One of the more popular posts here at All Freelance Writing is my auto-updated list of websites and blogs that pay $100 or more per article. But $100 per post isn't the great rate some newer freelancers think it is. That's a low rate on the professional scale, though thankfully those gigs are advertised more often these days than even just a few years ago.
When you're ready to take your freelance blogging or web content writing work to the next level, you need to aim higher. High-paying online writing gigs are advertised on job boards much less often (due to more supply than demand, unqualified applicants taking a lot of time to sort through, and other ways clients have to find professional writers who are a good fit.
That said, some of these gigs and writers' markets do get advertised publicly -- such as gigs with online properties tied to print publications or blogs with highly-specialized audiences.
To get you started in pitching higher-paying online prospects, here are some websites and blogs that pay writers $500 (and sometimes more) per article.
Audubon
The National Audubon Society accepts freelance contributions for Audubon magazine and its website. They accept shorter pieces up to 1200 words for both print and online publication in addition to some longer investigations, profiles, features, and essays from 1500-4000 words. They prefer these to run around 3000 words. Online and other shorter pieces pay $.50 / word. Longer essays pay $1.00 / word. Features, print and online, typically pay $1.50 / word. A feature package (equivalent to a six-page print story) starts at $2500 per project.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Beneath Ceaseless Skies seeks short stories under 15,000 words. They publish "literary adventure fantasy" with secondary-world settings. They pay 8 cents per word.
Clarkesworld Magazine
This magazine is devoted to science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They purchase both fiction and nonfiction writing. Payment for nonfiction is 10 cents per word up to their 2500 word limit. Payment for fiction (1000-22,000 words) is 14 cents per word.
Contingent Magazine
Contingent Magazine is "a magazine about history and the process of doing history." They prefer contributors who have completed postgraduate work in history and are working outside of tenure-track academia. They accept different types of submissions at different times, so check their guidelines to see what they're currently accepting pitches for. They pay $150 for 400-500 word mailbag columns, $50 for research and conference "postcards," $300 for reviews, $300 for shorts, $300 for "field trips," $50 for "How I do History" interviews, $150 for mini-essays, and $500 for 2000-3000 word features.
Defector
Defector is a subscription-based sports and culture website. They accept freelance pitches for stories covering "sports, politics, TV, movies, science, weird shit that happens on the internet, and anything else that catches [their] attention." According to their freelancer policies, they pay a minimum of $1000 for longer essays and a minimum of $500 for shorter pieces.
Dwell
Dwell publishes home tours, reported pieces, interviews, and essays related to smart design and "new ideas about where and how we live." They feature homes with noteworthy stories from around the worlds (from sustainability to affordability). The print magazine publishes six issues per year. Online stories start at $.50 / assigned word. Print stories pay $1.00 / word. Some sections have flat per-piece rates. Dwell+ Exclusive home tours pay $400 for 600-800 word stories and the Design News section pays $350 / story. Most print stories pay $1000-2000.
Earth Island Journal
Earth Island Journal covers environmental issues such as wildlife conservation,land conversation,public policy, climate and energy, and more. Contributors are paid $.50 per word for print stories up to 4000 words, with 2800 words being most common. Online reports pay $400 and are a good way for new writers to break into the market.
Feeld
Feels accepts pitches to its Ask Feeld section covering topics such as gender, sexuality, kink, LGBTQIA+, dating, relationships, and self-discovery. Articles run around 1500 words each, and pay starts at $800 per article.
Jewish Currents
Jewish Currents is a print (quarterly) and digital publication covering politics, culture, and ideas through the perspective of the Jewish left. Articles cover topics such as the Israel / Palestine conflict, inner workings of Jewish communal organizations, diasporic cultural expression, and more. The publication also considers poetry, but only reads unsolicited poems during the month of June. In-depth web features pay at least $1000. News reports start at $500, analysis and reviews start at $400, and print features are paid $1.00 / word.
Longreads
Longreads accepts submissions of essays and curated reading lists from freelance contributors. Essays and columns run 2000-6000 words. Personal essays should be pitched on-spec, and they pay $500 per essay. Researched and reported essays, critical essays, and columns may be pitched. They also pay $500 per essay. Curated reading lists pay $350.
Model Railroad Hobbyist
Model Railroad Hobbyist publishes articles and videos "on all aspects of model railroading and on prototype (real) railroading as a subject for modeling." Articles typically run around 3000 words with 10 photos and a short video clip (payments being $230 for these). $200-600 per feature is typical, though they've paid over $1000 for longer articles as well (such as through their website where length isn't an issue).
Science
Science accepts freelance contributions including 140-word news briefs to 2500-word features. Freelancers author around half of Science's online-only stories and around a quarter of stories found in weekly print issues. Rates begin at $1.00 / word for online-only stories and $1.25 / word for print-only articles. Some projects pay a flat rate. Online Q&As pay $500.
Smart Business Trends
SmartBusinessTrends.com is a blog covering online marketing, email marketing, Wordpress, and Amazon FBA. They pay $200-500 via PayPal for full rights for tutorials, case studies, and product reviews. They purchase full rights.
Sport Fishing
Sport Fishing magazine publishes 9 issues per year and focuses on saltwater fishing mostly around North America. They accept features of 1800-2400 words, including sidebars, though their departments are usually staff-written. They pay $750 for print features. Digital features pay $200 for up to 1000 words and $300 for over 1000 words.
Story Unlikely
We publish both fiction and narrative nonfiction (memoir) short stories, up to a limit of 3,500 words. We publish a wide array of styles and genres, and are more concerned with the quality of the story than the genre itself. A monthly e-zine, Story Unlikely pays 8 cents a word with a $350 cap ($700 cap for members at the Writer Level). We welcome and accept reprints, and pay 1 cent per word for reprints.
The Food Section
The Food Section is seeking freelance contributors for reported stories highlighting the diversity of the American South through articles that explore food-and-drink experiences throughout the region. Articles run around 1200 words and pay $1084.61 per feature story.
The Next New York
New York Focus accepts pitches for freelance submissions. The publication "is an independent newsroom investigating power in the Empire State." Pitches should cover in-depth investigative pieces. Pay is $800 per article.
The Open Notebook
The Open Notebook is a nonprofit organization providing tools and resources for science journalists. They accept freelance pitches for reported features and "story-behind-the-story" interviews. They also accept pitches for features intended for their Diverse Voices in Science Journalism series. Pay is $1800 for interviews and $2500 for reported features (both running 1500-2000 words).
Three-lobed Burning Eye
This online magazine focusing on horror and dark fantasy is published twice a year. Every other year they also release a print anthology. They accept short stories of 1500-7499 words and flash fiction of 500-1499 words. They pay $0.08 per word.
WIRED
Most freelance contributions to WIRED are longform feature articles. They also sometimes assign freelancers pieces for their business, science, gear, and service sections. Features run from 2000-10,000 words, with 5000 words being the "sweet spot." Pay is per-project, with features starting around $2500.
As always, these market list posts are dynamically-created by pulling current listings from my larger directory of writers' markets. That means any time a new market is added meeting these pay conditions, it will automatically be added to this post. And if markets are removed, they're cleaned from this post automatically too. If you come across dead links or outdated summaries, you can help keep the market collection up-to-date by simply clicking "report link" below an entry, and I'll get a notification to have it reviewed ASAP.
