Where to find remote startup jobs in October 2026: 7 boards compared, plus Clera data showing only 14% of startup roles are fully remote.
The best place to find remote startup jobs depends on how much searching you want to do yourself. Best overall: Wellfound, with 12,055 remote listings and salary shown on almost every one. Best single application: Y Combinator's Work at a Startup. Best for remote-only roles across every function: We Work Remotely. Best if you'd rather startups come to you: Clera (we built it, more on that below). One thing to know before you start: remote roles are a minority at startups. On Clera, 14% of open roles are fully remote.
Summary table
| Place | Best for | Key stat | One limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellfound | Browsing the most remote startup roles | 12,055 remote listings | Big list, lots of noise |
| Work at a Startup | One application to many YC companies | About 400 YC companies hiring engineers at launch | YC companies only |
| Clera | Getting startups to come to you | 245,000 candidates on the platform | Only 14% of its roles are remote |
| Top Startups | Researching funded remote companies | 82 remote-HQ startups listed | A directory, not a job board |
| We Work Remotely | Remote-only roles in any function | Launched by 37signals in 2013 | Not startup-specific |
| Remote OK | Filtering by salary and benefits | Salary, benefits and country filters | No startup filter on the homepage |
| Remotive | Hand-checked remote tech roles | 134,345 remote jobs listed | Free users see 0.4% of roles |
How we picked
We looked at 13 job boards and directories that rank for "remote startup jobs" or show up in Reddit threads on the topic, and checked each one's own site on October 22, 2026. To make the list, a site needed remote roles you can filter for, startup or tech companies in real numbers, and facts we could confirm from the site itself or a primary source. We dropped two boards whose job counts or ownership we couldn't confirm.
We built Clera, so we've included it with the same fields and one honest downside as everyone else. It isn't ranked first. The remote numbers in the data section come from Clera's own job data, every open role on October 22, 2026.
1. Wellfound
Best for: browsing the largest pool of remote startup roles.
Wellfound is a startup-focused job board, and its remote page is the biggest on this list built for startups. On October 22, 2026 it listed 12,055 remote results. In a sample of 52 listings on the first page, 49 showed a salary range and 13 showed an equity percentage. Each company card carries a stage label (Early, Growth or Scale) and a response-time badge, so you can skip companies that never reply.
Why it made the list: salary and equity are on the listing, before you apply. That saves you a round of awkward questions in the first call.
Downside: volume cuts both ways. The remote page includes companies with 1,001 to 5,000 employees, so "startup" can mean a fairly big company. Filter by stage and headcount early.
Pricing: the only Pricing link on the page is for recruiters. No job seeker fee is listed.
2. Work at a Startup (Y Combinator)
Best for: applying once to many YC-funded companies.
Work at a Startup is Y Combinator's own job platform. When YC announced it on June 21, 2018, it was a shared application for engineers, with about 400 YC companies hiring. You fill out one profile, and companies that think you fit reach out to you. The site now lists roles in engineering, product, design and more, with "Remote" as one of its categories.
Why it made the list: one profile reaches a lot of funded startups, and the companies do the first move.
Downside: it only covers YC companies, and YC's own FAQ says most, not all, use it. If a YC company you like isn't there, apply on its own site.
Pricing: YC's launch post lists no candidate fee.
3. Clera
Best for: getting VC-backed startups to come to you.
We built Clera. You join once, tell Clera what you want, and startups bid on you. When you say yes to a role, Clera introduces you straight to the hiring manager, not to an inbox. The homepage shows 245,000 candidates on the platform. It's free for candidates, since companies pay when they hire.
Why it made the list: it flips the search. Instead of sending dozens of applications, you get intros to roles that already fit your pay and location asks.
Downside: most Clera roles aren't remote. Of 1,478 open roles on October 22, 2026, 210 were fully remote. If you won't consider hybrid or on-site, your matches will be thinner here than on a remote-only board.
Pricing: free for candidates.
4. Top Startups
Best for: researching funded remote companies before you apply.
Top Startups is a directory of startups backed by investors like Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel and Y Combinator. Filter by "Remote" headquarters and you get 82 remote startups, each with what it does, headcount, founding year and its latest round. Some cards link to open jobs.
Why it made the list: it answers "is this company funded and growing?" in one glance, which most job boards don't.
Downside: it's a directory, not a job board, and it doesn't explain its selection rules. One remote-HQ company on the page is listed as bootstrapped. Paid extras like negotiation coaching sit alongside the free list.
Pricing: no price is shown for the directory or the weekly newsletter.
5. We Work Remotely
Best for: remote-only roles in any function.
We Work Remotely was launched by 37signals, the company behind Basecamp, in November 2013. Every listing is remote by design, so you never have to check whether "remote" really means two days in the office. It covers engineering, design, sales, support and more.
Why it made the list: no hybrid surprises, and a long track record of remote-only listings.
Downside: it isn't startup-specific. You'll scroll past agencies and large companies, so check funding yourself (Top Startups helps here).
Pricing: we couldn't confirm job seeker pricing, so check the site before you sign up for anything.
6. Remote OK
Best for: filtering remote roles by salary and benefits.
Remote OK lets you set a minimum salary, sort by highest paid, and filter by benefits like equity compensation, a 4-day workweek or unlimited vacation. You can also narrow by region or country, which matters if a company can only hire in certain places. The site says employer posts reach 16,500,000+ remote workers.
Why it made the list: the benefits filter is rare. "Equity compensation" is the closest thing to a startup filter on the page.
Downside: there's no startup or funding filter on the homepage, and a paid Premium tier promotes faster access.
Pricing: browsing is open. Premium is a paid upgrade.
7. Remotive
Best for: hand-checked remote tech roles.
Remotive promises "vetted companies" and "true remote only" listings. On October 22, 2026 it showed 134,345 matching remote jobs, with 1,492 posted that day. The paid Accelerator plan adds custom alerts, salary and location filters, and access to jobs 24 hours early.
Why it made the list: curation. If scam listings are what put you off remote job boards, Remotive is built against that.
Downside: the free tier is thin. The site says free visitors see 0.4% of available roles, so the real product is the paid plan.
Pricing: free sample, paid Accelerator for full access.
What Clera's data says about remote startup jobs
Every open role on Clera on October 22, 2026, grouped by workplace type:
- 1,478 open roles in total.
- 918 on-site (62%), 336 hybrid (23%) and 210 fully remote (14%).
- The 210 remote roles come from 134 companies.
- Remote doesn't mean a pay cut. Across the 192 remote roles with a posted salary band, the median midpoint is $200,000, the same as on-site roles.
So remote startup jobs exist and pay well, but there are fewer of them. That's why a board built only for remote work, plus one that brings roles to you, beats sending the same application everywhere. For a city view of on-site roles, see our guide to the best cities for AI startup jobs.
How to choose
- If you want the biggest pool and visible pay, start with Wellfound and filter by stage.
- If you want one application to do the work, fill out Work at a Startup and a Clera profile, then let companies come to you.
- If remote is non-negotiable, use We Work Remotely or Remote OK, then check each company's funding on Top Startups before you apply.
- If you're open to hybrid in one city, your options roughly double. Our list of the best startups to work for in NYC is a good place to compare.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not on Clera's data. On October 22, 2026, the median midpoint of posted salary bands for remote roles was $200,000, the same as for on-site roles. Pay tracks role and seniority more than location. Before you sign, read our guide on negotiating your first salary at an AI startup.
Less common than people think. Only 14% of the open roles on Clera are fully remote, while 23% are hybrid and 62% are on-site. Many early teams want people in one room. Filter for remote before you apply rather than hoping to negotiate it later.
Plenty of funded ones. Top Startups lists 82 startups with a remote headquarters, and 134 companies had remote roles open on Clera on October 22, 2026. For a list of AI companies with open roles right now, see our roundup of AI companies hiring.
Check that the company has a real website, a funding round you can find in the news, and a hiring manager you can look up. Be wary of anyone asking you to pay for equipment or training. Curated boards like Remotive and Work at a Startup lower the odds of a fake listing.
Sources
- Wellfound remote jobs page, checked October 22, 2026
- Y Combinator: Announcing YC's Work at a Startup, June 21, 2018
- Work at a Startup FAQ
- Top Startups, remote filter, checked October 22, 2026
- 37signals: Our new job board, WeWorkRemotely.com
- Remote OK homepage, checked October 22, 2026
- Remotive homepage, checked October 22, 2026
- Clera job data, all open roles on October 22, 2026
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