Best Marketplaces to Hire Social Media Managers: A Guide to Finding the Right Fit
Finding a skilled social media manager can feel overwhelming when you’re staring at dozens of platforms, each claiming to connect you with top talent. Whether you run a small business, manage a startup, or oversee marketing for a larger company, the right social media manager can make a real difference in how your brand shows up online. This guide walks you through eight reliable marketplaces where you can find professionals who know their way around Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and everything in between. Each platform has its own strengths, pricing models, and vetting processes, so you can choose the one that fits your budget, timeline, and specific needs.
- Legiit
Legiit specializes in connecting businesses with digital marketing professionals, including social media managers who understand the practical side of growing an online presence. The platform focuses on service providers who offer clear deliverables and transparent pricing, which means you know what you’re getting before you commit. You can browse through detailed service listings, check reviews from other clients, and compare different packages to find someone whose skills match your needs.
What makes Legiit particularly useful is its focus on marketing services specifically, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Social media managers on the platform often bundle their offerings into packages that include content creation, scheduling, engagement management, and analytics reporting. This structure works well if you want predictable costs and clearly defined deliverables. The review system helps you identify providers with a track record of delivering results, and you can communicate directly with candidates before making a decision.
- Upwork
Upwork remains one of the largest freelance marketplaces, with thousands of social media managers available for hire at any given time. The platform gives you access to freelancers from around the world, which means you can find talent at various price points depending on their location and experience level. You post a job description, receive proposals from interested candidates, and review their profiles, work history, and client feedback before making a choice.
The platform includes tools for tracking hours, managing payments, and communicating with your hire, all within one system. You can choose between hourly and fixed-price contracts depending on your project needs. Upwork charges a service fee on top of what you pay the freelancer, so factor that into your budget. The sheer size of the talent pool means you’ll have plenty of options, but it also requires more time on your end to sort through applications and identify the right person for your brand.
- Fiverr
Fiverr flips the traditional hiring model by letting service providers create their own gig listings with set prices and deliverables. Instead of posting a job and waiting for applications, you browse through existing services and pick one that matches what you need. Social media managers on Fiverr often offer tiered packages, starting with basic services and scaling up to more comprehensive management plans.
This approach works well when you have a clear idea of what you want and prefer to see upfront pricing. You can filter by budget, delivery time, seller rating, and specific services like Instagram management, content calendar creation, or community engagement. The review system is robust, giving you insight into how each seller works and what results they typically deliver. Fiverr tends to attract newer professionals alongside experienced managers, so pay close attention to portfolios and past client feedback when making your selection.
- We Work Remotely
We Work Remotely caters specifically to remote positions, making it a solid choice if you’re looking for a social media manager who can work independently from anywhere. The platform attracts professionals who have experience working remotely and are comfortable managing their own schedules and communication. Job listings here tend to be for longer-term arrangements rather than one-off projects.
You post your job opening with details about responsibilities, required skills, and compensation, then receive applications directly. The audience on We Work Remotely skews toward professionals who prioritize flexibility and remote work culture, which often translates to self-motivated candidates who don’t need constant oversight. The platform charges a fee to post job listings, but you’re not charged additional fees for hiring someone. This marketplace works best when you’re ready to bring someone on for ongoing social media management rather than a short-term project.
- LinkedIn ProFinder
LinkedIn ProFinder connects businesses with freelance professionals directly through the LinkedIn platform, giving you access to candidates whose work history and recommendations are already visible. When you submit a project request, LinkedIn matches you with relevant social media managers who can send you proposals. Because everything happens within LinkedIn, you can easily review a candidate’s professional background, connections, and endorsements.
This integration with LinkedIn profiles adds a layer of credibility that can be harder to verify on other platforms. You’re not just seeing a freelance portfolio; you’re seeing someone’s entire professional network and career history. ProFinder works well if you value professional credentials and want to hire someone whose background you can verify through their connections and past employers. The service is free for clients, with freelancers paying for the privilege of submitting proposals through the platform.
- Solid Gigs
Solid Gigs operates as a curated job board that filters through thousands of freelance opportunities and sends the best matches directly to subscribers. For social media managers looking for work, it’s a time-saver. For businesses posting jobs, it means your listing reaches pre-qualified professionals who are actively looking for new clients. The platform focuses on legitimate, well-paying opportunities rather than low-budget gigs.
When you post a position through job boards that Solid Gigs monitors, your listing gets in front of their subscriber base of vetted freelancers. This approach attracts more experienced professionals who are selective about the projects they take on. The quality of candidates tends to be higher because the platform pre-screens opportunities and only shares listings that meet certain standards for pay and project scope. This marketplace suits businesses that want to attract experienced social media managers without wading through hundreds of applications from unqualified candidates.
- PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour combines elements of both project-based hiring and hourly work, giving you flexibility in how you structure your engagement with a social media manager. The platform serves primarily UK and European markets but includes professionals from other regions as well. You can post a project and receive proposals, or browse through existing service offerings from freelancers who have created their own packages.
The platform includes a workstream feature that helps you manage communication, file sharing, and payments all in one place. Social media managers on PeoplePerHour often specialize in specific platforms or industries, so you can find someone with relevant experience for your niche. The AI-matching system suggests relevant freelancers based on your project description, which can save time during the initial search phase. Pricing varies widely depending on the freelancer’s location and experience level, giving you options whether you’re working with a modest budget or ready to invest in premium talent.
- Guru
Guru has been connecting businesses with freelancers for over two decades, building a reputation for reliability and a solid dispute resolution process. The platform includes social media managers with varying levels of experience, from those just building their portfolios to seasoned professionals with extensive client histories. You create a job posting, review proposals from interested candidates, and use Guru’s workroom feature to manage your project.
One distinguishing feature is the SafePay system, which holds your payment in escrow until you approve the completed work. This adds a layer of security for both parties and helps ensure that expectations are clear from the start. Guru offers different membership tiers for freelancers, which affects how many proposals they can submit and what features they can access. As a client, you can see a freelancer’s membership level, which sometimes correlates with their commitment to the platform and their level of activity. The platform works well for both short-term projects and ongoing retainer arrangements.
- Toptal
Toptal takes a different approach by pre-screening all freelancers before they can join the network, accepting only the top percentage of applicants. This rigorous vetting process means you’re working with experienced professionals who have proven their skills through multiple evaluation stages. For social media management, this translates to candidates who understand strategy, analytics, content creation, and platform algorithms at a high level.
The trade-off for this quality is cost. Toptal positions itself at the premium end of the market, so expect to pay more than you would on general freelance platforms. However, the matching process is more hands-on, with Toptal representatives helping to understand your needs and connecting you with suitable candidates. This concierge-style service reduces the time you spend sorting through applications and interviewing mismatched candidates. Toptal works best when you have a substantial budget and need a social media manager who can step in and perform at a high level with minimal onboarding.
Each of these marketplaces offers a different approach to connecting you with social media management talent. Your best choice depends on your specific situation: your budget, whether you need short-term help or ongoing support, how much time you can invest in the hiring process, and what level of experience you require. Some platforms give you access to thousands of candidates with minimal vetting, placing the responsibility on you to identify the right fit. Others pre-screen talent and offer more hands-on matching, saving you time but often at a higher cost. Start by getting clear on what you actually need from a social media manager, then choose the marketplace that aligns with those requirements. With the right platform and a clear job description, you’ll find someone who can help your brand show up consistently and effectively across social channels.