• 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 reggom
1 review
2 helpful votes
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January 31st, 2023

There has been fraud on my account for over 2 months now where a freelancer got into my account for another country and charged $250. The freelancer's name is Suleman Ahmed. I complained to Upwork and they said there's nothing they can do even though I have a message from the freelancer saying "Ok manny I use your fund. I return your fund in 1 week. Send me Account number I send you.

I with draw you fund." This happened again with another freelancer name Muhammad Faizan and he took $650 without me hiring him for the job. Can someone please help me? I have worked with IT for over 3 months now and I haven't received any resolution. I'm sure Hayden Brown wouldn't like to hear about this type of service. I've been with Upwork since they were formerly known as Elance. So we are talking over 9 years.

Tip for consumers:
Be very careful using Upwork. There are a lot of scammers from other countries on this site.

Products used:
I never received service from two freelancers that were able to pull money from my account.

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Thumbnail of user zakirh7
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 17th, 2020

The best and easiest Upwork is an excellent platform to work on i ever saw. They are great at helping new freelancers. Who they like to start their own career online

Products used:
Children Books Illustration

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Thumbnail of user junedinp
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 3rd, 2021

Thank you so much Upwork for giving me, us, freelancers this kind of platform so we can showcase our skills and talent. Most importantly, I am grateful for this lifetime opportunity to earn from working in the comfort of our home. KUDOS UPWORK!

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Thumbnail of user licnios
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 16th, 2021

Upwork is unevitable tool for freelancers and companies.

As Artist, I'm very grateful to God and the hardwork of the upwork team for the oportunity to know and have a good relationship with clients and studios of the world; making our routine more easy, automating contracts, fees (we can prepare automatic reports for national fees! :) ), billing and calculations. I love so much the gamefied way to manage our profiles, accumulating points long of the time.

Guys, you have notion? You're helping professionals where the national economy is having severe problems, politicals and pandemic. This is very important about everything in more poor regions...

Thanks and I hope see the community grow more! <3

Tip for consumers:
Every year, make a couse of your area or read books to improve your quality. Be friendly and excellent at your actual level. =) <3

Products used:
Game art and illustration (digital files)

Thumbnail of user karans68
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 18th, 2020

I love working on Upwork, It's were consistent regarding job availability. If you are professional and hardworking Upwork gives you a ton of opportunity, Respect for Team Upwork love you all for your hardwork.

Thumbnail of user sharjeels
1 review
1 helpful vote
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June 28th, 2020

Upwork is a great platform in my experience. Everything is perfect, secure, and reliable. The most important part that freelancers can get their funds in 5 days as well.

Thumbnail of user sewag
1 review
5 helpful votes
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August 11th, 2017

My all freelaancers are very good i found from UPWORK, But UPWORK company by itself is very bad for customer service.
I will go back to freelance.com at lease they care about there clinets.
I have three times check with paypal and they advised me that they have paid to upwork with reference.
I did pass all the information to many time to upwork.
But they still saying your ticket is for investigation.
I have paid 2 times money from my bank account and they still have suspended my contract and my freelancers not got paid.
Anyway i will pay to my freelancer by otherway So my worker doesn't my bad image bu upwork mistakes.

Thumbnail of user sanjays12
1 review
10 helpful votes
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April 15th, 2015

This mail is for let you know about my id - sanjasethi

My id is suspended more than 1 Month before I am not able to work on elance and not able to use bid. You have close my Id. I have also verified myself on your elance site. After that also my Id is not opened it is still closed. Main problem is I am not able to withdraw my amount on elance. That my hard work income
Now please open my Id. I have verified myself than also you are not solving my problem. You are a reputed company. How can you do it. Whenever I chat online with your people they do not give correct answers. I have asked them so many time that when my Id will open. They also say's wait for the email.And after 1 month also I m waiting for your email still I have not get revert form your side. What should i do? I am waiting for a long time give me solution?

Thumbnail of user charmainel30
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 6th, 2021

You can find a steady stream of work - and overall job fulfilment - on Upwork. Of course, just like in real life, you'll have to work really hard but it pays off in the long run.

Thumbnail of user iwans4
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 2nd, 2021

This is a new experience for me in Freelance, I can connect with amazing clients on the Upwork site. I helped him to complete an existing project so that the business he runs runs well.

Thumbnail of user utsavk
1 review
5 helpful votes
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April 13th, 2015

I am writing this mail to you for getting your attention on my Id- designerutsav.

It has almost been more than 15 days you have close my Id. I have closed all the extra Id's as per your instructions. I have also verified myself on your elance site. After that also my Id is not opened it is still closed. I am not able to work on new projects. I am not able to make bid. My all work is stopped.
Now please open my Id. It has been a long time my Id is closed. I have verified myself than also you are not solving my problem. You are a big company than also whenever i chat online with your people they do not give proper answers. I have asked them so many time that when my Id will open. They also say's wait for the email. And after 15 days also i m waiting for your email still i have not get revert form your side. What should i do?

Thumbnail of user andriip6
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 18th, 2022

I've been working on Upwork for over 5 years now - since fall 2016, after several months of unsuccessful attempts to find a full-time job in the country where I live. On Upwork, I signed my first contract after 2 or 3 days after registering.

Although for some time I thought freelancing was temporary, then I decided that freelancing would become my main occupation.

Upwork is just like any other "market" - there are both good or bad clients. Over time, you learn how to distinguish the first from the second. You have complete control over who you want to work with and who you don't.

This is not a place where you can easily earn money. Here you can earn only if you are really a professional in your field. It may be difficult to find clients initially and even if you are an experienced freelancer, you still need to put in some effort to find new clients and sign new contracts.

But if you are a good specialist, you'll eventually find long-term contracts and will be earning in US dollars, which is especially important if you live in a developing country.

I highly recommend this marketplace for all good specialists who want to find remote work.

Products used:
Service to find remote work

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Thumbnail of user alexeyr6
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 4th, 2020

Some years ago i started to work at Elance as Android developer. Few years later Elance become a part of Upwork and i switched to Upwork. I have made a lot of Android apps for my clients there and i am happy to continue work with Upwork.

Thumbnail of user bobt99
1 review
7 helpful votes
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April 7th, 2017

***PLEASE- Anyone who is having issues with theft from this company should report them to the Better Business Bureau.*** I would say contact a lawyer as well but as always, these cases are hard to prove and always seem to be in favor of the business so they continue to scam on****

I am having trouble setting up my profile, which I am being forced to do in order to have complete access to the provided tools but their website seems to be having a problem and is not accepting any profile picture I attempt to upload. They have no way of getting in touch with Customer Support and I am being sent in circles to look at templates that do not help me. Any reliable company would have a way to reach them, especially if they are dealing with money and other sensitive information.

Thumbnail of user destinya54
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 16th, 2022

It's been an amazing experience for me on Upwork in less than 3 months on the platform have learnt a lot and still learning, the truth is that it takes Consistency, Persist-ency, Hard work and Never Say Die Attitude to get to the top. Thank you Upwork for giving such opportunity to add value through my problem solving skills

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Thumbnail of user vincef77
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 7th, 2021
Verified purchase

If you're a freelancer this is the site for you. Every transaction is secured. No scam and such. Register now and get to know people all over the globe that needs your skills.

Tip for consumers:
Keep trying

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Thumbnail of user karene60
1 review
17 helpful votes
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October 21st, 2016

I am very angry at Upwork. I was enjoying the work I was getting, but thought something wasn't right when my jobs weren't being posted on my profile. I contacted support who told me I was being paid directly from the clients and deactivated me. I had no idea. I though I was doing things correctly. They were being terribly unfair and unreasonable. I contacted them! I wanted to correct whatever problems were present. I couldn't believe it. No one would listen or work with me. I've never encountered such unfair treatment. And, for what? $2.00 an article?

Thumbnail of user gula14
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 21st, 2021

Upwork is one of the best freelancing marketplace for newbies. It offer alot in terms of projects (small or big) and compensates the freelancers generously.
Upwork is my top recommended freelancing website!

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Thumbnail of user yasirm9
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 7th, 2020

It's amazing website for a unemployment person.

He work on upwork from anywhere and earn a huge amount from this amazing website.
So far, I earned a huge amount from this site. I love it.

I'm really thankful of the CEO of upwork, He introduce this website in the people and we're working on different projects from home, or anywhere.

Regards
Yasir Mehmood

Thumbnail of user lawrenceb463
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 17th, 2020

What with the lockdown and sequestering, my career opportunities disappeared for now. A client told me about Upwork and how I could utilize my fallback skills as a proofreader and editor freelancing. I have since landed a few jobs and hope to increase my workload soon.

Thumbnail of user austinm107
1 review
7 helpful votes
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April 24th, 2019

Signed up and contacted a few freelancers. Decided to hire local and simply stopped talking to them. 6 months later, I saw a $2.50 charge from them. I logged in to see what was happening. One of the freelancers was charging me small amounts (so I wouldn't notice) even though no tasks were given, and no hiring was done. They have totaled to about $100. Contact upwork and the response "It has been too long, nothing we can do. Here is a credit of $2.50 for the most recent one."

Ask for a supervisor and still nothing. Time for a bank chargeback, and a complaint with the BBB. This company is a horrible SCAM!

Believe the horrible reviews, this company is the worst freelancer company out there.

Thumbnail of user perrym19
1 review
11 helpful votes
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October 17th, 2014

I see alot of poor reviews from freelancers, but everyone should know that the employers get screwed as well. From the perspective of the one providing the work, I have found that eLance playing field tilted WAY too far towards the freelancer. So much so that when the freelancer doesn't do the work, they get paid. On top of that, since I complained to eLance about the freelancer not doing the work and refused to pay, I seen to have a 500% increase in spam and viruses sent my way through email. How about that. Elance cannot continue sitting back and paying freelancers when there is no proof of work being completed except for a timesheet. I agree with the review that this is a VERY poorly run escrow company. They do nothing to ensure that a product is delivered and that the product is paid for.

Thumbnail of user anitaw74
1 review
10 helpful votes
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May 27th, 2019

As a company CEO I used Upwork regularly relying on feedback reviews as a main indicator of the capability of the freelancers. NEVER AGAIN. I have confirmed that Upwork regularly remove negative feedback if a freelancer requests that it be removed. This means their entire system is manipulated to disadvantage hirers in favour of freelancers without any concern for the legitimacy of integrity of the system.

Thumbnail of user abdm
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 27th, 2020

As a freelancer I have been working as a graphic designer till 2012 on upwork, I am realy heppy, very excited. It's a great opportunity for me to end my career,
I am deeply thankful and blessed for Upwork who support me, uplift me and bring joy to my life. Thanks Upwork!

Thumbnail of user shakeelm1
1 review
7 helpful votes
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April 4th, 2016

By any scale a WORST COMPANY.

This Company's motto is to how to steal your money. As a Client, you will come across Freelancers who will falsely promised you to set a Milestone to have the Project delivered.

Then these Freelancers will take your money and will run away.

They make false promise and UpWork is completely involved in this Practice.

Don't do any business with UpWork

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