5+ Free Freelancing Tools
6 of the 9 tools in this category have a free plan. Each offers a free tier beside paid plans.
Missing a tool?
Freelancing tools with a free plan
Showing 1 to 6 of 6 tools
Freelancer
freemiumFreelancer is the world's largest freelance marketplace connecting millions of employers and freelancers globally. It offers a vast range of skills, project categories, and local or remote job opportunities with secure payments and real-time communication.
Truelancer
freemiumTruelancer is an online platform connecting employers with skilled freelancers worldwide, offering a seamless hiring process with AI-powered talent matching, secure payments, and project management support. It empowers freelancers to find relevant jobs and clients to hire hassle-free.
Contra
freemiumContra is a platform that connects freelancers and companies, enabling commission-free payments, contract signing, and project management in one workspace. It supports global payments, tax compliance, and offers tools to grow freelance careers and manage flexible teams efficiently.
Gun.io
freemiumGun.io provides elite vetted software engineers with managed engineering governance to ensure mission-critical software delivery with certainty. It handles global sourcing, compliance, payroll, and performance tracking, allowing clients to focus on product strategy and delivery outcomes.
Workana
freemiumWorkana is the leading freelance and remote work platform in Latin America, connecting businesses with certified freelancers across IT, design, marketing, and more. It offers secure payments, satisfaction guarantees, and a large talent pool to help companies build teams and complete projects efficiently.
PeoplePerHour
freemiumPeoplePerHour is a UK-founded freelance platform that connects clients with hand-reviewed freelancers across various categories including writing, design, marketing, and development. It offers AI-powered matching and supports global users with a focus on UK clients and freelancers.
3 decisions
How to choose Freelancing tools
Some are open marketplaces where clients post projects and you apply, while others match you to work based on your profile. The main question is whether you want to search for work yourself or have it come to you.
Freelancer and PeoplePerHour are open marketplaces with free plans: join, browse posted projects, and apply. Contra is also free to join and takes no cut from what clients pay you, though companies pay a fee per contractor beyond the first. SolidGigs skips the marketplace entirely and sends you a short list of jobs its team picked each day for $35 a month, keeping no share of what you earn. Toptal and Gun.io publish no prices and require a sales call; both focus on engineering and technical work.
Open marketplace or matched work
On Freelancer, Truelancer, Workana and PeoplePerHour you do the searching: browse posted projects and apply. All four have free plans. Workana focuses on Latin America and Southeast Asia, which matters if that is where your clients are. PeoplePerHour uses matching to surface relevant projects, but you still apply. Contra sends work to your profile without you hunting for it, and its free plan costs nothing to join.
What the platform takes from your pay
Most tools here take a share of each project payment, though the exact amounts are not published for Truelancer, Workana or PeoplePerHour. Contra is the exception: it takes nothing from payments on any plan. SolidGigs also takes no cut, charging $35 a month or $29 a month billed annually instead. Freelancer publishes its membership tiers at $9.95 and $29.95 a month, but platform fees on top of those are not clearly disclosed.
What you can find out before signing up
Freelancer, Contra and SolidGigs publish their prices. Contra's free plan is $0 and its Pro plan is $29 a month. SolidGigs costs $35 a month or $350 a year. Freelancer's paid memberships start at $9.95 a month. Gun.io and Toptal publish nothing and require a sales call; both are paid-only and built around technical and engineering roles. Truelancer's Prime plan and Workana's enterprise tier also require contacting sales. If you want to know the cost before you commit, those four are not the place to start.
6 questions
Frequently asked questions
Which freelancing tools are free to join?
Six tools here have a free plan: Freelancer, Truelancer, Contra, Gun.io, Workana and PeoplePerHour. Joining is free on all six, though most take a fee from each project you complete. Contra is the only one among them that takes nothing from your payments. The three with no free plan at all are 99designs, SolidGigs and Toptal.
Which tool lets me keep my full payment?
Contra. Its free plan handles contracts and payments and takes no cut from what clients pay. SolidGigs also takes no share of earnings, but it only sends you a list of jobs to apply to and does not handle contracts or payments at all. Every open marketplace here takes a share of each project, though most do not publish the exact percentage.
Which tool finds freelance work without me searching?
Contra matches work to your profile without you browsing job listings. Truelancer uses AI to match talent to projects as well. SolidGigs takes a different approach: its team reads multiple job sites and emails you a short list each day. That costs $35 a month or $29 a month on an annual plan. You still apply yourself, but the searching is done for you.
Do any freelancing tools publish their prices clearly?
Three do. SolidGigs charges $35 a month or $350 a year. Contra's Pro plan is $29 a month, with a free tier at $0. Freelancer lists memberships at $9.95 and $29.95 a month. Gun.io, Toptal, Truelancer's Prime plan and Workana's enterprise tier all require a sales call for pricing.
Which tool suits technical or engineering freelancers?
Gun.io focuses entirely on engineering work and handles contracts and global payments, though it publishes no prices and requires a sales call. Toptal also targets technical roles and claims to work with the top 3% of applicants; it too gives no price without a call. Both are paid-only. Freelancer and PeoplePerHour cover technical categories as well and have free plans, so they cost nothing to try first.
Can I use these tools to find design work specifically?
99designs is the one tool here built around design. It runs contests where clients post a brief and designers submit work, with packages starting at $249 per contest. It is paid-only with no free plan. Freelancer and PeoplePerHour also list design projects and are free to join, which makes them a lower-risk starting point for designers who are new to the platform.