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Side hustles are purely part of the job market menu these days.
A NerdWallet study found that 10% of Americans started a side business or second job in 2025 because their primary job doesn't financially cover their necessities. That’s a number that is sure to grow.
Freelancing as a side hustle lets you leverage existing skills to make extra pay. A host of freelance websites make it easier than ever to get started.
We used AI to analyze a boat load of Reddit comments on freelancing in 2026. While the overall mood about the industry is a little down — due to AI uncertainty and high competition — the broad advice is to start on a big platform, then look for more specialized sites.
Big freelance websites
Fiverr
Fiverr is like the Coke of freelance. It’s the platform you probably know, with an appealing interface and process that makes you want to sign up. The site features gigs in many categories, including web development, video editing, SEO and interior design (wait, what??). You can sign up for free, set up a profile and put yourself out there to a global audience.
You don’t cold call. Clients search for services and come to you, which may take a while if you’re new and/or expensive. When you land some work and deliver, Fiverr takes 20%.
Upwork
If Fiverr is Coke, Upwork is Pepsi. It’s another marketplace that accepts a wide range of freelance fields. Popularity and the sheer volume of freelancers make standing out tough here, too. But, you get to reach out to clients.
As a freelancer, you bid on work by submitting proposals to prospective clients, using what the site calls “Connects.” You get 10 free per month as a basic member. When you land a job and complete the work, Upwork takes a service fee of up to 15% from the freelancer based on specific factors of the project.
Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is another popular site, claiming to be the world’s largest. It accepts many work categories, and has tens of millions of users. Get ready for competition, though.
Make a profile that stands out. Then, you can bid on projects and get paid at various milestones of completion. You get six bids per month as a free member. Freelancer’s site says it charges a “small project fee relative to the value of the selected bid” when you win and accept a fixed-price project. Then, it charges a 10% fee or $5, whichever is greater, when you deliver.
More specialized freelance websites
The consensus among relevant Reddit posters is that Fiverr and Upwork are good places to get your feet wet with freelancing, but may not be the endgame. You can use them to land a couple clients and build a small portfolio (and hopefully garner a few positive reviews, too).
After that, sites such as Contra and Toptal could be logical next steps.
- Contra is a freelance website that differentiates itself from others in a couple ways. First off, it touts a 0% commission fee, meaning you keep all of what you bill a client on the site.
The site has a pretty fresh look, too, positioning the portfolios of freelancers more front and center. Rather than a marketplace, it’s more akin to a professional network/workflow management platform for freelancers where you can apply to jobs and are welcome to bring your own clients over. - Toptal might be good once you have some jobs under your belt. Its mission is to connect talent with major companies to work on important projects.
Top design, business and technology experts can apply. Not sure if that’s you? Toptal is known for its rigorous screening process, which swiftly weeds out those not yet qualified. Toptal also takes no fee from freelancers.
Who needs a freelance website, anyway?
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. The methods of yesteryear — like networking, cold pitching and posting ads without a freelance site — still have value.
Nerdy Perspective
I created profiles on Fiverr and Upwork but didn’t have much initial success, and wasn’t patient enough to wait. So I decided to find clients on my own.I made mental health my writing niche, and found a database of therapists. I picked a bunch and sent cold pitches to write for their sites. It wasn’t easy, but I got responses, and work! Then, posting my work on social media helped me get in with larger publications. Some pubs even reach out to me. It’s been legit money!
Lead producer at NerdWallet, freelance writer
If you're thinking about freelancing, you can lean on a freelance website to start, then branch out from there.
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