The Top Freelance Websites to Find Work Online
By: Kevin Gabeci
Tags: Upwork, Freelancing, Freelancers, Fiverr, Freelance

My History with Freelancing

My story begins in January 2020, I was working at an awesome programming agency as an intern. The chaos and the destruction of Covid hadn’t hit yet, there were a few cases here and there in the neighboring countries.

We were paranoid about the disease but never scared until the first cases started.

I knew that I needed to shift my focus to online work since my situation at the time didn’t allow me to continue as an intern anymore. What I did was a quick Google Search and I went on the top freelancing websites.

I learned a bit about how they generally worked and I noticed small differences in them, which was interesting.

Some offered your services in packages and you had to wait for clients to contact you. Others were the opposite where you had to contact the clients.

Making Money Online

I sent a few proposals, made a few packages and I called it a day. That’s good enough right? Nope.

After I had no one reply to me for the first few days my focus shifted towards bug hunting. I found this cool website that helped me earn a few bucks online by being a tester. Yeap you can earn money just by testing other websites or apps, and reporting them.

We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action.

That was the catalyst for my freelance journey. After I got the hand of Test.io I started submitting bugs for bigger organizations. That’s when I learned about Hackerone and I had a great time there as well.

Getting My First Freelance Job

During the time that I was bug hunting, I fixed my profiles on the freelancing platforms. Added longer and more descriptive bios, fixed my proposal cover letter, and also added great images to go with the packages I was offering.

I started only with an Upwork and Fiverr profile, two of the best platforms that worked differently from each other. If you could have a guess from which platform you think I got the first job from? It’s okay I’ll wait, go to the comment section, and post which platform you think won.

Photo by Per Lööv on Unsplash

I got my first job on Upwork, it was a beginner-level writing job for a gaming website. I was ecstatic! That feeling stayed with me for a while. My Upwork profile was starting to shape up and I was starting to get new clients.

I finally was able to switch from bug-hunting to freelancing, mainly working with writing which was like a dream come true. I literally have this under my profile ‘Programmer with a Passion for Writing’. And I was making a living with my passion which was writing.

From Freelancing to Opening My Agency

Now I have worked freelance for over a year but the experience I have gained seems like it’s more than that. The things that I learned by working on a lot of different projects it’s impressive. And I found some cool interesting people who were kind enough to share with me a lot about the industry.

After a lot of brainstorming and thinking I was finally able to push myself to do something that would elevate my work. I had to go legit and open my own digital agency, putting everything that I had learned into one project.

A good reputation is more valuable than money.

I’m still at the beginning of the agency project but a lot of progress has been made. I’ve officially registered the company TIN, websites are up and running and a lot of other things are in motion in the background. There’s a lot more coming in the future and I’m working nonstop on it.

If I was able to go from looking for a job online to opening my own Digital Agency in a year then anyone can at least find freelancing jobs.

I will give you all my secrets, tips, and tricks to landing jobs on Upwork. If you’re interested in that make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me here on Medium since that post is coming really soon.

The List with the Top Freelancing Websites

I chose these sites based on their popularity, reputation for quality content, and my own experience with them. The websites on the list are all well-known platforms that have been around for a long time. They also offer some unique features or services that make them stand apart from other options.

Without wasting any more time let’s look at the list of the best freelancing websites. Hopefully, you can successfully start working online with one of these platforms.

Upwork

This is one of the most popular online marketplaces where people go to hire freelancers. I started my freelancing career with Upwork and I believe this to be the best platform even for beginners.

I have never had a problem with a client or payments not being sent on time. Their entire structure works flawlessly and it’s going to make your experience great.