• Bookmark

    Upwork

Upwork

Write a Review

Overview

Upwork has a rating of 2.5 stars from 2,119 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 6th among Freelancing sites.

  • Service
    477
  • Value
    459
  • Shipping
    253
  • Returns
    289
  • Quality
    453

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 16.7%
Positive
3
Neutral
0
Negative
15
View ratings trends
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.

Date of experience: 4/22/24
See positive reviews
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.

Date of experience: 9/10/24
See critical reviews

Reviews (2,119)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (91) freelancing platform (135) credit card (22) customer support (44) payment protection (24) freelancing site (80) bank account (20) freelancing career (25) post jobs (16)
Thumbnail of user dawith1
Ethiopia
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 18th, 2020

I started working on Upwork, starting from its oDesk days. I have worked on the site for the past 5 years mainly as a translator, but also on other projects as well. It is a very good site for freelancers, with reputable clients, comforting Escrow method and payment protection policies. The website is also easy to maneuver through unlike some others where it gets very complicated you just don't want to start working there.

Date of experience: August 18, 2020

Thumbnail of user richaa5
India
1 review
5 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 29th, 2018

Want to give minus points to upwork. Tried everything. But they have created a mindset they they won't allow the new creative people to enter on upwork site. And thats really shamful... they are no one to say the freelancers that we are somewhere less from other freelancers working on upwork. You haven't even checked yet so how come u can justify anyone form by simply seeing the skills.

Date of experience: March 29, 2018

Thumbnail of user steveh237
Oregon
4 reviews
17 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 3rd, 2019

This site is now charging Freelancers 3 times as much to bid on a job. I have bid on 62 jobs in the past month and the only ones that respond are scammers that want me to work for free or people who disappear before they hire you. Upwork you are scamming your customers and we have a choice. Indeed.com and Zip Recruiter, along with Linked In.

Scam site.

Date of experience: September 3, 2019

Thumbnail of user alin118
Pakistan
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 19th, 2021

I joined Upwork a few months ago and from that time I am getting continuous work. Upwrork is the best professional platform where the professionals having any skills can grow as much as they want but the only condition is that they should be consistent, professional and honest to their job.

At the end I'd say I love Upwork, since it has changed my life.

Thank you Upwork team!

Date of experience: March 19, 2021

Thumbnail of user claireb38
Philippines
1 review
4 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 22nd, 2015

I registered with Elance since July 2014 and I only started working on April 2015. I'm thankful that since then, I get lots of transcription jobs, paid well and on-time. I never had any issues with any of my clients.

My tips are: 1) Never accept job without contracts or funded by escrow. 2) always keep an open communication with your client prior to accepting jobs.

Date of experience: June 22, 2015

Thumbnail of user rahulj51
India
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 31st, 2020

Its a great platform for explore self into entire world. I am highly recommended, because its always check your Real time Activity, Strong Payment Term specially for Freelancer. 90% of client has satisfied of work whose giving his best on work and communication. This platform save my life and my family is so happy with this because i need work and client need satisfaction so we are stay on smoothly.

Today quote for all newbies developer: Patience when not one work comes to you, because there so many great developer on-boarding and client don't know which is the best for his/her job, So always login with joy and with positive energy.

Thanks
RJ

Date of experience: July 30, 2020

Thumbnail of user sathyaj1
India
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 1st, 2021

I had joined in Upwork in hopes of learning new skills and create a career out of it. Well, it wasn't in vain because I have scored few projects and I am still working on some of them. It is really a great platform to learn, to work for companies and clients worldwide without leaving your room and to earn a good amount of money. There are over ******* jobs posted and it makes the probability of getting a project high. I'd encourage everyone to join Upwork, whether they have some extra time to work or full time, everyone is welcome there!

Service
Value
Quality

Date of experience: February 1, 2021

Thumbnail of user dominicp19
Canada
1 review
12 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 12th, 2017

Upwork is a colossal predatory business. I've been on the platform for 4 years and saw business practices and treatments that only the worst of corporate monopolies can get away with. Especially after upwork swallowed Elance which was head and shoulders better.

Contractors are screwed with high commission fees which DOUBLED last year and a rating system which forces contractors to constantly drum up new business for these corporate bastards just to keep their 5 star rating which is NOT based on actual performance but also on how much business you constantly bring in to upwork. So you can do flawless work and still get penalized.

Then there is the notoriously bad and unresponsive customer service were you deal with $1/hr robotic contractors from India who show absolute disdain and lack of care when dealing with contractor issues.

If you are a self employed freelancer or a small business offering services, unless you enjoy being a mistreated slave don't just avoid upwork RUN!

Date of experience: April 12, 2017

Thumbnail of user christinea21
New York
2 reviews
53 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 25th, 2016

I am being treated horribly by Upwork on their Facebook site as well as support. No one helps me with what I need help with, especially when a client lied so they wouldn't have to pay me. And now their Facebook site keeps deleting my posts because I'm speaking the truth. Such a shame. I'm telling all my friends not to join this site for freelance.

Date of experience: July 25, 2016

Thumbnail of user kazij
Bangladesh
1 review
13 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 13th, 2014

Without any prior notice elance stop expired my account even I have existing contact with 450$ a month. They should not close this account even some bad issue. They can limit feature but I totally disagree they will not close a account. They should warn. Elance scam my money more than 1000k in future life income. I must go to court and get official notice. Its our career issue. So If you work hard take exam test and other hard work all will be vain.

Tip for consumers:
Do not use elance until resolve your that matter. you get paid well but due to a bad rating even a good job done you lose your career too. and their performance team close your account any time.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: November 13, 2014

Thumbnail of user shafz
Sri Lanka
3 reviews
15 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 24th, 2016

If you wanna begin a freelancing career, Upwork is the BEST place to start. I'm not writing this review for any personal gains, so this is a review coming through experience.

Upwork has so many plus points compared to other freelancing platforms I've dealt with. Their customer service is top-notch: they reply to your mails with all the relevant information they can dig up for you and in a timely manner.

Their fees and charges too, are very reasonable and they charge you as you EARN, not as you BREATHE.

A job well done Upwork! Keep it up :)

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: April 23, 2016

Thumbnail of user laetitiah1
Thailand
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 19th, 2020

I am using Upwork from one year and since then, I have increased significantly my turnover.
It allows me to expand my business and reach customers that I couldn't get otherwise.
The platform is also really user friendly.

Date of experience: June 19, 2020

Thumbnail of user evand44
Finland
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 17th, 2019

You shouldn't do this; it will probably result in failure. I have a friend who is a designer and he was hiring developers via UpWork. Even with consultation from friends of his who were real engineers, it was extremely difficult to find decent engineers who could do the things he needed, deliver reliably, and iterate according to ongoing testing/customer feedback.

Date of experience: January 15, 2019

Thumbnail of user annap632
Turkey
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 16th, 2020

There are plenty of clients from all over the world on this platform so you can always find some jobs. I've been working at this platform for 2.5 years and the overall experience is smooth and pleasant. As a freelancer, you feel totally safe working there because Upwork protects you and your earnings. You can check the client's history and reviews before committing to some project. Even if some misunderstanding occurs, the Upwork team analyzes the situatıon and proposes a reasonable solution. I was lucky to work with really nice clients.

Date of experience: December 16, 2020

Thumbnail of user martinw46
Montana
8 reviews
30 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 10th, 2016

Upwork's protections to people hiring their freelancers are absolutely worthless. I just lost $2,000 on Upwork to an unscrupulous scammer and I have discovered that the "dispute" process is just a thinly veiled mechanism designed to protect Upworks bottom line. Upwork was unfair, unresponsive, hostile, and their staff grossly incompetent in the advice given me when I sought their help. I have all of the records to back it up. Save your money and stay away from Upwork.

Date of experience: October 10, 2016

Thumbnail of user helenz194
Ohio
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 1st, 2021

I can say enough how resourceful this platform has been for me since Covid started. I didn't think getting remote client projects can be this easy. With UpWork's help, I was even able to afford a vacation with the compensation I earned through completing client contracts. I strongly recommend this platform to freelancers of all experience level! Whether you want a full time career or part time extra cash, you can find something on UpWork tailored for you!

Tip for consumers:
Be as active as you possibly can, and take initiative. The return you get from the platform is directly reflected by how much work you put in!

Products used:
Purchasing connects to submit more proposals.

Service
Value
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: December 31, 2020

Thumbnail of user milanb41
India
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 29th, 2020

Upwork has empowered me to work with clients globally and improve my communication and project management skills dramatically over the span of just 5 years. Excellent clients with global skillset, payment protection, ease of setting up milestone and a BIG pool of work! Freelancing & Remote working at its best!

Date of experience: October 29, 2020

Thumbnail of user nikolayi
Virginia
1 review
11 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 16th, 2015

Overall, the service was great until they recently started monitoring your IP addresses. So what happened was that I have a business account with my partner. We both login to the account to perform different actions there. They noticed that 2 people(IPs) with different user names are logging into 1 account and put our account on hold in order to investigate. They had us send documents verifying our identities and even had skype intervews to make sure that we were real people. After I explained everything to them, they still told me that I need to agree not to do this in the future. I basically need to agree to not have multiple computers and devices accessing our business account! It's insane and they cause so much headache for some honest hardworking individuals.

If you use the service, make sure you use a Tor browser. You will never have this issue.

Tip for consumers:
If you use the service, make sure you use a Tor browser. You will never have this issue.

Service
Value
Quality

Date of experience: March 16, 2015

Thumbnail of user jamesn980
Kenya
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 11th, 2021

I have been on Upwork for the past 3 years and I can honestly recommend it to anyone. Not only is the site freelancer friendly, but the clients are professional as well. Not to mention, Upwork has rolled out several updates and upgrades during that time that have made the site very awesome to use. The escrow feature is terrific as well. As a client or a freelancer, you don't have to worry about losing your money. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to advertise their skills or anyone who is looking for professional and skilled freelancers.

Tip for consumers:
Even though using the site is easy and beginner-friendly, I suggest learning as much as possible about working online. It'll save you a ton!

Products used:
Upwork is a service platform. I'm a freelancer on the platform. I advertised my skills to potential clients and got hired based on my skill levels.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: April 11, 2021

Thumbnail of user afthabj
India
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 14th, 2020

Upwork is a great pool of talents for business owners! And a great platform of opportunities for freelancers at different levels & industry. Professionally reliable for all who can follow Upwork's guidelines, terms & conditions.

Service
Value
Quality

Date of experience: December 13, 2020

Thumbnail of user jerrya185
Washington
1 review
4 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 1st, 2020

Upwork favors clients over the freelancers. I had worked over 80 hours and never got paid by Upwork. They closed my account and never explained why. I had to find out later that the client was scamming me used a fake credit card. Somehow Upwork closed my account because they believed we were in the scam together without ever reaching out to me to check before! I lost so much time and energy. If the client had a fake credit card, then it makes sense to suspend their account, but why would they suspend mine and cost me my livelihood? I'm the victim and now they've prevented me from continuing work being I just got screwed over?

I will never use Upwork again. I've maintained close relationships with my clients and taking them all outside of Upwork.

Date of experience: August 1, 2020

Thumbnail of user vladp14
RU
1 review
39 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 1st, 2019

My account was suspended yesterday after a verification call. The only reason I see is that I was unshaved and thus looked slightly different from profile photo. I answered every their question but nevertheless they suspended my profile. Just for being unshaved.

The worst thing is that I can't withdraw money I earned. Upwork, you are fu. Ing thieves!

Strongly recommend to keep away from this scam service

Date of experience: November 1, 2019

Thumbnail of user mariao343
Philippines
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 27th, 2020

I have 8 smooth sailing years with upwork so far. I think they do filter messages and I sometimes get a notification when they suspect I am violating the terms and conditions. But so long as you comply and don't violate the terms of agreement, I think it is a good, convenient and hassle free platform for freelancing work.

Date of experience: August 26, 2020

Thumbnail of user bias
Brazil
2 reviews
10 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 3rd, 2020

I have been working on Upwork's platform for so long and I can say honestly is far the BEST place where you can find great projects to work with. Also you can build a business profile that have a huge impact in your career.
The contractors are great, not scammers as other freelancers website, everything is super secure to work, receive in the right time.

Once you get experience on how using the website, how send proposals, how to decide whether is good or bad projecto to work with, the better will be the experience.

You can easily flag bad job offers, which helps the platform to remove bad contractors or just wasters of time and energy.

Love Upwork!

Thanks

Date of experience: June 2, 2020

Thumbnail of user juliew562
Texas
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 16th, 2020

Upwork is very user-friendly and intuitive. It is a great platform if you are new to freelancing and looking to build your client base. As you grow, my suggestion would be to wean yourself away from Upwork's services, mainly because of the fees. If you are ever going to go full-time freelance for a living, you will need to be free from Upwork's exorbitant fees.

Takeaway: Great for beginner freelancers. Not good for long-term, full-time freelancers looking to make a living from their work.

Date of experience: September 16, 2020

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?