Sites That Accept Sponsored Posts: Where to Get Paid in 2026

The short version: Hundreds of sites accept sponsored posts, but most pay poorly or ghost you unless you pitch correctly. The platforms worth your time in 2024 are a mix of direct-pitch blogs, dedicated marketplaces like Cooperatize and GetReviewed, and high-authority publishers such as Business.com and Entrepreneur. Knowing which category a site falls into changes your entire approach.

Why most "sponsored post" lists are useless

I have been doing sponsored content in some form since 2011. I have pitched hundreds of sites, been rejected by most of them, and paid by enough of them to build a real income from it at various points. So when I see those listicles with "200 sites that accept guest posts!" I want to throw my laptop out the window.

Those lists are almost always outdated, scraped from other outdated lists, and they confuse three completely different things:

• Guest posts (you write for free, you get a backlink)
• Sponsored posts (they publish your content for a fee or you get paid to write it for them)
• Paid contributor slots (you pitch, they commission, you get paid per piece)

These are not the same thing. Not even close. I am going to be specific about which is which, because that changes how you approach every single one.

The three types of sites worth knowing about

1. Sites where you pay them to publish your content

This is the classic "sponsored post" model. You are a brand or a marketer, you pay a site to publish a piece of content with a link back to your product or service. The site labels it "sponsored" or sometimes buries that label in a font size only bats can read.

Sites in this category that are worth paying for:

• Business.com -- sponsored content packages start around $500 and the domain authority makes it worthwhile for the right brief
• Entrepreneur.com -- their BrandVoice product runs from $2,000 upwards but the audience reach is real
• Forbes Agency Council, YEC, and similar -- these are membership-based but once you are in, you get published regularly
• Medium publications -- some accept paid placements directly; reach out to individual publication editors, not Medium itself
• Industry-specific blogs -- a mid-size marketing blog with 50,000 monthly readers might charge you $150 to $400 and deliver better targeted traffic than a $2,000 general business placement

2. Marketplaces that connect publishers and brands

This is where things get interesting and where I have personally found both great deals and complete time-wasters.

• Cooperatize -- one of the more legitimate platforms; publishers list their sites, brands pay through the platform, fees typically run $50 to $500 depending on domain authority
• GetReviewed -- good for link-building campaigns, prices are transparent, and they vet their publishers more carefully than most
• Adsy -- similar model, wide range of site quality, you need to check each site manually before paying
• WhitePress -- popular in European markets including the UK, decent inventory of British and Polish publishers if those markets matter to you
• Accessily -- has a self-serve dashboard that makes it easy to filter by niche and DA; I have used this one and found it functional if not glamorous
• Links Management -- older platform but still has an active publisher list; pricing has gotten more competitive lately

The honest truth about marketplaces: the platform takes a cut, the site owner gets less, and you pay more than you would through a direct relationship. But the transparency and the contract protection are worth it when you are starting out.

3. Sites that pay you to write sponsored or editorial content

This is the one most people want but search for with the wrong terms. If you are a writer or a content marketer looking to get paid for your writing, these are your targets:

• Bankrate -- pays $200 to $500 per article for finance content; they are picky but they pay on time
• The Balance (now part of Dotdash Meredith) -- still commissions freelance work through their editorial team
• HubSpot Blog -- pays around $200 to $500 per guest post if you pitch the right editor; check their contributor guidelines
• Smashing Magazine -- pays $200 per article for web design and development content; one of the most reliable payers in tech
• A List Apart -- $200 per article, long-form web and design pieces; editorial standards are high but so is the prestige
• Copyhackers -- pays up to $300 for conversion copywriting content; Joanna Wiebe's team is selective but the cheque clears
• Contently -- not a site but a network; once accepted, you get pitched for brand journalism jobs paying $500 to $2,000 per piece

What the top-ranking pages get completely wrong

I said at the start this post would say something the other pages do not. Here it is.

Most lists treat "domain authority" as the only metric worth caring about. It is not. I have paid for placements on DA60 sites that sent zero referral traffic because the site had no real audience, just backlink-farm traffic. And I have had pieces on niche blogs with a DA of 28 that sent 400 qualified visitors in a week because the audience was real and engaged.

What you should be checking before you pay for any sponsored placement:

• Ahrefs or Semrush traffic estimate -- if it shows under 1,000 organic visits a month, the DA is probably inflated
• Comment section and social shares -- are real humans interacting with this site?
• How many sponsored posts they already run -- if every third post is sponsored, Google has noticed and so should you
• Whether the link will be dofollow or nofollow -- always ask this before paying; some sites switched to nofollow quietly after a Google update and never told their clients
• Whether the post stays live permanently -- some sites quietly delete sponsored content after 12 months

How to pitch a site directly and hear back

Direct pitching is almost always cheaper and more effective than going through a marketplace. Here is what works for me:

• Find the editor's or owner's name (LinkedIn, their About page, the site footer)
• Email with a subject line that references a specific recent post of theirs -- "Re: your piece on email open rates from March" gets opened; "Guest post inquiry" does not
• In the email body: one paragraph about why your content fits their audience, one sentence about who you are, and a link to one writing sample
• Do not attach anything in the first email
• Follow up once, after seven days, with a single line: "Just checking this landed okay."

Response rates from cold pitches sit around 10 to 15 percent in my experience. That is not discouraging -- it means you pitch ten sites and one or two say yes. Do that every week and you have a real content placement operation.

A note on disclosure and the ASA

If you are in the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority is not joking around. Any paid-for content placement must be clearly labelled as an advertisement or sponsored post. The FTC in the US has the same requirement. This applies whether you paid cash, gifted a product, or traded services. Do not let any site talk you out of a disclosure label -- if they get fined, they will come for you too.

Frequently asked questions

How much do sites charge for a sponsored post?

Prices range enormously. Small niche blogs with real audiences charge $50 to $300. Mid-tier industry sites with domain authorities in the 40-60 range typically charge $200 to $800. High-authority publishers like Forbes BrandVoice or Entrepreneur start at $2,000 and go well beyond. Always negotiate -- the first price is rarely the final price.

Do sponsored posts help with SEO?

They can, but only if the link is dofollow, the site has genuine organic traffic (not just a high DA from link farms), and the content is relevant to your niche. A sponsored post on an irrelevant high-DA site is worth less than a well-placed editorial mention on a smaller but read blog in your category.

What is the difference between a sponsored post and a guest post?

A guest post is unpaid -- you write it, they publish it, you get a byline and usually a backlink. A sponsored post involves a financial transaction: either you pay the site to publish your content, or they pay you to write content that is editorially adjacent to a brand. Guest posts are earned placements; sponsored posts are paid placements.

Which marketplace is best for finding sites that accept sponsored posts?

For English-language sites, Cooperatize and GetReviewed have better quality control than most. Adsy and Accessily have larger inventories but require more manual vetting. For UK and European publishers specifically, WhitePress has strong regional inventory. None of them are perfect -- always check the actual site before paying, regardless of platform metrics.

Related reading: Indeed Virtual Assistant Jobs: The Real Money, The Catch, And How To Land One and How to Get Paid Freelance Writing Jobs (Not the Scam Ones).

Related: this free database of 5,000+ sites that accept guest posts.

Related: Lilach Bullock free list of 5,000+ websites that accept guest posts.