has around 10 million members, so competing for jobs on the site can be difficult.
Behance doesn’t accept images larger than 50MB. The site recommends that images stay 10MB or smaller to prevent long loading times for viewers.
Costs:
Behance is free to use and allows creators to upload as many projects as they want.
17. We Work Remotely
We Work Remotely is a marketplace for remote jobs. It mainly caters to people searching for full-time or part-time remote positions, but it also has opportunities for freelancers. Around three million people use the site to find jobs each month.
Some of the top job categories on the site include design, programming, and management. The website has positions from several reputable companies like Google and Amazon.
Unlike other job sites, We Work Remotely doesn’t make freelancers create profiles to apply for jobs.
Pros:
The site features high-quality job posts from well-known businesses.
The site charges businesses a high fee to post on the site. This filters out most businesses that offer substandard job opportunities.
Cons:
The site’s layout is more cluttered and difficult to use than some other job sites.
There are limited filtering options for job searches.
Costs:
We Work Remotely charges businesses $299 per month to post a job opening on their site. Freelancers can search and apply for jobs on the site for free.
18. Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent)
Wellfound connects freelancers and other job seekers with positions at startup companies. Working at a startup gives freelancers a chance to help make a bigger impact than they might working for an established business.
Applying for positions with Wellfound is simple. You can apply to thousands of growing startups with only a single application. You can also create a profile on the site to showcase your skill set and wait for new companies to contact you.
Pros:
Independent professionals have the opportunity to make a huge difference in a startup company.
The site makes it very easy to apply for positions.
Wellfound lets you see information about a job you’re applying for, such as your likely salary and the company’s investors.
Cons:
Many entry-level jobs listed on the site can require a good deal of experience.
Wellfound caters to startups, so if that’s not what you’re looking for, you’ll need to go somewhere else.
Costs:
Freelancers can find jobs on Wellfound for free.
19. DesignCrowd
DesignCrowd gives freelance digital artists the ability to showcase their talents. Using DesignCrowd’s freelance marketplace, clients can view the work of thousands of creatives to hire the best artists to complete one-on-one projects.
The DesignCrowd model focuses heavily on contests. When a client starts a contest, freelance designers send work based on the client’s specifications. The client chooses their favorite from all the submissions, and the winning designer receives the contest reward. Sometimes, DesignCrowd even offers participation rewards.
Pros:
It gives beginning designers a chance to improve their skills and get their projects viewed by businesses.
The site helps designers build or add to their portfolios.
Cons:
The site isn’t ideal for experienced designers who already have extensive portfolios.
Freelancers who lose design contests likely won’t get paid.
The site charges a large percentage of freelancer gains.
Costs:
DesignCrowd doesn’t charge freelancers to register on the site. However, it charges a 15% commission on all of their earnings.
20. Codeable
Codeable helps freelance WordPress developers find work. One of the great things about Codeable is that it uses a special algorithm to make sure freelancers get compensated fairly for their work.
When a client requests estimates for a project, the algorithm sorts out underpriced and overpriced submissions so the client receives only one estimate. This prevents freelancers from undercutting each other to get more work or overcharging clients.
Pros:
Codeable guarantees hourly rates of at least $80 to $120 an hour for development projects.
The site has programs to help freelancers grow their careers.
Cons:
Codeable only accepts high-quality developers. The site has a long and difficult vetting process. After a 45-day trial period, a developer’s performance is intensely scrutinized by the company.
The site doesn’t give freelancers the ability to set their own prices.
Costs:
If selected to be a Codeable expert, you can expect to pay the company 17.5% of your commissions.
21. SolidGigs
The SolidGigs platform helps programmers, freelance writers, and a variety of other types of freelancers find the best opportunities available. When you sign up with SolidGigs, the platform combs over freelance opportunities from a huge list of sources and delivers you the top 1% of gigs over email.
SolidGigs sends job posts from only reputable clients that match your experience, skills, and preferences perfectly, so you don’t have to waste time pinpointing the right jobs.
Pros:
The site can save freelancers a huge amount of time.
The platform has training resources to help you learn how to pitch to clients and charge appropriate rates.
Freelancers get to choose from premium opportunities.
Cons:
Subscription to the site isn’t free.
The site only connects you with job opportunities. It doesn’t offer a platform for applying to gigs or receiving payment.
Costs:
A subscription to SolidGigs costs $35 a month (or $21 a month if you sign up for a year-long membership).
22. Jooble
Jooble collects a list of vacancies in different states and countries and displays it in a centralized place—grouped based on location. This makes it easier for job seekers to identify open positions in their desired locations and submit their applications. The company’s mission is to enhance the employment process, making it smooth for both applicants and employers.
Since its launch in 2006, the company has expanded tremendously to provide crucial job insights in about 67 countries. It collects job vacancies from more than 140,000 resources, including social media networks and corporate websites daily.
Pros:
It provides free access to hundreds of vacancies in a centralized place.
You can filter or search existing vacancies based on location.
You can create a CV or resume directly in Jooble.
Cons:
Clicking on a vacancy opens a separate page, meaning your browser can quickly get cluttered with many tabs.
You may need to sign up to submit job applications, which adds an extra step to the application process.
You may find spam or ads on the site.
Cost:
Jooble is free to use.
23. Aquent
Aquent connects businesses with the right talent and technology. It majors in project management, specialty recruitment, and creative strategy. The company works with experienced agents to identify qualified personnel to fit in various opportunities. Aquent also includes a wide range of jobs, allowing individuals to find suitable work to grow their skills while earning extra income.
Pros:
You can collaborate with agents to find matching job opportunities.
There’s access to a wide range of job postings.
Aquent Gymnasium is available to help enhance your design, development, and marketing skills.
Talent are typically hired as employees, with eligibility for benefits.
Cons:
The agent-based recruitment system may be slow in certain situations compared to more automated matching.
Most of the listed jobs require a lot of experience, which means those just starting out to find work may not find success on the site.
Cost:
Employers using Aquent’s placement service have to pay a placement fee of 25% of the selected individual’s annual salary once a full-time role is filled.