UpworkReviews 2,134

As a freelancer, I've worked on Upwork and it is really great... Through Upwork, I managed to learn and to hone my skills. The site allowed me to gain experience that I can use to apply for more jobs. Upwork is a good site but it is hard to get a job.

I was struggling to find local photography jobs during covid! All the local small businesses I would reach out to would either not making as much money due to covid or closed because covid. I had client and jobs lined up before all the covid closures after that each client I had prior just isn't able to afford hiring a photographer at this time. Desperate for work I looked online and found Upwork! Quickly I got a photography job for $150 and I haven't stops since! It is now 9/23/2020 and I and working on 3 jobs from upwork. 1 for $250, another for $100, and the last for $500. All are clients I would have NEVER had access to and for that I TRULY Thank Upwork.

The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is simple! I pay 14.99 a month to be a member (my choice) and I have also been on the site for a little bite hitting 100% Job Success and Rising Talent, soon to hit even higher goals hopefully! I feel for people like that they should START to get discounts on the 20% that Upworks takes from the job I. E. The job for $500 Upwork is going to take $100 of that;( That SUPER sucks! The client reached out to me and I am experienced in the website for thing like that I thing the site should only charge 10% at the most! I now bring value to the website. Say once you hit 100% Job Success you now only pay 15% then at rising talent it goes to %10. I think that would be an amazing idea to reward people. If Upwork implemented a system like that doesn't have to be those exact number but just a similar thing that would be game change to all freelancers out there!

Hope this info help the next freelancer!

Nick Gonzales
Owner
SOS Photography

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.

While others seem to complain about the 20% fee (yes, it hurts), you can always bid jobs accordingly to cover that. Upwork attracts some great clients, and I've had no issues, other than applying to a scam when I first started (someone pretending to be a company it wasn't; I should have known, too-good-to-be-true!) Its tracking features, the ability to find clients, filter jobs, and apply milestones are great tools. I'm happy with the platform, and have earned close to $30K in my first year. Sure, it could have been closer to $36K, but there are costs associated with doing ANY business, and I feel that Upwork's "take" is fair in terms of the platform it provides. While I'm sorry others feel it's risky or unfair, my experience has been great.

I have been using Upwork for a few years now. Because of some personal reasons I had to leave my work and stay at home. Upwork made starting to work as a freelancer so much easier for me. The whole process of getting work, delivering it and getting paid is facilitated and protected. When I am working on Upwork I know for sure that I will get my payment. I feel if you work hard persistently on Upwork, then you can earn a decent amount from your home. A perfect solution for me.

I've been freelancing for over 15 years and was looking to expand my client base. So I tried Upwork. The fee paid is worth the security of finding new clients and and breaking into new areas of writing. I have found great clients needing many types of assistance. I have started with clients on their posted job, maybe a simple edit, and have expanded into handling many projects for them. The clients I have added to my business from Upwork are now long term relationships with ongoing work. It has taken a year to build this and the fees do reduce as more money is earned per client. I have never been denied an increase in rate from a client when I've asked, after providing them with a high valued work product.