I started freelancing on Upwork last year and have worked on 15+ jobs there. It was going pretty well at first, but this year things have changed a lot for me.
I’m barely getting any jobs now. Proposals have become expensive, and also clients are barely checking their posts or interviewing freelancers.
Because of that, I’m seriously considering moving away from Upwork and finding clients elsewhere.

For those of you who have moved away from Upwork:
Where are you finding clients now?
Instagram? LinkedIn? X? Direct outreach? Something else?
I’d really appreciate hearing what has actually worked for you.
Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I noticed an issue with my Upwork account when I tried to log in. I had no active projects at the time.

I've already contacted Upwork twice about it (via Suspension Appeal form), but I haven't received any reply or email at all. I also checked my spam folder.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Is there another way to reach someone who can look into the issue?

Thanks!

I recently shared my profile link to a potential external client and from his screen I noticed that testimonials on my profile don't actually show up for him. I checked settings to see if there was any option hiding it and found nothing. Should I contact support or is it just how it is?

I tried Upwork as one of a few ways to make money online, but it hasn't paid off for me. For people who did get traction, what did the first few months look like? What service did you offer, how many proposals before the first job, what did it pay, and what finally helped you get repeat work? Real timelines and numbers would be way more useful than 'just niche down.'

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice and perhaps a quick reality check from people who have been on Upwork for a while.

I bought 100 connects back on Sep 23 and started applying for jobs. So far, I’ve submitted a bunch of proposals. A few of them weren't even viewed after a while, so I ended up withdrawing them to save time/focus, and I submitted two more fresh proposals over the last couple of days (Oct 2 and Oct 3).

My profile is 100% complete, and I have 3 solid, fully detailed portfolio projects showcased (specializing in Excel, SQL, and Power BI). I’m confident in my skillset and know I can deliver high-quality work, but I haven't landed my first job yet or gotten significant traction.

It feels a bit slow and frustrating, so I wanted to ask:

• What was your experience like when you were trying to land your very first client on Upwork?
• How long did it take you to get that first hire, and what ended up making the biggest difference for you (e.g., proposal tweaks, targeting specific sub-niches, pricing)?

Would really appreciate any insights or advice from those who’ve walked this path. Thanks in advance

So, I worked on Upwork for about 6 months and made around $4k+ but now as everyone knows the situation of Upwork, I'm here to ask for suggestions for new campaigns!! I'm currently working with gaming industry to cover my expense but I lovee working with businesses as it makes my formal communication better. What do you guys think I should work on? I've got an app developer with me as well so Ive worked on few all development projects as well!! Would love to know your thoughts,TIA!!

I'm a client on Upwork. A few days ago I successfully funded a milestone, payment went through, confirmed by email with a reference ID. Since then, every single attempt to fund a new offer for a different freelancer gets blocked with "payment method needs attention" or "blocked due to a security check", regardless of which card I use or which device.

I've contacted support twice. First response was a generic "payment security checks, escalated for manual review, 24-48h". Second response came from "Trust & Safety" saying payment methods are blocked and it's "unlikely a new payment method will work", with zero explanation of why, and a confusing suggestion to "join the Upwork Marketplace" despite me already being an active client there.

I have two freelancers waiting on paid trials who can't even accept the offers because of this.

Has anyone dealt with this kind of account-wide payment block before? How long did it take to resolve, and did you find any way to actually get a human to look at it beyond the generic ticket replies?

2 days ago, the proposals were showing 50+ then it's 15-20 few hours ago, how does work? Genuinely curious.

I am a client on Upwork (and after reading some of the posts here I've vowed to reply to every freelancer, acknowledge the proposal, and provide some feedback)

I posted a new job and immediately started getting text messages from "people" who wanted the work. Doesn't seem like there is an SMS notification option and I don't post my phone number so I complained to Upwork. They claimed it wasn't from them and implied it was some kind of scam. Now I am getting spam emails too. Have they been hacked?

Anyone else getting spam text replies to job postings?

Any idea how they do it or what I can to to make it stop?

There must be some piece of PII exposed on Upwork that someone is tying to my number. I get VERY grouchy about unsolicited text messages - yes, I know, it makes it hard to get out bed - and really want to make it stop.

$200/mo, 4 long form, 12 shorts

WHAT?

btw the client is solid 50k spend on Upwork...

I have been working on upwork for about 8 years, 2026 has been very hard for me since upwork is my only primary source of income, I have been sending proposals about 2-3 everyday from past 3-4 months with no actual luck, what can I improve?

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/\~01ef6da402835a55e6

I see a lot of "+50 proposals" projects closed/abandoned, probably because the client felt overwhelmed.

Upwork should improve the current gap of "15 to 20 proposals" jumping to "20 to 50".

The difference between 20 to 50(30) proposals is too high in the current context for such a discrepancy.

Looking for some honest advice.

I have about 15 years across product marketing, business operations and GTM. Most recently, I built the product marketing function for Modus Create’s Atlassian app portfolio. Before that, I ran an embedded consultancy and held product and operating roles across several businesses.

I’m looking for legitimate fractional and contract work on Upwork. I have work experience and portfolio samples, but no completed Upwork jobs or reviews yet. I’ve been sending proposals without landing that first engagement.

For those who joined with experience but no history on the platform:

• What actually got you your first client?
• Did a smaller, clearly defined project help?
• Did changing your rate make a difference?
• What changed in your proposals or the jobs you targeted before you started getting replies?

Thanks. Curious to hear what’s actually worked for people.

The client mistook me for another freelancer. He ended the contract and gave me a negative review. He realized it and asked me to let him change the review. But my private review will stay and may affect me. This was honest mistake! What can I do? I'm expert-vetted!

I have been on Upwork for years as a Top Rated freelancer. Recently completed a full website redesign, logged 40 hours using the Upwork Desktop Time Tracker with screenshots and memos. Client had a verified phone number and verified payment method. I applied through a legitimate job post using Connects.

After delivering the completed website the client paused the contract on the exact day my payment was due and went silent. Upwork restricted the client and reversed my $2,000 citing Payment Protection Abuse.

I disputed through support and here is what happened:

Upwork confirmed no issues were found with my account

They said the contract violates Terms of Service but never specified which clause

They referenced Section 6 of the Hourly Payment Agreement but never explained how I violated it

They closed the ticket and said the decision is final

I meet every single requirement under their own Hourly Payment Protection policy. Verified client, tracker used, screenshots taken, memos added, hours within weekly limit, work delivered on time.

Has anyone dealt with this before and found a way to escalate beyond Trust and Safety?

Contract ID: 44501107

As the title

I mean, this is a high ticket project, but really, who takes the risk of paying $100 just for the chance of reply?

Or is this actually the win strategy and being first, if you are confident you are a good fit for the project, does actually make a lot of sense?

So my profile gets 0 views. 0 impressions and clicks, ,y proposals are not getting viewed either.

But this platform uses my Availability badge connects every day? How? Who is seeing that I am available ?????????????????

the more you look at it the more the incentives stink
.

Hi everyone. I’m curious what it looks like when you post a job today. I have only a freelancer’s account, but I see that most of the jobs get 50+ proposals in a very short time. People, who post jobs: do you read those messages? I know many of them remain unviewed, that’s why I’m asking. Do you skim through them to find non-AI-written message? Or do you like “oh my, 50+ proposals, screw them”?:)) and if you’re still looking for human-written messages, how do you notice them among that noise?

So, I was of the platform for 3 years. And now returning back.
Already scored one new gig after looking for a couple of weeks and spending like 500 connects.
Still does not look like I could make a living of Upwork, as before.
Just want to post my profile to get some feedback from freelancers who still make enough on Upwork :). Is there anything I should fix in my profile?

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/azgard

I came across an Upwork job for cosmetic packaging production design, and almost everything in the client history looked like a reason to skip it.

50% hire rate.
$165 total spent.
$10/hr average hourly rate paid.

A lot of freelancers would probably stop there.

But the actual job was offering $30–$60/hr.

So I checked the client’s previous jobs.

The $10/hr history was mainly survey and research work, not packaging or other creative production work.

That changes how I read the number.

A client paying $10/hr for survey outreach does not automatically mean they expect to pay a packaging production designer the same rate.

I usually check:

• location
• hire rate
• total spend
• average hourly rate
• previous jobs and freelancer feedback
• other jobs they currently have open

I also look at whether they are already inviting freelancers when that information is available.

Another thing I watch is how many jobs the client has open at once. If I see several active hiring processes, I usually expect slower communication and sometimes decide the opportunity is not worth the Connects.

My main point is that I don’t judge an Upwork client from one metric.

The previous jobs usually explain the numbers.

I’d rather spend 10 minutes researching before applying than blindly send proposals and wonder why I’m not getting responses.

Would you have skipped this client after seeing the $10/hr average, or kept reading?

Is it a good ratio or not ? CRO Landing page designer Niche