Freelancers are an excellent option for any business that wants to get tasks done quickly and without fuss. By using freelancers, you can hire adaptable, versatile workers as and when you need them, helping you to save money and minimise hassle. Pretty much every business, whether it’s an e-commerce outfit looking for a copywriter or a brand searching for a graphic designer, could benefit from hiring freelancers, so without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 best sites to hire freelancers and take your business to the next level in 2023.
1. Fiverr
With more than 500 categories of business available, Fiverr is an excellent place for businesses to connect with freelancers. No matter what kind of work you need – whether it’s graphic design, writing, illustration, or anything else you can think of – you should be able to find a freelancer that caters to your needs on Fiverr. You can see freelancers’ portfolios, too, so you’ll know if they’re the kind of person you’re looking for at a quick glance. Pretty much every business that needs freelancers is on Fiverr.
2. Upwork
By using Upwork, you can interview potential freelancers, find out if they’re the kind of person you’re looking for, and hire them with minimal fuss. You can set your own parameters for each job, too, ensuring that only specific kinds of freelancers can apply for the work you have. One slightly controversial feature Upwork offers is a keystroke and mouse movement checker, so you can see whether your freelancer is completing work to the standard you’ve set.
3. LinkedIn
Don’t discount LinkedIn as a great site for finding freelancers just because it’s primarily a social network. LinkedIn is a platform for connecting businesses and workers together, so it stands to reason that businesses would post jobs on the site, and indeed, that’s exactly what they do. Many freelancers list themselves on LinkedIn, and you can search for them, then connect with them when you’ve found someone who looks ideal for the work you have.
4. Toptal
Toptal prides itself on only allowing the top 3% of freelancers to look for work on its site, and it does this by testing them extensively before they’re accepted. The test includes a language evaluation, a project assessment, and more, so you know that before a freelancer can list their services on Toptal, they’ve gone through a rigorous evaluation process. Once you’ve found the freelancer you want, built-in payment systems and time trackers make the process painless.
5. Dribbble
Despite its rather questionable name, Dribbble is actually a site where businesses can find and hire creative freelancers for a range of jobs. There’s a specific focus on design and creativity here, so if you’re looking for freelancers to complete more menial or mundane tasks, you may want to look elsewhere. However, Dribbble is great if you need a designer for a logo, for instance, or an illustrator. A paid subscription tier is available for advanced features like filters and messaging.
6. Guru
Guru probably isn’t a great place to go if you’re a new business or a smaller operation looking to cut back on costs. This is because Guru charges much higher fees than many of its competitors. However, because of that, Guru can also boast better-quality work from more trusted freelancers, so if you want to see your job done right, then there’s no better place to look for freelancers than Guru. Just be aware that you’re going to be paying through the nose for a listing.
7. Freelancer.com
The clue’s in the name, right? Freelancer.com bills itself as “the world’s largest freelance marketplace”, so no matter what kind of freelancer you’re looking for, you’re bound to find them here. You only need to pay when you’re 100% satisfied with the work the freelancer has done for you, and you can get quotes from workers for free, which means that you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying before you get started on a project. This is a simple, straightforward freelancer hiring site.
8. FlexJobs
In many ways, FlexJobs foresaw the current state of affairs. It’s been, in its own words, “the #1 job site for hand-screened remote jobs since 2007”, arguably predicting the way in which many of us would be working from home in the 2020s. FlexJobs is a great place to find freelancers to complete work for you remotely, and unlike many other freelance sites, it doesn’t place a specific emphasis on creative jobs, so you’ll find a range of freelancers here with lots of different skills to offer.
9. Indeed
It’s certainly true that Indeed is more of a “conventional” job website than many others on this list. However, given that the job market as a whole appears to be moving more towards a “gig economy”-style model, Indeed can still be a great place to list work for freelancers. Most self-respecting freelancers will be looking wherever they can for work, so spreading your listing as widely as possible is a good idea, and Indeed’s clear, concise listings will still be attractive to a variety of freelancers.
10. Gigged.ai
It’s hard to think that the future of freelance talent acquisition won’t involve AI to a large degree, and Gigged.ai is thinking ahead of the curve on this one. Its algorithm will create a listing for you based on parameters you input, then automatically find you the five best candidates on its roster. You can then chat with the freelancer you want to hire via integrated chat. Leaving the lion’s share of hiring freelancers up to AI cuts out the middleman and lets you get directly to what matters.
