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Upwork

Upwork

Overview

What is Upwork?

Upwork headquartered in Mountain View, California offers their eponymous freelance management system (FMS).

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Upwork, a popular freelancing platform, offers a range of use cases for both individuals and businesses. Users have utilized Upwork as a …
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Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Plus

$49.99

Cloud
per month

Basic

Free

Cloud

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Data Entry Work Demo for BEGINNERS | Make Money Online

YouTube
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Product Details

What is Upwork?

Upwork Video

At Upwork, we believe the best companies win with the best talent. But great people can be hard to find. Through Upwork, you can hire and collaborate with high-quality independent professionals with the exact skills you need to get the job done. Watch our short video to learn ...
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Upwork Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Upwork headquartered in Mountain View, California offers their eponymous freelance management system (FMS).

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of Upwork are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(68)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Upwork, a popular freelancing platform, offers a range of use cases for both individuals and businesses. Users have utilized Upwork as a customer acquisition channel, enabling them to create a higher number of blog posts, copy for ads, and graphics for social media and Google ads at scale. The marketplace provides the opportunity to hire contract developers for small to medium-sized projects, allowing users to prioritize marketing tasks over content creation. Upwork has also become a go-to platform for agencies looking to find clients that match their specific Amazon seller skills, while facilitating billing and invoicing processes. Freelancers leverage Upwork to build a client database and generate extra income by utilizing their writing abilities. With its hourly service model, Upwork helps businesses grow in client volume and build trust through regular screenshots.

Additionally, the platform is used for short, randomly-occurring tasks that don't require hiring permanent staff or when departments are overloaded and specific skills are needed. It solves administrative pain points by providing virtual assistance for general administrative duties and data analysis. Upwork can be a quick way to outsource tasks or projects without upfront expenditure and ensures that freelancers get paid worldwide. This has proven beneficial in boosting efficiency in workflow and roadmap by providing candidates for different project lengths and commitments. Overall, users have found that Upwork streamlines the process of finding, vetting, and managing an outsourced workforce while effectively tracking hours worked and facilitating payment activities.

Valuable platform for finding verified talent: Many users have found Upwork to be a valuable platform for finding reputable and verified designers, writers, and creative talent. They appreciate the extensive candidate pool on Upwork, stating that it almost guarantees finding individuals who specialize in the specific skills they are looking for. Convenient communication and project management: Users appreciate how easy it is to communicate with customers and keep track of billing, tracking, and conversations in one place on Upwork. They also like the messaging service available on Upwork's desktop app, browser app, and mobile app, which allows them to stay in constant contact with clients regardless of their location. Flexible payment options: Some users find it useful that Upwork offers both fixed bid and hourly options. They mention that these options are helpful for different kinds of projects and provide flexibility when working with freelancers.

Difficult to contact customer service: Many users have expressed frustration with Upwork's customer service, finding it difficult to get in touch and feeling that the company lacks transparency in their decision-making processes.

Upwork does not prioritize freelancers' best interest: Reviewers frequently mention that Upwork seems to prioritize its own interests over those of the freelance community. This has led many freelancers to feel disposable and undervalued on the platform.

High fees charged by Upwork: A common complaint among users is the high fees charged by Upwork, especially for freelancers who are just starting their businesses. These fees are seen as a significant barrier and make it challenging for both clients and freelancers to use the platform cost-effectively.

Users recommend the following when using Upwork:

  1. Be patient and put in consistent effort to find good clients and build a good rating. Thoroughly fill out your Upwork profile and explain your needs clearly.

  2. Send multiple pitches per week and bid lower than others when starting out. Take on jobs outside of your preferred skills to get the first few 5-star reviews. Start with small, quick turnover projects to build your portfolio. Ask for fair pricing to avoid charging too little.

  3. Use a guide and review freelancers' performance on Upwork for reliability. Conduct thorough interviews with candidates on Upwork and communicate only through the platform. Make sure to explain what you need in detail and have a clear idea of what you want.

Overall, users highly recommend trying Upwork for freelancing opportunities and finding qualified professionals. They believe that Upwork is a great platform for achieving business objectives, economic independence, and connecting with excellent freelancers quickly.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-23 of 23)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Lena Mannerfelt Holm | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I used Upwork to hire a freelancer to help us get back a hacked and deleted facebook account. We were unfortunately decieved by the freelancer who did absolutely no work and had made us pay in advance. We naturally had the Upwork Customer service involved, but we got no help whatsoever in the dispute, even though complete evidence were presented of the fraud. In my opinion it is very sad that Upwork permit scams on their site. They also removed the review I wrote about the freelancer. Please be careful everyone...
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Upwork when we have short, randomly-occurring tasks that we need completed and it's not worth hiring a permanent staffer. For instance, when we need seasonal customer outreach calls made, or if we need some graphic design work done for some marketing material.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our company utilizes Upwork for our workflow shortages, and for short/long-term projects different departments may need assistance with. Upwork allows us to find candidates for different project lengths and commitments while also boosting efficiency in our workflow and roadmap. We have utilized Upwork for basic data entry needs, and for interim product owners and scrum masters while looking for more permanent replacements.
September 14, 2022

Upwork is great

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We hire contractors from all over the world to do some simple tasks for us. It provides a flexible workforce that without having the burden of starting with a lot of upfront expenditure. Since we are an AI company we use it for data annotation mainly. We can hire as much talent as we want for as much time as we want, and we don't worry if they are going to be able to get paid or not. Upwork always makes them get paid anywhere in the world.
Joshua Rodriguez | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Because of Upwork, we are able to create a higher number of blog posts and have a copy for ads as well as graphics to use for social media and Google ads at scale. Working with several professionals allows us to prioritize the marketing tasks over the content creation tasks and the people we work with offer an affordable rate.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
As an agency, we use it as a way to find clients that need our specific set of Amazon seller skills. Once we find the client, we use it as a way of billing and invoicing them, which is all done through the platform. We also use it as a means of client communication through their chat and video chat features.
Alan Bloxham | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our organization's business model is based on a hourly service to our clients instead of a flat rate. Upwork has been a great tool in helping our business grow in client volume, since the large client base is built on trust by taking screenshots every 10 minutes. This proves to the client that we are working on them, and not goofing off.
Taylor Robinson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Upwork to find and sort clients for our organization. Upwork makes the screening of potential clients easy as well as communication with potential leads. We use Upwork to communicate with current clients and collect payment as well. All of our employees use Upwork to track time for client work and to communicate with clients. One of the most beneficial features is the billing, makes collecting invoices so much easier and it is automatic.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is used by departments independently, rather than a top-bottom approach. Our company lead and managed a significant amount of its wor through outsourcing and that's exactly where UpWork comes into play. UpWork makes it possible to find a vast range of skills in pretty much any area from graphic design to software development or simply translation. Hence, our organization uses UpWork within departments according to rather spontaneous needs, different departments having different business needs.
March 06, 2020

Upwork works!

Brian Chung | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We've used Upwork for higher virtual assistance for our company. It was used when we were first starting out and needed some general administrative duties done. It helped solve some administrative pain points for our company. Afterward, we used Upwork for our Marketing department to help with some data analysis and record keeping.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it to hire talent, from creative personnel to developers. For any skill we need or any job too tedious to be done by the core team, we outsource through Upwork. The external team fluctuates a bit, due to changing needs, but we also have a core team of freelancers who stay for a few months at a time.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I currently use Upwork to outsource various marketing, sales and development tasks for several side projects. It's a great tool to find, vet and manage an outsourced workforce. Upwork saves a great amount of time that would be wasted searching and vetting potential contractors. It also makes it very easy to hold contractors accountable by automatically logging their hours, creating milestones and brokering payment activities.
Justin Roodman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Upwork to hire contract developers for small to medium sized projects. While we have some technical skills in-house, Upwork provides us with a marketplace to hire short term workers for skilled positions. The majority of the individuals that we hire on Upwork are programmers - specifically individuals who have experience with PHP, WordPress, and the LMS that we use. Upwork has other types of professionals available as well; from writers to graphic designers, to virtual assistants.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Upwork to find people who are specialized in a certain kind of work that we need help on and do not have time to train our in-house team on. We are using Upwork specifically for the needs of the marketing team. We have hired Upwork contractors to work on things like Google Analytics, design, coding etc.
Brent Lionel Mausisa | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I basically use Upwork to find clients and work with them. My clients at times ask me to do recruitment on Upwork on their behalf. Upwork gave me a career-changing opportunity. It allowed me to find the clients I liked to work with and not have to entertain clients that don't align with my principles.
Benjamin E. Jerew | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been using the Upwork freelance hub since 2012 (back when it was oDesk and Elance). Upwork offers good exposure to clients looking for contractors (freelancers). Over the years, Upwork has bettered itself, making it easier to bring together contractors and clients to work on projects big and small. It is a paid service, but I find I enjoy the security that comes with vetting contractors and clients to work together to get great things done.
McKay Salisbury | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Upwork to get short-term freelance gigs. I used to train companies on a specific project management software and it's a very specialized skill. I have a profile on sites like Upwork and companies contact me for help with their business. It's basically just a way to get leads and easy work for your spare time. I still have my full-time job, but I can make $50 just by jumping on a call with someone and telling them what I know. It's also a great way to connect with other businesses and grow your personal brand. There is some issues with stuff like their "job success score." It goes down if you mostly only do one time jobs.
Manuel Aguilar | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I don't use Upwork at my organization, however, I've been an Upwork member for a year working as a freelancer in analytical writing and mostly in Spanish to English translations and vice-versa. It is a great tool for creating a clients database for freelancers like me who like producing extra money by using my writing abilities.
Tony Phan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Upwork is used in our company as a quick way to outsource when all departments are overloaded with enormous numbers of tasks or projects. This allows us to focus on developing more strategy or more important tasks in order to maintain business objectives. This also helps us if we are in short of some particular skills needed to finish the job (for example, content translation to a different language).
Kara Rhodes | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Upwork to access an entire world of talent, instantly. We've used it to find people to design artwork, transcribe research interviews, build contact lists, and more. We're a really small company, so it helps us fill gaps in our skill set.
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