• Upwork

Upwork

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Overview

Upwork has a rating of 2.5 stars from 2,117 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Upwork most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and job success problems. Upwork ranks 7th among Freelancing sites.

  • Service
    475
  • Value
    457
  • Shipping
    251
  • Returns
    287
  • Quality
    451

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 22.7%
Positive
5
Neutral
0
Negative
17
270
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How would you rate Upwork?
Top Positive Review

“Unlocking Freelance Opportunities with Upwork”

पपीता म.
4/23/24

Upwork has been my trusted platform for finding freelance opportunities and connecting with clients from around the world. The platform's vast network of clients and freelancers, comprehensive job listings, and secure payment system make it easy to find meaningful projects and build a successful freelance career. I appreciate Upwork's commitment to transparency and professionalism, as seen in its dispute resolution process and feedback system, which ensure fair and equitable transactions for both parties. Moreover, the platform's collaboration tools and communication features enhance teamwork and streamline project management. With Upwork, freelancing is not just a job—it's a rewarding and fulfilling career.

Top Critical Review

“Not worth it”

P X.
9/10/24

Business practices are arbitrary and unfair with the cost for freelancers of doing business on the site constantly increasing and various services and perks taken away. Not worth it for freelancers--and clients don't fare much better.

Reviews (2,117)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (91) freelancing platform (135) credit card (22) customer support (43) payment protection (24) freelancing site (80) bank account (20) freelancing career (24) post jobs (16)
Thumbnail of user samw160
1 review
10 helpful votes
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October 30th, 2017

A Freelancer threatened to hack me after I left a 2 star review to match their horrible service and attitude. I reported this to Upwork with a screenshot of the conversation and they did nothing and their account says 100% success rating. Do not trust their ratings!

Thumbnail of user dienebio
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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November 13th, 2020

Upwork makes life easier for the freelancer and the client by holding funds in escrow. It's free to sign up and you only pay a fraction of your earnings at the end of your job cycle. However, I must admit that it's highly competitive. You really have to stuggle for a while as a new freelancer. There are many talents on Upwork struggling to get the attention of good-paying clients. You just have to stand out from the competition.

Thumbnail of user yurik17
1 review
1 helpful vote
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September 8th, 2017

I worked on upwork with over 1 year and always tried my best to satisfy my clients.
But they suddenly blocked me without any reason.
I tried my best to recover my account but they simply told that there are too many scammers in Asia.
I can't stand!
Will never use Upwork!

Thumbnail of user adelc13
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2020

The first time I applied to join Upwork I was not accepted for not having the necessary experience. A while later I tried again and succeeded. So far everything has turned out very well, there is a lot of competition but the Upwork service is very good.

Thumbnail of user abs15
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 4th, 2020

It's been a while I'm working at Upwork platform and so far it was a great experience. You have to prove your worth, it's hard to get a job though unless you know your capabilities and there's an opportunity for everyone to build a successful freelance career.

Thumbnail of user tome107
1 review
13 helpful votes
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May 3rd, 2017

My job completion score suddenly dropped despite all positive feedback. I figured it had to be some kind of computer error, so I emailed customer service.

One rep claimed it was from a job in 2015 I had agreed with the client to leave open for the possibility of more work.

Another rep claimed I HAD received negative feedback, but couldn't tell me which contract it was from or what the negative feedback was. (My profile shows zero negative feedback from clients.)

And the other reps pretty much ignored everything I said and just sent copy/paste generic responses.

And now, I just successfully completed another contract yesterday and received a full 5-star positive review from the client, and guess what? Job completion score remains the same!

All of this for the OUTRAGEOUS 20 PERCENT we pay them as freelancers! What a joke! I gave them countless opportunities to make it right, they haven't had any interest in doing so.

Thumbnail of user brianl116
1 review
6 helpful votes
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February 13th, 2017

I went through the process of creating a profile only to be informed afterwards that they were saturated with profiles of my type and not accepting more. Its annoying that there was no mention of this possibility when I set out to make the profile and that they even had me browsing jobs to get me excited to finish the profile. Then, after receiving the rejection email, they continued to send me emails about making my profile the best and finding the best jobs. So more annoyance heaped on after having wasted my time.

Thumbnail of user cherp6
1 review
3 helpful votes
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August 31st, 2019

Upwork is a complete is sketchy... Be careful...

They claim that you are liable if you pay without the reviewing the work, yet they allow freelancers to ask for deposit before starting work.

One freelancer took my deposit of $1,710 and did not provide any work. They basically stole my money. I complained to upload and disputed with my bank. In the end, my upwork account was suspended and the freelancer is still working on upwork waiting to scam someone else.

I have never seen that Upwork user service rules or what ever they call it until I had my dispute, then they sent it to me.

There is absolutely no protection. On top of that, the freelancer started threatening me for no reason. Yet Upwork is ok with this, unbelievable.

Thumbnail of user ashishk79
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 3rd, 2020

Upwork is a well-designed and well-functioning platform for freelancers and agencies to make a career. It gives you a number of opportunities to present your skills and portfolio to clients and get work remote work. I will highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make a career as a freelancer.

Thumbnail of user aahedz
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 6th, 2021

Working with Upwork helped me grow both my network of clients and helped me reach my long-term dream of having a successful agency, they have a huge number of clients that fits my niche and that's super awesome.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user naldom9
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 16th, 2021
Verified purchase

The Upwork marketplace has been a driver of job opportunities and economic empowerment, much more noticeable at this time of health crisis caused by COVID-19. It is an excellent place to work / collaborate and create economic sustainability for everyone.

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Value
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Quality
Thumbnail of user porsches
1 review
0 helpful votes
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August 7th, 2020

There are dozens of job sites for freelancers, but in my experience, Upwork is THE BEST. Not only is it easy to use, but they do an amazing job protecting both freelancers and clients. As a freelance Writer and Editor, I only get clients through Upwork, meaning Upwork is my main source of income and because of how their site is set up, I have been able to make a decent living off of it. They set reasonable fees and even more reasonable policies which ensure all members (both freelancers and clients) are safe and treated fairly. When money is involved, you always have things to worry about, but Upwork helps to quell some of those concerns and gives you the best opportunity to showcase your skills and find meaningful collaborations. I always refer family and friends to Upwork because it simply is the best way to get paid for your talents.

Tip for consumers:
As a freelancer, you have to pay for "connects" and spend them in order to apply for jobs. You may find yourself burning through connects and not getting hired for a job, but if you don't give it up, you're bound to get hired. Your profile is important and you should take the time to beef it up. Make use of the "Testimonials" where previous employers can speak about your skills and abilities. If you don't have much experience, you can write mind-blowing cover letters and real sell your talents.

Products used:
Freelancing

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user carmenw93
6 reviews
24 helpful votes
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August 22nd, 2020

In general it's ok. I only once had an issue with them because there was a misunderstanding on their side. I logged in from a different location. They asked me to confirm it was I. I did. And then they sent me a message asking to change our headquarters location to the one I am working from. I work remotely. From home. My house is not an office. And I don't want anyone to think that our office is located in a different country because it's not true. I suppose this website is all about freelance jobs and I don't understand why they were so surprised. Moreover, each time I received a message from a different operator (usually you talk to just one). That was strange. And one of them, thankfully, was smart and stopped this nonsense, because the previous ones suspended our account for no reason and didn't cared about my arguments at all. Looked lke they didn't even read my messages.
That's good they care about safety, but there's no need in overreacting.

Thumbnail of user julians50
1 review
11 helpful votes
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September 9th, 2016

A complete scam site. Freelancers claim to be able to complete work they can't do and they get paid even when they don't deliver! It's impossible to remove sensitive data like credit card details when you try to close the account! Don't use ever!

Thumbnail of user shanes43
2 reviews
13 helpful votes
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April 1st, 2016

I've only gotten a couple of jobs--in three years time.

The thing is, sites like Upwork are a race to the bottom. The latest rejection was for a higher-end photographer who wanted to pay $3/image for fairly advanced Photoshop editing, and that's one of the highest rates I've ever seen (when I get feedback, it's from people looking to pay $0.50-$1.00USD/photo.) I won't say who it was or what kind of images it was, but it's the sort of thing that people typically charge a lot more for, and for a session that runs in the thousands of dollars.

Well, that's it. I give up. I could make more money on Fiverr, and that's just sad.

Tip for consumers:
Avoid.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user shehzads2
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 29th, 2020

It's an amazing platform for the betterment of career growth and awesome environment. Easily get jobs in your desire field and get paid on Upwork within a short time. It's easy to get in touch with clients. Upwork is getting better and better! Thanks.

Thumbnail of user willv125
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 16th, 2022

We posted a project on Upwork over 4 months ago. The freelancer did not perform and refuses to refund the money stating he spent it and offered a payment arrangement. Upwork did not protect us instead replied that it is too late to dispute the charges, too late because the freelancer strung us along for months promising to work harder. We lost 4 months time and $4,500.00 plus the pending legal fees to fight it. Upwork has all the factual evidence and will not hold the freelancer responsible. I was scammed by the platform, we trusted the ratings and never expected to be victimized as we have.

Tip for consumers:
Beware of the platform, they allow anyone to setup as freelancer with no vetting to assure you will get the service you are paying for.

Products used:
Freelancer

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user maryamu4
7 reviews
0 helpful votes
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July 3rd, 2022

Upwork is that platform you can use to improve yourself and your ability to pitch and write proposals. It's a really competitive space so it'll challenge you to improve yourself to be able to get your proposals accepted and subsequently get hired by prospective clients. The only downsides are having to pay for connects and the Upwork service fees. I once got paid $10, for instance, by a client but I ended up getting just $7.0.

Products used:
Freelancing

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user dyanf
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 5th, 2020

During this time, it's really a challenge to secure a job that pays well and one which you enjoy. At Upwork, I was able to hit two birds with one stone. I was able to choose jobs I wanted and get paid generously in the process! I'm really grateful. I hope my journey with Upwork continues.

Thumbnail of user jorssenc
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 3rd, 2020

This platform is unique in it's own way, It will change your way of working as soon as you realise that the more effort you put in, the more you get from it and it is optimized to meet you with long term clients which is very useful if you are trying to make it a full time job. I am still amazed of the possibility connecting with clients from different part of the world and how you can be useful for them. Thank you Upwork.

Thumbnail of user elsiej7
1 review
3 helpful votes
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September 4th, 2018

Good luck to you if you hire through UpWork. Once you are set up to pay your freelancer and money changes hands, it's GONE. UpWork will not give you a refund, even if the freelancer overcharges for the work done, conducts themselves unprofessionally and compromises the security of your website. UpWork says that unless the freelancer agrees to a refund, there is nothing they can do. So why use UpWork? I am not sure, as you'd be just as well off to throw your money at someone on the street corner. There is no protection against unskilled, unprofessional freelancers on UpWork.

Thumbnail of user juliab73
1 review
22 helpful votes
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September 17th, 2016

Upwork cheats people out of their money. Some freelancers worked for me, I was generally happy with the work and was ready to pay. Upwork suspended my account and the accounts of my freelancers and after 4 days, still have not told me why. Although I proved that I had access to the account I was paying from, by verifying two random deposits, they continued to request for more and more personally identifiable information. As I type this, my account is suspended. They did however, managed to open it long enough, to take the money that belongs to my freelancers out of my account. Those freelancers, haven't received their money, and their accounts are still suspended. Upwork's story to the freelancers is that they refunded my money but I haven't seen any evidence of the refund. If this is not fraud, I don't know what is!

Thumbnail of user upworkv
1 review
3 helpful votes
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July 20th, 2017

Upwork is being run by a group of $#*!ty people who are just greedy for money. I don't say it is a scam, it is 100% legit and also I have earned a decent amount from upwork. But the upwork management sucks. Recently my account got suspended for no reason. When I asked them to provide me a reason then they simply refused and they also charge 20% from each service you provide and also a withdrawal fee and also a very low conversation rate. Moreover if unfortunately if you get in a dispute which is not a big issue because it can happen as there are plenty of frauds. In that case upwork again find new ways to launder money from freelancers. I can say if you are working fine on upwork then you are very lucky and a suggestion don't login your account from any other device or from app because app suck. Even though your project get spoiled but don't try to login on any other device if your care about your account.

Thumbnail of user saraw589
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 22nd, 2022

I've been using upwork for over a year and have had a great experience. The site is easy to use to apply and manage contracts. With the new updates both small and enterprise companies reach out to me.

Thumbnail of user msk54
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 25th, 2021

I rate Upwork 10 on 10, I like their easy payment method and everything is very friendly. I think who has skill he / she can establish their career here. I was inactive now I have started working again..

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