If you’re trying to drive growth but don’t have the headcount (or budget) for a full-time CMO or marketing manager, a freelance marketing consultant is often the sweet spot: senior enough to set strategy, flexible enough to scale up or down.
You’re not alone in thinking this way. The freelance platforms market is growing fast, expected to reach over $8.35 billion in 2025, almost doubling again by 2029. Nearly half of businesses now rely on freelancers to plug skills gaps like digital marketing and product growth.
The problem isn’t finding a freelance marketing consultant anymore; it’s choosing the right platform, pricing model and level of vetting.
This guide walks through 10 of the best websites to find a freelance marketing consultant, how they differ, and when each one makes sense.
What to Look For in a Freelance Marketing Platform
Before diving into the list, it’s worth being clear on your criteria. For marketing consultants, the platform matters just as much as the person.
Key things to evaluate:
- Vetting and quality control
Some platforms are open marketplaces; others pre-screen or hand-match talent. Vetting is especially important if you’re trusting someone with strategy, brand positioning and performance budget. - Marketing depth vs generalist focus
General freelance sites give huge reach across many skills. Marketing-only platforms often provide fewer but more specialised and battle-tested consultants. - Pricing model and fees
- Hourly vs day rate vs project fees
- Platform or payment fees
- Minimum budgets and retainers
- Support and tooling
Briefing templates, contracts, NDAs, invoice handling, escrow, dispute resolution — all reduce risk and admin. - Location, time zone and compliance
If you need someone local, or are worried about international tax/contract issues, choose platforms that explicitly support compliant global hiring.
With that in mind, let’s look at the top sites.
1. Twine
Twine is a global freelance marketplace focused on creative, technical and marketing roles. It connects businesses with freelancers and consultants across 150+ specialisms, including content marketing, social media, SEO, PPC, and broader marketing strategy.
Why it’s strong for marketing consultants
- Relevant talent pool: Twine is used by marketing consultants, growth strategists, performance marketers, copywriters and social media experts across global markets.
- Curated, not chaotic: Roles are focused on creative/tech/marketing, so you’re not competing with noise from unrelated categories.
- Project-friendly workflow: You can post a project for free, get responses, manage collaboration, and handle payments within the platform.
Best for:
Startups, SMEs and marketing leaders who want specialist marketing talent (not general admin) and prefer a creative/tech-first community over a huge generalist site.
How to get the best results on Twine
- Write a clear brief: revenue or lead targets, channels, current challenges, budget range.
- Ask for relevant case studies (e.g. “B2B SaaS demand gen”, “DTC paid social”, “SEO for multi-market site”).
- Consider combining a strategy sprint (e.g. 2–4 weeks) with an ongoing execution retainer if you’re starting from scratch.
💼 Connect with top freelance talent on Twine, build your project team today.
👉 Post your marketing consultant brief on Twine
2. MarketerHire
MarketerHire is a marketing-only talent platform, designed specifically to match businesses with expert marketers across SEO, paid media, lifecycle, content, analytics and more.
What stands out
- Rigorous vetting: MarketerHire screens marketers for skills, experience and communication, and claims to accept only a small percentage of applicants.
- Fast matching: Many clients are matched with a consultant in a few days, with a trial period built in.
- Role-based briefs: You can specify whether you need, for example, a growth marketer, performance marketer, brand strategist, or email specialist.
Best for:
Companies that want mid- to senior-level marketing consultants, particularly in performance marketing and growth, and don’t mind paying a premium for heavy vetting and a “done-for-you” matching process.
Watch outs
- Expect higher rates than general marketplaces.
- Some freelancers report mixed experiences – as with any platform, vet a consultant yourself via interviews and test projects too.
3. Toptal
Toptal is known as an elite network that accepts only a small fraction of applicants across disciplines like development, finance and design. It has also expanded into marketing, in part through acquiring Growth Collective, a specialist marketing freelancer marketplace.
Why consider Toptal for marketing consultants
- Top 3% positioning: Toptal screens marketers via language and personality checks, skills tests, live interviews and trial projects.
- Perfect for mission-critical projects: If you’re entrusting a consultant with a major product launch, large ad budget or turnaround strategy, the extra screening may be worth it.
- Growth Collective heritage: Growth Collective brought a curated network focused exclusively on marketing pros (growth marketers, PPC specialists, content strategists, etc.), now integrated into Toptal’s broader platform.
Best for:
Scale-ups and enterprises needing highly experienced, possibly fractional CMO-level consultants, or niche skills like CRO + analytics or complex B2B funnels.
Considerations
- Higher minimum rates and project sizes.
- Better for longer engagements or strategic work than cheap one-off tasks.
4. Upwork
Upwork is one of the largest freelance marketplaces, hosting millions of freelancers and clients worldwide across 1,800+ skill categories, including marketing and growth.
Why it’s useful for marketing consultants
- Huge talent pool: You can find everyone from junior social media managers to senior demand-gen consultants.
- Flexible hiring models: Hourly, fixed-price, ongoing retainer, you choose.
- Strong search and filters: Narrow by marketing skills (SEO, PPC, CRM, analytics), hourly rate, location, and job success score.
Best for:
Businesses that want maximum choice and price flexibility, and are comfortable doing their own vetting.
How to use Upwork effectively
- Look beyond price: prioritise “Job Success Score”, number of long-term clients and portfolio results.
- Start with a smaller paid test (e.g. audit, campaign build) before committing to a longer engagement.
- Use clear KPIs in your job post: “Increase qualified demo requests by X%” is better than “help with marketing”.
5. Fiverr
Fiverr is a gig-based marketplace where freelancers offer fixed-price services (“gigs”) for tasks like funnel audits, ad creative, keyword research, or email flows.
Where Fiverr works well
- Defined, repeatable tasks: e.g. build a landing page, set up tracking, write a nurture sequence, design ad creatives.
- Speed: Many gigs offer quick delivery and clear scope.
- Budget control: You see prices up front and can choose from different packages.
Best for:
Businesses that already have a marketing strategy but need specific deliverables executed quickly by a specialist.
Limitations
- Less suited to long-term strategic consulting.
- You still need to sanity-check portfolios, reviews and sample deliverables carefully.
6. Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is another large general marketplace, recently rated among the top freelance websites thanks to its breadth of skills and robust verification and review systems.
Why it’s relevant for marketing consultants
- Wide global talent pool: Great for finding marketing consultants at different price points, especially for campaign execution and optimisation.
- Project posting and bidding: You post your brief, freelancers bid, and you compare proposals, rates and portfolios.
- Pay-by-milestone: Helpful for reducing risk on longer engagements.
Best for:
Cost-conscious businesses comfortable reviewing many proposals and managing selection themselves.
Tips
- Don’t default to the lowest bidder; shortlist 3–5 consultants and interview them.
- Ask for numbers, concrete results, not just activities.
7. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a freelance platform with a strong presence in the UK and Europe, covering web, design and marketing services. It’s often recommended as an alternative to Upwork for businesses in those regions.
Why PeoplePerHour is useful
- Hourlies and projects: You can buy predefined “Hourlies” for specific marketing tasks or post custom briefs for ongoing consultancy.
- Timezone compatibility: Easier to align with UK/EU-based marketing consultants if that matters for your team.
- Wide marketing categories: Social media, SEO, PPC, email, analytics, and more.
Best for:
UK and European SMEs who want regional alignment and a mix of project- and hourly-based marketing support.
8. Contra
Contra is a relatively new, portfolio-focused freelance platform designed for independent professionals, including marketers, designers and developers. It emphasises commission-free payments for freelancers and a cleaner, more curated experience.
Why Contra can work for marketing consultants
- Portfolio-first: You can browse marketing consultants based on real projects, case studies and outcomes rather than only hourly rates.
- Commission-free for talent: This can make the platform attractive to higher-quality consultants who dislike heavy fees.
- Focus on quality projects: Community discussions and reviews suggest the platform actively filters out low-quality job posts.
Best for:
Early-stage startups and product teams looking for independent, modern marketers (often growth- or product-marketing-oriented) and willing to experiment with a newer platform.
9. FlexJobs
FlexJobs is a curated job board for remote, hybrid and flexible roles, including thousands of marketing positions, full-time, part-time and freelance.
Why it’s interesting for marketing consultants
- Curated, scam-screened listings: FlexJobs reviews roles before posting, which reduces low-quality or spammy opportunities.
- Mid- to senior-level roles: Many listings are for experienced marketers and consultants, not just entry-level gig work.
- Good for ongoing freelance retainers: You’ll often find contracts where a consultant integrates deeply with a single client.
Best for:
Businesses that want a longer-term freelance or fractional marketing consultant and are happy to recruit more like a job hire (posting a role, filtering applicants) rather than using a pure marketplace model.
10. LinkedIn Services Marketplace
LinkedIn’s Services Marketplace lets professionals add service offerings to their profiles, and allows clients to search and contact service providers directly, including marketing consultants.
Strengths for marketing consultant hiring
- Network-driven trust: You can see mutual connections, recommendations, and work history before reaching out.
- Integrated with LinkedIn profiles: A consultant’s portfolio, endorsements and content are all in one place.
- Great for niche and senior roles: Fractional CMOs, brand strategists, ABM specialists and other high-end consultants often operate via LinkedIn first.
Best for:
Companies wanting high-context, relationship-based hires, especially when brand reputation, sector experience and executive-level communication are critical.
How to use it well
- Search for services like “freelance marketing consultant”, “fractional CMO”, or your niche (e.g. “SaaS demand gen consultant”).
- Filter by location and review common connections; ask for warm intros where possible.
- Combine this with posting your brief on your company page and in relevant marketing groups.
How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Marketing Needs
Whichever platform you choose, the brief you write and the questions you ask matter more than the logo at the top of the page. Be explicit about:
- Your business model and target customer
- Current marketing performance (traffic, leads, revenue, channels)
- KPIs for the engagement
- Skill mix you need (strategy only vs strategy + execution)
- Budget range and time frame
Final Thoughts
Freelance marketing consultants are no longer a stop-gap; they’re a core part of how modern companies scale. The freelance platforms market is projected to keep growing rapidly as more businesses adopt blended teams of employees and independent experts.
Choosing the right platform is the first filter on quality. Choosing the right freelance marketing consultant is the second.
If you want a focused place to start, especially for creative and marketing-driven projects:
💼 Connect with top freelance talent on Twine — build your project team today.
👉 Hire a freelance marketing consultant on Twine




