• Upwork

Upwork

Write a Review

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
See all photos
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)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

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 murilloz
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
September 24th, 2020

Platform usability is great. It took me 3 attempts to get on the platform, so the filter for new freelancers is good. However, there should be something similar for customers. It takes time to filter and look for customers who are really worth and value your service, they drop the price down or just use the platform to study values and then close the job without notice.

For those who send an average of 15 proposals per day to get 1 response, this is frustrating. However, when you manage to close one, the monitoring and platform system is great.

Thumbnail of user valm86
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 23rd, 2020

I became freer by being able to work remotely. A wide range of jobs and a good level of service allow me to be geographically anywhere in the world, I only need Internet access. There were never any problems with the withdrawal of earnings. Highly recommend.

Thumbnail of user lakshmanp1
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 27th, 2020

The idea of having a platform mediating between a customer and a contractor is excellent. I have produced work for some clients who had questionable behavior. Nonetheless, being on Upwork feels safe. I would love to live off freelancing on Upwork alone.

Thumbnail of user michellec2659
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 10th, 2022
Verified purchase

There are unethical freelancers on upwork who has won the contract and completed 1 work, but the contract was opened still, and the freelancer falsely charged $250 to my account when there was no work request, and he didn't do any work for your account. Then when I filed the dispute for the charge, that freelancer left me a 1 star review saying I abruptly ended the contract and accused me for being unethical. He was contacted for the false transaction on our account, and denied the charge, and after I filed the dispute and won and got the money returned, he falsely accused me of an unethical person and left me a 1 start review. What's worse is that I brought this issue to upwork and asked them to review all messages between me and the freelancer, and they were clearly able to see what happened, but yet, they are keeping those crooked, unethical freelancers on their site. Please be advise if you use upwork, this can happen to you.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user fabianz7
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 7th, 2021

I am a seller on Upwork since one week now and my first impression is just amazing! I have been working on Fiverr before and wanted to test out a new platform. I can only recommend trying Upwork because it has all the features you need!

Thumbnail of user davidr362
1 review
5 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 10th, 2017

The so-called Upwork Help Team does not seem to understand their own company's written policies and cancels job orders without any reason and, worse, without any response when you ask for clarification. Maybe they should use their own service to find people who are more qualified to actually provide support for paying customers.

Thumbnail of user charlesw493
1 review
4 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 28th, 2019

Created a new account and posted a job. 1 hour later, got an email stating my account was suspended without any reason! After multiple emails, they stated they need some additional information, all of which I already posted on the job. They wanted me to re-type everything to them again! What a waste of my time. Will never use this website again.

Thumbnail of user kingsleyj3
6 reviews
8 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 17th, 2021

So I came to Upwork again and thought I give another try in getting in. After some adjustment to my profile, I got in... I start doing some stuff like send proposals and surfing the site for jobs related to what I do as a photoshop artist. Soon or days later I found out that Upwork has a bad policies and some flaws. Apparently they will kick you out if your not making it. Like not being at the top like others. Their site has too much fees and it seems like you got to buy connects once you wasted on proposals. Its hard to find the right jobs and well who knows how long I got being there? Their project catalog is crap. Its almost like Fiverr but with just too many details. They don't have a box for additional images. It looks the site is dying. They got over 7 million members but over thousand members are on..

Thumbnail of user johhnyc1
1 review
19 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 28th, 2019

How does this company stay in business? Oh that's right they charge potential workers for applying for jobs. Over and over and over! What a scam they got going on over there. I am designer with over 25 years of experience and have had a fulltime job in the business for all of this time. I answered over 100 ads and all I got was one lady that just kept badgering me with questions about her $#*!ty job for 2 whole months. I finally just closed down my account and moved on! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! No money to be made here. Just cheapies looking to get their jobs done for free!

Thumbnail of user charlottep404
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 31st, 2022

I've had some really good contracts with Upwork and I'm grateful for it. However, the platform does barely nothing to help freelancers, except putting them in contact with clients. And even then, most clients are terrible. I think it is unethical to accept clients that pay people $3/h or $5 for a 2000 words article. If the platform can't offer a legit minimum wage, I think it is useless. And even then, it takes 20% of our money, even if we just made $5. So many clients are disrespectful and have unrealistic expectations and Upwork does not protect us. I have also lost a lot of contracts because Upwork deleted them even though they were totally legit. With all the money they made from my work, I would expect them to have a live chat for support. Instead, it takes them a day to answer by email. I keep getting frustrated when using this platform. If you ever want to use it, remember that Upwork is not your friend and it does not want to protect freelancers.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user sheenag21
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 1st, 2020

So many different opportunities to choose from. Hope I can land my first job soon. I always wanted to work remotely where you are your own boss do any thing any time you want. I think Upwork is the best platform for us people who are dreaming to become a freelancer to have endless opportunities for income and experience.

Thumbnail of user ivonned1
1 review
10 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 11th, 2016

Please do not use this website, is the worse nightmare. Bad customer service, over a week with a issue. This people would tell you pay me by hour so they spend incredible amount of hours working in something would take less that 1 hour, i paid for 50 hours, the person told me that they were going to make my website, I stopped the work because after billing me for 50 hours the only thing they did is send me a template and change 5 picture in the template, and that was their work, after 2 weeks, my website got not changes and they are refusing to issue a refund.

Thumbnail of user ziono1
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 24th, 2022

I've always wanted to test my skills with a global clientele. Actually had a few opportunities but it wasn't enough. I needed more. I tried other platforms but the best so far was Upwork. The process works, the support was great and more importantly, both parties[Me the professional and the client], it was a seamless and remote-work easy experience. I've learnt quite a lot and while competition is stiff, for a talented person like me, there are still chances.

Tip for consumers:
Focus on creating a great client experience

Products used:
Job Search

Thumbnail of user bristyc
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 2nd, 2021

Upwork gives you an opportunity to learn how to be a freelancer and learn new skills in the process. They offer classes and send you jobs that they think you might be interested in or qualify for. It was a flexible way to make money online. It's very competitive though, and you have to bid for each job. Paying for connections so that you can actually bid for a job is fine with me.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user ranao1
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 26th, 2020

Upwork has helped me take more control of my career by enabling me to connect with clients from all around the world and giving me the chance to prove my competence through their Job Success Score algorithm.

It's not perfect and paying for connects is kind of annoying, but the benefits of the platform greatly outnumber the negatives. It's really hard to judge Upwork if you've never used it. Freelancers who find success on Upwork, love it. Upwork is just a tool, and I'm grateful for it.

Thumbnail of user jasonb321
Jason B.
1 review
4 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 6th, 2017

I was trying to register as a free lancer after there site being down for hours threw out the days and figured it was safe. After doing everything I get "Planned Maintenance In Progress".
Maybe they should hire a better tech for there servers since they are always offline.

Thumbnail of user leahs21
1 review
19 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 2nd, 2019

I was a freelancer on Upwork. This site mostly attracts clients who expect a lot but want to pay very little. Upwork also takes 20% from each payment made to the freelancer, which is insane. Do yourself a favor and don't join this site. It's not worth your time...

Thumbnail of user jamesl38
2 reviews
11 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 18th, 2012

Like so many similar sites, all the jobs posted pay absolute peanuts. If you are a western artist you will probably end up living in poverty. All the work is aimed at artists from the developing world who can work for weeks on end earning 10 dollars a day.

Thumbnail of user abdullaha351
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 18th, 2020

I started my journey a few months back with the least expectation of earning from Upwork like playing gambling. A few months later it turned out to be an important indicator of my life and a reliable source of my income.

I had a wonderful experience and had some great clients with awesome projects. With my hard work, it not only started paying off but also inspiring me more and more. Now I am much more confident on myself for handling much bigger projects and leading teams.

My utter gratitude to Upwork fpr providing such opportunity.

Thumbnail of user annr464
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 30th, 2021

Thank you for this opportunity Upwork. I don't have any experiences in freelancing yet I was given a chance to earn something with the help of my skills and doing things that I love. Thank youu upwork!

Tip for consumers:
Be Creative and always look for opportunities❤️

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user roseannec12
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 15th, 2020

Upwork has helped me and other freelancers around the world to have an income in this challenging time. It has a very user friendly website and app. The customer support is very helpful, responsive, and understanding. The community is also great. It's very informative and helpful when you have questions. I haven't encountered any rude clients and so far they are all nice people.

Thumbnail of user davidm1987
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 16th, 2019

I just joined the site and 20 minutes later I get this email.

We have reviewed all aspects of your account, and unfortunately, you are violating Upwork's Terms of Service. We regret to inform you that based on that review, it has been determined that your account will not be restored. The Terms of Service violation(s) in question lead to this final decision. Please be advised that we may not respond to further requests regarding this issue.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Rose
Upwork Trust & Safety

I did not even get a chance to add details to the account so why suspend! Horrible, Horrible company

Thumbnail of user chuckc23
1 review
10 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 19th, 2015

This is the worst site ever. Any freelancer I've hired from there has ruined things on my site and has cost me double to have their work fixed. Anybody can sign up and say they have experience. To prove it I signed up as a SEO specialist (I have zero experience) I was given rising talent status by upwork for completing a couple things on my profile. Stay away!

Thumbnail of user amrow
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 20th, 2022
Verified purchase

Upwork changed my life, literally. The professionalism in how they manage contracts between the two sides is top class. You feel 100% safe before starting any contract and the other side as well. Upwork makes you feel safe and secure about getting the job done without hassles. I only concentrate on my work other than anything else, which is why Upwork is considered as a perk for me! Watchout for their seminars on how to be successful as a freelancer and their lovely supporting community. Thank you Upwork and wish you all the best.

Thumbnail of user viacheslavo1
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 28th, 2023

Upwork has worst support system ever.

THREE MONTHS! Have passed since my application.
There is no solution to the problem with my profile.

I write more and more new messages to my ticket, but I only get "the issue was transferred to our Technical team."

I have worked with Upwork for 7 years now and have a great reputation, but now I am not getting new orders at all because my profile is not working.

Be careful when working with this company. You may one day get similar problems with tech support.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

From the business

Find freelancers and freelance jobs on Upwork - the world's largest online workplace where savvy businesses and professional freelancers go to work!

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user visitors
Visitor S.
Typically does not respond to reviews

How do I know I can trust these reviews about Upwork?

  • Sitejabber’s mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
  • Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
  • Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Have a question about Upwork?