One of the most effective way to earn an income on the internet is called “Freelancing”. Freelancing allows you to do jobs at the comfort of your home using only your computer. Freelancer sites mostly offers data entry, proofreading, graphics design, web application development (Html, Php, Perl, Asp, Javascripts, etc.), website design, article writing, software programming, and other IT related jobs or project even customer service, legal, and marketing.

There are lots of freelancer sites on the internet. In this article, I will discuss to you the top 10 paying and most trusted freelancer sites based on their popularity and users testimonials.

1. oDesk

With more than $6 million dollars of work performed in a single month, oDesk is the largest marketplace for freelancing jobs.

Pay rates are based on the type of work, your skill level, work history and reputation. If you are a new provider, it is effective to price yourself a little below the average marketplace first.

There are lots of job opportunity on oDesk, and how far you take it is up to you.

I knew a number of people who have decided to quit their jobs and go full-time at oDesk. If you take in more jobs and you provide exceptional service, the more marketable you become.

2. Elance

Elance has 20,000+ jobs posted every month and currently has 100,000+ active providers on their database.

Considered to be a decent place to get quality freelance work, Elance high-paying buyers and companies are drawn to its recognition as one of the best freelancing site. Jobs categories include web and programming, writing and translation, admin and support, sales and marketing, finance and management, legal, and engineering and manufacturing.

Becoming a provider is free but you can also pay for a premium membership plan which offers several benefits including eligibility for the Premier Provider Program, Elance Chat, and Elance Call, which enable employers to contact you instantly.

3. Guru

One of the world’s largest online freelance marketplace, Guru.com serve large and small businesses from all over the world and holds 100,000 active freelance profiles specializing in web design, programming, graphic design, business consulting and administrative support.

Registration is free for both employers and freelancers. In addition, employers and freelancers can take advantage of Guru.com’s SafePay Escrow and Dispute Resolution services which reduce transaction risks.

Freelancers can submit a number of bids per profile every 30 days. Basic membership only has 10 bids allotted and can be increased when you pay for paid plans.

4. PeoplePerHour

A quote from BBC news say “It’s like eBay but for business”.

Based in UK, Peopleperhour.com or more commonly known as “PPH” is a marketplace where companies can outsource project work to 35,424 self-employed and freelance practitioners from 120 countries which holds 33,000 skills to offer.

Becoming a freelancer at PPH is free and you can start bidding for work with no charge at all. The only time you get to pay them is when you win a work through their site.

All transactions are in (£) pound currency and payment requests are processed in batches at the end of the week (Friday afternoon).

5. RentACoder

RentACoder is one of the foremost software development freelance websites online. Their focus is mainly on software development but a lot of skills are also being included for both the freelancer and the buyer.

Registration on the site is free but coders are generally charged with a “rent a coder fee” of 15% of the final bid. This fee covers buyer advertising, buyer credit card/PayPal processing, security verification of buyer payments, facilitation/arbitration, site costs and a small profit. Additionally, on very small projects, there is a minimum fee of $3.

You can bid for free. Unlike other bid sites online that demands you make a payment or subscribe to premium membership to increase your allowed bids per month, Rentacoder allows to compete with anyone without paying any fees.

6. Coroflot

Based in New York- and Portland, USA, Coroflot is the largest, most established, most diverse pool of professional creative portfolios in the world. Its job board is the largest and most active site on the internet specifically targeted at hiring designers and other creative professionals.

Hiring companies includes Fuseproject, Frog Design, Microsoft, Nokia, Landor, RIM, Nike, Intel, Blu Dot, and Sony among our clients, and they’ve all returned to use Coroflot again.

Coroflot also publish a magazine called Coroflot Magazine. It’s a bi-monthly publication that features the works of the site’s members which gives them wider exposure to advertise their designer skills to the world and potential clients.

7. WritingCareer

If you are good at writing, then Writingcareer.com is the best place for you to get a freelance job.

Writingcareer.com is a freelance website which offers a database of writing jobs for freelance writers which includes copywriting, magazine writing, SEO writing, and public relations work.

Aside from offering writing jobs, Writingcareer.com also provides its users downloadable career guides that cover different writing career, and a section of free career-related articles which introduce readers to different writing careers and more.

8. GetACoder

GetAcoder is one of the leading global services marketplace doing business in more than 200 countries. Its job categories includes web design, database development, writing, engineering, training, programming, graphics, games, security, administrative, legal, and more…

Signing-up as a provider or buyer is totally free.

At GetACoder, you can work either as a Buyer or as a Provider. Buyers post, manage and pay for hourly jobs and fixed-price jobs, which can be assigned to any of the top-quality Providers registered at GetACoder. Providers bid, win and are paid for hourly jobs and fixed-price jobs, maximizing their income, while working on challenging jobs and advancing their careers as well.

I personally used this site on one of my previous projects.

9. LimeExchange

LimeExchange is a new addition to the LimeLab Group, the same group of people behind LimeWire.

On LimeExchange you can get part time professionals and companies offering diverse skills for hire, from web2.0 programming on XHTML, XML, AJAX, CSS, PHP, JSP, Java, J2EE, JDBC, Servlets, Ruby, ROR, Perl, Python, ASP, .net, with custom CMS development on Joomla, Drupal, Mambo, OScommerce, VBulletin, phpBB, to desktop and enterprise application skills on C, C#, C++, VC++, VB, ASP.NET, Linux, Unix, SAP, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, to mobile & telecom product development on VOIP, WAP, WNL, Symbian, WURFL , J2ME, J2SE, Swing, Android, iPhone to design specific services on Flash, Flex, Adobe, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premier, Dreamweaver, Maya, Macromedia to blogging, copywriting, editing, articles, e-books, web content writing, business writing, social bookmarking search engine optimization, marketing, backlinking, advertising & link submissions. Broader range of services categories are also available ranging from financial & corporate reporting, forecasting, accounting, modeling, business case preparation to Consulting and support services for Tax, Legal, Media, Credit Card, Mortgage, Real Estate, Automotive, Manufacturing, Research, and Administrative requirements.

Membership is free but they also offer other paid plans which costs from $9.99 to $49.99.

10. GetAFreelancer

Getafreelancer.com is a legitimate online marketplace that brings together thousands of buyers and providers. To date, over $46,806,200 dollars has been spent by their users.

Full-time and part-time jobs includes websites, IT and software, writing, design, media and architecture, data entry, admin, engineering, product sourcing and manufacturing, sales and marketing, business, accounting, human resources, legal, and many more.

It’s free to join GetAFreelancer.com except for a small commission. Freelancers pay 10% of the total bid/funds received. Gold members pay only 3%. For regular projects, employers are charged 3% commission on choosing a worker. Gold members pay 0%.

An option to upgrade for a gold membership is, of course, available. The only difference is that with a gold membership, you give 150 bids a month plus bonus bids, whereas free/basic membership could only give 15 bids per month plus bonus bids.

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