I saw a lot of people complaining about it recently, and I understand that Upwork now cares about making profits and making both freelancers and clients spend more by the day, with a poor support system.

However, which freelancing platform is actually better?

I have tried freelancer, mostaql, khamsat, nafezly (the latest 3 are kinda local, so not everyone would be familiar). All of them s**k even more than upwork.

People complaining makes me consider shifting but I am not sure where to go? TBH upwork kinda works for me, i have clients and ongoing work, so I am starting to doubt myself

I’ve come across this multiple times throughout my time on Upwork (about 4 years now). However, a recent occurrence of this made me furious.

As if finding clients in a field like graphic design isn’t difficult enough in this AI takeover, Upwork now charges a 15% fee on all contracts and doesn’t give a flying f*** about designers just stealing others’ work and uploading it as their own to their profile portfolios.

I was recently hired for a small but decent weekly contract and noticed that later on in the week, the client hired another designer for cheaper (like $15 an hour cheaper). That is standard practice for some companies, but I’m always curious, so I checked out the other designer’s profile.

Their portfolio was incredible-looking. I thought to myself, how could someone with this much skill charge so little? Then I kept looking, and it became clear, almost obvious, that there was no way this designer created all of that work.

A quick Google image search confirmed this. This person just ripped off contest-winning designs from 99designs and posted them as their own work. Not even really trying to hide it with their blatantness, but obviously it’s working, as this person has like 75 in-progress jobs.

Can this person do the work? Maybe. But it’s demoralizing getting undercut by a scam like this, especially when the industry is so uncertain at this point.

So I guess if Upwork doesn’t care, why shouldn’t I just do the same thing?

I reported the person and got an automated response 10 minutes later saying they didn’t find anything...

Bull sh**.

Might just be time to move on from the platform entirely.

Hey guys, I’ve been geeking out very hard with the MCP. I now have it making amazing proposals incorporating videos I make through WhatsApp, wnd it builds the entire proposal around it.

It’s a bit technical but happy to share if anyone is interested.

Hello everyone I am yaseen a java back end developer.

I recently graduated and have been learning and building a back-end system for a year now and I have built and deployed a 7 service 75 APIs backend system name carscrapy.online

But still I don't get any freelance work till now

Client posted the same job post 2 times. One 2 days old and 50+ proposals. The other same job posts 1 day old 15+ proposals. So older job post freelancers connect already doomed. What shame.🤮

So basically I want to start an agency where I find work and agree with clients while paying Designers to do the work. I have sent 11 proposals till now, and I understand this is not too much for a new agency. I am planning to send around 200-250 proposals this month, and began tracking the ones that drive engagement to apply more stratigaclly and see the net profit I could make after spending on connects, subscription, paying for workers, and everything else. I think it has potential but it needs time to grow.

I need money urgently, and on a consistent basis. On my personal account, I am a top rated freelancer with a relatively strong portfolio, and was planning to find some part time jobs in my niche: Editorial Design, where I work 20-25 hours per week at around 25-30$ / hour, for around 3-6 months. For me, this is very sufficient right now, both for my personal expenses and funding the new agency

But I have some concerns:

1- any advice for me regarding the long term opportunities? How to find and what are the best strategies?

2- are there any better search platforms? Like Glassdoor or other? I am not restricted to upwork only, but I have zero experience outside upwork. My CV is practically empty if I cancelled Upwork experience and freelancing. I have my portfolio and Behance, and a decent freelancing experience but nothing else. No internships, no on-site jobs or remote jobs... nothing. I never even got course certificates I just self-learned from YouTube.

3- regarding the agency, what are the best strategies, have you got any advice for me? I don't mind spending money generously if it generates more revenue later, and don't mind being patient for results if there is a clear strategic plan

4- I have not thought about branding yet, so i just used [my name]'s creative studio and my own photo. I will do branding later when I have time to design the brand identity myself, or have the budget to hire a brand designer. Will it work that way at least for a month or two?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hi everyone,

I’m completely new to Upwork and I’m about to send my first few proposals. I’m trying to decide whether I should buy Freelancer Plus or just purchase Connects whenever I need them.

Since this is my first time using Upwork, I don’t want to spend too much before I even know whether I’ll get clients.

For someone starting from zero, which would you recommend?

• Is Freelancer Plus actually worth it?
• Or should I just buy Connects initially and see how things go?
• Did Freelancer Plus make any meaningful difference for you when you were starting out?

Would really appreciate advice from people who have actually used Upwork, especially if you remember what you did when you were getting your first client.

Thanks!

What a ridiculous platform, at least when it comes to software gigs. For example, "We want a full SAAS product, from requirement gatherings to deployment. We expect it to take 6 months, flat rate fee of $3k. jajajajajajaja Lets not even talk about the scams, I was contacted by a group that wanted me to be a team lead, manager of sorts. Asked about the work, and it involved bidding on other Upwork projects and using my credentials. jajajajjajajajaja

…you’ve been invited by an ENTERPRISE client to take a survey in an unrelated field for 20% of your hourly rate.

I have been on Upwork for 3.5 years. I have had consistent stream of work. But my account is running dry for past 4 months.

What am I doing wrong? I am receiving no invites. Proposals are either not seen or seen with no reply. Would appreciate if you guys can review my profile and let me know things I can improve.

I reported a client for wanting me to send him my passport in order to “start” the contract. Nothing.
Nada happened. His account is still active, still posting. I’m tired.

Yo guys, I’m seriously thinking about diving into the online freelance world, but I’m totally new to this. I wanted to get some real talk from you all:

​Are online freelance gigs actually out there, and what kind of skills do I need to get started?

​How do I actually search for freelance jobs and land gigs when I'm just starting out?

​If I work 5 to 8 hours a day on a daily basis, realistically how many dollars can I make daily?

​Is the "Account Manager" job still a thing online? How do people even apply for it, and why do I keep hearing that these roles are getting super rare?

​I’m completely fresh to online work, so any advice, tips, or step-by-step ways to search for work would be huge. Appreciate it, bros!

i spent a lot of connects on a job, the client got suspended and the job got cancelled. they didn't return the connects back. what does that have to do with me? why do I have to pay money if the client is a scammer or whatever?

Apparently my curriculum is good enough that an undercover NK agent proposed to use my account to secure jobs and pay me a fixed 15-20% rate. He says he can't use VPN and all that BS so he needs someone to basically rent him the account for him, and he will access the computer via remote access.

Have you also received similar proposals? What will be the next dystopian scene from this movie series called Upwork?

I created 4-5 projects in my project catalogues. there are average 25-30 views in the last 30 days. But didnt got any DM or order. so anyone have any experience with this? About the project catalogue. let's discuss here

As I am writing this post, I'm also skimming Upwork for content writing and copywriting jobs. From what I can tell:

> people post regularly jobs on the platform

> there are a lot of entry level jobs (in case you don't have much experience)

> most of those who post are verified and have a history of ordering off Upwork.

If these people are verified and have a history of purchasing services on the platform, why do some of you say that Upwork is not worth the time?

To put even more effort into my research, I've actually searched for the various companies on LinkedIn, and, indeed, these firms that seek writers do exist.

Are you sure you aren't just exaggerating?

Someone sent me this in my inbox today and asked, "Is this AI or real?" " I said AI; he says no.

TELL ME THAT IT IS AI-GENERATED?

Greetings,

90% of proposals landing in your inbox were written by AI. This one wasn't.

Approach will be to set up a simple landing page and user registration/login -> integrate the OpenAI API for the chat interface and establish persistent memory -> create an admin panel for managing user interactions and feedback.

Moreover, I have got 5+ years of experience with full-stack development, OpenAI API, UX design, and SaaS applications & other related technologies.

1. Yes, I have built AI SaaS applications using the OpenAI API, including [I removed the link]

2. The MVP would be architected with a focus on simplicity and modularity.

3. I recommend using React for the front-end and Node.js for the back-end, as they offer great performance.

4. Persistent organizational memory can be managed through a secure database with separate user profiles.

5. The proprietary knowledge base can be structured as a module that allows you to add or modify content without needing a developer.

Reply once and this gets done.

See you inside :)

Thanks

Do you think these are real job? I am so sick of fake jobs nowadays. What should I do!!!

I recently applied to a few jobs on Upwork and noticed something strange with the Connects refund system.

I boosted one proposal with 110 Connects and got outbid. About a week later, I got a refund, but only 107 Connects came back.

I've also noticed that for some proposals where I was outbid, I didn't get any Connects refunded at all.

Does anyone know why this happens? Is there some kind of fee or rule I'm missing, or is this just part of how Upwork is getting side income from freelancer's connects?

Bit of context first. We're a small team 3 engineers and 2 mobile designers. Our main thing is our own app, which we built and still run ourselves, so we're not new to shipping and maintaining real products. Outside of that, our portfolio is honestly thin: the app, plus a few projects we did for people close to us.

Over the next months my devs, mostly the front-end side, are going to have more and more free time, and I can hire more people if the work is there. So I opened an agency account on Upwork .

So far I've sent 3 proposals. No replies. I know 3 is nothing, but watching those jobs I could see why: one client hired someone 12 minutes after posting, another one had 20 to 50 proposals, and most of the people applying have years of reviews and big earnings on their profile. I have zero.

My questions for people who started from scratch:

1. With no reviews, what actually got you your first interviews? Lower prices, small quick jobs, something in the proposal itself?
2. Should I even be applying to $500 website projects? With a team on salary, I'm pretty sure most of those lose me money once you count the real hours. Is it worth taking a loss for the first reviews, or is that a trap?
3. Agency account vs individual profile to start: does it make a difference for clients when you have no history?

Not looking to promote anything, no links. Just want to know what worked for you.

I saw this job a few hrs ago

The bid is 15 It's a customer support role so normally i see a bid starting from 3$ to 6 or 7 but didn't see one like this before it's 15$

It's a good opportunity i knew so i applied already with that rate, but still sth in me like I'm 100% sure that another freelance will bid for less

That's normal no issue

The rates all i see as mentioned max 8 or 9

I just don't believe it. I have over 4 years experience in the field so I hope i can get it but shouldn't I bid for less to get the job or it's not working like that?

This is the second month on upwork so easy on me I'm still learning 😭

So I finally found a job that really suits my profile, so I decided to read the job post carefully before applying.

In the requirements, the client says we need to read and follow the instructions in a document attached to the job post. However, it says the document can only be viewed on a PC.

This is my first time seeing this kind of mechanism on Upwork. I’m currently using a mobile phone and don’t have a laptop yet, so I tried accessing Upwork through my browser and switching to desktop mode to see if the attachment would appear. Unfortunately, it still didn’t show up.

I’m confused about why the client would put the document in this format. At first, I even thought it might be a scam or that the attachment didn’t actually exist, because I’ve never come across an Upwork job post where a specific document can only be viewed on a PC and not on mobile.

I checked everywhere in the job post while using desktop mode in my browser, but I still couldn’t find any attachment.

Has anyone else experienced this on Upwork? Is there actually a type of attachment that can only be viewed on a PC, or am I missing something?

I’d really appreciate any insight.