Open Lance

For clients

Hire freelancers. Posting is free.

Post a job, compare proposals and choose who to hire. Fund each milestone into escrow and release it when you approve the work.

Post a job Browse Drop-Ins

Free to post

Posting a job, reading proposals and messaging cost nothing, and there is no subscription.

Paid on your approval

Funding a milestone puts the money in escrow. It is released when you approve the work.

You choose who to hire

Compare proposals, reviews from finished contracts, and verified stats from other platforms.

Disputes while money is held

If something goes wrong, either side can open a dispute before any money has left escrow.

What hiring costs

Free to post. Fees only when you fund work.

Finding and choosing a freelancer costs nothing. When you fund a milestone, two fees are added on top of the work, and both are itemised before you pay.

  • No subscription or membership.
  • No fee to post a job, invite freelancers or read proposals.
  • An escrow handling fee each time you fund work: a percentage plus a small flat amount.
  • A one-time contract initiation fee when a contract is first funded.

Choose your model

Four ways to hire

Pick the one that matches how the work is shaped. All four run through escrow.

A small, clearly defined task

Drop-In

Buy a service a freelancer has already packaged, with a set price, delivery time and number of revisions. No proposals to review.

A project with a clear scope

Fixed-price

Agree the milestones up front. Each one is funded when it starts and paid when you approve it.

Work where the scope will move

Hourly

Set an hourly rate and a weekly hour limit. The freelancer logs time in a work diary and you approve the hours each week.

Ongoing work, month to month

Dedicated Hire

A monthly engagement with one freelancer, funded a month at a time. Suited to steady work like support, content or maintenance.

How it works

From posting to paid, in four steps.

You post, choose, fund a milestone, and release the money when you approve the work.

Post a job
  1. 1

    Post a job or buy a Drop-In

    Describe the work and your budget, or pick a ready-made service. Posting is free.

  2. 2

    Choose who to hire

    Read proposals, check reviews from finished contracts, and message people before you decide.

  3. 3

    Fund the first milestone

    The money goes into escrow before work starts. Fees are shown before you pay.

  4. 4

    Approve the work

    Approve to release payment, or ask for a revision. Nothing is paid out until you approve.

Browse by discipline

Hire freelancers by category

A hiring guide for each discipline: what the work involves, what to look for, and what to ask.

  • Hire Web Developers for Sites, Apps and APIsWeb developers build and maintain the sites and applications your business runs on, from a five-page marketing site to a full product with accounts and billing.
  • Hire Mobile App DevelopersMobile developers design, build and publish apps for iPhone and Android, and keep them working as the operating systems change underneath them.
  • Hire UI/UX Designers for Product InterfacesUI/UX designers work out how a product should behave and then how it should look, so people can use it without instructions.
  • Hire Graphic Designers for Brand and Print WorkGraphic designers create the visual material a business uses every day: logos and brand kits, social posts, presentations, print and packaging.
  • Hire Content WritersContent writers produce the articles, guides and web pages that explain what you do and bring in search traffic, in a voice that sounds like you.
  • Hire SEO Experts for Technical Audits and ContentSEO experts find out why your site is not showing up in search, and fix the technical, content and authority problems holding it back.
  • Hire Digital MarketersDigital marketers plan and run the campaigns that bring in customers online, across paid ads, social media, email and search.
  • Hire E-commerce DevelopersE-commerce developers build and improve online stores: the theme, catalogue, checkout, payments, and the apps that connect them to the rest of your business.
  • Hire Virtual AssistantsVirtual assistants take recurring admin off your plate: email, scheduling, data entry, research, bookings and customer messages.
  • Hire AI and Automation ExpertsAI and automation specialists connect language models and automation tools to your data and workflows, so repetitive work stops needing a person.
  • Hire Data Analytics ExpertsData analytics covers everything from a one-off analysis to dashboards and the pipelines behind them. This guide helps you work out which specialist you need.

All skills

Hire freelancers for any skill

Every skill we have a hiring guide for, grouped by category.

Web Development23
Marketing & SEO22
Writing & Translation22
Graphic Design21
Data & Analytics18
Video, Animation & 3D18
AI & Automation16
WordPress & Website Builders12
DevOps, Cloud & Security11
Software Development & QA11
Business, Finance & Legal10
Audio & Music9
Illustration9
Mobile Development9
Admin & Support7
UI/UX Design7
E-commerce5
Blockchain4
Game Development4

Questions

Hiring, answered

Choosing how to hire

Should I post a fixed-price or an hourly job?
Fixed-price suits work you can describe up front, with clear stages. Hourly suits work where the scope will change, and the weekly hour limit caps what a week can cost.
When is a Drop-In the better choice?
When the task is standard and a freelancer's package already describes it, such as a logo in three concepts or a cleaned dataset. If the work needs discussion first, post a job instead.
Can I try someone out before a big project?
Yes. Make the first milestone small and self-contained. Only that milestone is funded when the contract starts, so a poor fit costs one milestone.

Money

What does hiring cost?
Posting and reviewing proposals are free. When you fund work you pay an escrow handling fee, plus a one-time initiation fee on each new contract. Both are shown before you pay.
Do I pay for the whole project up front?
No. On fixed-price work, only the first milestone is funded when the contract starts. The rest are funded one at a time as the work progresses.
What if the work is not right?
Ask for a revision before approving. If that does not resolve it, open a dispute while the money is still held.

Ready to hire?

Post a job for free and see who applies. You pay only when you fund work you have chosen to start.

Post a job Browse Drop-Ins