Upwork Reviews & Product Details

I like that as a small to medium-sized business in the US, I can access talent across the world at rates that I couldn't get here. The time journal or workers' journal is very helpful as it lets me see partial progress on a project. The ability to give workers a bonus also helps. It was pretty easy to set up, as I was able to hire someone within the first hours of signing up. The platform is great, and the people on there are very good at what they do. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the fees could be improved. You know, I feel like I'm paying a high marketplace fee every time I hire talent or pay my workers. I think I've spent more than a 100,000 US dollars to date on Upwork. And I could imagine a smaller percentage going to the marketplace fee so I can get more work done. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Upwork makes it incredibly efficient to find specialized talent for different areas of my business. I’ve successfully hired both technical roles (like a developer for an Algolia search widget) and administrative roles (like a Virtual Assistant for day-to-day tasks) on the platform. The interface allows me to vet candidates quickly by reviewing their past job history and ratings. I also really appreciate the time-tracking features for hourly contracts; it gives me peace of mind knowing exactly what hours are being billed and allows me to verify the work before releasing payment Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The main downside is the volume of generic proposals I receive when posting popular jobs. When I look for general help like a Virtual Assistant, I often have to sift through dozens of copy-paste applications from freelancers who didn't read the specific requirements of my job post. Additionally, the client-side processing fees on top of the freelancer's hourly rate can add up quickly over time, making the total cost of hiring a bit higher than expected Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like that you can quickly find talented, reliable freelancers (as long as you know how to evaluate proposals). It's also helpful, as an American, to be able to save on labor costs by hiring professionals in lower-cost countries. I have had freelancers in Latin America and Eastern Europe who did excellent work at rates lower than U.S.-based freelancers. The reality for many of us is that our budget is modest and we need to keep expenses low or we'll be in the red. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think that Upwork reviews for freelancers are slightly inflated for the same reason Airbnb reviews are inflated. Clients are hesitant to write candidly negative reviews about an individual because it feels awkward, or they fear retaliation (like one-star Yelp reviews about the client's business). I myself have given lukewarm 3-star reviews to freelancers I was disappointed with. Interestingly, after one of them I actually received a message from Upwork offering to help in any way--they acknowledged that even though I hadn't complained about anything, they were aware that this project might not have met my expectations.

Also: Within the last couple years, I've had issues with logging in to the platform on several occasions. For a few months I couldn't log in at all. I know my username and password and everything, but there would be some technical glitch. The last couple times I logged in, it worked fine, so it might be resolved now. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the ease of use of the Upwork platform overall. It allows me to invite specific talent with ease and they usually rise to the top of the invite list based on keywords or the job description I put up. Oftentimes, I'm just able to invite many of the freelancers that we end up hiring, and direct invites definitely help get the best results. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the platform and how you communicate with a freelancer back and forth is not all that flexible. I don't like to have another app on my computer for messaging or for email communication and having to go into Upwork to message instead of being able to take it out of the platform is a bit prohibitive. I understand the constraints, but yeah, that's one area of friction. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It's easy to use. It gives you access to a much wider variety of potential clients than you'd be able to find on your own.

I also appreciate that you can log your hours daily instead of billing clients individually, which, for me at least, is an onerous job that I tend to procrastinate on.

Despite my criticisms of Upwork, it's still one of the few freelancing games in town. I've recommended it to friends, although I tell them about the fact that you have to pay for "connects" that allow you to apply to jobs, which I think is one of Upwork's worst features, especially for freelancers who haven't yet established a roster of repeat customers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The "connects" system is pretty terrible. You used to be able to apply to jobs without having to pay anything. But now you must pay up to $3 or $4 for every job you apply for...or even if you just want to ask a question of a potential client who has posted a job. (Lots of potential clients post jobs with inadequate descriptions, and before you decide whether or not to invest in the effort to develop a proposal for the client, you used to be able to ask questions. For example, I'm an editor, and many clients just say "I need an editor!" instead of revealing what the project is, how many words it is, etc. So, because I don't want to waste my connects (which cost 15 cents each, and each job in my field typically requires 15 to 30 connects, or $2.25 to $4.50), I miss out on jobs because even asking a basic question will cost you the connects.

It feels pretty unconscionable that you have to PAY to apply for jobs. This is pure wage extraction, and yet another example of Upwork monetizing just about everything on the platform to squeeze money out of workers. They already take 15% of your earnings, which is the price of using Upwork, so it feels extra petty to have you pay to apply for jobs, with no guarantee that anyone will even look at your proposal. I understand that they don't want you to spam potential clients, but there has to be a better way than to charge already poor people to apply for a job. And when a job has, say, 50 applicants, Upwork thus gets about $3 from each applicant (so, $150 there) plus 15% of the winning freelancer's pay.

You do get 10 free connects per month, so that means you get—whoo!—to apply to half a job for free per month. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use Upwork as a client and as a freelancer. It's popular, which is something I like about it. I use the public profile feature the most because it allows me to showcase my expertise and experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The connects are becoming unreasonably expensive. I buy connects to apply for jobs, and when I work, Upwork still takes a whopping percentage of my income. This is not fair. Upwork also takes money from the client. Upwork should make connects more affordable for freelancers or let us apply to jobs for free. When we get a job, their percentage is already waiting for them. Additionally, new people I introduced to Upwork now say it is hard to set up. Upwork even charges them money for identity verification now, which is ridiculous. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

A place where I can find easily an expert (domestically and internationally) in many services and help I need for my business or work. As a magazine art director I always looking for freelancers such as design, programming, consulting, etc and here I can post a job, send proposals and hire experts in minutes! The cost is very reasonable and contract are clear. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

This is not my experience, but I share a comment from a professional colleague. He said that sometimes is more effective to hire freelancers outside of upwork because the cost is less, in comparison with upwork platform fees. Also, he found sometimes more qualified freelancers outside Upwork. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The best part is the sheer scale of the platform. No matter what our specialty is, there are always active job postings from startups to huge companies. The buit it tools like "Uma" also help us write better proposals and find the best project matches much faster than searching manually. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The worst part is the high competition and rising fees. because it is so large, we often compete with hundreads of ther people for one projects, which can lead to a race to the bottom on pricing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the breadth of skilled workers on Upwork and how quickly I can narrow down my choices. I appreciate the platform's ability to keep communications organized and the convenience of file sharing. Upwork's payroll service is crucial for me, as it handles paying people and handling taxes correctly around the world. This is something we wouldn't have taken on otherwise. Having everything in one place helps us keep the project organized. The initial setup of Upwork was seamless, and switching to Upwork from Fiverr has been a better fit for my business. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We often have projects with multiple parts, with one person working on several pieces at once. It would be helpful to be able to have a thread for each part rather than a single thread. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Very secure payments and top-tier clients Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Pay-to-Play Barrier (Connects Inflation) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.