Which freelance platform actually works?

I've been trying for two months now to find a decent platform where I can hire a designer or a copywriter without all the nonsense. On one site, I got 50 replies in an hour, 45 of them from bots and people who didn't even read the job description. On another platform, the fees are so high that I might as well do everything myself. On a third one, the good freelancers are booked solid for a month. A friend told me to look through Telegram channels, but there's zero protection there. Has anyone here actually been using a freelance platform and is happy with it? Not advertising, just for small gigs where there's some security and they don't rip you off. Which platform would you recommend to a regular person, not a professional buyer?