Best Sites to Find Explainer Video Jobs (2026): Who Each Suits and How to Land a First Gig

Which sites are best for explainer video jobs?

Use this table to choose where to start.

Is Upwork a good place to find explainer video work?

Upwork suits beginners building a portfolio because clients post scoped projects and you bid. Explainer video briefs there range from a single 30-second animated logo sting to a full product explainer with script. Newcomers often bid against established profiles with long histories, so your proposal has to be specific to stand out.

How to land a first gig:

1. Build the profile around one offer, such as "2D explainer videos for SaaS products", not "video editor".
2. Add two or three portfolio pieces, even self-initiated ones. A spec explainer for a fictional app is acceptable if you label it as spec.
3. Bid on smaller, clearly scoped projects first. Skip briefs with no stated length or deliverables.
4. Open your proposal with one sentence about the client's product, then link the most relevant sample.

Before bidding, read Upwork's freelancer service fee page to see how fees affect your quote.

Does Fiverr work for explainer video?

Fiverr works if you can package the job. Clients browse gig listings rather than posting briefs, so your listing has to do the selling.

How to land a first gig:

• Create tiered packages (Basic/Standard/Premium) with clear differences: video length, number of revisions, script included or not, voiceover included or not.
• Lead the gallery with a sample explainer, not a thumbnail collage.
• Describe exactly what the client must send you, such as a brand kit, a script or a rough outline. This cuts the back-and-forth that eats your margin.
• Before you set prices, search Fiverr for "explainer video" and compare a handful of listings at the same length and style. Note what each tier includes and the spread between them.

Fiverr suits you if you prefer a repeatable product over custom bids. Check Fiverr's earnings help page for current service charges.

Can Reddit's r/forhire get you explainer video jobs?

r/forhire is where people post [Hiring] requests directly, so you can reply with no profile-building. It rewards speed and a clear, specific reply. It is also noisy, so scope and payment terms need checking.

How to use it:

• Sort by New and look at posts with the Hiring flair.
• Search Google with a query like site:reddit.com/r/forhire "explainer video" to find recent and past posts. Also try site:reddit.com/r/forhire "need a" animator. These are adapted from the standard site: search pattern.
• Skip posts with no budget, no scope or "exposure" as payment.
• Reply with a portfolio link, a timeline and one clarifying question about the video's audience or length.

Posting your own [For Hire] thread with a portfolio link is also worth doing. Read the subreddit's current rules first, because moderators remove posts that break formatting requirements.

Is Contra worth using for explainer video freelancers?

Contra positions itself around independent professionals and portfolio pages. It suits you if your work is visual and you want a clean public page to send in replies. Check Contra's pricing page for current fee terms.

How to land a first gig: Treat your Contra page as a portfolio you link elsewhere. Put your best explainer first, add a short case note on the brief, your role and the result, and include the link in every outreach message on Upwork, Reddit or email.

What about PeoplePerHour?

PeoplePerHour leans toward UK/EU freelancers and fixed-price projects. You can bid on posted projects or list pre-packaged "Hourlies". It suits you if you work in UK/EU time zones or invoice in pounds or euros. Check its service fees page for current terms.

Where does Sidequestboard fit?

Sidequestboard is not a job board and clients don't post work on it. It's a discovery dashboard that pulls fresh public posts from communities and social platforms such as Reddit and X into one feed. For explainer video, that means you can spot a relevant public request soon after it appears, save it, open the original post and respond there. It can also draft a first reply that you edit before sending.

Here is an illustration, not a documented result. A public post asks for a 60-second explainer for a SaaS product. You save it to your leads, open the original post, and edit the drafted reply so it names the product, states your timeline and links your closest sample. You send it from the original source, while the post is still fresh.

That helps most when you already have a portfolio and the bottleneck is checking Reddit, X and other communities by hand. It doesn't replace the portfolio, and it doesn't guarantee replies or work. Access is paid, and the App Store listing shows current pricing and any trial terms.

Get Sidequestboard on the App Store for iPhone to catch fresh public explainer-video requests and edit a drafted first reply.

How do you land the first explainer video gig?

Here's an example of one workflow, not a documented result. Say you've made two spec explainers for a fictional budgeting app.

1. Put both in one portfolio link, whether Contra, a Notion page or a simple site.
2. Choose one primary channel, say r/forhire, and one packaged listing, say Fiverr.
3. When a post asks for a 60-second product explainer, reply within the same day. Name the product, state your timeline and link the closest sample.
4. Quote against a defined scope: length, script included or not, voiceover included or not, number of revision rounds.
5. Save each lead you replied to and note the date, so you can send one polite follow-up after a few days.

If your skills lean toward adjacent niches, these lists may fit better: real estate video editing jobs, video animation jobs and video production jobs. For broader video work, you can also browse freelance video editing jobs posted today. That page covers video editing generally, not only explainers.

How do you choose between these options?

• No portfolio yet: make two spec explainers first. No site rescues an empty portfolio.
• Want structure and a bidding system: start with Upwork.
• Prefer selling a fixed package: start with Fiverr.
• Can reply quickly and handle noise: use r/forhire.
• Based in the UK or EU: add PeoplePerHour.
• Checking too many communities by hand: add the fresh-post feed described above so you can focus on replies.

Pick one or two and give each a few weeks of consistent effort before changing course. Spreading thin across six sites usually means six half-finished profiles.

Sources

• Upwork — Freelancer Service Fee — Upwork's official fee page; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• Fiverr — Your Earnings — Fiverr's official help page on earnings and service charges; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• PeoplePerHour — Service Fees — PeoplePerHour's official fee help page; verify current terms before relying on pricing.
• Contra — Pricing — Contra's official pricing page; verify current terms before relying on pricing.