UpworkReviews 2,128

I've been with Upwork since Jan 2005 and have landed some very lucrative projects on the platform. If you're a competent freelancer, produce good work on time, and have an eye for customer service you'll likely do very well there.

There are two areas I think the platform could improve, however:

1) Weed out lowball clients who want to pay digital slave wages for work - it detracts from the experience in my opinion.
2) Reconsider their charges which are excessive. 20% on the first $500 you earn with a client is well above industry average, and only once you earn in excess of $10,000 with a client do they drop to a more realistic 5%.

There are also additional charges for "connects" which you need to apply for contracts.

Overall, I have earned a substantial portion of my income on the platform and rate it as a solid option for serious freelancers.

Les Blythe
Technology & Security Writer, Content Strategist, Marketer (ex IBM)
LesBlythe.com

UpWorks escrow system is very helpful for me. I like their security measures to protect freelancers and clients. Their customer support is readily available by phone. Their website is sometimes hard to navigate. I like their option for phone and video conference through Upwork although many clients don't seem to have a clue how to use it -- maybe some client instructions on that could be added. I would also like to see the service fee % set for total Upwork sales level rather than only on repeat client sales. More and more freelancers are using Upwork for work that doesn't get repeat clients such as in my business of landscape designs which target homeowners who have only one property to landscape and my designs will last for years. This is discriminatory to businesses such as mine. Since client's payment methods and my bank have been verified at the time of hire, why does UW take so long before the payments are transferable and show up in my bank account when the transactions are electronic?

I'm a freelance writer. I've found Upwork a reliable and useful platform for finding a steady stream of new and interesting work. I've worked through a handful of platforms and Upwork is the only resource I continually use. The work is plentiful, but just as importantly, I feel protected as a freelancer in Upwork. The system is built to ensure a fair and accountable flow of work. That's important to me! If you're looking for steady clientele, Upwork is a smart choice.

I am a starting Freelancer. It is hard to find jobs at the beginning but Upwork gives very good tools to learn how to create a good profile and winning proposals. Of course at the beginning is very difficult to get jobs because some of them need experienced freelancers, or because you don't know hot to reach the client.
Only thing that I don't like about Upwork is that it charges 20% to the Freelancer when you have jobs for less than $500. I think for starters its too much since we are trying to make a living of it.

For people just starting to freelance, Upwork seemed like a great start if name recognition is your sole standard of an efficient platform. It may seem difficult to actually land a contract at first; and unfortunately, that's not helped by cits reputation as being a swarming place for exploitative, bottom of the barrel clients. But Upwork's always been transparent and proactive about payment policies (including their own percentage) as well as ensuring payment protection

Or at least they were. Recent policy changes in client/freelancer communications insist that Upwork is the sole platform to discuss projects with prospective clients. Which wouldn't necessarily be such a bad thing If their conferencing and messaging options were in the least bit reliable. Their time tracker is notorious for inaccurate captures and crashing every two weeks, forcing reinstallation I've had several instances where a contract has been suspended due to unresolved payment resolutions with clients I haven't interacted with for YEARS (who indeed paid in full) only to find those suspensions negatively impacted my job rating. And Upwork's new policy of rewarding "badges" to top earners doesn't just encourage underhanded competition. It encourages an atmosphere based on financial incentives solely; not the quality of your work

But scammers continue to abound on Upwork. As do abusive, insulting and downright exploitative clients. Upwork can control that to some degree, but they've shown a whole sale lack of standards when vetting contractors in comparison to freelancers (who typically need to jump through hoops to optimize their listed services.)

While Upwork isn't the only game in town, they're the most reliable. They're also the most secure. But their policy changes and customer service are positively abysmal. In most cases, you won't be able to feed your family off of Upwork. But if you're looking for an additional source of income or are willing to adjust your lifestyle to fairly austere standards in order to freelance full time, it can be one of many solutions. A flowed solution, but a solution none the less. Just make sure you know what to look out for.