Best Freelance Websites for Beginners in Pakistan

Freelancing has become a widespread job option over the last decade. There are now millions of freelancers around the globe who earn their living from home. If you want to start freelancing, consider these top five freelance sites.

There are many freelance platforms out there. Some are free, some charge a fee, and some even offer paid subscriptions. The best ones allow you to get started quickly and give you access to a wide range of clients.

When choosing a freelance site, consider cost, ease of use, and client feedback. These are some of the best freelance sites for beginners.

1. Fiverr – The Best Platform for Beginner Freelancers

Fiverr is one of the most popular freelance sites on the internet. You can sell almost anything here: services like writing, design, or online courses.

You can make money by selling your skills in two ways: through bids and fixed prices. When setting up an account, you can choose between three payment methods: PayPal, Stripe, and Bitcoin.

How do I start freelancing on fiverr.com?

First, go to fiverr.com/sell. Here, you’ll find all kinds of gigs posted by people looking to hire freelancers. All you need to do is submit your bid, set your price, write a short description, and upload your portfolio if applicable. Once you receive a request, it will be sent directly to your inbox.

Pros & Cons

2. Upwork – One of The Top Freelance Websites

Upwork is one of the most popular freelance sites on the web today. It’s an online platform that connects businesses with freelancers to find work done by professionals.

The basic version of this website is entirely free. You can create your profile and list your skills. Then, you can browse through the profiles of other freelancers and apply for jobs. Once you have been accepted into a project, you can complete it.

You can choose between three different types of payment: fixed price, hourly rate, or a hybrid model. For example, if you select “hourly rate”, you will be charged per hour worked. However, if you choose ‘fixed price,’ you will be given a set amount each time you accept a new job.

Upwork allows freelancers in Pakistan to transfer their income to local banks. I can help you choose the best bank for freelancers by outlining their advantages and disadvantages. This makes it easy for you to withdraw your earnings.

How to start freelancing on upwork.com?

If you want to start working on Upwork, you first need to register yourself. This process takes less than 5 minutes. After that, you will be asked to fill in your profile. Ensure you include everything about yourself so potential employers know exactly what kind of person they will hire.

Once you have completed your profile, you can search for freelance projects—type “web design” or your skillset in the search bar to do this. You will see a page full of results. You can sort through the projects based on their location, category, and deadline.

Pros & Cons

3. Guru – A Place to Sell Your Skills As a Freelancer

Guru is another great place to sell your skills as a freelance worker. The site allows users to post jobs and then connect with clients.

When responding to a job, you must provide information such as the type of service you offer, your rates, and any additional details that might help the client decide whether to contact you.

After you have received a request, you can review it, respond to the client, and ask questions. If you accept the job, you must deliver the product or services within a specific timeframe.

Guru also offers extra features like automatic invoicing, customer support, and more.

Pros & Cons

4. Freelancer.com – An Old and Best Freelancing Platform

Freelancer.com has been around since 2005. Since its inception, it has become one of the leading platforms for freelancers to find work. It’s easy to sign up, and you only need to answer a few simple questions when creating your account.

Once you have created an account, you can browse various available work categories. When you find something interesting, you can message the employer. The good thing about Freelancer.com is that you can filter your searches by experience level, language, and location. You can also add a portfolio section to showcase your past works. The downside is that you can only apply for jobs that match your specific criteria.

Pros & Cons

5. PeoplePerHour – The Best Freelancing Website for Beginners

PeoplePerHour is a website dedicated to connecting freelancers with businesses who need their services. To create an account, you need to enter your email address and password. This is how PeoplePerHour makes sure that no fake accounts are being used. Once you have signed up, you can browse through different types of work, including graphic design, writing, programming, and editing.

If you want to find a particular project, you can search through the jobs listed on the site or sort them based on category. If you can complete the task, you can submit your bid. Once accepted, you will receive an invoice via PayPal. You can choose between a fixed price and an hourly rate. Other payment options depend on what kind of work you do.

Pros & Cons

6. SeoClerks – Top Online Jobs Marketplace

SEO Clerks is another online marketplace where you can sell SEO-related tasks. When signing up, you must select a package according to your needs. For example, if you plan to outsource content creation, you should go for the “Content Creation Package.” After selecting your package, you will be asked to provide additional information, such as your skills and qualifications. Your profile will then be reviewed before you are allowed to proceed further.

After completing all the necessary steps, you will receive a list of potential customers. You can contact these companies directly from this page or use the email option provided. Once they agree to hire you, you will be sent a link to a private portal where you can manage your projects and communicate with clients.

In this portal, you can track each job’s progress and see detailed reports. As soon as the client pays, you will automatically receive an invoice. You can easily download it using the provided button. Once the payment has been received, you will receive an email confirming the same.

Pros & Cons

7. Legiit – One Of The Most Popular Freelancing Websites

Legiit is one of the most popular freelance websites in Pakistan. It was launched in 2011, and since then, it has gained popularity by providing its users with a platform to find remote workers worldwide. The website works similarly to Upwork but offers some unique features. The main advantage of Legiit over Upwork is that it provides a dashboard that allows you to view all the projects you have registered with the company.

Another major difference is that Legiit only charges a monthly fee, while Upwork charges a yearly subscription. This means you don’t have to pay any extra monthly. However, there are certain limitations when it comes to freelancers outside of Pakistan. They cannot access their accounts unless they purchase a VPN service. Also, they cannot make payments through credit cards. To overcome these issues, Legiit provides a feature called “PayPal”. This allows freelancers to accept payments via PayPal without worrying about the security of their details. If you want to learn how to become a successful freelancer, check out our guide here.

Pros & Cons

8. TopTal – A Marketplace For Services

Toptal is another online marketplace for writing, design, programming, etc. It was founded in 2012 and currently has over 100,000 active members. Unlike other platforms, Toptal doesn’t charge any membership fees. Instead, they earn money by charging employers a percentage of the salary paid to their employees.

For example, if you work for them for $100/month, they’ll take 10% of that amount ($10) and give it to you as a commission. Now, let’s say that you’re earning $200 per month. So, after paying 10%, you get $20 as commission. That’s why Toptal is also known as a “reverse” affiliate program.

Unlike other affiliate programs, Toptal doesn’t require you to refer new customers to them. You must fill out a form stating your skills and upload your portfolio.

After that, companies worldwide will contact you directly and offer you a job.

You can either turn down the job or accept it and once received, you’ll get 20% of the salary paid to the employee.

Toptal is available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Before we move on to the cons section, I’d like to point out that Toptal is very selective when hiring people. They hire only those candidates who have exceptional portfolios.

So, to apply for jobs at Toptal, you must create a portfolio first. It’s important because most of the time, they reject applicants who haven’t completed a portfolio. So, if you don’t have one yet, you might want to start building one now.

Pros & Cons

9. Thumbtack – Online Workplace For Freelancers

Thumbtack is an online workplace where you can post your requirements and find local professionals to complete the task. The platform connects professionals with businesses looking for specific tasks. Once you submit your request, you’ll receive proposals from different professionals.

You can review each proposal and pick the best one. Once you’ve chosen the right professional, you’ll pay them directly through the site. There are no hidden charges involved.

In addition, Thumbtack offers its users a unique feature called Thumbtack Local. This allows you to search for nearby professionals and book them instantly. This means you won’t have to wait days or weeks to complete the job.

You can even ask them to come to your home or office. If you prefer face-to-face meetings, you can use Thumbtack Meetup. Here, you can schedule appointments with different professionals.

However, there’s a catch here.

You’ll be charged a fee every time you meet a professional. But, if you choose to proceed with the booking, you’ll get a discount. Finally, Thumbtack is available in multiple languages, such as English, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian.

Pros & Cons

10. Behance – The Best Freelancing Website For Graphic Designers

Behance is a freelance marketplace for creative professionals. It was founded by Jason Kincaid in 2007. Today, it has over 10 million members worldwide. The site works similarly to Upwork, but instead of offering remote work, it focuses solely on graphic design.

Once you sign up, you’ll be able to browse through various projects posted by different employers. You can also upload your project. If you want to work on a particular project, you can send your application directly to the employer. If accepted, you’ll get paid via PayPal. However, you must provide a bank account to receive the money.

There’s no limit on how much you can charge per hour. You can set your price. There are two ways to bid on a project. First, you can do a free trial. Second, you can offer a fixed price. Finally, you can also add tags to your profile. These help you categorize your skills better.

Pros & Cons

11. Dribbble – A Place to Showcase Your Portfolio

Dribbble is a community for creatives. It started as a photography-focused website back in 2008. Since then, it has evolved into a platform for all creative professionals.

This includes photographers, illustrators, web developers, writers, filmmakers, and animators. On Dribbble, you can share your work and connect with others with the same interests. One thing I like about Dribbble is that you don’t have to create an account before posting your job. All you need is a URL.

So, once you post your work, anyone from anywhere in the world can view it. To make things easier, you can tag your images using keywords. For example, you can order your photos as “animation,” “photography,” etc. When someone clicks on your photo, they’ll see a list of related tags. They can click any one of these tags to learn more about what you’ve created. Another great feature of Dribbble is its ability to search for users based on location. So, if you want to hire someone locally, this is a good option.

Pros & Cons

12. 99designs – A Place to Showcase And Sell Your Graphic Designs

99Designs is another online market where designers can earn extra income. This company was founded in 2006 by David Skok.

It offers three main products to its customers.

First, there’s the Design Contest. Here, you can submit your best designs to win prizes. The contest usually lasts around two months.

Second, there’s the Graphic Design Portfolio Builder. With this product, you can build a portfolio of your best designs.

Lastly, there’s the Premium Account. If you decide to purchase this account, you’ll be given access to additional features such as unlimited submissions, advanced statistics, and more.

The minimum amount needed to buy a premium account is $49.95. However, you can start with a free 7-day trial. You can use this trial to test out the different features available on the site.

You can choose between monthly or yearly plans once you’re ready to pay for your subscription. You can cancel your membership anytime. However, after canceling, you won’t receive any refund.

Pros & Cons

13. Textbroker – An Online Marketplace for Freelance Writers

Textbroker is a website where freelancers can find clients looking for content. Freelancers can apply for jobs through the website. Once approved, they will get paid via PayPal.

There are two ways to apply for a job.

You can browse the categories and select the ones that interest you. Or, you can search for specific topics within those categories.

If you want to apply for a writing position, check out the Writing Jobs section.

If you’re unsure which category to apply under, you can type a keyword into the Search box.

After submitting your application, you’ll receive feedback within 24 hours. If everything goes well, you’ll get hired!

Pros & Cons

14. WeWorkRemotely – Online Freelancing Community for Newbies

WeWorkRemotely is an online platform where freelancers can connect. This website also serves as a hub for remote workers who need help from other freelancers.

You can create your profile here so potential employers can contact you directly.

You can also browse through profiles created by others.

Once you’ve found a project that interests you, click on it, and you’ll be redirected to the employer’s page.

Here, you can see all the information about the project, including what skills they require, how much they want to pay, and when they expect their work to be completed.

You can send them a message from here asking if everything is okay.

If they accept your offer, you must sign up for WeWorkRemotely first. This process only takes 5 minutes. Once you’re registered, you can begin working on the project. Once your work is complete, you can request payment via PayPal.

Pros & Cons

15. Contently – The Recent Best Online Workplace for Freelancers

Contently is a website that connects businesses with freelance writers. Companies post projects, and freelancers bid on them.

To make things easier for both parties, Contently has designed its platform to include tools like project management, collaboration, and invoicing. The platform allows freelancers to submit project bids based on their experience level.

For example, you can specify whether you’re good at writing articles, creating infographics, etc. You’ll get paid via Payoneer or Stripe when you win a project. In addition, Contently offers a free plan for new users. It includes all the above features plus 500MB of storage space.

Pros & Cons

Important Note:

It’s worth mentioning that PayPal, a commonly used payment method for freelancers, is currently not available in Pakistan. Despite the efforts of the government and freelancers in the country, PayPal has yet to be introduced due to regulatory and security concerns. If you’re a freelancer in Pakistan, it’s important to be aware of this limitation and consider alternative payment options. We have also written a detailed article on the struggle to bring PayPal to Pakistan, which you may find helpful.

Conclusion

Freelancing has become an integral part of our lives. It’s not just limited to freelancers only. Everyone is now looking for freelance jobs. The demand for freelancers is increasing every year. This is because of the growing number of companies hiring freelancers.

There are different types of freelancing websites. Some of these websites are paid, whereas others are free. There are various reasons behind choosing a particular website. So, we have compiled a list of the top ten freelancing websites for beginners in Pakistan. These sites provide a wide range of services. They offer both free and paid services.

About The Author

Shahzad Ahmad Mirza

Shahzad Ahmad Mirza is a web developer, entrepreneur, and trainer based in Lahore, Pakistan. He started his career in 2000 and founded his web development agency, Designs Valley, in 2012. Mirza also runs a YouTube channel, “Learn With Shahzad Ahmad Mirza,” where he shares his web programming and internet marketing expertise. He has trained over 50,000 students, many of whom have become successful digital marketers, programmers, and freelancers. He also created the GBOB (Guest Blog Posting Business) course, which teaches individuals how to make money online.