The Tide Global Freelancer Report: We Reveal The Most In-Demand Freelance Jobs Worldwide

The Most In-Demand Freelance Roles Globally

Filmmakers top the list of the most-wanted freelance professions, with over 280,000 annual searches. From TikTok content to corporate storytelling, everyone wants compelling video in 2025/26, and according to search data, they're hunting for freelancers to make it happen.

Following filmmakers, SEO specialists (222,000 searches) and graphic designers (194,100 searches) claim spots two and three, while copywriters bring in nearly 180,000 searches every year across the world. In the race to gain online visibility all three skills are crucial and freelancers are stepping up to the task of building memorable brand identities.

Interestingly, data roles dominate a portion of the top ten. Data entry (148,900 searches) and data analysts (106,500 searches) prove that while creative and technical skills are in high demand, operational support is essential.

Rounding out the rankings are web designers, developers, and programmers - roles that collectively draw hundreds of thousands of searches each year. It's perhaps unsurprising as nearly every business, big or small, benefits from an online presence.

The World’s Top 20 Most Searched Freelance Professions

The Most Wanted Freelancers: Country by Country

Looking at the data on a country-by-country level shows fascinating differences. Freelance graphic designers dominate searches in 18 countries as far apart as Australia, Mexico, and India, proof that visual communication is needed everywhere.

In Brazil and the Netherlands, copywriters lead demand. With plenty of sensational articles pointing to artificial intelligence as the ‘killer of copywriting’ as we know it, the searches show a different trend. In fact, eleven countries search for copywriters more than any other freelance profession, and ‘copywriter freelancer’ draws in more than 179,000 searches globally in English alone.

Another industry that is adapting to technology as opposed to being eliminated entirely is bookkeeping. Small businesses still rely heavily on them, and in Denmark, Croatia, and many more, bookkeepers are the most searched for freelancers. Similarly, small businesses in Germany have freelance tax consultants high on their list of priorities. After all, those complex tax systems need professional help, and with Tide accounting taking care of routine tasks like receipts, expenses, and tax returns, businesses can spend less time on admin and more time using professional consultants where they make the most impact.

Meanwhile, the demand in France for freelancers specialised in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) mirrors the high level of searches across the likes of the United Kingdom and Poland, showing that many corporate cultures are embracing freelance talent to fill their tech gaps or expanding needs.

The Most In-Demand Freelancer Roles in the UK

While the map above might not give this impression, SEO specialists are the number one most searched freelance role across the whole of the UK when combining annual searches across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It makes perfect sense too, considering there’s 5.5 million UK businesses, 99% of which are SMEs, meaning most can't justify full-time digital marketing teams but still need online visibility. 

As the map shows however, this demand for SEO isn’t equal across the nation. In fact, England searches for graphic designers more than any other role, while Scotland sets its sights on freelance copywriters.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland mirrors England's graphic designer demand, which comes as no surprise considering Belfast's growing fintech scene and the Northern Irish push for technology and innovative startups.

Wales breaks away entirely, with photographers leading the charge. With freelance photography needed across the board, from events to professional headshots, it’s a skill that’s vital for both businesses and individuals.

The UK's Top 20 Most Searched Freelance Professions

The Most In-Demand Freelancers in the USA

With 36% of the U.S. workforce identifying as independent workers, searches for freelancers tell a tech-first story. Programmers are the most searched freelancers in 39 out of 50 states, from Texas to New York to Florida. And across the USA they’re drawing in over 57,000 searches annually, showing that demand for tech expertise stretches far beyond Silicon Valley. 

With AI transformation a major priority for the USA at the moment, and a staggering projection that in just five years there will be 1.4 million unfilled jobs for technicians, computer scientists, and engineers in the U.S., hiring freelancers to fill those roles is more crucial than ever.

A West Coast state though does breaks away from the pack: in California graphic designers lead the searches, hardly shocking given the state's creative economy, with Hollywood at its heart. Kansas and South Dakota join the search for graphic design freelancers, along with six other states.

Rhode Island stands alone as the only state prioritising SEO specialists, despite them being the fourth most searched role in the entire country. With a small business ecosystem that appears to be waking up to search optimisation, the New England state has its eyes set on freelancers to make it happen.

America's Top 20 Most Searched Freelance Professions

Rising Trends: The Future of Freelance Demand

To see where the freelance economy is heading, we looked at the growth of yearly searches, finding some surprising trends. Web analytics leads with an 88% rise in searches for freelancers, suggesting that companies around the globe are moving beyond basic reporting, needing specialists who can interpret data and help shape decisions. Other tech-focused roles such as programmers (+36%) and DevOps engineers (+29%) are also seeing a boost, showing how businesses increasingly need specialist technical expertise on demand.

Content marketing has also seen a staggering jump of 71%. Much like copywriters, AI has come to shake things up in the digital marketing industry, but humans are still high on the list to lead the charge. Alongside it in the branding space, roles such as logo design (up by 55%), branding specialists (+25%), and even business card design (+10%) are on the rise, showing that companies are just as mindful of how they present themselves online as they are offline.

Other niche roles are exploding: photo retouching alone has seen a 57% increase in freelance searches and even lyricists have seen a 20% increase.  

At the same time, freelance thumbnail designers (35% growth) and podcast editors (+12%), are carving out specialties as the creator economy doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

The Top 20 Fastest Growing Freelance Roles

From Wedding Assistant to Global Filmmaker: The Blueprint Behind The Most In-Demand Freelance Role

Filmmakers top the global search rankings, but what’s it really like building a successful freelance film career? Oreoluwa Peter Famosa, Co-Founder and Director at SCARYTOWN LTD, went from “assisting my dad at weddings” as a teenager to running an international creative business that has created music videos and artwork for the likes of Rizzle Kicks, Rema and Ayra Starr - and his approach offers a proven roadmap for any aspiring freelancer.

The pandemic became a turning point. As Oreoluwa explains: “This was boring but the moment of stillness we all were experiencing reignited the spark I needed to make a hard launch at the freelancing phase of my career.” The results were nothing short of wonderful. “Freelancing has truly opened up the doors to seeing more of the world and connecting with great individuals within wonderful communities.”

His success formula comes down to three non-negotiables that work across any freelance role, be it filmmaking or finance, and are especially important when starting from scratch:

• Structure: "What do I do? How do I do it? Why do I do it? How does it work?"

• Punctuality: "Always submit things in time. Lateness is not greatness." 

• Discipline: "Discipline is the most unstoppable force known to the human mind."

Even as his creative industry faces “an increased level of saturation”, these fundamentals keep him competitive. For anyone considering the freelance leap, his advice is simple: “Just Do It” but build your community along the way. In his words “It’s a wholesome journey I’d encourage everyone to take at some point.”

Whether you're planning to just do it and take a leap into freelancing, learn how to open a Tide account today and manage your growing business.

Methodology

We compiled a list of freelance roles using online freelance platforms. Google Keyword Planner was used to analyse 6,005,890 searches for which roles were being searched for the most, including local language variations, and term variations (e.g. freelance copywriter, copywriting freelancer, freelance copywriting). We then summed searches by role category to calculate annual search interest in each country and U.S. state. Ambiguous terms were excluded where translations could refer to something else (e.g., “QA”). 

To discover top trending roles, we analysed the roles which have seen the highest increase globally, year-on-year. Annual searches under 1200 were removed to paint a more accurate picture of demand. 

Search volume is used as a proxy for interest, not employment demand.

Data correct as of August 2025.