Is Upwork Worth It? Our Unbiased Experience Explained
Is Upwork worth it? Read this honest Upwork review to find out whether the famous freelance platform is the right choice for you.
Is Upwork worth it? Read this honest Upwork review to find out whether the famous freelance platform is the right choice for you.
Are you a freelance professional (or hoping to be one) who is unsure where to offer your services? It can be hard to zero in on the best option.
It’s pretty well-known that Upwork is one of the industry leaders, but it’s smart to look into all the details and features before putting your time into it.
Although Upwork freelancers reap benefits from the platform, there are cons as well that may mean it’s not the right choice for you. Is Upwork worth it? Learn all the important information about the Upwork platform to see if it’s right for you.
Upwork clients post job listings for hiring freelancers. Freelancers interested in that job then respond to postings with proposals, which include a slew of relevant information for the client about that specific job.
The Upwork client picks their favorite proposals, interviews the freelancers, and offers the best ones the contract. The contracts and jobs vary in length, type, and payment. The sole purpose of the platform is to connect clients to freelancers in a safe way.
Upwork freelancers create their profiles that potential clients can access. Some relevant information that may appear on your profile would be:
Your Upwork profile can be viewed publicly or just by the clients to whom you send proposals.
You can find jobs by either searching keywords or going into the category that you’re interested in working in and browsing the latest job postings.
Make sure you find jobs that align with the pay and work that you want. You can actually see what the client is willing to pay and what they expect, helping you make up your mind. Once you find a job you are interested in applying for, go ahead and submit a proposal.
You’ll want to look out for the client’s hiring rate. If they have posted many jobs but haven’t successfully hired, it may not be worth applying for them.
Your Upwork proposals will include a cover letter and your profile. Clients see your name, rate, title, and job success score.
Upwork Tips: Only the first two sentences of your cover letter appear when they scan applicants, so ensure there’s a strong opener to your proposal.
Contracts are approved by both the client and the freelancer. Upwork has a default contract for clients to propose to the freelancer, they just need to fill in information like pay and due dates. This is commonly used, but some clients do write their own as well.
As a freelancer, you’ll want to read the client's contract carefully to ensure the payment amount and timing work for you. Some freelancers have their contracts, as well, that they provide for the clients. Communicate clearly with potential clients if this is your preference.
Upwork freelancers are paid at the end of their contract. Different contracts offer different types of payments. Hourly contracts are paid weekly on Sundays, while the agreed-upon milestones with the clients pay fixed-price contracts.
Funds that you receive in your Upwork account take 10 days to become accessible. If you’re paid on Sunday, you'll be able to transfer them the next Wednesday. You can move funds to your PayPal, bank (U.S. or international), or Payoneer.
There are payment protection plans on Upwork for hourly workers, but you only qualify after doing a certain amount of work.
You'll be able to write an Upwork review for your client. They can also write one for you. These will not be visible until you have each written and submitted them. These reviews will be public on your profile, so positive ones can help you land more gigs.
Upwork clients create their listings and then receive a list of all proposals from clients. On their end, they see profiles and the first two sentences of the cover letter. They then go through these and choose the ones they’re interested in.
Once they take their picks, they have the option to interview freelancers and then send the offer.
Upwork pricing for freelance work varies greatly. While some jobs pay little, others have hourly wages in the hundreds.
Upwork Tips: If you’re looking for some of those high-paying jobs, consider developing some of these top skills:
App developers on Upwork charge rates from $20 to $100+ per hour. It’s a highly sought-after skill with plenty of jobs posted every day.
To gain app development skills, consider getting a degree in it. Many schools offer associate and bachelor programs that will allow you to develop your expertise, gain experience, and create projects to build a portfolio.
You can also look into certificate programs that offer the basics. It may be hard to land jobs without a portfolio, so focus on building examples of your work before you start applying for freelance developer gigs on Upwork.
There are thousands of web development jobs on Upwork. Clients need help developing their webpages for their sites and reach out to freelancers to help. Many of these jobs are specific to certain sites like WordPress or Shopify.
To gain web development experience, a degree can provide the foundation to get started. There are certificates and ways to self-teach, as well. The most important thing a client looks for in choosing a web developer is their past work.
Web developers charge anywhere from $15 per hour to $30+ per hour based on how specialized and experienced they are.
Upwork clients look for graphic designers to create artwork for them. If you’re a creative person with an artistic eye, you should consider gaining graphic design skills. It can be a fun job where you bring the creative visions of the clients to life.
It’s essential to be efficient in programs like ProCreate and Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. While there are plenty of degree programs for graphic design, you don’t necessarily need to go to school. You just need to know the top tools and have a strong portfolio.
Graphic design freelancers charge anywhere from $15 to $35 per hour, on average.
Freelance writers are always in high demand. It’s a broad category of freelance work that draws in people from all backgrounds.
To land gigs, you need experience in writing, preferably with a background in the industry you’re applying for. Some industries you may consider are:
Freelance writers make an average of $15 to $35 per hour. Some writers will charge per word, instead, and this fee varies greatly based on the project.
As the popularity of video content rises, the demand for video editors does, as well. If you enjoy working with video content, you may look into gaining more skills for editing. Clients provide you with the video content and their vision and ask you to create it for them.
You don’t need any special certifications or degrees for video editing. You’ll want to be familiar with at least one of the top editing platforms if not more. Some of these include Adobe Premiere, iMovie, and Lightworks.
Video editors make $15 to $30 an hour, on average. Specialized editors can always charge more, so look into the specific projects that pay more and build a portfolio in that type of content.
Clients hire freelancers for a wide variety of tasks, from technical and difficult ones to simple administrative ones that they don’t want to do. So you don’t really need to be an expert in a field to be a freelancer.
One of the easiest jobs on Upwork is transcribing. All you need to do is listen to audio and transcribe it into text. Transcribers typically charge between $12 and $22 per hour.
Other easy Upwork jobs you may want to consider are:
Full-stack development is the most demanding job on Upwork. It also happens to be the most in-demand freelance job. Clients look for software developers who can design, create, and test their websites.
Full-stack developers most often need a degree in computer science to gain the skills required for this job.
Freelancers make a massive range of income on Upwork. While some pass six-figure salaries, others just do small gig work to bring in a few extra hundred per month.
Some Upwork freelancers do make a living from it, but it’s not something to depend on when you’re just starting. After gaining some experience, you may be able to leave a full-time job to solely freelance. Research shows it’ll provide a higher income, on average, to do this.
On average, in the United States, freelancers make $20 per hour. It’s hard to estimate how much you can or will make, though, because it depends on so many factors.
Now that you understand how Upwork works, you’ll need to decide whether it’s worth it for you. There are some great things that the platform provides which is why it’s so successful. However, many freelancers choose not to use it.
Upwork provides a great foundation for new freelancers to start gaining a reputation, build a portfolio, and find a network. Consider some of these top pros for using the platform:
While Upwork offers many convenient factors, you should take into consideration some key parts of accepting jobs through them.
There are a few pros for clients using Upwork to find freelancers. They can look for people from different locations and backgrounds all around the world. Hiring workers from other countries can be more affordable for certain projects.
Some clients complain that there are many scams from freelancers on Upwork. They have a poor reputation for providing customer support for clients, often siding with the freelancer.
You also need to pay a 5% client marketplace fee and a $4.95 contract fee for all new hires.
If you’re looking to find a project, it’s worth browning the options. Although there is plenty of competition, you may find the perfect gig that aligns with your experience.
To get started as a freelancer on Upwork, you’ll need to follow a few key steps.
Consider getting your ID verified if you’re new to building reliability.
As a client, it’s a quick and easy process to post your jobs. You may consider some additional steps to verify your identity so that more freelancers apply for your gigs.
You do have the option to get verified as a client. You’ll need to provide your ID and a variety of other information to UpWork. If you’re new to posting, it may help more freelancers apply for gigs.
Upwork is great for all the reasons above, but it’s good to look at alternatives in case there’s one that is better for your skills and circumstances. Consider some of these other popular freelancing websites like Upwork.
Fiverr is one of the most popular other platforms for freelancers to find jobs. People tend to use Fiverr for shorter contracts and gig work. It’s similar to Upwork in the features it provides and steps to apply for job postings.
Fiverr does have the highest fee for freelancers, as they charge 20% on any task you complete. Getting the money into your account may also be a slower process than other similar sites.
Many freelancers find they have a preference between Fiverr or Upwork after spending some time doing work on each.
Another site to consider is Freelancer. It’s a great platform to build your profile and find gigs. If you’re on a free membership, you'll be limited to applying to 8 jobs per month. There are tiers of membership that give you additional access, costing between $9 to $99 per month.
Freelancer charges a 10% fee for hourly and fixed-price projects or $5 if it’s a smaller project. It’s a smart idea to compare Upwork vs Freelancer pros and cons, as they are similar services with slight differences.
PeoplePerHour is a flexible freelance website that prioritizes helping small businesses find talent. It’s a more popular platform in Europe.
They do charge a transaction fee for freelancers. It varies based on the amount of work that you complete with the platform from 3.5 to 20 percent. The more work you do, the less they will charge.
Guru is another platform for freelancers to connect with clients. There are over 1.5 million freelancers signed up for it. Most of the job postings are looking for writers, designers, programmers, or developers
You can either sign up for the free basic membership, or the executive, which is $49.95. Additionally, It does charge a transaction fee for freelancers of 5-9%. It’s a less expensive platform than others.
Yes. Many freelance professionals start on Upwork. It may be hard to land your first gig without documented experience or a portfolio, but if you build those in your free time, then you'll be able to land gigs and be trusted by clients.
Fiverr is a site that provides one-off projects, while Upwork provides more long-term contracts for freelancers. This doesn’t mean each doesn’t have the other, but you'll more commonly find those types of projects.
Neither is better, it depends on the type of work you’re after.
It depends. If you’re new to freelancing without any experience, it may be hard to land jobs. You may struggle to find clients who trust you are reliable, unless you have a degree or portfolio that shows proof of your work.
No. Upwork only pays weekly if you’re an hourly contractor, or by the milestone if you’re a fixed-price freelancer.
Generally, Upwork does a good job of deterring scammers, but they will always find their way. It’s best to stick to using the platform for all payments, look into a client’s reviews and previous hiring rates, and be suspicious of unusually high-paying jobs.
Brett Helling is the founder and owner of Gigworker.com. Having worked in the gig economy for nearly a decade, he has mastered freelance, remote, and app-based work. You can learn more about his journey in his book, "Gigworker: Independent Work and the State of the Gig Economy", now available on Amazon.
