Best Freelance Websites in India: Compared and Reviewed

It is an exciting time to be a freelancer. But when you have so many options for websites to find work, how do you find the platform that is best for you?

Check out some of the best freelancer websites for Indian freelancers. With different niches and audiences, you can find a site that fits your needs.

Freelance Websites for Indians: An Overview

• Upwork
• Freelancer.com
• Fiverr
• Toptal
• LinkedIn
• We Work Remotely
• Guru
• SimplyHired
• Solidgigs
• People Per Hour

And check out the table below for a quick way to compare the top 10 websites and platforms to find the right one for you.

Platform	What is it?	Who is it best for?	Where are the clients located?	How do you get paid?
Upwork	One of the best freelance platforms to find verifiable and high quality work	Great for creative work. And especially for freelancers that want to build deeper relationships with clients as fees decline the more you bill with a single client	Global	Payoneer or PayPal
Freelancer.com	A platform for freelancers to bid on gigs posted by clients	For freelancers that have negotiable rates or those just starting. Also for tech or IT gigs.	Global	Express withdrawal to your India bank account, or PayPal
Fiverr	A platform that lets you post your services and skills up on the site and clients find you.	Great for freelancers in video, graphic design, or logo work. Also for those looking for volume work.	Global	Payoneer to your local India account or PayPal
Toptal	An exclusive platform for top performers that matches clients and freelancers. Freelancers go through a screening process.	Specifically for developers, designers, project managers, product managers, and finance experts with 2-3 years of experience	Mainly in the US and Western Europe	Facilitated by Toptal between the client and freelancer
Linkedin	The social networking site lets you highlight that you are looking for work, search for jobs and post to your network.	Great for those with an existing profile and history on LinkedIn. Linkedin also can send your job alerts depending on what you are looking for.	Global	Outside of the platform and directly from the client
We Work Remotely	A platform to find remote work or work from home positions rather than gigs.	Good for those looking for remote employment in programming, product design, sales, and marketing	Primarily in the US, but also in Western Europe	Outside the platform and directly from the client
Guru	An India-US based platform to find work for freelancers	Not as large as other sites, but offers diverse remote jobs, including archaeology, and local jobs from India	Europe, US, and India	PayPal or Payoneer
Simply Hired	A job search platform for full, part-time, or remote work	Good for professionals looking for local work in India	Locally in India	Directly from the hiring company
Solidgigs	A monthly membership platform that finds you leads and sends them to your inbox	Good for busy and experienced freelancers that are comfortable with a payment plan	Globally	Directly with the client
People Per Hour	A platform for freelancers to find work, but has a selective process for accepting freelancers	Good for freelancers that want qualified leads and don’t mind the application process	UK & US primarily	PayPal or Payoneer

Every freelancer has different needs and ways of working, so it is best to do your own research and find the platform that fits how you work.

Unsure of what to consider? Check out our next section on choosing the right platform for you.

How to choose the right freelance platform for you?

Not every freelancing platform is suited for everyone, and there may be some better for you than others. To sort and find a platform quicker here are a few points to consider when choosing a platform.

Quality of jobs

Are you looking for doing a lot of smaller jobs quickly or getting longer contracts with a single client? The platforms can differ in the type of jobs that have been posted. Identify for yourself what type of work and the bandwidth you have to follow through.

Convenience

Convenience matters especially for things like finding and sorting through jobs, and having an easy-to-use dashboard. Or would you prefer to manage your work through an app? Convenience to you as a freelancer is going to be key to your success.

Payment

Balance ease of getting payments, fees, and time when looking at how payments are done on each platform. Specifically for fees, find the platform with favorable conversion or exchange rates too. Ideally, a platform that uses the real mid-market exchange rate with a low fee is best.

Legal protection

Check the platform’s customer support and mediation tools too in case you do run into any problems. Also, make sure you are fully aware of the fine print when you do sign up.

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Upwork

One of the global best freelancer platforms, Upwork has verifiable clients and incentivizes longer-term work. Plus, lots of diverse project opportunities.

Upwork reviews freelancer profiles Free to sign up An easy to use dashboard to keep track of earnings and projects

Upwork does a great job verifying both clients and freelancers so you can trust you are getting high-quality work. A great site for freelancers in tech and creative fields, website development, and content writing.

But Upwork takes a cut of 20% for your first $500 of billing per client, which reduces to 10% the more you bill a single client, and then 5%. So the more you work with a client, the smaller your fee gets.

Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is easy for new freelancers and lets you bid for projects that are posted by a client.

You can bid and set your own price for projects Express Withdrawals directly to your local Indian bank account Easy to get started

Freelancer.com allows any freelancers to sign up and get started by bidding on projects, so if you are flexible in your pricing this can be a good platform for you. You can start withdrawing to India starting at $30 USD of billing.

Fiverr

Fiverr is for freelancers to post their talents on the site and clients find and purchase from you.

Free to sign up Prices can range from $5-$10,000 Best for freelancers with an existing book of work

Fiverr lets freelancers post their services for free on the platform. The site then takes 20% of your earnings on every gig that you get. Since clients have to find you, it is best for freelancers that have experience or a portfolio already.

Toptal

A selective platform that helps to match clients and freelancers, with only the top 2-3% of freelancers chosen.

All freelancers need to pass a screening process 6 specific job categories Toptal does not take a cut of earnings

Toptal focuses specifically on freelancers who are developers, designers, product and project managers, and finance experts. Toptal has a higher barrier to entry, but it matches high-performing freelancers with verified clients for projects- and is free to use.

LinkedIn

The popular professional social networking site can also be a way for freelancers to find work.

Good for those with an existing profile on Linked In Helps clients looking for talent know you are available Payments occur between you and the client

LinkedIn is a great site for professionals to show a track record of work and commitment, but it doesn’t offer perks or mediation as other freelance platforms do. But you can highlight that you are open to freelance work on your profile, create social media posts to highlight your work, and find referrals. But any projects would have to be paid outside of the platform.

WeWork Remotely

WeWork Remotely focuses specifically on remote job employment rather than gigs, and matches talent with a position.

You can find job listings for remote jobs Good for programming, design, and customer support jobs Read job posts carefully for global positions

WeWork Remotely is primarily for those who are looking for remote positions for work, rather than gigs. But freelancers can also search for interesting work. The main countries for job postings are the US, UK, Australia and Canada. But keep in mind sometimes there may be restrictions on people from outside these specific countries applying. But it is free to sign up and use.

Guru

Partly based in India, Guru lets freelancers find work through job postings and has different membership plans

Monthly or annual membership plans to use Jobs from India and around the world Fees range from 5-9% of the earnings

Guru helps freelancers find work globally and has different plans depending on how new or seasoned you are to freelancing. With paid memberships, you can boost your visibility and pay less per job in fees. Jobs range from design and art to programming to architecture and education.

SimplyHired

A job search website to help professionals find full-time or part-time work locally in India.

Ideal for those looking for full-time positions Has a unique salary calculator tool You can sort local jobs by Indian cities

Simply Hired helps professionals find employment postings, rather than a more freelancer-oriented site. Once you find a job that matches your profile, you can apply and move off the website. This is not ideal for anyone looking for global and online gigs or projects.

Solidgigs

Solidgigs sends you leads on freelancing gigs so you don’t have to search, but they charge a fee for the service.

Tailored job alerts to your inbox They find matching jobs for you Monthly plan of $19 flat

Solidgigs takes care of the job hunting for you by sending you leads on jobs. But for the service they do take a monthly charge of $19, and nothing off of your earnings. This can be a good option for those who are experienced freelancers

People Per Hour

People Per Hour is a US and UK-centric platform that lets freelancers give bids on gig posts on the site and handles the payments and matching.

There is an application process to join You can make offers or bids on projects People Per Hour AI system helps make matches for you

People Per Hour lets freelancers make 15 bids a month on job or gig postings on the site. Since they want only the best freelancers, there is an application process to be part of the community. Also instead of automatic payments, you can invoice your clients through the People Per Hour site.

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Sources used for this article:

1. Upwork
2. Freelancer
3. Fiverr
4. Toptal
5. LinkedIn
6. WeWork remotely
7. Guru
8. SimplyHired
9. Solidgigs
10. People Per Hire

All sources checked as of 15 December, 2021