Find the perfect nursing shift with our ranking of the 15 best nurse staffing agencies based on pay, flexibility, and real nurse reviews.
You work a grueling 12-hour shift, chart for another hour, and head home feeling completely drained.
Sound familiar? If so, it’s time to rewrite the narrative. After all, you deserve a schedule that fits your actual life and a paycheck that matches your hard work.
15 Best Nurse Staffing Agencies and Marketplaces
Finding the right nurse staffing agency makes all the difference, so we ranked the 15 best nurse staffing agencies based on the three things that matter to you: pay, flexibility, and real reviews from other nurses.
1. Clipboard
Clipboard takes the top spot because we fundamentally respect your time and your autonomy. You open the app on your phone, browse available shifts at local healthcare facilities, and book exactly what you want. Find a shift you like, claim it, and work it. No one has to approve it, and nobody pressures you to pick up a weekend block. You hold the ultimate power to work one shift a month or five shifts a week.
The pay rates consistently beat local staff averages, and our user reviews highlight the massive benefit of instant payouts. You finish your shift, verify your hours, and for a small fee the money can hit your account within minutes, or you can get it within just a few days for free. Clipboard eliminates the middleman, giving you total control over your nursing career.
2. Aya Healthcare
Aya dominates the traditional travel nursing space, holding thousands of exclusive contracts with major hospital systems across the country. You get excellent pay and day-one benefits, including health insurance and 401(k) matching.
The downside here involves flexibility: traditional travel contracts typically involve a 13-week schedule, making it harder to take random days off compared to an app-based per diem platform.
3. Trusted Health
Trusted built a streamlined, recruiter-free platform for travel nurses. You create a profile, upload your credentials, and apply for contracts directly.
Because they limit overhead costs by not paying traditional recruiters on commission, they pass those savings on to you through higher hourly rates. In other words, you get a dedicated nurse advocate instead of a salesperson.
4. AMN Healthcare
AMN stands as the largest healthcare staffing agency in the country, and that massive size translates to greater job stability and a massive pool of exclusive contracts.
If you want to work at a specific top-tier research hospital, AMN likely holds the keys to get you in. You will deal with traditional recruiters, which means as with any recruiter-based model, experiences may vary.
5. ShiftKey
ShiftKey operates similarly to Clipboard by offering a platform for independent professionals to pick up PRN shifts. They partner with thousands of facilities, particularly in long-term care and skilled nursing, and you bid on shifts and set your own schedule. It offers great flexibility, though as with most staffing platforms, the interface and facility networks vary depending on your specific geographic region.
6. IntelyCare
IntelyCare hires nurses as W-2 employees rather than independent contractors. You still get to pick up per diem shifts through their app, but you also gain access to employer-sponsored benefits if you work enough hours. They offer competitive pay and training modules, with the W-2 model appealing to nurses who want flexible scheduling but prefer traditional tax withholding for clarity.
7. Medical Solutions
Medical Solutions focuses heavily on the traveler experience. They’re famous for offering pet-friendly travel assignments and robust mental health support systems. You get a dedicated recruiter who helps you find housing and manages your compliance paperwork. Their pay packages stay competitive, and reviews consistently praise their supportive company culture.
8. Cross Country Nurses
Cross Country is another company that brings decades of experience to the table, maintaining deep relationships with facilities nationwide, offering traditional travel assignments, and local contracts. Their established network means you rarely worry about a canceled contract, and they offer standard benefits and reliable weekly pay.
9. Nomad Health
Nomad strips away the recruiter entirely; you handle your own job search and credentialing through their digital platform. This model attracts highly independent nurses who know exactly what they want, with Nomad often displaying exceptionally high gross pay packages on its job board.
10. Maxim Healthcare Staffing
Maxim excels in local contracts and home health nursing. If you want to step away from bedside hospital care, Maxim offers unique opportunities in school nursing, vaccination clinics, and one-on-one home care. They operate local offices in most major cities, giving you a physical location to visit if you need direct support.
11. Fastaff Travel Nursing
Though they offer a few different types of job searches, Fastaff is most famous for its specialization in rapid-response and crisis nursing, meaning you’ll often be deployed quickly to hospitals facing severe staffing shortages. The pay rates sit at the absolute top of the market for a reason: these assignments typically involve shorter, high-intensity commitments. You earn this high pay by working in intense environments, often committing to 48-hour work weeks for shorter four-to-eight-week assignments.
12. Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA)
TNAA earns high marks for its transparent pay packages and excellent sick leave policy. You start accruing sick time immediately, which provides massive peace of mind when you travel across the country. They also tend to cover the upfront costs for your licenses and certifications, keeping more money in your pocket before you even start working.
13. Nursa
Nursa has carved out a strong position in the per diem space, especially for nurses and CNAs looking for fast, flexible shifts. The app lets you browse open shifts in real time, set your availability, and get paid quickly; sometimes within 24 hours of completing a shift.
The tradeoff is consistency: like most gig-style platforms, shift availability can fluctuate depending on your location, and you won’t get traditional benefits unless you’re working elsewhere full-time.
14. Kare
Kare focuses heavily on senior care, connecting nurses and caregivers with assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The platform emphasizes transparency, showing pay rates upfront and allowing you to build relationships with facilities over time.
It’s a strong option if you prefer working in long-term care environments, though it’s more niche compared to broader platforms that include acute care hospital shifts.
15. Medely
Medely blends per diem flexibility with higher-acuity opportunities, including hospital shifts for experienced nurses. The platform vets clinicians carefully, which helps maintain higher pay rates and better facility matches. Because of that selectivity, some nurses find that it can be harder to get approved or find consistent shifts if you’re newer to the field or in a less active market.
Take Control of Your Nursing Career
The days of accepting whatever schedule a unit manager hands you are over. You hold a valuable license, and now, you get to decide how to use it.
If you want the ultimate freedom to control your daily life, Clipboard gives you the tools to work strictly on your terms.
You pick the shifts, you earn competitive pay, and you get your money immediately. Download the app, clear your background check, and start building a nursing schedule that actually works for you. After all, you deserve it.
