Freelance Platforms in South Africa
You’re not alone if you’re starting to search for remote work. So many South Africans of all ages facing retrenchment, temporary unemployment or even permanent job loss. As such, we can certainly understand the appeal of working remotely.
You might be wanting to work as an up-and-coming freelancer in a number of industries, but do you know where you can go to sign up and start working as a freelancer? This article will share some news about the available freelance platforms in South Africa. We hope you’ll be inspired to sign up and start your career as a remote freelancer!
South African Platforms
1. No Sweat
NoSweat was started by two South African freelancers who were struggling to find work locally. NoSweat works to connect freelancers with available job listings on its platform. They aim to help you to find jobs that are actually relevant to your skills.
One of the big benefits is that NoSweat will assist with your SARS payments, saving you a tax nightmare. NoSweat is an honest platform when it comes to payments and hourly rates. You’ll know what kind of earnings you can expect from day one.
The only limitation is that NoSweat only serves a few industries, such as Media/Marketing, Advertising, Film and IT/Software Development. While this may avoid some options, NoSweat boasts working with some of the top companies in South Africa. Their clients have included the likes of Deloitte, Ogilvy, M&C Saatchi and many more.
NoSweat charges a cost-to-company for the employer and does not charge the freelancer. This can be 10-13.1% of your cost-to-company. You can read more about it on their website.
Here is a link to read more about becoming a freelancer with NoSweat.
2. Freelance Cape Town
Freelance Cape Town is another platform that aims to match amazing freelancers with prospective clients. What’s notable about this platform is that it has 1000+ registered clients, with differing jobs and specialisations.
From accounting to graphic design, you can join Freelance Cape Town easily, and get your profile out there.
The only downside to using this platform is that it isn’t free unless you’re looking to hire a freelancer. Choosing a 6-month subscription will cost R299 once off, which equals just under R50 per month. A 12-month subscription costs R499 once-off, which is just over R41 per month.
There are currently almost 400 freelancers signed up with their platform – which goes to show that it’s quite popular! You can read more about Freelance Cape Town here.
3. Safrea
SAFREA stands for the Southern African Freelancer’s Association. It is a large, registered non-profit organisation that aims to advocate for and support freelancers in the labour force. You should know that SAFREA is one of the most revered freelance platforms in South Africa.
SAFREA members gain exclusive perks for joining the platform. These include access to online guides and templates, priority access to job listings, unique events/ opportunities, and a large community of colleagues that you can chat to if you ever need some support along the way.
Additionally, SAFREA categorises freelancers by speciality and has partnered with BizCommunity and Jobvine for its job listings. Some of the categories of freelancers that SAFREA is looking for include graphic designers, writers, researchers, translators, illustrators, editors, proof-readers and more.
The good news is that SAFREA is open to all to join, and prospective members must complete an online registration form. Please note that you will need to pay for your SAFREA membership, and the cost will be determined by the type of membership that you choose.
Costs for this range from R150-R500 for the most common membership types, and up to R1500 for a corporate account.
You can find out more information about joining SAFREA here.
4. Nichemarket
A little different to the rest of the platforms, Nichemarket is a bit of a Gumtree-like marketplace. But it has a dedicated section just for freelancers – it might be worth looking at in case you want to look for some extra work.
You can create a listing on their freelance section and this will effectively act as a profile for you. You can find out more information here.
5. Mintor
Mintor (a word play on mentor) is another South African platform for jobseekers and brands alike. It lists jobs from different regions in South Africa, including fully remote positions.
It’s branded as a platform that can help young job seekers grow their careers, and requires users to register. Mintor is mostly focused on helping youth gain working experience through the many jobs it offers on its website.
Some of the brands that have partnered with Mintor include Engen, Discovery, Microsoft, Yoco, Takealot and many more. You can find out more about signing up for Mintor here.
6. Crew Pencil
Crew Pencil is a niche online directory for crew and suppliers who work within the South African film industry. This platform helps people source the required people to shoot various productions.
Crew Pencil is worth mentioning because it allows users to manage their own online profiles and includes tools for a diary, invoicing templates and an inbox for job offers. Producers’ tools include booking sheets, messaging and file sharing for their crew members.
The platform is quite specific to the film industry but sets a good standard for future platforms in that they include useful tools that can help with real-life solutions that are specific to an industry. You can read more about Crew Pencil here.
International Platforms
1. Upwork
UpWork is one of the biggest freelance platforms in the world – and has a job listing available for almost every single job title you can think of!
Part of the popularity of UpWork is due to the fact that job seekers are messaged directly by potential clients. You’ll also have the opportunity to have live-chats or calls with prospective clients, making it more than just a job platform and more of an integrated professional network.
You’ll have to auction for jobs, though, so best get your best selling voice on!
With UpWork, you get paid in dollars, and you’ll only get paid after earning a certain amount of money ($100 minimum). However, UpWork has been updated so that it is integrated with South African bank accounts, meaning that your cash will arrive directly into your account without you having to worry about exchanging currencies manually.
You’ve probably already heard of UpWork, so why not read more about joining as a Freelancer here?
2. Freelancer.com
Yes, the title is really that simple. And the sign-up process is too. Freelancer is the platform of choice for small businesses which are looking for specific freelancer work to be done. It boasts clients such as Microsoft, Boeing and PWC.
There are currently over 43 million registered freelancers on the platform, with over 17 million total job listings posted.
It works similarly to UpWork in that you’ll have to bid for jobs, but it involves great job tracking and live updates where UpWork doesn’t. Some of the most popular categories on Freelancer.com include Graphic design, Web design, Writing, Marketing, and Mobile app development.
You can read more about signing up with Freelancer here.
3. Bark
Bark is another international freelancer platform and is the first of its kind to really branch out into a large variety of job roles. It boasts some less typical freelancing jobs, such as house cleaning, gardening, personal training, catering and event planning, guitar lessons and so much more.
Bark might be the perfect choice for you if your prospective freelance skill falls out of the range of the more popular and streamlined skills that are in demand, such as graphic design or writing.
Customers will reach out to you directly with their tasks. You should note that Bark charges a small fee for forming introductions between members, but this will come with matching leads for other potential customers.
One of the benefits of using this model is that you’ll spend way less on marketing your services, as it’ll already be done for you. You can find more information about joining Bark here.
4. People Per Hour
This is similar to the aforementioned UpWork and Freelance.com. It’s got over 2 million freelancers and boasts over 1 million businesses as clients.
This is another good website to add to your repertoire – it’s wise to join as many platforms as possible if you’re looking to freelance.
Click here to read more about People Per Hour – it’s quite similar to what we’ve already covered, so you’ll essentially just be broadening your reach.
Conclusion
We’ve listed a variety of freelance platforms in South Africa such as NoSweat, Mintor, Nichemarket and more. We’ve also included a few international platforms for you to peruse since you might have better luck in a foreign market.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about freelance platforms in South Africa that you can join.
No matter where you choose to start freelancing, ShoppingFeeder hopes that you’ll enjoy the process and reiterates its stance in support of supporting local during our current complicated times.
