I don't know if uTest is still around, but they attempted to fill a similar niche. If you are in a testing lead position, then you know that an enormous amount

I don't know if uTest is still around, but they attempted to fill a similar niche. If you are in a testing lead position, then you know that an enormous amount of contracting is arranged via recruiters to fill this need also. I think the reasons it's really hard for freelance testing communities to get traction are 1. real or perceived lack of return - you have a 2-3 month engagement and realistically the first month is training and acclimatization (hence wasted). better off hiring a FT resource. 2. ample market supply - there are plenty of people looking for FT roles. I'm a testing manager in a secondary technology city in the US, and it's no trouble to get resumes. 3. limited scope where they're useful - I would consider freelancing or hiring a freelancer that specialized in a particular tool (Selenium, Robot, Cucumber, QTP, etc) if building out a testing framework or conducting major refactoring but otherwise consider testing an iterative process. 4. This is a bit of a bootstrapping problem, but it would need a (much) better version of Angie's List. Because of the reasons I listed before, this would be a high risk decision and most people would be very reluctant to go with an unknown quantity. There would have to be a substantial number of verified ratings and reviews. [EDIT: this is also why so much contract testing is arranged via recruiters - the recruiter wants repeat business. A bad referral can poison a relationship, so you have a strong element of trust]