Sponsored, but vetted

An advertiser paid for editorial consideration here. PCMag's take is that the offer still saves you money, so they wrote it up.

“An advertiser paid for editorial consideration of this deal.”

Nobody can do it all

Side hustles hit a wall fast. Graphic design, coding, bookkeeping, admin work, the jobs outside your skill set pile up and there is no budget for a full employee.

Hiring eats your week

Checking references, reading portfolios, and haggling over rates can burn hours or weeks. Most new founders do not have a network of qualified people to call.

How the platform works

Running since 2013, Upwork lets you post a job with required skills and a pay range, hourly or fixed price. Thousands of freelancers can bid on it.

Signals that narrow the field

Verified profiles, client reviews, certification badges, and identity checks do the filtering for you. Business Plus surfaces the top 1% of talent in under six hours.

“Upwork's Business Plus service gives you access to the top 1% of talent in under six hours.”

Free to post

You can also restrict a listing to specific people and invite them to apply. Posting costs nothing. You pay a cut of the contract, starting at 3%, when you pay the freelancer.

Most hires close in days

AI tools help tune your job posting from a few prompts, and the site is active enough that most clients hire within three days of posting.

“Most clients hire within three days of posting a job.”

The $50 kicker

For a limited time, new Upwork users who complete a hire, big or small, get a $50 gift card. Artists, programmers, and social media pros are already on there.