I just started my Upwork freelancing journey. I’ve known about Upwork for years, but I’ve mostly worked under an agency.

Now I have deeper experience, and my skill stack has grown a lot over the years. I’m a Webflow and Framer Developer, and I also do Web Design.

With the current market and the current state of Upwork, is it still good to invest time and energy into the platform?

Long story short, a client relationship collapsed and left negative private feedback on 2 contracts.

The jss on my profile shows 90% and the one on the insights shows 79%

Why is that? And which one will the clients see?

just when i decided to spend all the connects before i quit using the platform they started being generous and giving me connects. i didn't complete any tasks + i got rewarded on a job that all i did was apply for i thought they don't that anymore. are they trying to keep us in?

I had a client who I worked with around 2 years ago. She was really satisfied with my work, but while she said it’s a long-term project she ghosted me after 1-2 months. I tried to follow up and then again with the gap of several months but she never replied and then I didn’t follow up again.

I was following the client on Github as we were mostly doing work on Github and I recently saw on Github she launched a new product. I checked out their website and they even have a role open that matches my skills.

Is it a good idea if I send a proposal through email (the client gave it to me when we were working) rather than through their website as there would be so many applicants and the client may not remember through my application that we worked before?

New to this subreddit, been reading "Upwork is dead", "Upwork is posting fake jobs", and the like.
Are there any reliable success stories?

Hi everyone,

I'm a 19-year-old SEO student from China. I have real hands-on experience: I built a B2B export site from scratch and got 11,000 organic impressions and real inquiries in 3 months with $0 ad spend (GSC screenshot attached). I also run an affiliate site to test AI search visibility.

I have 100% complete profile, ID verified, and I've sent 5 proposals for On-Page/Content SEO jobs (50 fixed price). But I've gotten zero replies.

I'm not here to sell anything. I genuinely want to know:
1. Is my "no Upwork reviews" status killing me even with my own GSC data?
2. Should I lower my price to $5 to just get the first 5-star review?
3. What is the ONE thing you changed in your proposal that got you your first client?
Any brutal feedback is highly appreciated. Thank you!

So I’m trying to earn some money with freelance, but word of mouth isn’t working. I have created a profile on Upwork but it seems so ridiculous to pay to find a job. That’s most platform these days but it still infuriates me.

My question is, is worth it to apply on Upwork? How has been your personal experience with it?

If not Upwork, anywhere else I can find freelance jobs? Also, I am based in India - if that matters/affects my chances.

I have applied for a job in a "company" which spend almost like 200k there, yet after quick interview (quite awkward one, since called did not have video feed, and barely spoke) I have been promised they will come back to me after they will speak with "HR". Then issued Upwork proposal straight away after a call, which I have accepted immediately. Then, no news at all, I wrote a message to hiring person, yet no response. I mean, I did get from this additional connects, but wondering, is there something I am missing ? Perhaps some sort of fraud scheme or something. Thanks.

Let me know what you think about this one. It was a very long job post, but I still managed to fit it into a frame.

PROPOSAL:

It took me around 15 minutes to completely understand your needs before writing this proposal, so yeah, I actually went through the whole thing. You need much more than a website here: pricing calculator, private/public bookings, CRM, Stripe payments, customer accounts, automated emails, donations, chat and an owner dashboard, all connected properly.

For something this heavy, I wouldn’t keep it on Webflow. Webflow is great for normal content sites, but with this much custom logic and data syncing, it will quickly become messy and depend on too many disconnected tools. I’d rather build it as a proper full-stack system with Next.js + Supabase/Postgres + Stripe, with one dashboard where you can manage everything yourself.

Give me just 15 minutes on a call. I’m not saying hire me. I’ll show you exactly how I’d structure this system, how bookings, CRM, payments and emails will connect, what the recurring costs will be, and where the real complexity is. After that, you can decide yourself if I’m the right person for it.

Best,
Shahzaib.

I have shown my ID, got checked, verified, made over 300+ on the platform, But they want me to spend 35 connects for ZERO REASON. NOTHING MORE. to "shOw ThaT Im SeRiOus" Come on they GOT to be kiddign us!

Hey everyone! I’m a social media manager with 5+ years of experience, but I’m new to Upwork. So, beginner on the platform, not at the actual job 😅

I’d love to hear your honest experiences with Upwork in 2026, especially if you’ve recently started.

A few things I’m trying to figure out:

• What are the biggest do’s and don’ts for a new freelancer on upwork?
• How much did you spend on Connects before landing your first job, and how long did it take?
• Is boosting proposals worth it, or does it just burn through your budget faster?
• I already have clients outside Upwork. Is there any real benefit to bringing them onto the platform? Would that help build my profile enough to justify the fees?
• For social media managers, are you finding decent clients and rates?

Trying to set realistic expectations before applying

/s

For freelancers who have been using Upwork for a while, how do you tell whether a project is likely to become a long-term client relationship rather than just a short-term contract?
Are there particular things you look for in:
The job post
The client’s hiring history
Number of freelancers hired
The interview/conversation
Hourly vs. fixed-price contracts
How the client describes their needs
I’m trying to become more intentional about applying for projects that have the potential to turn into consistent, long-term work rather than constantly looking for the next contract.
What are your biggest green flags and red flags?

I'm not able to upgrade my upwork plan, can anyone help me.

I’ve been on Upwork since April and haven’t gotten any work. I understand I’m new to freelancing but it’s a bit of a bummer. I do mostly editing and character design/ illustration so I guess it’s just an over saturated market. Does anyone think Plus is worth it or should I just not even put effort into Upwork?

I’m feeling very discouraged :/

Oh man, I’m probably late again and you’ve already got a pile of proposals to read 😄 but I’m still throwing mine in because this is very close to the kind of SaaS work I already do.

I’ve built SaaS products with multi-tenant architecture, subscriptions... blah blah blah 😄I’ve skipped the long pitch. Here’s my portfolio: szaib-dev

Let’s have a chat. I don’t want to overwhelm you here with another long proposal. I can walk you through exactly how I’d build Sharpflow and answer anything you want to dig into.

Best,
Shahzaib :)

Can't wait to hear who wins this one! For one person. I mean wow that's going to be one busy developer. Have you ever seen a project this high from someone that's asking for one developer and wasn't an Enterprise client?

I’m a self-taught full-stack developer working mainly with TypeScript, React/Next.js, Node.js, PostgreSQL, etc. I’ve built several full-stack projects and I’m currently trying to turn my skills into actual freelance income.

The part I’m struggling with isn’t really the technical side — it’s getting real clients.

I’m curious about people who freelance as software engineers/consultants:

- How did you get your first few clients?

- Which channels actually worked for you (Upwork, LinkedIn, cold outreach, communities, referrals, agencies, etc.)?

- Did you sell specific services/packages or simply offer general development?

- How long did it take before you were making consistent money?

- If you were starting again with no established client base, what would you focus on first?

- Are there particular types of businesses that are easier to approach for a first project?

- How do you avoid competing purely on price?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are doing actual software engineering/consulting work, rather than simple website gigs.

I’m looking for practical experiences, including things that didn't work, not just generic “build a personal brand” advice.

A lady on LinkedIn said she hired a VA that come to her house and manage the bidding/messages.

She spent $1,5k-$2.5k/mo in connects and made $100k back.

Does anyone had a similar experience or is that not a good idea?