Introduction

Our world is changing as the ways of working and earning by the day. Technology has made life easy and opened new ways to achieve more in less time without physical effort. Freelancing is one of those ways you can use and earn effortlessly using freelancing platforms. Perhaps, it’s the most in-demand and accessible way for the digital transformation of the world economy.

Freelancing is a way to work independently for online earning using a digital platform. Many websites offer freelance working opportunities to aspirants. But, finding the right one, based on your skills and interest, is challenging and sometimes stressful. Here is the list of the top 10 freelancing platforms you can use in 2022 to earn money online.

1. Upwork

Upwork is a platform that connects clients and freelancers from across the world. It offers a wide range of freelance work, making it one of the top freelancing platforms. There are limitless opportunities for skilled freelancers, from web development to graphic designing, customer support, and writing proposals. But experts consider it good for programming projects, design, and marketing options. Nowadays, small businesses and big companies are also using Upwork for recruitment.

There are multiple ways of connecting clients and freelancers on Upwork. Clients can post a job and hire talent, so freelancers can access the job board and offer a service to sell. Freelance jobs are posted and updated continuously. But you must remember that the competition for getting work is very high on Upwork. Unless you’re an established freelancer with years of experience, you may struggle to find work on Upwork.

Sign up and create a profile to get started on Upwork as a freelancer. It must include details about yourself, your expertise, and your work experience. Remember that clients will decide whether you’re qualified by scanning your profile whenever you bid for jobs or pitch a project. So, an attractive profile is the first step to attracting clients.

Upwork charges 20% of a client’s earnings of up to $500.

Pros and Cons of Upwork

Pros	Cons
Secured payments	High service fee
Budget based projects	Complex selection process
Credible clients	Not good for newbies

Payment Methods on Upwork

• Direct transfer (Bank account)
• PayPal
• Wire Transfer

2. Toptal

Toptal is a talent recruiting website connecting highly qualified freelancers with big companies like Airbnb, Shopify, and Duolingo. It is one of the premium freelancing platforms as they claim to hire the top 3% of freelance talent around the globe. Toptal has a broad range of web developers, designers, and product managers to assess the value of new applicants.

It’s considered a valuable option for financial consulting and interim management. The selection process on Toptal is callous and complicated. There are five stages of the screening test, starting with a thorough English (language) evaluation and ending with a project assessment.

Only the top 3% reach the platform thanks to this approach. But, once you’ve completed all the procedures, you’ll get access to various job ads from reputable clients and businesses such as Motorola and Airbnb. However, failing the test will halt the processing of your application for a few months.

To get started on Toptal, ‘Hire Top Talent‘ or ‘Apply as a Freelancer on their website. A test will be conducted consisting of five stages.

• Language and personality (only 4% of applicants pass)
• In-depth skill review (only 4% of applicants pass)
• Live screening (only 6% of applicants pass)
• Test projects (only 2% of applicants pass)
• Continued excellence (only 3% of applicants pass)

Pros and Cons of Toptal

Pros	Cons
Top-tier talent	Extensive screening process
Free invoicing and payments	Suitable for big projects

Payment Methods on Toptal

• Payoneer
• PayPal
• Local transfer

3. Behance

Behance offers freelance jobs in creative fields such as animations, illustrations, web designing, mobile app development, etc. But it’s not primarily one of the freelancing platforms; it acts like a social media network to connect with other designers. Your work is put in front of a like-minded targeted audience. If it is listed in the featured projects, chances are you will get hired.

Start by signing up for an account and establishing your profile. People around the globe use Behance to build portfolios and share their creative work, ranging from illustrations and animations to website and graphic design. As a networking website, the more profiles you follow, the more posts will appear on your feed. It gives me a chance to discover more freelance work opportunities.

Behance offers a personalized job list according to your skill set and category. There is no limitless job list; instead, it’s specific, based on your interests and skill set, making it easy to find freelance work.

Pros and Cons of Behance

Pros	Cons
Networking opportunities	Competitive environment
Large audience	Not for big projects
Personalized content	Limited image size

4. Dribble

Dribble offers all types of designing jobs to freelancers. From graphic designing to product design and everything in between, Dribble makes it possible for designers to be on one Platform. It is possibly the best web design and animation option, as big brands such as Facebook, Amazon, and Starbucks use Dribble for recruitment.

There are two main ways to hire freelancers on Dribble. First is the ‘Job Board‘, where you can post job listings and projects but must pay for them. In a sample post, you can include a job description, list what kind of designer you need, and hire full-time, freelance, part-time, and contract-based staff. Your job post will receive an average of 1,500 clicks per month because of Dribble’s working algorithm.

The other option is a monthly subscription which enables brands to access Dribble’s database of creative professionals. This option assists you in searching the entire designer database using powerful filtering. You can also get unlimited messaging and the opportunity to bookmark designers. Companies can also pay to access both features.

For using Dribble’s premium version, the subscription fee is $15.

Pros and Cons of Dribble

Pros	Cons
Designing inspiration	Limited features in the free version
Global network	Costly premium version
Large audience	Designing centric only

Payment Methods of Dribble

• PayPal
• Wire transfer
• Local transfer

5. Fiverr

Fiverr is an established freelancing platform offering a range of jobs for freelancers, such as website designing, content writing, etc. Initially, it facilitated the freelance gigs for $5, but now you can set your starting prices and packages with the add-on. On the website, freelancers are called sellers; their services are gigs, and business owners are buyers.

The working procedure of Fiverr is different from other freelancing platforms. Instead of sending out bids, sellers can sign up for free, list their gigs, and set their prices. On the other hand, buyers can simply browse through different categories to purchase from the listed gigs.

Fiverr has a global community of 3.42 million active buyers. There are no hourly rates, just project-based pricing that you get to decide. Fiver is a risk-free platform as sellers are guaranteed protected payments with an SSL certificate that protects billing and personal information, making the process transparent and smooth.

Fiverr takes 20% of the gig fee from buyer and seller up to level one.

Pros and Cons of Fiverr

Pros	Cons
Free registration	High service fee
Online courses	Long payment process
Diverse categories	Newbies may struggle

Payment Methods on Fiverr

• PayPal
• Wire transfer
• Payoneer
• Local bank transfer

6. PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour assists businesses in finding freelancers more reliably compared to other platforms. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, the Platform makes it easy to streamline the projects for relevant people, giving them options to make an offer. It is a better option for programming, branding, and media projects.

You can create an account on PeoplePerHour for free and start setting up a profile. It is important to note that the moderators will review each application before approving it. Once approved, freelancers can start browsing for jobs in multiple categories. They can send offers to the job posters.

The working mechanism of PeoplePerHour is based on AI. Once clients submit the project, the AI system analyzes the details and matches the project with relevant and qualified freelancers. Shortlisted freelancers are invited to submit their proposals and set their prices.

PeoplePerHour is equally attractive for clients and freelancers as both can avoid wasting their time searching for the right match. It has a built-in payment system to protect both parties from payment-related issues.

Pros and Cons of PeoplePerHour

Pros	Cons
Location-based deals	Limited bids in the free version
Automated invoice	Costly subscription
Secure payment	Not good for beginners

Payment Methods of PeoplePerHour

• Local bank transfer
• International bank transfer
• Payoneer
• PayPal

7. Freelancer

Freelancer is a unique freelancer platform as it offers gigs in multiple languages. Its wide-ranging job listings, from design work to web designing and marketing work like copywriting and SEO jobs, make it one of the best freelancing platforms. It’s more suitable for content projects and social media marketing.

You can sign up as a freelancer or business owner to get started on the platform. Signing up as a freelancer requires providing some information on a registration form. For an eye-catching profile, provide detailed information, including your skills, educational background, and work experience.

Freelancer assists job seekers in filtering job listing by several categories, including fixed price, hourly rate, contests, skills, languages, etc. Every job listing shows an average bid and the current number of bidders, so you know what to expect before applying. Apart from projects, there are many contests like visual or design work. Freelancers can benefit from these contests by earning money and reviewing their profiles.

Pros and Cons of Freelancer

Pros	Cons
Live chat facility	Complex interface
24/7 customer support	Fake clients
Progress tracker	Spam applicants

Payment Methods of Freelancer

• PayPal
• Wire transfer
• Skrill
• Bank deposit

8. SimplyHired

SimplyHired is a job portal for newbies where companies can post job offers for free. The website’s user interface is integrated with job offers all over the internet, making it easy to browse jobs by category. Although the platform provides jobs for all sectors, it’s well known for human resource, finance, and data entry projects.

SimplyHired is not just a job portal; it offers assistance in writing manuals of resumes and cover letters. You can use the search box to discover a specific job by entering your city, state, or ZIP code, along with the facility to update your resume with the help of a free online resume builder.

The website is free for companies and freelancers, and you don’t need to create a profile for browsing. The job search mechanism of SimplyHired is very focused and provides more beneficial results instead of displaying related results.

Pros and Cons of SimplyHired

Pros	Cons
Online assistance	Spam profiles
E-mail alerts	No scrutiny measures
Free job tools	Anybody can access

 9. Guru

Guru is a platform for freelancers and brands to work together in various fields, such as marketing, programming, and administration. The freelancers can browse job offers and submit their quotes to the clients. The algorithm of the platform encourages more experienced professionals to get hired.

Start with signing up on the website and making a freelancing profile. After completing the profile, the system will give job recommendations based on your work experience and skill set. Freelancers can bid for long or short-term projects and provide a fixed price for each project.

The user interface of the platform is straightforward, with easy navigation. The users have a detailed dashboard to see the interactions on the platform. Clients can see the current contracts, pending payments, quotes, and responses to your job offer.

The basic membership of Guru is free, but there are premium plans to make your profile stand out.

Pros and Cons of Guru

Pros	Cons
Free Membership	Not good for newbies
Secure payment	A required premium plan for full access
Customized job offers	Potential fake clients

Payment Methods of Guru

• PayPal
• Wire Transfer
• U.S Bank Account
• Payoneer

10. Jooble

Jooble is a job search engine and claims to have 140,000+ integrated platforms across the globe, such as online job boards, corporate websites, freelancing media, and social networks. It is a centralized platform that enables you to find multiple freelancing jobs. You don’t need to scroll through various online job boards to find clients.

Jooble offers you to find jobs in a specific area of your country or region. You don’t need to create a profile for browsing jobs. All you need to do is put a keyword in the search bar for a specific job title. You can apply work experience, salary range, and post-date filters to find your preferred job match.

The Jooble is an aggregator for search results, redirecting you to the source of the job. You will find more details about the job and how to apply for it there. You can sign up for Jooble’s e-mail alerts if you want to get notified whenever it finds a new position for the keyword.

Pros and Cons of Jooble

Pros	Cons
E-mail alerts	No quick application submission
Centralized Platform	No built-in guides
No necessary sign up	Redirecting might be a mess

Verdict

Finding work on freelancing platforms is not a complicated phenomenon, but you will have to understand the basics of it. You’ve just finished reading the list of the best freelance websites in 2022, taking your first step towards a freelancing career.

Most sites mentioned in the list only require signing up for an account and building a profile. However, you should double-check how each freelance website works before signing up for an account. Considering the payment system, withdrawal method, and service fee are some essentials to get started.

We wish you the best of luck in finding your first freelance project. If you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to comment below.

Check out the top six features of the iPhone 14.