A collection of opportunities available for freelancers and remote workers. The eventual aim would be to list reliable platforms/companies where people can find work or post job opportunities. As of now not all the listings are vetted. With the help of the online community, I hope this could become a more reliable list so that it'd help people who are looking for jobs and so that it'd also help freelance platforms build healthy experiences for employers and workers. Sharing the list helps keeps these platforms alive, so in the event of mass layoffs, people will be able to find freelance gigs to survive.
I started building this list when I realized that most software companies pit employees against each other and create toxic, pressure-cooker environments where speed of execution is more important than cooperation, stable code and health. After finding The Real Cure for Eye Strain, it became even more important to find opportunities that helped protect my health.
IMPORTANT: The information below was obtained from internet searches, so please use commonsense and due caution when accessing these links that are ordered randomly.
If you’d like to add to the list or mention which ones are reliable, easy to use, pay well and treat freelancers well, please mention them in the discussions section.
- Aggregator: https://remote4me.com/
- Aggregator: https://www.virtualvocations.com/
- https://angel.co/
- https://gumroad.com/pricing
- https://www.upwork.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.fiverr.com/
- For women: https://www.freelancingfemales.com/jobs
- https://www.guru.com/
- https://www.freelancer.com/
- https://www.peopleperhour.com/
- https://working-nomads.com/ (possibly good)
- https://solidgigs.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.bark.com/en/in/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://jointohire.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.freelancingteams.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.vicoland.com/freelancer/ (possibly good)
- https://www.freelancermap.com/freelancers-directory.html (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.truelancer.com/freelance-jobs (has some poor reviews)
- https://elevatex.de/freelance/
- https://flexiple.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.crowdplat.com/freelancing.html (possibly good)
- https://www.onbenchmark.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.workana.com/
- https://www.twago.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.devteam.space/
- https://www.freelancer.in (has some poor reviews)
- https://flippa.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://authenticjobs.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.lionbridge.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://contra.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.xing.com (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.jobcase.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.flexjobs.com/
- https://www.zippia.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://taldive.com/
- https://www.deel.com (has some poor reviews)
- Tech support: https://www.supportadventure.com/remote-jobs/
- https://hiring.cafe/
- https://www.remotehub.com/jobs (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.skipthedrive.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://jobboard.io/
- https://whoishiring.io/
- https://aquent.com/
- https://www.idealist.org/en
- https://underdog.io/
- https://ripplematch.com/
- https://www.candidatelabs.com/
- https://www.planted.com
- https://ratracerebellion.com/job-postings/
- https://falanderservices.websites.co.in/products/list
- https://www.clickworker.com/
- https://www.mturk.com/
- https://www.remotasks.com
- AI jobs: https://www.moaijobs.com/
- https://www.oneforma.com/jobs/
- https://talendroid.com/openings
- For Indians: https://taskmo.com/job-search-app
- https://www.outsourcely.com/
- https://hasjob.co/
- https://www.realworkfromanywhere.com/
- https://www.keyvalues.com/remote-developer-jobs
- https://www.realworkfromanywhere.com/
- https://golance.com/ (possibly good)
- https://hired.com/
- https://remoteok.com/
- https://remote.com/
- https://remote.co/
- https://remotive.com/ (possibly good)
- https://jobspresso.co/
- https://crewscale.com/
- https://www.turing.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://weworkremotely.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.flexjobs.com/ (possibly good)
- https://www.codementor.io/software-architect-experts
- Sell code: https://git.market/about
- https://codecanyon.net/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://freeup.net/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://www.toptal.com/ (possibly good)
- Wordpress: https://www.codeable.io/
- Latin America: https://www.revelo.com/
- Latin America: https://clouddevs.com/
- France: https://www.comet.co/
- https://supersourcing.com/ (possibly good)
- https://gun.io/
- https://lemon.io/ (possibly good)
- https://youteam.io/ (strangely rude and ignorant writeup)
- https://www.starkflow.co/ (possibly good)
- https://www.virtualemployee.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- USA only: https://www.pathrise.com/
- https://4dayweek.io/remote-jobs
- https://codecombat.com/
- https://www.devteam.space/ (possibly good)
- https://www.skilledup.life/
- https://worknhire.com/ (has some poor reviews)
- https://otta.com/
- https://www.workatastartup.com/
- https://wellfound.com/jobs
- https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en (has some poor reviews)
- https://remote3.co/web3-jobs
- https://slashdev.io/
Attribution: Some were listed here. There are many more you can search for on the internet.
- https://codecombat.com/
- https://preply.com/
- https://www.superprof.co.in/
- https://www.myprivatetutor.com/
- https://www.teacheron.com/
- https://network.vipkid.com/
- https://www.vedantu.com/become-a-teacher
- https://jobs.cambly.com/
- https://www.zirtual.com/
- Help the visually impaired: https://aira.io/careers/
- https://taskburst.com/
Attribution: I found these here. More here and here.
- https://www.usertesting.com/
- https://enrollapp.com/
- https://www.respondent.io/
- https://www.userfeel.com/
- https://www.userlytics.com/
- Test games: https://www.playtestcloud.com/
- https://app.trymata.com/tester/signup
- https://www.userinterviews.com/
- Mystery shopping: https://www.bestmark.com/become-a-mystery-shopper/
Attribution: Some of these I found here.
- https://www.contena.co/
- https://contently.com/
- https://outrider.org/
- Technical: https://www.linode.com/lp/write-for-linode/
- Culinary: https://lifeandthyme.com/contribute/
- https://www.vox.com/pages/how-to-pitch-vox-pitching-guidelines
- https://ssir.org/about/submission_guidelines
- https://thebittersoutherner.submittable.com/submit
- https://longreads.com/submissions/
- https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-submission-guidelines
- https://www.americanangler.com/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/www.americanangler.com/submissions/_index.html
- https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/how-much-to-pay-a-freelance-writer/
- https://www.freelancewriting.com/ (poor website and support)
- https://www.writeraccess.com/
- https://www.ndash.com/
- https://powerpublish.io/ (appears to provide no extra mediation support)
- https://www.contentturbine.com/freelance
- Malgamves' repository for writers: https://github.com/malgamves/CommunityWriterPrograms
- https://gotranscript.com/
- https://www.transcribeme.com/
- https://www.rev.com/
- https://waywithwordsjobs.com/
- https://scribie.com/transcription/freelance
- https://transcriptionhub.com/
The sad part of many of these platforms, is that they do not pay well. Many take a 70% commission, when they should actually take no more than 10% or definitely not more than 30%. For example, one charged clients $25 per interview, and offered interviewers less than $9.
- https://incruiter.com/
- https://interviewvector.com/
- https://www.cybermeru.com/services/interview-as-a-service/
- https://www.expertlead.com/expertview
- https://www.eteki.com/
- https://www.screenit.io/technical-interviewer-platform.html
- https://hirehunch.com/join-as-interviewer
- https://www.upwork.com/hire/interviewers/
- https://www.guru.com/m/hire/freelancers/interviewers/
- https://www.interviewdesk.in/
- https://futuremug.co.in/interviewasaservice
- https://www.flocareer.com/
- https://karat.com/
- https://www.skilledinc.com/
An internet search for “bug bounty programs” will show more. Be aware of ethics and legalities.
- https://www.bugcrowd.com/bug-bounty-list/
- https://hackerone.com/bug-bounty-programs
- https://console.algora.io/
- https://yeswehack.com/programs
Attribution: From here and here.
- https://www.ifyoucouldjobs.com/
- https://designjobs.aiga.org/
- https://workingnotworking.com/
- https://www.coroflot.com/design-hotline
- https://dribbble.com/
- https://99designs.com/
- https://www.designhill.com/
- https://www.twine.net/
While you may worry that sharing the list increases competition, it actually helps keep the good ones running. So in the event of mass-layoffs, you will be able to find freelance gigs and stay afloat. Hopefully (wishful thinking), it’d also encourage employers to treat employees better. This list needs to be kept up-to-date too.
Note that some countries offer a digital nomad visa, but be be well prepared before starting. Be careful if planning to stay with strangers.
- https://nomadlist.com/
- https://digitalnomads.world/
- https://workwanderers.com/
- https://www.workaway.info/, https://helpstay.com/, https://www.helpx.net/, https://www.couchsurfing.com/.
- Yanir’s repository.
- Brad’s list.
- Homeworkingclub has this and this for jobs in tech firms, healthcare, customer service, travel, secretary, translation/transcription, finance, non-profit, writing and editing, foreign languages, sales, education, HR, crypto, creatives and personal development. There’s this for paid market research, this for survey sites, this for micro-work, and this for other side-jobs.
- Job sites for people above 40 or 50: Naukri40–45, Workforce50, retiredBrains, seniors4hire, advaara, 40-plus, rentaGrandma, retirementjobs, wahve, aarp, newSolutions.
- Paid open source projects: https://github.com/kunovsky/paid-open-source-projects
- Finding jobs: You shouldn’t make freelancers have to spend an eternity applying or bidding for gigs. Especially when other freelancers can undercut. Create algorithms that can find good matches between employers and freelancers. Asking freelancers to pay first for being able to apply for jobs is also a poor move (though some such sites seem to do reasonably well with this model). Some platforms force freelancers to put up gigs and do it if the client applies (sometimes, without understanding what the gig is about). Freelancers should be allowed to talk to the client, understand the requirements and then decide if they want to proceed.
- Commissions: Sure, it’s fair for a platform to charge 10% as a commission. If you are employing people to manage the freelance gigs, you can even charge 20% or 25% as a commission. If you are playing a very active role in bringing clients to the freelancers, even 30% is ok. However, there are platforms charging much higher commissions, and that’s just exploitation. Don’t say “free market”. You can even provide commissions to freelancers who bring in new clients for you. Pay them a tiny percentage for every project that the client pays for.
- Payment modes: Instant payments on completion of a job or milestone is good. Delaying payments or delaying it until it reaches a threshold, is exploitation. It also helps provide payment modes that provide the most value at the least possible extra commission for the transaction. Paying freelancers lesser, citing “lack of experience” is also exploitation. The better way is to first offer them lower paying jobs to allow them to prove themselves. But pay the proper amount for every job.
- Arbitration: Both the employers and freelancers need to have the assurance that in case of disputes about the quality of work or payment issues, there will be a capable person who will assess the issue and suggest solutions. Learn how to fire your client.
- Auto-everything: From contracts, to background verification and invoices, everything can and needs to be automated.
- Feedback: Encourage clients to provide freelancers with feedback on what they liked and where they could improve.
- Pointless tests: Some platforms expect freelancers to complete pointless tests to prove their skill. These are an incredible waste of time. The better way is to connect them with a lower paying client and inform the client that it’s a person new to the platform. Providing opportunities to recover from failure and build confidence, goes a long way.
- Reputation: It’s not just the freelancer’s reputation you need to show on the platform. You should have the spine to show even the client’s reputation, so that they don’t exploit freelancers.