4 Popular Freelance Websites – NerdWallet

Making money is on a lot of minds right now.

More than 1 in 5 Americans (21%) are worried about not making enough money at their job, according to a recent NerdWallet survey of over 2,000 adults, conducted online by The Harris Poll.

And another recent NerdWallet study found that 10% of Americans started a side business or second job in 2025 because their primary job doesn’t financially cover their necessities.

Freelancing may be one of the more practical side hustles to start.

“The key is using skills you already have — instead of starting from scratch learning something new,” Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, a certified financial planner, said in an email interview.

It’s a common strategy of her clients, she said, even among the higher earners who want to hit their financial goals sooner.

“With rising costs and home prices, many HENRYs feel priced out of lifestyles they thought they could afford,” Ransom-Cooper, chief financial planning officer at Zenith Wealth Partners in New York, said. “Using skills from their day job for freelance work can bridge that gap.”

Maybe you can, too. Signing up for a freelance website is one way to start. Just be aware of the tradeoffs before you jump in.

Fiverr is like the Coke of freelance. It’s the platform you probably know, with an appealing interface and process that makes you want to sign up. The site features gigs in over 200 categories, including web development, video editing, SEO and interior design.

You can sign up for free, set up a profile and put yourself out there to a global audience.

You don’t cold call. Clients search for services and come to you, but that could take a while if you’re new and/or expensive. When you land some work and deliver, Fiverr takes 20%.

If Fiverr is Coke, Upwork is Pepsi. It’s another marketplace that accepts a wide range of freelance fields. Popularity and the sheer volume of freelancers make standing out tough here, too. But you can contact potential clients about jobs you’re interested in.

As a freelancer, you bid on work by submitting proposals to prospective clients, using what the site calls “Connects.”

You get 10 free per month as a basic member. When you land a job and complete the work, Upwork takes a service fee of up to 15% from freelancers based on specific factors of the project.

Freelancer.com is another popular site, claiming to be the world’s largest. It features screens and screens full of work categories, and tens of millions of users.

Get ready for competition, though, so you’ll want to make a profile that stands out. Then, you can bid on projects and get paid at various milestones of completion. You get six bids per month as a free member.

Freelancer’s site says it charges a “small project fee relative to the value of the selected bid” when you win and accept a fixed-price project. Then, it charges a 10% fee, or $5, whichever is greater, when you deliver.

Toptal is more like the Dom Perignon of freelancing. Its mission is to connect top talent with major companies to work on important projects. Design, business and technology experts with two to three years of experience can apply.

Toptal is known for its rigorous screening process, which swiftly weeds out those unqualified. The process involves a live interview with Toptal screeners and test projects for candidates, among other steps. Just 3% of applicants pass, Toptal says. But once you’re in, it’s white glove. Toptal has a special team that matches candidates with clients.

Here’s the tidbit that could make enduring Toptal’s screening process worth it: it takes no fee from freelancers.

Freelance websites offer value, but crowded marketplaces and high fees may stifle your experience and earnings.

We sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about freelance websites. A few benefits and drawbacks stood out. We used an AI tool to analyze the feedback. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. The methods of yesteryear — like networking, cold pitching and posting ads without a freelance site — still have value.

The appeal of a side hustle is clear, especially if you can get going quickly.

“You can’t control your boss giving you a raise, but you have more control over your side hustle income,” said Ransom-Cooper.

One of her clients is a product designer by day, and runs a web design business on weekends, for example. Another is a project manager who does consulting on the side.

As a CFP, she has good advice for how to manage the extra money, if it goes well.

“Keep your business money completely separate from your personal money,” she said. You can open a separate bank account for side hustle funds, then use accounting software — like Wave or Quickbooks — to track everything.

That part is essential since your freelance gig will be self-employed income.

“Set aside 25-30% of each payment for taxes right away,” she said. “When tax time comes, you can easily run reports for your tax preparer instead of scrambling through bank statements.”