Home App Reviews Upwork Review: Is Upwork Worth It for Freelancers?
August 2, 2024
Editorial GuidelinesSuzanne is a freelance writer and web designer with 10 years of experience. She previously helped to rebuild a failed digital...
There are many different ways to start a freelance side hustle. One option is to launch a website for your business and find your own clients. Another option is to use a freelancing platform with hundreds or even thousands of clients already there, looking to hire someone like yourself.
Upwork is one of the most popular freelancing platforms. But should you trust it? In this Upwork review, we’ll look into who it’s for, how much it costs, and the pros and cons of using this app to find work.
Upwork is a freelancing platform that’s been helping companies find freelancers for a long time. Technically, it used to be two freelancing platforms called Elance and oDesk. In 2013, the two platforms merged. By 2015, the two joined platforms were known as Upwork.
Today, Upwork is a popular platform for online workers with creative, technical, and professional skills. They’re able to choose their services, post their rates, and create attractive profiles that make it easier for prospective clients to vet and hire them.
Upwork freelancers will find a variety of contract types available. Hourly gigs and fixed-price jobs are the most common. However, they can also pitch premade projects and services, offer consultations, or set up direct contracts for clients outside the platform.
There’s a reason why freelancers flock to Upwork. There’s a ton of flexibility and freedom in how they work, when they work, and how much they make for that work.
With Upwork, clients and freelancers have numerous ways to find what they’re looking for.
There are several ways for companies to get help on Upwork:
Upwork acts as the intermediary, holding onto the company’s funds until the freelancer completes the job.
On Upwork, freelancers find work in one of four ways:
Consulting gigs only become available to you when you become a “Top Rated” freelancer.
Entry-level and experienced freelancers alike can use Upwork to find online jobs. Unlike some platforms that cater to specific fields (like writing or web development), Upwork has a vast array of categories and jobs available.
The table below shows the most popular Upwork categories, along with some examples of jobs that fall within them.
| Job Category | Job Examples |
|---|---|
| Development & IT |
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| Design & Creative |
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| Finance & Accounting |
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| Admin & Customer Support |
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| Engineering & Architecture |
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| Legal |
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| Sales & Marketing |
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| Writing & Translation |
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Upwork does have two requirements for its users. The first is that you must be at least 18 years old to use the platform.
The second is that you cannot live in one of the following restricted areas:
The list of restricted territories changes from time to time, so check the Upwork Terms of Service to confirm that you’re eligible to work on the platform.
Upwork is free to sign up for as a freelancer. However, Upwork’s pricing system includes several possible fees that freelancers may face when using the platform.
When you first sign up for Upwork, you’ll automatically be put on the basic membership plan. Freelancers who want more out of their Upwork experience can upgrade to the paid Freelancer Plus plan.
| Basic | Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $20 per month |
| Monthly Connects | 10 | 100 |
| Extra Connects | $0.15 + tax each | $0.15 + tax each |
| Upwork Chat Pro | No | Yes |
| See competitor bids | No | Yes |
| Custom profile URL | No | Yes |
| Freelancer Plus group | No | Yes |
| Priority for Skills Certifications | No | Yes |
| Service fee for new clients you bring | 10% | 0% |
For every job you complete through Upwork, the standard service fee is 10%. For example, if you complete a gig that pays $500, Upwork will take $50 and you’ll get $450.
There are some exceptions:
In addition to service fees for freelancers, Upwork charges clients services fees, which vary depending on the type of contract. These fees on the client’s end can impact your earning potential by limiting a client’s project budget.
On Upwork, you need to spend money to drum up new assignments. You’ll do this with Upwork Connects. You can buy Connects in bundles or in specified amounts in your account settings.
As an Upwork freelancer, you’ll spend these credits to perform five key tasks:
Upwork specifies that when you first join the platform, you need to either buy 100 Connects or purchase a Freelancer Plus membership if you want to submit proposals. This can cost you money upfront.
However, discussions in the Upwork community forum suggest that some people get free Connects when they first sign up to freelance on Upwork. Upwork also occasionally awards free Connects to high-performing freelancers.
For example, you’ll get 30 free Connects if you earn a Rising Talent badge for excellent service. You can also earn Connects by winning an interview with a top client, acquiring Upwork skill certifications, or completing trust and safety courses.
Three of the transactions that you pay for with Connects are considered ads:
Ads are optional.
While it’s free to transfer your earnings to a US bank account, you’ll need to pay a small transfer fee if you’re moving the money someplace else. Here’s an overview of Upwork’s money transfer fees:
You need to sign up for Upwork online on their website. To get started, go to Upwork.com website and then follow the steps below:
Upwork currently has no vetting or application review process. You’ll need to undergo ID verification, which can take up to 48 hours. But once you’ve done that, you’re in. You can start applying for jobs immediately.
The more complete your profile is, the better it’ll perform in Upwork’s search algorithm. From your freelancer dashboard, add in as many details as you can about who you are and what kinds of work you’re looking for. Consider including a portfolio, a video introduction, client testimonials, your availability, and any work preferences you have.
Upwork is a legit freelancing platform. With that said, there is a risk of scam job postings. Upwork doesn’t thoroughly vet clients, and many Upwork freelancers have reported encountering job scams.
This is exemplified by a comment made by one Upwork representative in the community forum:
“While we do take steps to verify that clients who join Upwork are who they say they are and take action when we learn a user is not following our Terms of Service, we are not able to guarantee that the information a client provides in their post is true or accurate.”
While there are some scam postings and exploitative clients, you’re going to find that on the vast majority of gig apps. The primary difference is that Upwork puts a ton of effort into keeping its freelancers safe. Here are some of the protective measures you’ll receive as an Upwork freelancer.
There are three types of gigs that get payment protection:
Upwork collects the client payment when the contract is signed and puts it into escrow. The payments are released according to the agreed-upon schedule between you and the client.
Under Upwork’s fixed-price protection policy, you can file a dispute if a client fails to release a milestone payment on a fixed-price contract after you’ve completed a job. If a client stops responding on an hourly contract, you can cancel the contract and get paid for the hours you’ve clocked in.
Many Upwork freelancers love the payment protection, citing it as one of the best features of the platform. “Generally, the rules and regulations help uphold professionalism,” said one reviewer on G2. “Unlike other sites where you can work and not get paid, in Upwork you get paid for a job well done.”
Others, however, feel like it’s not as comprehensive as it could be. “Upwork’s escrow and dispute resolution policies, though meant to promise protection, are woefully inadequate in practice,” one user reported. “Repeated cases of non-payment go unaddressed for far too long, leaving freelancers financially vulnerable with no recourse.”
On Upwork, you pay for Connects to respond to a potential client. Even if you don’t get the job, that money gets spent.
That said, Upwork will refund the Connects you spent in these specific cases:
In other words, if a job falls through before the contract is signed or it violates the platform’s terms, you’ll get your money back.
If you encounter job postings that seem fraudulent or otherwise suspicious, you can flag them for the Trust & Safety (T&S) team. You can do the same for messages you’ve received from prospective or existing clients if they violate the Terms of Service or Marketplace Standards.
According to Indeed, freelancers make an average of $28.05 per hour. 1 However, Upwork estimates that freelancers on their platform can make much more than that. The table below shows their salary breakdown for different jobs.
| Profession | Hourly Rates |
|---|---|
| Writers | $30–$40 |
| Editors | $25–$35 |
| Programmers | $60–$70 |
| General developers | $50–$60 |
| Mobile developers | $55–$65 |
| Web developers | $50–$60 |
| Graphic designers | $40–$45 |
| Transcribers | $20–$25 |
| Bookkeepers | $30–$35 |
| Online marketers | $50 |
| Photographers | $35–$45 |
| CRM managers | $50–$60 |
| Data analysts | $55–$65 |
Source: Upwork.
Keep in mind that factors like experience, training and certifications, industry, and where you’re located can impact how much you earn.
Upwork freelancers have various payment method options to choose from:
Transferring payments directly to a US bank is free to do, but you’ll need to pay a transfer fee of $0.99 to get paid into a local bank outside the US or $50 to perform a US dollar wire transfer. If you’re a Top Rated freelancer, you also have the option to receive payments instantly via Instant Pay for an extra $2 fee per deposit.
Payment schedules vary depending on the type of contract. For hourly gigs, you’ll get paid every week for your hours. For fixed-price gigs, freelancers typically get paid at milestones. How long you’ll have to wait to get your money depends on the type of jobs you do.
| Process | Payment Type | How Long It Takes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-price jobs | The client has 14 days to approve your work. After that, your payment is put on a 5-day security hold before being released to you. | Milestone-based | 19 days |
| Hourly gigs | You’ll track your time in Upwork. The billing cycle ends on Sunday. All the work you completed that Monday to Sunday will be paid out on the Wednesday of the following week. | Weekly, per hour completed | 10 days |
| Project Catalog contracts | Once you receive client approval for completion of the project, you’ll get paid after a 5-day security hold. | Per project | 10 days |
| Instant Pay | This is only available for hourly gigs. While you have to wait for the client’s 5-day approval period, there is no security hold. You’ll get paid every Friday for all cleared payments that week. | Weekly, per hour completed | 5 days |
Bear in mind that Upwork’s payment processing time may add an extra 7–8 days to your total wait period between when your funds are released and when you actually see them in your bank account. Additionally, you may get faster payouts of just 5 days for hourly gigs if you’re a Top Rated freelancer.
Upwork reviews for freelancers are mostly positive, with many users calling it the best platform for freelancing. The main complaints in Upwork.com reviews from freelancers concern the platform’s high fees (which are continually rising) and the growing competition and market saturation, which is making it a less feasible option for freelancers as time goes on.
Here’s a selection of Upwork.com reviews written by freelancers using the platform, outlining the main drawbacks and benefits that may or may not make Upwork worth it for new freelancers.
“As one of the largest online freelancing platforms, Upwork markets itself as a champion for independent professionals. However, based on my experience over a few months using their services, I believe there are significant flaws in Upwork’s models that disadvantage many users.
“While Upwork provides access to clients globally, their business model heavily skews incentives towards prioritizing clients’ interests over those of freelancers. Freelancers are essentially competing in an oversaturated race to the bottom on fees while assuming disproportionate risks.” (January 2024)
“In order to make good money on Upwork, you have to do it professionally. That doesn’t mean full-time. Even a few hours a week can work. But, you have to offer clients valuable benefits that they’re willing to pay for, and you have to invest time and effort to successfully market yourself to clients.
“If you don’t have a unique value proposition to your client, there’s no reason for them to hire you over anyone else, and no reason to pay you more than anyone else. Upwork is not worth it if that’s where you’re at.
“But there are many of us that have figured out our niche and are earning terrific rates.
“Before I knew to leverage my niche, I was struggling to land work and was chasing low rates.
“Once I realized that I needed to focus on high-value work, Upwork became very worthwhile. At this point, I can work three hours a week and still get my hourly rate ($150+/hr).” (April 2022)
“It’s safe (well, there are scams but you can make money). However, it’s extremely saturated, and you basically have to spend money to apply for jobs which you most likely will not get. I only got 3 offers after spending my 50 ‘connects’ to apply to a few. One was scammy, another stopped replying to me after I pointed out her price was wrong, and the other one was not something I could do.” (January 2024)
“Upwork before and during the pandemic was awesome. Since 8/23 they changed everything. To better their pockets and not freelancers. Anyone new and any veterans will be buried if you one, don’t pay for a subscription and two don’t outbid the other person vying for the job. It has become The Hunger Games of the freelance platforms.” (January 2024)
“There are so many people competing for a gig and projects. Even though I have a strong profile and customized proposals, it can be upsetting and demoralizing that getting hired for a gig seems next to impossible. More often than not, jobs I compete for generally have 50+ applicants within the first 30 minutes of posting. Most hire based on reviews and experience on Upwork, so getting hired as a new person is very tough.” (G2, July 2024)
Despite Upwork’s overwhelming popularity as a digital services marketplace, there are risks involved for freelancers. Here are some tips to help you safely use Upwork and get paid fairly for the work you do.
Connects may seem cheap. You get 10 or 100 for free every month, with additional Connects costing $0.15 apiece.
However, each job costs you a different number of Connects. For instance, if you search for “YouTube script writer” jobs as soon as you join Upwork, you’ll see that in many cases, it’ll cost you anywhere from 10 to 20 Connects just to contact the job poster.
If you’re not making money yet, if you’re not charging enough, or if clients are low-balling you, these Connect fees will eat away at your profit margins. So be mindful of which jobs or clients you respond to.
Upwork is a great source for finding clients, so long as you know how to find the right ones. Some freelancers warn that getting scammed as a newbie is common.
If you pay close attention to the posting, you should be able to figure out if a job is a scam or if the client is going to try to skip out on paying you. So keep an eye out for suspicious language.
Thankfully, Upwork gives freelancers the opportunity to scope out a client’s track record, as one G2 reviewer pointed out. “You’ll actually get to see how many job offers/projects they have done with other talents and also the amount of money they have paid talents collectively,” they said. “This assures their legitimacy.”
Another tip that Upwork freelancers suggest is to set a competitive rate. Entry-level freelancers have a tendency to undervalue themselves, and those low rates will attract scammers and difficult clients.
“I learnt within a few days how to avoid scams and raised my rates enough that scams don’t target me,” one Reddit user warned. It may be discouraging to see low-rate freelancers getting lots of gigs, but remember that there are clients on the platform who are willing to pay more for high-quality talent.
Unless you’ve collected dozens of rave testimonials from former clients, starting out on Upwork is probably going to be a challenge.
There’s a lot of competition. Well-established freelancers who’ve completed hundreds of hours of work and amassed countless 5-star reviews are going to be among the top picks. You also have to contend with freelancers who do this full-time and are able to pounce on jobs immediately after they get posted.
Even if this is a side hustle for you, you need to be willing to put in extra hours to write impressive proposals and convince clients to pick you over them.
“I landed a reliable client after some persistence,” said one Upwork freelancer. “It’s a hustle, but the key is to set clear expectations and communicate well. It might take a bit, but there’s potential for worthwhile gigs.”
One common warning among current Upwork freelancers is that you really need to invest a lot of time to make Upwork worth your while. If you just want to fill out a few empty hours in your work schedule, you might not get the results you’re after.
“You have to take it seriously, have great soft skills on top of your experience and spend some time to build your profile and find good clients,” warned one Reddit user.
Another freelancer observed that “People who want a ‘side hustle’ tend not to do very well. Those who are growing and building a business do well.”
In addition to devoting extra time to marketing and selling yourself, Upwork freelancers suggest you find a niche with less competition.
Some categories are oversaturated, with clients receiving hundreds of proposals for any job they post. Niching down and really focusing on your specialty will help you break through the noise and land more gigs.
As one reviewer on G2 noted, “It can be difficult to get started on the platform and build a presence. There is a lot of competition from other freelancers so you need to make sure your skills and work stand out from the rest.”
Upwork is definitely worth a shot if you need new freelance work. Freelancers have a ton of flexibility in terms of what kind of work they do, when they work, and the kinds of clients they work for.
The company is transparent about their terms and fee structures. There are thousands of jobs available at any time. Plus, they’ve covered their bases well when it comes to providing a safe and secure platform for doing business.
But there is a tradeoff to all this convenience and flexibility. Freelancers have to spend lots of time and money to get their Upwork businesses off the ground.
While you can use Upwork for part-time work, people who’ve had the best success mostly use it as a full-time job source. That doesn’t mean you can’t use it for your side hustle or if you’re just starting out. It just means it’ll take longer to experience serious gains.
Before signing up as a freelancer on Upwork, weigh up the advantages and disadvantages to make sure it’s worth it for you in the long run.
In its earlier days, Upwork used to vet all freelancer applicants and only allow skilled or experienced professionals to join. These days, Upwork is much more beginner-friendly. Anybody can create an account and start bidding on jobs.
One lesser-known advantage to using a freelancing site like Upwork is that you’ll find job opportunities that you otherwise probably wouldn’t have access to. This is because some companies only hire contractors through major freelancing services.
“Companies must comply with differing labor laws from different states and governments. Upwork tracks those laws and ensures compliance and it decreases risk for the employers,” said one user who hires freelancers through Upwork. “THAT is why many large corps make it a policy to only hire contractors via places like Upwork.”
There are plenty of other sites like Upwork where digital freelancers, solopreneurs, and agencies can go to find online work:
Regardless of which freelancer platform you choose to use, it’s a good idea to diversify your opportunities by trying out several options. That way, if things go south on one platform, you can switch to another.
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