Table of Contents
21+ BEST FREELANCE SITES FOR SOUTH AFRICANS IN 2021.
WHAT IS A FREELANCER, AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
You can freelance in your spare time, do it part-time, moonlight, or even make it your career and work full time as a freelancer in South Africa.
Are you a South African? Are you looking for ways to boost your income, or earn extra money for yourself?
Freelance websites are online platforms where people who are looking for work can do so, and where employers looking for people post their offers.
As South Africans we have heard of or read about the unemployment rate in South Africa, and that many people are looking for work or ways to supplement and boost their earnings.
Also, South Africans are being retrenched, put on short time, or are temporarily unemployed, and there are many job losses in our economy.
If you are working as a freelancer in South Africa already, then you know the ins and outs of what it means to work in this way.
Are you fortunate enough to have regular clients?
Are you looking to expand your services, and do you want to list on more freelancing sites?
If you are South African, there are a few international sites where you can offer your services, like Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer, to name a few.
But did you know that there are South African Freelance sites you can advertise your services on?
WHAT IS A FREELANCER, AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
As a freelancer, you offer your services for a fee. The fee will vary depending on the type of work you are offering, and the amount of time needed to complete the job.
One of the positives of being a freelancer is that it allows you to be self-employed or to work part-time, moonlighting to earn yourself extra money.
Being a freelancer, you may find yourself working on one project at a time, or you may choose to work on various projects at the same time.
Read your contracts carefully, as some contracts may only allow you to work on one task at a time.
FREELANCE JOBS.
There are many different jobs you can do as a freelancer.
Here are some of them:
Teaching/Tutoring
Designing: graphics, logos
Writing: copywriting, editing, proofreading, ghost-writing
Virtual assistant
Pinterest assistant
Accounting, bookkeeping
Data entry
Sales
Marketing
Computer science and IT
Software development
Before you start working as a freelancer, you must have a plan of action, know what you are going to do and what you want to achieve.
Know what rate you are going to be charging, ask yourself if the rates are fair if you are charging enough for your services, and factor in your time, experience, and the materials you may need to use for your services.
Sometimes people start with a lower rate or fee, and as they gain experience their rate/fee increases.
You will be responsible for paying your taxes.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A FREELANCER?
What skills and equipment do you need to become a freelancer?
You will need space to work in, be it a home office or just a quiet area where you can work without loud interfering noises, and where you will not be interrupted.
A laptop or computer; you may also need certain software programmes.
A telephone.
Earphones or earbuds
A high-speed internet connection.
A table or desk, and a comfortable office chair for those long hours you may need to sit while working.
A whiteboard may come in handy to help you keep track of all the jobs you are working on.
You will be working on your own, so you need to be disciplined, and have a schedule for yourself and stick to it so that you can manage your time wisely.
A project management tool is extremely useful and will help you to be more productive.
Have a portfolio ready to show prospective clients who may ask to see it.
Your portfolio is there to show prospective clients how good you are, so include samples of your best work.
Your potential clients may look at a few freelancers’ profiles, so you need to convince the potential client why you are the best for the job.
As a freelancer, you need to be knowledgeable in the areas in which you are going to be offering your services.
There are many free online courses you can take to improve your skills and to learn new ones to add to your skills base.
Freelancing work can be extremely hard, so working in manner may not suit everyone.
If you decide to become a freelancer, be patient and persevere.
RELATED: GET PAID UP TO $200 TO WRITE A LIST.
ONLINE TUTORING JOBS FOR SOUTH AFRICANS
HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN AS A FREELANCER?
How much you will earn as freelancer in South Africa will vary greatly depending on your field and level of experience.
Payment methods include:
PayPal, Payoneer and bank wire transfer.
Many freelance platforms have their own payment systems.
These websites will give you more information about the rates charged by South African freelancers:
Remember to find reviews and feedback from people who have been or are working as freelancers for any of the listed companies on Indeed, Glassdoor, and Trustpilot.
Listed are South African freelance websites and international freelance websites.
1.SAFREA
SAFREA has been operating since 1999 and stands for Southern African Freelancers Association.
SAFREA provides resources, tools, training, and networking to help you strengthen your freelancing career.
SAFREA is open to all working freelancers in the media and communications industry.
SAFREA has partnered up with BizCommunity and Jobvine for job listings.
To apply to become a member, fill in the online application form.
Please note that SAFREA does have an annual fee payable; for more information visit their website.
SAFREA is a great place to find support and guidance.
To find out more, visit their website.
2. FREELANCE CAPE TOWN
Freelance Cape Town is Cape Town’s number 1 freelancing and outsourcing platform and was founded in 2015 in, you guessed it, Cape Town.
Freelance Cape Town has over 400 freelance profiles on its platform.
Pricing for freelancers start at R299 for 6 months once-off, and R499 once-off for 12 months.
If you are looking for a freelancer to hire, then no fee is payable.
To find out more about Freelance Cape Town, visit their website.
3. JOBVINE.
Jobvine is a South-African-based company, and is a recruitment-based website.
Recruiters and companies can advertise their jobs for free on Jobvine.
Jobvine has over 78 000 South African freelancers registered on their site.
To become a freelancer on Jobvine, visit their website and register by filling in your information.
On Jobvine it is free to create a standard profile.
Create your profile and upload examples of your work.
To find out more about Jobvine visit their website.
4. WEWORX
Weworx is an online freelance service marketplace that provides a secure and innovative platform for service seekers to find freelancers.
Services offered on Weworx include translation, accounting, photography, designing, marketing, and many more.
Weworx is not limited to freelancers only; professionals and SMEs may also use the platform.
To find out more about Weworx, visit their website.
5. GIGSAFARI.
GigSafari was started in 2018 in Johannesburg by Andrew Duffy and is a South African freelancing site.
GigSafari has no registration cost for either freelancers or employers.
To join GigSafari, visit their website and sign up.
6. NO SWEAT
No Sweat was founded in September 2015 by Sebastian and Wilfred Greyling.
No Sweat caters to advertising, marketing, and media agencies, film production and post-production houses, design studios, and digital shops.
No Sweat works with some of the biggest companies in South Africa, including Deloitte, Ogilvy, Saatchi, and more.
No Sweat handles all the money matters for you, as well as all admin for freelancers.
No Sweat has a rating 08/10 rating on the Fair Work Foundation.
To find out more about working for No Sweat, visit their website.
7. NICHE MARKET.
Niche Market is South Africa’s first social online marketplace for entrepreneurs and SMEs.
They let you advertise your services on their website. Create your own listing for free.
8. PAY PER PROJECT.
Pay Per Project is a 100% South African initiative.
Pay Per Project is an online marketplace that connects users and freelancers from around the world.
Categories on Pay Per Project include consulting, graphic design, lifestyle marketing, programming and tech, writers and translators and many more.
To find out more about Pay Per Project, visit their website.
RELATED: GET PAID TO TEST WEBSITES.
9. GEARHOUSE.
Gearhouse began as a small Johannesburg lighting company and is still a South African company.
If you are interested in becoming a freelancer on Gearhouse, visit their website.
10. JOBS4MZANSI.
Jobs4mzansi is a new freelancing marketplace platform founded in 2020 in South Africa, for South Africans.
Freelancing services include editing, logo creation, marketing, photography, social media development, business profiling, and more.
To find out more about Jobs4mzansi visit, their website.
11. MINTOR
Mintor is SA’s fastest-growing youth employment platform.
Register and showcase your skills, and let employers find you.
Mintor does not charge a fee to join its platform.
To find out more about Mintor, visit their website.
12. SA CREATIVES NETWORK.
The SA Creatives Network was founded by Artwell Nwaila.
SA Creatives is a creative network where people who enjoy a creative lifestyle can read about and be inspired by industry leaders.
The SA Creatives tools include a job portal and a free directory for creatives, and they provide creative services to corporates, individuals, and small businesses.
The SA Creatives Network services include the following:
Advertising
Copywriting, fine art, fashion, jewellery design, makeup, film, baking to name a few.
If you are a freelance creative, place an advert for free.
For more information about Creatives SA, visit their website.
13. CREW PENCIL
Crew Pencil offers an online directory for crew and suppliers in the SA film industry.
For more information about Crew Pencil visit their website.
14. HUBBA
Hubba was started by Marc Backwell and Kyal Lindsay in 2020.
Hubba is a South Africa online market place, providing, a platform for freelance talent.
Talents include graphic design, web developer, illustrator, writer, photographers, marketers and may more.
To find out more about Hubba visit, their website.
15.TRUELANCER
Truelancer was founded in 2014 by Dipesh Garg and has over 1 million freelancers.
Popular skills on Truelancer include graphic designers, UX designers, content writers, web developers, and android developers, to name just a few.
To find out more about Truelancer visit their website.
MORE WAYS FOR YOU TO EARN MONEY ONLINE.
GET PAID TO TAKE ONLINE SURVEYS
GET PAID TO TO TEXT AND CHAT ONLINE
HOW TO SELL PHOTOS OF YOUR FEET ONLINE
16. FREELANCER
Freelancer connects over 47,604,867 employers and freelancers globally for over 247 countries, regions, and territories.
Some big names like Amazon, IBM, Airbus. NASA, Nova Nordisk, and many more companies use Freelancer.
Freelancer has over 1350 different categories (so I am sure you should find freelancing opportunities for yourself).
Popular categories include mobile app development, writing, designing, product manufacturing, graphic design, and many more categories.
On the Freelancer platform, one must bid for jobs.
To find out more about Freelancer, visit their website.
17. FIVERR
I think most people have heard of, read about, or know of Fiverr.
I make use of the services on Fiverr myself.
Fiverr is the world’s largest marketplace for digital services.
Fiverr was founded in 2010 and its headquarters are in Israel.
A service on Fiverr is called a Gig. Services include:
Graphic and design
Music and audio
Programming and tech
Digital marketing
Business
Writing and translation
Lifestyle and many more.
To find out more about Fiverr, visit their website.
RELATED: ONLINE TUTORING JOBS FOR SOUTH AFRICANS.
18.UPWORK.
Upwork, formerly Elance and oDesk, is an American freelancing platform where enterprises and individuals connect to do business.
Services offered on Upwork include web development, mobile development, writing sales and marketing, admin support, engineering and architecture, and many more.
Businesses like Microsoft, Airbnb, Automattic, and Coty make use of the services on Upwork.
TIP: READ UP ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF BEING ACCEPTED ON UPWORK!
To find out more about Upwork, visit their website.
19. PEOPLE PER HOUR
People Per Hour was founded in 2007 and is a UK-based company.
People Per Hour is an online platform that gives businesses access to freelance workers.
South African freelancers can offer their services on People Per Hour.
Services offered include technology and programming, writing and translation, design, business, music and audio, and many more.
To find out more about freelancing on People Per Hour, visit their website.
20. BARK
Bark is a world-leading services marketplace, with over 5 million users in eight countries around the world.
Bark was founded by successful serial entrepreneurs Andrew Michael and Kai Feller in 2004.
South Africans are welcome to sign up and offer their services on the Bark platform.
Some of the most popular services on Bark include:
Dog walking, pet sitting, training, and grooming
Computer repair
Counselling
And many more.
To find out more about Bark, visit their website.
21. HUBSTAFF TALENT
Hubstaff Talent is open to a hundred and fifty countries across the globe, including South Africa.
Popular categories on Hubstaff Talent include the following:
Development, JavaScript, CCS, web development
Marketing and sales
Design and multimedia
Writing and content
Hubstaff has over 105,198 profiles. To find out more about Hubstaff, visit their website.
22. RECRUIT MY MOM.
23. RECRUIT A GRADUATE
I hope you have found this post informative.
Previous posts.
