So, you need a Web site developed, you’re looking for a new logo, or you’ve got a business application you need created. OR, you would like to be developing Websites, logos and apps for other people! But you don’t have a clue how to go about matching yourself up with someone who can fulfill your needs?
Don’t worry, I hear this a lot. My recommendation is to create a simple description of the type of work you are looking for, and post it on one of the many freelance developer sites that have sprung up online. I’ve actually used a couple of these myself, and have been impressed with the quality of work that I’ve managed to get done.
So whether you’re looking to get hired or hire someone else, here are 8 sites you should definitely check out:
- Elance.com – One of the largest freelance sites around. Membership accounts range from FREE to $39.95/month for large businesses. Elance charges a service fee of between 6.75 % – 8.75 % for paid jobs.
- RentACoder.com – Claims to have over 200,000 registered members, and over 2,500 active jobs (as of the day I published this).
- GetACoder.com – Large list of jobs available with commissions comparable to the other services listed here.
- GetAFreelancer.com – Most projects seem to range from $500-$1,000, with the company charging a commission for paid jobs.
- Guru.com – Claims to be the largest freelance site out there. Guru offers FREE, as well as paid, memberships that range from $29.95 to $99.95 per quarter. Guru takes 5 % – 10 % commission.
- ScriptLance.com – ScriptLance is FREE but charges 5% commission.
- iFreelance – Membership levels vary between $4 – $7/month but that is all you pay. iFreelance doesn’t charge a commission.
- ProBlogger’s Job Board – pretty much nothing but jobs for writers or bloggers.
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So, you need a Web site developed, you’re looking for a new logo, or you’ve got a business application you need created. OR, you would like to be developing Websites, logos and apps for other people! But you don’t have a clue how to go about matching yourself up with someone who can fulfill your needs? 
Hi John – that’s a nice list of 8 marketplaces. I believe that Elance is the largest, followed by Guru (at least based on traffic and projects). Can I persuade you to rename it “Freelance Web Designers, Programmers or Graphic Artists – 9 Places to Hire or Get Hired Now!”?
In May of this year, we launched a new marketplace that offers a very different model for buying and selling creative services. crowdSPRING is the creative marketplace. Buyers who need a new logo, website, marketing materials or other creative content post what they need, when they need it and how much they want to pay. Once posted, creatives from around the world will submit actual work – not bids or proposals as they would on the 8 marketplaces you’ve listed in your article – for the buyer to review. As the submissions come in, buyers are able to review, sort, rate, provide feedback and collaborate with creatives until they find the “the one.” crowdSPRING provides customized legal contracts, full project management, robust notifications, and many more. Nearly 8,000 creatives from 130+ countries work on crowdSPRING. Buyers set their own price and we take 15% commission on top of that price. Freelancers get 100% of the money paid by buyers – we don’t have membership fees or commissions to freelancers. We’ve hosted over 1,000 projects already.
Here’s how we differ from other marketplaces:
1. We guarantee in writing that the buyer will receive at least 25 entries or a full refund (including our commission).
2. Each project on crowdSPRING is protected by a free, customized intellectual property agreement that is delivered to both buyer and winning creative when the winning creative is selected
3. We provide full end to end project management with file uploads, feedback, scoring, crowd scoring, etc.
4. We have a robust notification/communication system that sends you notices every step of the way.
5. We take care of paying the designer anywhere in the world. We always require escrow in our projects before a project starts – and this encourages more and better designers to participate. You’ll find some of the very best designers working online, on crowdSPRING.
So – what say you? “9 Places…”?
Thanks again for putting together such a nice list of companies.
Best,
Ross Kimbarovsky
co-Founder
http://www.crowdspring.com
Thanks for encouraging slavery, Ross Kimbarovsky! Crowdspring is pure evil, preying on the desperate and uneducated.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate guys like you devaluing creative work and making it more appealing for companies to justify ripping off creatives. Logo contests destroy the ability of designers to make a living. Why hire a skilled graphic designer when you can get 50 suckers to work for free, right?
You do realize the final logo by “Artist Z” is often a ripped-off, evolved version of an earlier submission by “Artist A” (a never-to-be-paid sucker) that the owner commented on, right? That’s called the design process. It’s vital to creating an effective logo. You’ve taken that process and made it into a way to screw designers.
Isn’t it bad enough we’re stuck freelancing and can’t get benefits? Let’s hope you don’t catch some communicable disease from one of these uninsured graphic designers who now can’t even afford the bus ride to a health clinic. You should be ashamed of Crowdspring, not bragging about it!
Eli
Graphic Designer
Thanks for the list I will have to go through it pretty soon.
A nice list and as said it is a good place to find cheap coders.
Here in lies the problem imo, people will go there looking for the cheapest coder etc. and will not always get the best quality.
Though sometimes you find A diamond in the rough. Bottom line be vary and look at portfolios before deciding.
Hi-
I think I’d add TheSuperlancers to your list here. I’ll check out the others too (like Crowdspring — never heard of that one before).
Anyway, here’s that one you missed: http://www.thesuperlancers.com
Tons of cheap coders and designers, markerters, writers, whatever, but more programmers than projects for now so it’s probably a good time to fish for new coders and designers. I do. ;)
Hope that helps!
Jay