Best Freelance Platforms
Freelance platforms help companies find and hire independent professionals for temporary job roles or special projects. These platforms offer a marketplace for businesses to browse profiles of freelancer candidates based on skills, experience, location, or other criteria. Alternatively, companies can also post a project description and solicit proposals from freelancers. These capabilities help companies of all sizes outsource work on projects that require specialized skills or additional manpower, freeing up full-time employees to focus on other business activities. Some platforms focus on sourcing freelancers with certain skills, such as writing, design, or programming, while others provide marketplaces for professionals with a wide variety of skills.
Companies often use the sourcing functionality of the best freelance platforms in conjunction with freelancer management systems, which help businesses manage payments, availability, and project completion for all of the freelancers that the business uses. Businesses that require more assistance finding freelancers might use the services of a recruitment agency or staffing agency rather than interacting directly with candidates through a freelance platform.
To qualify for inclusion in the Freelance Platforms category, a product must:
Best Freelance Platforms At A Glance
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Upwork is the world’s largest human and AI-powered work marketplace, connecting businesses of all sizes with highly skilled independent talent. From startups to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies rely
354,257 Twitter followers
Fiverr is a global online marketplace for freelance services. Fiverr's platform connects service providers (sellers) with people or businesses looking to hire (buyers).
458,687 Twitter followers
Andela Talent Cloud is a unified solution to manage the complete global talent lifecycle. We help enterprises source, qualify, hire, manage, and pay global technical talent in one integrated platform.
73,165 Twitter followers
Freelancer.com is a global online marketplace that connects employers with a vast network of freelancers across various industries. Established in 2009 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the plat
274,763 Twitter followers
Revelo helps US companies source, hire, and pay senior software engineers based in Latin America. Whether you need full-time staff augmentation, project-based software delivery, or expert data to impr
CloudDevs is a platform offering over 8000 highly-vetted senior LatAm developers and designers, hand-selected for your project in just 24 hours. We’ve helped everyone from pre-seed startups to Fortune
942 Twitter followers
PeoplePerHour is a UK-based online marketplace that connects businesses with a global network of freelancers across various fields, including writing, design, programming, and digital marketing. Estab
92,369 Twitter followers
YunoJuno is a comprehensive contingent workforce management platform that combines a powerful Freelancer Management System (FMS) with access to a curated marketplace of over 100,000 vetted contractors
YunoJuno is a platform that simplifies the process of finding, booking, and managing freelancers, and also handles compliance and payment processes. Users frequently mention the ease of use, the high quality of freelancers, the quick and efficient customer support, and the streamlined booking and payment processes as major benefits. Reviewers noted some issues with the user interface, the complexity of the IR35 assessment questions, the lack of notice for final stages of a contract, and the need for more detailed notifications and reporting tools.
12,013 Twitter followers
Toptal is the world’s largest fully remote workforce, powered by a global network of more than 20,000 highly vetted professionals in technology, design, finance, marketing, and strategic consulting. F
222,141 Twitter followers
Index.dev is a tech-focused recruitment platform that enables companies to efficiently scale their engineering teams by connecting them with top-tier remote software developers. With a network of over
46 Twitter followers
Lifted, a subsidiary of Upwork Inc., is a comprehensive platform designed to assist enterprises in sourcing, contracting, managing, and paying global contingent talent efficiently and compliantly. Lau
354,257 Twitter followers
Contra is the commission-free creative network, connecting you with the talent and tools to get work underway. This network of independent creatives is over a million strong, and reaches across th
Contently helps brands tell great stories. Our powerful enterprise content marketing platform, data-driven strategy services, and world-class freelance network give the world’s top brands everything t
59,576 Twitter followers
Worksome is a pioneering AI-enabled Freelance Management System (FMS) designed to streamline and enhance the management of external workforce operations. This innovative solution addresses the challen
Lemon.io is the go-to freelance platform for hiring trusted developers on-demand. We test every developer who applies to join our network. That means instead of going through dozens of CVs and GitH
3,192 Twitter followers
Learn More About Freelance Platforms
What are Freelance Platforms?
Businesses use freelance platforms to hire temporary employees for roles or specific projects. Freelance platforms provide freelancers with the opportunity to advertise themselves in a talent marketplace to gain temporary employment via a customized profile, which typically includes their resume and lists their proficiencies and interests. Freelance platforms also allow freelancers and businesses to communicate with each other and manage the workflows and digital assets involved with the role or project.
Freelance platforms vary in the type of freelancers they support or specialize in. For example, some platforms specialize in supporting creative workers, while others are designed to support engineering freelancers; these specialized freelance platforms are ideal for businesses looking to hire someone with a specific skill set. Meanwhile, many provide a platform for all types of freelancers. This type of all-encompassing platform may be right for your business if you anticipate needing freelance or short-term work done in a variety of fields.
All freelance platforms will have some sort of screening process for their users. However, they differ greatly in the type of screening they provide. For instance, some platforms vet freelancers and determine which ones are highly skilled, others may provide background checks, and many give you access to a worker’s portfolio. The type of screening that is right for you likely depends on the type of work you need completed. Additionally, some platforms require payment before work has begun, while others don’t require payment until you are satisfied with the work. Businesses should consider their preferred payment style before committing to a platform. Once hired, businesses should consider a freelance management platform as a solution to managing and monitoring onboarded freelancers.
Key Benefits of Freelance Platforms
- Complete tasks that your current workforce doesn’t have the skills for
- Maintain a flexible workforce
- Complete short-term projects
- Bolster your workforce without having to hire full-time employees
- Hire freelancers irrespective of their location
Why Use Freelance Platforms?
Freelance platforms enable businesses to easily fill roles in a short amount of time. This is ideal for employers that have particularly busy periods during the year that require an extra set of employees. It’s also optimal for short-term projects and contractual labor, as well as for solving temporary problems. (For example, a business that moves into a new office might want to hire a temporary IT expert to help quickly set up technology.) Furthermore, employers have access to a larger pool of candidates if they’re interested in hiring remote positions, and all candidates, regardless of location, can be sorted by freelancer rating to allow employers to see top talent that have delivered good results and have exceeded expectations.
For freelancers, the major perk of freelance platforms is the flexibility it provides. Employees who participate in the gig economy enjoy a unified payroll process, on-demand work, and seamless transitions between projects. Using a freelance platform takes away the hassle of the manual, entrepreneurial efforts involved with freelancing.
Who Uses Freelance Platforms?
For a business looking to hire temporary workers, freelance platforms are a solid starting point for managers and human resource departments.
Recruiters — Depending on the needs of the business, recruiters might use freelance platforms alongside other recruitment software to supplement the employee search.
Freelancers — Freelancers have much to gain from using freelance platforms to advertise their skills. By leveraging the resources provided within the platform, freelancers have the ability to attract recruiters and showcase their skills to find an appropriate match.
Project managers — Project managers have a keen sense of how many resources are required for specific projects. For times when project load is heavy, managers might look for temporary workers to ensure the project is completed on time.
Freelance Platforms Features
Freelance platforms offer an abundance of features that benefit freelancers and businesses hiring freelancers:
Job posting — Employers can post available temporary or contractual positions to the marketplace of freelancers that have access to the platform. Freelancers can search keywords to locate a position related to the position of interest.
Calendar — Communicating availability is a key factor that helps both the employee and freelancer manage projects and effectively set deadlines and expectations.
Digital asset management — To transfer digital assets in an organized fashion, many freelance platforms provide a method of digital asset management that helps teams collaborate with freelancers. These platforms also provide a way for freelancers to send their project to employers as a deliverable, depending on the nature of the work.
Workflow builder — By building a proper workflow and making that workflow transparent, both employer and freelancer can see the progress of a freelancer’s work and maintain approachable expectations.
Freelancer ratings — Employers have the opportunity to rate the freelancers they’ve worked with based on performance level.
Payment — Employers can easily set up a payment system for their freelancers based on their requested hourly rate or based on the agreed-upon contract.
Freelancer Skills of Freelance Platforms: Admin support, Design and creative, Marketing, Programming and tech, Writing
Potential Issues with Freelance Platforms for Freelancers
Competition — While freelance platforms ultimately make finding a temporary role easier for freelancers, it’s also a marketplace with stiff competition. On top of being worried about potential bad ratings from employers, freelancers often compete with thousands of other freelancers on the same platform, potentially stifling the job search.
Payment — Depending on the amount of time spent on a project and the work experience, education, and availability, the cost of hiring a freelancer varies greatly. Because of this, sometimes businesses will try to dispute or negotiate the requested wages. Freelancers should be aware of potential wage disputes and be prepared to effectively communicate with employers about the expected payment to avoid any misunderstandings.
Potential Issues with Freelance Platforms for Businesses
Training — There is often little to no time to offer full training for freelancers. While extensive training is usually not necessary due to the straightforward nature of certain freelance work, some businesses use curated databases or internal software that might necessitate some training to navigate and understand. This can be especially difficult for remote workers who cannot rely on an in-person explanation.
Communication — Outsourcing can often lead to mixed or lack of communication. While freelance platforms have features dedicated to collaboration and communicating, it also relies on the freelancer and the business to communicate appropriately. Factors such as a difference in time zones, language barriers, or unclear directions can result in a lack of communication, which can lead to poor performance and miscommunication.
