There’s unprecedented demand for developers in our world, so employers have danced to the tune and needs of developers. Many developers need not stress. There are freelance communities where they can easily apply for work and get them. Because of this, there’s always work to be done. We want to show you the best freelance communities for developers to make money full-time. They include;

1. Toptal

Toptal is a freelance platform connecting global businesses with developers and other highly skilled workers such as financial experts and product managers. Many multinational companies have signed up on the platform looking for developers to fulfill their business needs. It is a perfect spot to get high-paying programming work if you meet the hiring criteria.

According to Glassdoor, Toptal freelancers earn between $50,355 and $234,368 yearly. That’s a good amount no matter your location in the world. The key to making as much as possible on Toptal is knowing how to negotiate. Toptal has more high-paying gigs than comparable freelance platforms, so the better you can negotiate, the better you can get paid.

2. Hired

Hired.com is a job search marketplace serving technology professionals. Because of its focus on tech jobs, it’s an ideal platform for developers to get jobs and earn the most money they can. Hired.com operates similarly to Toptal. You create a profile and let companies apply to hire you with salary details upfront. Your profile allows you to showcase your portfolio and previous work experience to attract employers. Currently, over 10,000 companies use Hired to hire developers, so you’re in good hands with the company.

However, Hired isn’t available in all regions of the world. It’s mainly focused on North America and Europe. Nonetheless, developers in these regions can take advantage of it to get high-paying jobs. The key here is knowing how to market yourself to prospective employers. Remember that you’re competing against many similarly skilled people, so learn to differentiate yourself in that sea of talent.

3. Amazon’s Alexa Skills

Alexa Skills isn’t your typical freelance platform to apply for jobs and get paid. Instead, it’s a marketplace for developers to create “skills,” that is, features for Amazon Alexa smart speakers and get paid when customers use them. Amazon Alexa is the world’s most popular smart speaker, with a 20% market share as of 2020, according to Statista. The millions of people with Alexa smart speakers can download “skills” from a marketplace hosted by Amazon.

Any developer with the right talents can create skills for Alexa devices and offer them for a fee on the marketplace. The most common ways are to offer premium single-payment features or content or enable a monthly subscription for your skill. Earning money this way is usually more challenging because you have to know what skills users demand. It is more like entrepreneurship than a traditional job.

If you can identify a clear market need and act on it, building Alexa skills is ideal for making money as a developer. Aside from selling Alexa skills directly to customers, Amazon also has a rewards program for developers whose skills are used heavily by customers. The company doles out a specific sum of money depending on the number of minutes used each month, total new customers, returning customers, and many other applicable factors.

4. Minecraft Marketplace

You may know Minecraft as the massively popular sandbox game owned by Microsoft. With over 140 million active players as of August 2021, it’s one of the top ten games globally. But, do you know that you can make significant money developing content and addons for Minecraft? There’s an official Minecraft Marketplace where players can buy specific addons and content for their gaming experience. The addons can be skin packs, texture packs, mini-games, and physical environments. Other developers make the addons, earning money each time another player buys their creations.

If you’re familiar with Minecraft development, you could develop content for the game and earn significant money. It isn’t easy to do, though. You have to ensure you develop good addons that players would love, as many people end up creating stuff that no one wants. If you know your stuff, you can position yourself for success. For example, you could create an environment mimicking a popular real-world location, e.g., Hawaii or New York, and let players experience it. You could also develop an in-game mini-game such as tennis or puzzles that players would like.