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Paying Markets for Writers: who pays, what they pay and their AI policy

These are markets that pay writers for nonfiction, content and copy: publications, company blogs and content programs. Where a market posts a rate on its own page, that rate is quoted here word-for-word and dated. Where a market states an AI submission policy, its exact wording is shown too. Filter to the markets that publish their pay, pick a niche, or narrow by how they take work and where they stand on AI.

Rate transparency for writers has been thin since Who Pays Writers went quiet, and no directory tracks per-market AI policy for commercial markets at all. This one does both, and it is built the same way as our magazine database: every figure is read from the market's own page, checked on the date shown, and re-checked on a schedule. A market that stops accepting work or takes its rate down comes off the list, so what stays is current rather than a stale link dump.

Search the list, tap a niche to narrow it, or tick Publishes its pay to see only the markets transparent about rates. For where to find the work in the first place, the writing jobs directorygroups every source by type.

PitchPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Airbyte

Data-engineering community blog; base plus a bonus for high-performing articles.

Published pay$300 to $500 per article
"Authors will be banned from the program if we detect AI drafts."
#data engineering#software development
PitchPublishes pay
No AI use

Apex Magazine

Pays $100 for nonfiction (fiction paid per word separately).

Published pay$100 per nonfiction piece
"Apex Magazine does not accept submissions of any kind that were written, developed or assisted by tools such as ChatGPT."
#nonfiction#essays#science fiction culture
ApplicationPublishes pay
No AI use

Brevity

Flash creative-nonfiction magazine; honorarium paid via PayPal. Reads seasonally.

Published pay$45 honorarium per featured essay
"Brevity does not accept submissions of AI-generated work, which includes writing that was partially created with or assisted by LLM technology."
#creative nonfiction#personal essay
PitchPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Contentstack

Headless-CMS community author program; pays on publication.

Published pay$100 per published article
"We get it, tools like ChatGPT are useful for brainstorming or outlining. But when it comes to the actual writing, we ask that you be the author."
#content management#software development
ApplicationPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Copper Nickel

Literary journal publishing prose and nonfiction; pays per printed page.

Published pay$30 per printed page (prose $50 to $250)
"We do not accept work produced via generative AI"
#essays#nonfiction#prose
PitchPublishes pay
No AI use

Dissent

Political and cultural quarterly; emerging-writers program pays per word plus an expenses stipend.

Published pay$0.50 per word (emerging writers)
"We will not accept or publish works generated or modified with artificial intelligence."
#politics#essays#reported features
PitchPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Earth Island Journal

Environmental journalism; query-first, pays per word for print and a flat rate online.

Published pay$0.50/word (print features); $400 (online stories)
"We will not consider pitches (or any other copy) generated by artificial intelligence."
#environment#reported features#essays
ApplicationPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Escape Pod

Science-fiction podcast magazine; pays per word for original fiction, $100 for reprints.

Published pay$0.08 per word (original fiction)
"AI-generated stories will not be accepted for submission."
#fiction#science fiction
ApplicationPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Hippocampus Magazine

Creative-nonfiction magazine; $40 honorarium; a $3 submission fee applies.

Published pay$40 honorarium per published piece
"Hippocampus Magazine is rooted in human truth and authenticity; we do not publish creative work that has used generative AI."
#creative nonfiction#memoir
PitchPublishes pay
No AI use

Longreads

Accepts pitches for personal essays, critical and researched essays, and reported features, and publicly posts its rates on the submissions page.

Published pay$500 per personal essay; $350 per reading list; reported features from $0.50/word
"We will not accept any submission or pitch written or edited using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT."
#essays#journalism#features
PitchPublishes pay
No AI-generated work

Oxford American

Magazine of Southern writing and culture; pays for essays and features.

Published pay$300 per article (series)
"The Oxford American does not accept or review submissions created with the use of generative AI."
#essays#southern culture#nonfiction
ApplicationPublishes pay
AI use must be disclosed

Split Lip Magazine

Literary magazine that publishes memoir and flash; pays per author via PayPal.

Published pay$100 per author (web issues)
"If you used AI to write/create your piece, you must disclose this fact in your cover letter."
#memoir#creative nonfiction
ApplicationPublishes pay
AI use must be disclosed

The Missouri Review

Literary quarterly publishing nonfiction and essays; BLAST pays $100 per essay.

Published pay$25 per printed page
"If artificial intelligence has been used to generate any portion of your submission, you must disclose your usage in specific detail within the piece and in your cover letter."
#essays#nonfiction#reported features
PitchPublishes pay
No AI use

Uncanny Magazine

Pays $100 per commissioned nonfiction essay on acceptance (fiction paid per word separately).

Published pay$100 per nonfiction essay
"Please note that Uncanny Magazine does not accept any submissions written with artificial intelligence or similar technologies."
#nonfiction#essays#science fiction culture
PitchPublishes pay

A Fine Parent

Positive-parenting site; pays for original 1,500-3,000 word parenting articles.

Published pay$75 per article
#parenting#personal essayReplies within 1 week
PitchPublishes pay

Apify

Web-scraping platform blog; pays a flat rate per published article.

Published pay$500 per article
#web scraping#software development
ApplicationPublishes pay

Barrelhouse

Literary magazine publishing essays and nonfiction; pays print and online contributors.

Published pay$50 per contributor
#essays#creative nonfiction
PitchPublishes pay

Better Stack

Developer-community blog; base rate rises for repeat quality contributors.

Published pay$300 per article
#software development#devops
ApplicationPublishes pay

Book Riot

Books and reading site; flat fee by topic and length, paid via PayPal.

Published pay$50 or $100 per post
#books#culture
PitchPublishes pay

Bugfender

Developer-tools blog; pays for technical articles, no unpaid trials.

Published payup to $500 per article
#software development#mobile
PitchPublishes pay

Cricket Media

Children's magazines (Cricket); pays for stories, articles, poems and activities.

Published payup to 25 cents per word; activities $75 flat
#children#nonfiction
PitchPublishes pay

CSS-Tricks

Front-end web-development publication; pays via PayPal for guest articles.

Published pay$250 per article
#web development#css#javascript
PitchPublishes pay

Electric Literature

Literary nonprofit; pays for personal and critical essays.

Published pay$50 per essay
#personal essay#criticism
ApplicationPublishes pay

Foglifter

Queer literary journal publishing essays and nonfiction; $100 honorarium via PayPal.

Published pay$100 honorarium per contributor
#essays#creative nonfiction#queer literature
ApplicationPublishes pay

Gulf Coast

Journal of literature and fine arts publishing nonfiction; a $3 reading fee funds honorariums.

Published pay$50 per page (print); $100 for prose (online)
#nonfiction#essays
ApplicationPublishes pay

Her View From Home

Family and faith essays; pays on a pageview scale for original content.

Published pay$10 to $100 per article (by pageviews)
#parenting#personal essay
PitchPublishes pay

Honeybadger

Developer blog; pays for Ruby, PHP and Python articles from working developers.

Published pay$500 per article
#software development#ruby#pythonReplies within a week of approval
ApplicationPublishes pay

Listverse

List-format general-interest site; pays for original 10-plus item lists.

Published pay$100 per accepted list
#lists#general interest
PitchPublishes pay

LogRocket

Front-end engineering blog; rate depends on scope and quality of the post.

Published payup to $350 per post
#frontend#software development
PitchPublishes pay

Make a Living Writing Earn Money Online Market List

Published pay$50 per article
#business#e-commerce#payment processing
PitchPublishes pay

MoneyPantry

Personal-finance blog; pays on publication for practical money guides.

Published pay$30 to $150 per post
#personal finance#blogging
ApplicationPublishes pay

New England Review

Literary quarterly publishing nonfiction; NER Digital pays $50 for online work.

Published pay$20 per page ($50 minimum)
#nonfiction#essays
ApplicationPublishes pay

Ninth Letter

Literary and arts journal publishing creative nonfiction; pays on publication.

Published pay$100 for prose (print); $75 (online)
#creative nonfiction#essays
PitchPublishes pay

Offrange

Published pay$0.50-$1/word
#opinion essaysReplies not stated
ApplicationPublishes pay

Online Writing Jobs

Assignment-based content platform paying weekly. Advertises 'up to $50 per article' as a ceiling; actual per-assignment pay varies below it.

Published payup to $50 per article
#content#blogging
ApplicationPublishes pay

SmokeLong Quarterly

Flash magazine publishing flash CNF and craft essays; paid on publication.

Published pay$100 ($150 with audio) per piece
#flash#creative nonfiction
ApplicationPublishes pay

TestDriven.io

Developer tutorials; pays for updates and new posts on quantity and quality of the change.

Published pay$75 to $150 per update
#python#software development
ApplicationPublishes pay

The Baltimore Review

Literary journal publishing creative nonfiction; paid via Amazon gift card or PayPal.

Published pay$50 per non-contest submission
#creative nonfiction#essays
ApplicationPublishes pay

True Story

Creative Nonfiction's single-essay series; a $3 reading fee applies.

Published pay$750 on publication
#creative nonfiction
ApplicationPublishes pay

Vocal

Open publishing platform; pays per 1,000 reads plus reader tips.

Published pay$3.80 per 1,000 reads (free); $6.00 per 1,000 reads (Vocal+)
#general interest#blogging
PitchPublishes pay

Vonage Developer Spotlight

Developer content program; $500 per published article (optionally donated to a tech charity).

Published pay$500 per article
#software development#communications api
ApplicationPublishes pay

Witness

Black Mountain Institute journal; pays for prose (fiction and nonfiction) in print or online.

Published pay$150 per prose piece
#nonfiction#essays#reported features
Pitch
No AI-generated work

Civo

Cloud-platform tutorials; paid via PayPal or Civo credits, rate by technical depth.

"We cannot accept or pay for material that has been copied, paraphrased, translated, or generated from existing online sources, including AI tools."
#cloud#software developmentReplies within seven days of agreement
Application
No AI use

MakeUseOf

Consumer-technology publisher (Valnet); competitive per-story compensation, figure not posted.

"Valnet is committed to producing premium content, and we therefore require all our contributors to adhere to our Editorial Standards, including a prohibition on using Artificial Intelligence."
#technology#consumer tech
Pitch
No AI-generated work

Matador Network

Travel publication; pays for accepted independent travel stories, rate agreed on acceptance.

"In regard to writing, we don’t accept AI-written stories (and use AI checkers when necessary)."
#travel
Pitch
No AI-generated work

Search Engine Journal

SEO and digital-marketing publication; contributor program, compensation not posted.

"Therefore, we do not accept articles or content entirely generated by AI systems."
#seo#content marketing

A List Apart

Long-running web-craft publication accepting pitches; compensation is handled per piece and not posted.

#technical#web-dev#design

All Freelance Writing Job Board

Filterable by pay range and job type, and tags listings LOW PAY / SEMI-PRO / PRO so you can screen rates before applying. A share of listings are marked undisclosed.

#freelance#content#copywriting

Aquent

Global creative-staffing agency that places copywriters, content and UX writers into contract and permanent roles through recruiters, rather than a self-serve gig list.

#creative#copywriting#ux-writing

Brafton

Content-marketing agency that hires writers and content creators through its careers page (staff roles), rather than a public gig board.

#content-marketing

Built In — Content

Tech-company content and marketing roles. Most US listings show a salary range.

#content-marketing#tech
Pitch

Capital & Main

#inequality#class#raceReplies not stated

Constant Content

Marketplace where writers sell articles and set their own price; the platform takes a commission.

#content#seo

Content Cucumber

Subscription content agency employing a bench of writers; recruits via careers, rates not posted.

#content#blogging

Contently

Vetted creator network placing freelancers with brands, weighted to expert and regulated-industry writers. Pay is negotiated per assignment; no public rate page.

#content-marketing#journalism

Copify

Content agency that recruits freelance copywriters from a freelance bench; per-word writer rates are not posted publicly.

#content#copywriting#seo
Pitch

Copyhackers

#conversion copywriting#copywriting#marketingReplies Not stated

DailyRemote — Writing

Remote writing listings aggregated from multiple sources. Some show salary; many do not.

#remote#content

Draft.dev

Pays software developers to write technical tutorials and articles; the rate is discussed after a call rather than posted.

#technical#developer

Express Writers

Content-writing agency (founded 2011) with a vetted writer bench; hires through a 'Join Our Team' path. Rates are not posted.

#content#seo

Fiverr — Writing & Translation

Gig marketplace where writers list packages. Confirmed live independently — Fiverr owns ClearVoice, whose talent page 301-redirects to fiverr.com — while the category page itself is bot-walled.

#freelance#content#copywriting

Freedom With Writing

Free service that emails lists of publishers that pay writers; each roundup names the market's pay. It curates others' rates rather than paying itself.

#markets#freelance

Freelancer.com — Writing

Bidding marketplace with an active writing category. Budgets are client-set and can be low (per-500-words bids appear).

#freelance#content

FreelanceWriting.com Jobs

Aggregated freelance writing gigs. Some listings show an hourly or per-assignment rate; many say 'see job description'.

#freelance#content

FundsforWriters

Curated paying markets with a stated floor — listed markets pay at least $200 or ten cents a word — and pay shown per market. An aggregator, not the payer.

#markets#grants#freelance

Get A Copywriter

Copywriting agency recruiting through jobs.getacopywriter.com; states it accepts roughly 0.5% of applicants. Client pricing is public; writer pay is not.

#copywriting#content#seo

Guideposts

Invites true first-person inspirational stories; pays for accepted stories, though the amount is not stated on the submission page.

#inspirational#personal-essay

Guru — Writing & Translation

Freelance marketplace; the Writing & Translation category shows fixed and hourly projects with client-set budgets.

#freelance#content

Himalayas — Writing

Remote-first job board carrying hundreds of writing roles. Salary was rarely shown at verification.

#remote#content

HireMyMom

Screened remote jobs for freelancers including writing, blogging and editing. Enforces a $10/hr minimum and shows hourly ranges. Job-seeker subscription required.

#remote#freelance

JournalismJobs.com

Long-standing board for staff and freelance journalism, reporting and editing roles. Salaries are rarely shown on the listing itself.

#journalism#reporting#editing

Mediabistro Jobs

Media and publishing jobs including editor, copywriter and staff-writer roles. Many US listings now show a salary range.

#media#editing#copywriting

nDash

Managed content marketplace; writers pitch ideas to brands inside a project-managed model rather than open bidding.

#content-marketing#b2b
Pitch

Open City

#asian america#journalism#cultureReplies Not stated

PeoplePerHour — Writing

UK-rooted marketplace where each writing project lists a client budget (fixed or hourly).

#freelance#content

ProBlogger Job Board

Long-running board for blogging and content roles. Employers pay to post, so listings are businesses hiring writers; candidate pay is rarely shown on the listing.

#blogging#content#copywriting

Reedsy

Curated marketplace connecting authors with editors, ghostwriters, designers and marketers. Freelancers set their own rates.

#editing#ghostwriting#book

Remotive — Writing

Curated remote job board; the writing category shows some hourly or salary ranges. The full database sits behind a paid tier.

#remote#content#copywriting

Scribe Media

Professional book-publishing company that hires ghostwriters and editors via careers. Rates are not posted publicly.

#ghostwriting#book#business

Scripted

Content marketplace across 40+ topics; writers apply and are hired per job. No public writer-rate table.

#content#seo#blogging

Skyword

Enterprise content-marketing platform with a 20,000+ creator network; writers join via 'Freelance for Us'. Pay is negotiated per program, not posted.

#content-marketing#enterprise

Smashing Magazine

Pays an honorarium on publication for accepted web-design and development articles; the specific amount is not stated on the page.

#technical#design#web-dev

SolidGigs

Paid service that hand-picks freelance leads including writing gigs; sample listings show rates. Monthly or annual membership required.

#freelance#remote

Stack Abuse

Publishes developer tutorials from contributors; payment terms are arranged by email rather than posted.

#technical#developer

Stellar (formerly Crowd Content)

Content agency, rebranded from Crowd Content, that recruits freelance writers and pays twice weekly. Per-word rates are not posted publicly.

#content#seo

Study Hall

Media-worker community whose Opportunity Finder tracks pitch calls, jobs, fellowships and grants. Access is subscription-based (three annual tiers).

#media#journalism#freelance

Superpath Jobs

Content-marketing community job board (content strategists, managers, writers). Salaries are not shown on the board; Superpath publishes a separate content-salary report.

#content-marketing

Textbroker

Content mill paying per word by a 2-to-5-star quality rating; entry-tier rates are low. The public author page states earnings scale with quality but does not post the rate table, so no figure is asserted here.

#content#seo
Pitch

The Open Notebook

#science journalism#health#reported featuresReplies not stated

Twine

Marketplace for creative freelancers including copywriters; freelancers set their rates.

#copywriting#creative

Upwork — Writing

The largest general freelance marketplace; the writing category is a public listing. Verified live via a 403 bot-wall (page not machine-readable). Budgets are client-set per project and range widely.

#freelance#content#copywriting

Verblio

Content marketplace; writers claim jobs across 40+ industries and invoice weekly. Pay scales with performance and is not posted on the join page.

#content#seo#blogging

Virtual Vocations — Writing

Hand-screened telecommute jobs. Full access to apply requires a paid subscription.

#remote#telecommute

We Work Remotely — Copywriting

Remote copywriting category (conversion and marketing copy roles) on the same board as the writing category.

#remote#copywriting

We Work Remotely — Writing

Remote-only writing category on a large general remote board. Pay is shown on some listings, not all.

#remote#content

WordAgents

SEO content agency using a vetted writer bench; it hires through its team rather than a live gig list. Client price is public (eight cents a word); writer pay is not.

#seo#content

Working Nomads — Writing

Curated remote writing jobs delivered by category and by newsletter.

#remote#content

WriterAccess

Content marketplace matching writers to clients by a star rating. It publicly posts per-word pricing ($0.05/word basic; $0.04–$1.00+/word managed). That is the client-facing price; writers earn a share by tier, with higher-rated writers toward the top of the range.

#content#seo#copywriting

WritersWeekly

Long-running weekly listing of paying markets and freelance/remote writing jobs. Individual listings state their own pay; the site curates rather than pays.

#freelance#markets

Paying markets: common questions

Which writing markets publish what they pay?

Most do not. Rates are usually gated behind a login, a quote or an application, which is exactly what makes a pay figure worth recording when a market does post one. Tick 'Publishes its pay' to see only the markets that state a rate on their own page, each quoted word-for-word from that page and dated.

How is each pay rate verified?

Every pay figure here was read from the market's own guidelines or write-for-us page on the date shown on its card, and a script re-checks that the figure still appears at its source. Where a market pays but does not post a number, the card says the pay is not published rather than guessing one. Nothing is inferred, remembered or averaged.

What does the AI policy badge mean?

Some markets now state whether they accept AI-written or AI-assisted submissions. Where a market does, its stance is shown with the exact policy wording quoted from its own page and a link to that page. No stated policy means the page was checked on that date and carried no AI rule; policies change, so confirm at the source before you submit.

Are these live listings?

No. This is a directory of durable markets, not a scraped job feed. Each card opens the market's own submissions page where the current terms live. A market that closes to submissions is removed rather than left to rot.

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