There are hundreds of side hustle sites that can help you find work in everything from restaurants to tech. But most of them offer work on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. The site — or its clients — set the wages. You only decide whether or not to accept the gig. However, some side gig sites let you set your own pay.
The set-your-own-pay sites are great for freelancers getting started, as well as for those with vast experience, and those who are great at what they do. They allow freelancers to publish detailed profiles that differentiate their services from the competition. And that sets you up for success.
Better yet, these sites exist in a wide array of work categories, allowing everyone from dog-sitters to tech experts the freedom to set their own pay. Here’s where you can find set-your-own-pay gigs.
Athletes
If you’re an athlete who wants to make a few bucks coaching, you’ve got plenty of good options. Athletes Untapped, TeachMeTo and CoachUp all let you set your own pay and schedule. The main differences between the three sites are in where they operate — all have some limitations — and what they charge coaches for their services.
Caregiving
If you offer babysitting or elder care, the best set-your-own-pay site is Care. One of the oldest and best-established freelance marketplaces allows both clients and caregivers to sign up for free. But, if you want to communicate, you need to pay a fee. You set your own rates and say what you do. Clients choose a caregiver based on area, availability and background.
Technically, Care also represents pet sitters. But there’s a better option for people who want to take care of pets: Rover. Rover has millions of clients throughout the country and offers a wide array of pet-care services, from walks to washes, overnight sitters to drop-in checks. It’s the go-to name in pet care, providing easy income for animal enthusiasts.
Cleaning & Construction
No matter whether your specialty is cleaning and organizing, painting or plumbing, a site called Taskrabbit can help you find work on your own terms. The site encourages freelancers to post detailed profiles that explain what they do, as well as photos showing your past work. The site also collects reviews and testimonials from your customers.
Newcomers to the platform say they like the set-your-own-pay feature because it gives them the ability to undercut their competition when they need to get those first few pivotal reviews. But, it also allows you to hike your prices as your ratings rise and you no longer need to be the cheapest option to get work. Not surprisingly, rates for common services vary widely. When checking listings for “furniture assemblers” in Los Angeles, for instance, prices ranged from $40 to $160 per hour.
Experts
Seasoned professionals in many fields, including medicine, architecture, engineering and public safety, can sign up as consultants and expert witnesses with several set-your-own pay sites. These include Expert Institute, GLG, RoundTableGroup and Maven.
All four of these sites ask for your business specialties and your expected rate of pay. And, while clients may sometimes offer gigs that pay less, you’re fine to stick with the pay you specified up-front. These gigs are not regular, but when you do get a job here, it often pays hundreds per hour.
Marketing
If you’re a marketing super-star, with the ability to boost engagement on social media; bookings through email; or directing advertising spend, both GrowTal and MarketerHire allow you to set your own hourly or project-based rates. Notably, neither site requires a college degree, but both expect you to provide a portfolio that shows what you can do.
Moving
Most online platforms that book moving services set rates for each job. But there are three exceptions: Citizen Shipper, UShip and HireAHelper.
HireAHelper is geared for movers, who want to provide labor without providing a truck. Citizen Shipper and uShip are for truckers looking to negotiate rates directly with the consumers who need help.
Online Services
Have an online service you can offer? No matter whether it’s tech support, voice-overs, video editing or any of more than 1,000 other options, you can offer that service through Fiverr and set your own rates. Fiverr is a broad marketplace designed to connect customers with people providing a laundry list of online services.
Freelancers sign up and post a profile for free. You only pay fees when someone books your service.
What makes this site particularly attractive is that freelancers can post a detailed work offer, with a list of what’s included, the cost and timeline. Then simply sit back and wait for people to order. Or, you can be more proactive and bid on jobs. Either way, you’re in charge of what you do and what you earn.
Teaching and tutoring
There are a lot of good teaching and tutoring sites, but the two best are Outschool and Wyzant.
Outschool is a teaching platform, where you teach classes of your own design online. You design the curriculum, decide how many kids can take your class and what to charge. The site simply takes a 30% fee for marketing and collecting for your services.
Wyzant is an international tutoring site with millions of clients. You can teach anything from music to calculus here, setting your own rates and availability.
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