What are the top paying freelance jobs?

The question on everyone's mind; what pays the most money? You might be surprised at the average hourly rate of the top freelancers on UpWork (one of the worlds biggest marketplaces for freelancers). 

Let’s jump right in with the number 1 highest earning freelancer occupation - legal entity structuring. The average hourly rate (yes average!) of top freelancers on UpWork for legal entity structuring is $255. I’ll let that sink in for a minute.. Assuming you work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for 52 weeks, that's an insane $530,000 a year! (pre tax)

Now, obviously you need to be highly qualified and experienced to offer this service, especially at a high level. But there are also some less demanding occupations in the top list, I’ve gone over these later in this post. 

Here are the top 5 average hourly rates of top freelancers on UpWork:

(if you perform well enough on UpWork you get rated as a ‘top freelancer’)

1. Legal entity structuring – $255
2. Blackline – $220
3. Bitcoin – $215
4. International Accounting Standards – $215
5. Software licensing – $200

So if you are looking into developing new skills, any of the above would be worth investing time into.

In the top 40 list here are some of our favourites that many freelancers here at 100k Freelancer Club do! 

• Behavioral design – $195
• Event photography – $150
• Lead magnet – $150
• Paid social – $145
• Hotjar – $130
• Video processing – $110
• Food photography – $95
• Facebook ads – $95