Best Websites to Find Freelance Work in 2021

Finding freelance work is a huge part of being a successful freelancer. However, lining up the next client or project doesn’t have to be stressful. As more and more people take the leap from working for someone else to becoming self-employed as freelancers, the barriers to finding work are lowering.

Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s as simple as stating your intention and the work comes to you. Living the freelancers life requires effort on your part to maintain a consistent workflow and income. However, if you come up with a system for looking and line up a few regular websites that are your go-to places to find work, you can find the work balance you want.

This article hopes to point you in the direct of a few websites that either I personally have used or have heard good things about from other freelancers. As with anything, make sure you do your due diligence to make sure any projects or clients you accept are the real deal and not scams. I have done my best to only pick sites that have a great reputation with the freelance world but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any baddies in there trying to take advantage.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a site that I have personally used to not only find work but to also hire freelancers for personal projects. I’ve hired website designers to help me with challenges I was having with my first website way back before I had my degree on the subject and I’ve also hired a fantastic graphic designer for my books. All of them were outstanding.

On the finding work side, this is a site that all freelancers should have a profile on. Don’t get down when you see other people on the site offering the same services as you at super low rates. There are many people on this site that offer subpar services and their rates reflect that.

You need to create your own niche and specialization on the site and you need to ALWAYS produce quality work. If you do this, you will find that your ratings on the site skyrocket and finding new projects will not be a problem. They will come to you.

The gentleman that I hired to design my book covers (and is on standby to create my next book already) does amazing work. His rates are a bit higher than others on the site but he hits it out of the park every time for me and usually on the first try. He told me recently that he has so much work from the site that he’s backlogged for months! This steady stream of work has allowed him to start his own design company and have the ability to move to Korea with his wife to be near her family. All of this started with a profile on Fiverr for him.

Upwork

Upwork has been around for quite awhile and it probably one of the best freelance sites for finding projects and work regardless of what you do for a living. It can be a little more challenging than other sites and might take you a little bit of time to get the gist of how to secure a gig.

You might need to learn how to write effective proposals in order to get noticed and, in the beginning, you might have to bid below your pay rate in order to build up your feedback rating.

Upwork is very popular so although there tends to be a lot of jobs posted, there are a lot of people vying for those positions. There are a lot of ways to increase your chances of winning with your proposals and this article, How to Get More Jobs on Upwork, can help you.

Overall, this is a great site to learn to use because once you’re established and build up your feedback rating, getting work gets easier and more abundant.

Skyword

Skyword states that the “connect exceptional writers, graphic designers, videographers, photographers, and other creatives with top-tier brands looking to truly connect with their audiences through great storytelling.”

This site doesn’t only serve the U.S. or English-only companies either. They have clients from 27 countries with 13 languages supported making this a great site for freelancers that want to have an international reach.

PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour is a freelance website that covers niches from technology and programming, writing and translation, design, digital marketing, social media, and more to individuals and businesses. This is a great site to find freelance work regardless of your field.

The site uses an artificial intelligence program that analyzes a client’s project details and then matches that project to the freelancers that would be the best fit. Their whole premise is to fit clients and freelancers together in a quicker more precise way.

To join the site’s elite freelancers, you only have to complete an online application and once approved you will become part of the freelance community. From there, you’ll have access to their international client community and all the projects posted there. Read more about how it works here.

Writer Access

For freelance writers who want to find more work, Writer Access could be the answer you’re looking for. It is considered one of the top sites to find writing work such as online articles, case studies, tech papers, and more.

Writer Access states that they hand-review all your work and experience and invite only the best freelancers to move forward with the screening process to work with them. They pride themselves on only picking the best so put your best foot forward when applying to become one of the freelancers on the site.

The site also provides many free benefits to those freelancers that pass the screening process including access to 250M stock images, content strategy certification, content marketing tools, portfolio gallery promotion and a ticket to their annual content marketing conference. They look to help their writers advance.

TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit addresses the fact that not all freelancers work from their computers at home. Many freelancers are looking for freelance labor jobs in their local community. If you’re a freelancer searching for jobs mounting TVs, delivering office supplies, putting furniture together, moving furniture, and other jobs of this nature then TaskRabbit is the site for you.

TaskRabbit helps you find flexible work that fits your skills and your schedule. You can be your own boss, set your own rates, and grow your business. The site states, “TaskRabbit connects busy people in need of help with trusted local Taskers who can lend a hand with everything from home repairs to errands.”

For those freelancers that want to get away from the computer and into their community, this is a great site to get you started.

Freelancer

Freelancer, though heavy on design fields, offers freelance jobs in virtually every niche from graphic designers to writers to SEO specialist to virtual assistants and more. It is probably one of the more well-known freelance sites if not just for the appropriate name.

They boast that clients can “Hire the best freelancers for any job, online” and state that millions of people use the site. The freelancer website offers a easy to navigate site that makes it easy for freelancers to find jobs and clients to find freelancers. This site is considered one of the best freelancing websites and offers a plethora of potential freelance job leads.

Guru

Guru is another great freelance website that brings clients and freelancers together. They do everything at this site to make sure there are no scammers or sketchy job postings or freelancers lurking. Guru is known to be a reputable source for finding freelance work and freelance workers.

Guru’s key values are transparency and trust and it shows throughout the site. The also boast over 800,000 employers worldwide, $25 million paid to freelancers, and a 99% customer satisfaction rate. This is definitely a platform to look into for freelance work.

FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a freelance site that charges $14.95 a month to become a member. However, doing so will give you full access to its huge network of employers, various skill tests, and detailed descriptions of every company they deal with.

This site encourages anyone interested in becoming a freelancer to give it a go and they have jobs from all over the world to apply for. FlexJobs has freelance gigs for every niche and skill level providing a great platform for trying new things and developing your business.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a platform that many freelancers overlook when it comes to finding work, however, this is a big mistake. I have found several gigs on LinkedIn just by having my profile updated and liking companies and entrepreneurs that interest me.

Everyone, regardless of what field of work they’re in, should have a LinkedIn profile, at the minimum, and a freelance business page as well. I use LinkedIn as an extension of my resume and very frequently link to it when applying for positions and freelance endeavors. It’s a great place to post examples of your work as well as links to your freelance website as well as have testimonials from past employers praising your talents.

LinkedIn also has a featured called LinkedIn ProFinder that helps businesses find people like you to work for them. It also sends you emails with project leads so that you can write a proposal and bid for it.

We Work Remotely

We Work Remotely is another great place to find freelance work. The site states that they get 2.5 million users a month, which makes it a great website to consider. The site has a lot of job postings with many of them design-related. So, if you’re in the design field this site might be just what you’re looking for.

Another great thing about We Work Remotely is that they charge individuals and companies who are looking for freelancers $299 to just post a job on the site. This is fantastic news for freelancers because it helps to weed out low-quality job leads and, more importantly, scammers. Companies like Google, Amazon, and InVision, among others, regularly post positions on this site, making it a very legitimate place to look for work.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the most popular websites to find dependable freelance work. As with everything freelance, not one thing alone is going to keep your workload full. I suggest that you research these sites and more and find a few that really resonate with you and your freelance niche. Once you find a handful that you like, create profiles on them and regularly scour them for clients and projects. This is the number one way to keep your freelance business running and your bank account full.

What sites have you found useful that aren’t listed here? Have you got questions about living the freelancer’s life? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Read these articles to learn more about getting started in freelance:

11 Essential Qualities of Successful Freelancers

12 Books Every Freelancer Must Read Immediately

3 Strategies for Building an Audience for Your Freelancing Business

How to Get Started as a Freelancer

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Veronica Buhl is a freelance social media manager and author, who has been a writer, editor, proofreader, summary writer, and transcriptionist for some of the top motivational and self-improvement speakers in the world. She has also helped numerous clients develop their websites, blogs, and social media presence in order to promote their businesses, non-profits, and projects. She is the author of the book, Making Your Business A Social Media Superstar, and is co-author of the book, The Massage Disadvantage. Her official website can be found at www.veronicabuhl.com