6 Most Popular Freelance Marketplaces

The world will never be the same after the pandemic. Many of those who tried remote working found it hard to go back to the traditional lifestyle. Because of that, freelancing had its revival and became more and more popular during the past few years. A large pool of talent has switched from the full-time job to the freelance one, so it got easier to find a skilled professional online.

It does not matter if you want to hire a freelancer or become one key question is: which are the best freelance marketplaces?

If you don’t know where to look for freelancers, don’t worry, we got you covered. In this blog post, we will discuss the online freelance marketplaces you should keep an eye on.

So if you’re not sure where to hire a freelancer, here you go:

Best freelance marketplaces

1. Upwork

Not a single list about freelancing platforms can go without naming Upwork. It is one of the most popular freelancing platforms with over 5 million clients and more than 18 million freelancers.

You can find almost any professional here, starting from software developers to graphic designers or marketing specialists. There are both short-term and long-term contracts available, so you decide how committed you want your freelancer to be.

Upwork works best if you have a large and a pretty complicated project.

2. Freelancer.com

Another major player in the industry is Freelancer.com. It is more fit for small or medium businesses that have quick projects to complete. Again, you can find very different specialists here. It does not focus on any area specifically. Here is how Freelancer.com works: you post your project, and the potential freelancers bid on it. In the end, you are the one to choose with whom you want to continue the work.

3. Behance

If you’re looking specifically for designers, Behance is the perfect solution. Although it works mainly as a place for designers to show off their portfolios, you can also hire designers with it.

The main advantage of Behance is that it is a very prestigious website, famous among professionals from creative industries. So you’ll find the best works displayed here, as each freelancer tries hard to impress.

This way, you can see what you can expect from your future freelancer and hire him chiefly because of his previous works.

4. ItHire

If you want a platform specifically focused on development and programming, you should try ItHire. Just like Behance focuses on design, ItHire focuses on the IT-sphere. You can find all kinds of programmers here: from mobile app developers to full-stack developers.

Unlike most of the platforms mentioned above, ItHire has a very detailed hiring process. It skims through the freelancers’ portfolios and resumes, conducts in-depth interviews, and gives them test tasks before they get in. This way, only the best of the best are displayed on the website.

Another great advantage of ItHire is that they give you a free project manager with each freelancer. It simplifies your work as you no longer have to control your freelancer’s work and make sure he gets all done on time. All of that hard work is on the shoulders of the project manager.

5. Fiverr

Another famous platform in the creative industry is Fiverr. Initially, all the freelancers here could sell their work only for five dollars. That was why this online marketplace was named Fiverr.

It meant that you could mainly find small gigs that were easy to do for the freelancers and cost only five bucks for employers. However, as the industry evolved, so did Fiverr. Now, it allows all the freelancers to set up packages for their services.

They get to choose the price for the basic, standard, and premium packages. The more services they include, the higher the price gets.

A distinguishable feature of Fiverr is that the freelancers do not bid to employers.

It works vice versa. So, you can skim through different freelancers’ profiles and choose the one that suits you the most. Although Fiverr is mainly famous for its designers, content writers, and videographers, you can also find developers and professionals from a more technical industry here.

6. Toptal

If you have some money to spare, you can try out Toptal. Toptal is famous for being one of the most expensive freelancer platforms on the internet. At the same time, it is known also for the high level of professionalism its freelancers have.

It comes mainly because of the hiring process. It is not as easy to get a profile on Toptal as it is in Upwork or Freelancer.com. So the ones who are here are selected more meticulously.

It also makes the website safer, as the chances are low that you will come across scam profiles. Some of the big companies that have used Toptal to hire freelance designers are Airbnb and Zendesk.

Toptal positions itself as having the 3% of the freelance talent. Indeed, it is hard to get there as a freelancer. But sometimes same freelancers might have profiles on other platforms too. So, if you’re not sure you are ready to pay high prices, you might consider looking for a specialist somewhere else.

That is it for today. We gave you a list of the six best freelance marketplaces to find the best professionals. To sum up, choose:

• Upwork: for large and more long-term projects
• Freelancer.com: for smaller projects with less budget
• Behance: for best freelance designers
• ItHire: for best freelance developers
• Fiverr: for marketing professionals, content writers, videographers, and similar creative specialists.
• Toptal: for the most prestigious and highly paid freelancers

We wish you good luck!