The Top 5 Websites to Hire Reliable and Affordable Freelancers

Websites to Hire Reliable & Affordable Freelancers

Our workforce is becoming globalized. In many ways, this has huge advantages. Thanks to the internet and the power of remote work and affordable freelancers you have a much bigger pool of candidates available to you, candidates that are qualified to do the specific work you need.

You also can often find workers at more affordable rates, as well as workers who can cover unusual shifts. For example, do you need someone to cover your customer service overnight? An online freelancer could be the best solution.

However, where to look for these people is the real question. If you want stellar affordable freelancers, then finding them is a little bit more complicated than just posting an ad on Craigslist and hoping for the best.

To help you in your quest, we’ve put together a list of five different sites where you can find and vet affordable freelancers. Each site has its own unique advantages, so you can pick what works best for you. You might even find yourself filling out multiple site profiles, so you can shop around even more.

FreeeUp

If you’re pressed for time, FreeeUp is a great way to quickly find a freelancer who suits your needs. After you sign up, you can fill out a profile describing your company and the work you want to be done. Then, FreeeUp will review the profile and assign you the worker(s) that fit you best in terms of skill set and availability.

You’ll have a chance to interview workers yourself before you hire, to make sure you get along well. If you pass on a worker, FreeeUp will assign a new one to you instead.

All of FreeeUp’s workers have been vetted and are required to take standards tests before signing on. FreeeUp also has a lot of international workers that have already been pre-vetted, so it’s a good way to find a reasonable rate if you’re budget-conscious.

UpWork

Unlike FreeeUp, Upwork’s freelancers are not put through an extensive vetting process. On the pros side though, the number of workers on Upwork is massive. If you need an extremely specific skill, this is probably the place to look. You may have to sort through some unqualified candidates, but you can put together a large “to-interview” list. To help you narrow your search, pay attention to each freelancer’s time on the site, their reviews, and their response times.

Upwork also has a massive filtering system that can make searching through all their candidates easier. Just filter for what’s most important to you (hours available, platforms familiar with, etc.), and then start interviewing the workers who pop up.

Toptal

Like FreeeUp, Toptal puts workers through an extensive vetting process. Each candidate is asked to complete test projects before they can sign on as a Toptal freelancer. Like Upwork, you can sort through a variety of workers on the site. Although the pool is much smaller than Upwork’s, the workers tend to be more experienced overall.

Toptal is especially good if you are searching for UX designers and software engineers. These are jobs that many companies need qualified freelancers for, but it’s a competitive market, and talent can be hard to find. On Toptal, you can even search developers by what types of code they are familiar with.

BlogMutt

Another field that many companies want covering by freelancers is copywriting, and Blogmutt delivers. However, their model is a little different from some of the other options out there. Rather than pairing you with a specific freelancer, you are instead offered regular posts for your blog.

You pay a specific price per post (depending on the length). If you don’t like what a post-Blogmutt offers you, you don’t have to pay for it. Instead, they’ll send you a new post to use in its place.

Blogmutt is very niche but very useful. Its services are exclusively centered around writing great blog posts of any length. If you have other copywriting needs beyond a blog, you may need to consider another one of the options on this list in addition to Blogmutt.

Guru

In terms of the model, Guru is very similar to Upwork. You can search for a large pool of candidates and filter by the skill set and availability you need. When you post a job, candidates can submit proposals on it and make a bid for how much they are willing to pay.

However, Guru does have a smaller total pool, so you might not find yourself with quite as many bids on a job. Depending on your preferences, this could be an advantage or a disadvantage.

We encourage you to click on the links above and take the time to explore each one of these sites. You may find that you have personal preferences, such as the interface or the conflict resolution terms, that will affect your decisions. You might also find that you end up using a combination of these sites to build your dream freelancer team. Whatever your chosen path, we feel confident that these five options can help you get there.