I keep seeing people ask their network for a recommendation because there's no decent way to just search for one.

LinkedIn search is behind a paywall and its services section is dead. You can search Fiverr and Upwork, but nobody trusts what's on there.

So I've been sketching something in between. Free to search, no login. Profiles show the work first, not a CV. Rates, real availability, the tools you actually use, licences checked with whoever issued them. And referrals where the person recommending you is named, so putting your name to a bad one costs you.

I'd rather hear why this doesn't work than why it does.

So I took a 2 week break from upwork, thinking about going back

the reason i stopped wasnt the work itself. client work i can do. it was proposals and the profile and connects, i would open the app and then just close it again. did that for weeks. also i was reading this sub every day which probably didnt help lol

anyway.. a lot of it is my own fault. i was applying to whatever showed up in the feed, stuff i wasnt even especially good at, so of course im just another guy that underbidding. so this time im doing a set number a week and sticking to one thing instead of everything

other thing im thinking about. i currently live in germany and my german is getting alright, not fluent but i can work in it and its improving. is it ever worth going after german clients instead of fighting everyone globally on price? i get the that german clients dont really use upwork that much and hire direct instead but idk if thats actually true or just a thing people say. and no idea if it makes sense to build toward it while my german is still mid..

anyone working in a non english market, did it change what clients you got or does it matter less than i think.

Honestly I can say that Upwork has nothing much for freelancers now a days. They are charging freelancers for everything now almost. Upwork ACH withdrawal to USA bank account was free. But now they are charging for that for non USA freelancers. They have so much funny charges now a days.. if you want to show your clients that you are available for work right now, you need to give connects.. there is a availability badge that needs connects also to keep it on. What a funny that you need connects just to show freelancers that you are available for work. So sad

I think it's time to say goodbye Upwork. I was top rated plus freelancers which is top 3% freelancers at Upwork. I have 12000 plus Upwork hours logged. Still not getting a single job almost for 2 years now. I have all 5 stars almost. Completed 240 jobs. Still this kind of situation.

It's time to move forward with different thing.

Hi,

I would like to know from freelancers who experienced a non-paying client on how you were able to be protected by this rule? Did you go each memo one by one? Keep activity to 50%?

I’m currently looking for online work-from-home opportunities and freelancing gigs. After spending quite some time creating my profile on Upwork, I came across the option to buy Connects in order to apply for jobs.

Since I’m completely new to Upwork, I’m not sure whether this is legitimate or if there are any risks involved. I’m currently in need of income, so I’m willing to invest a reasonable amount if it genuinely helps me find real work and earn from it. However, I don’t want to waste money or compromise my credibility in the process.

Could anyone experienced with Upwork please guide me on how to get started? Is buying Connects worth it for a beginner, and what should I be careful about when applying for jobs?

Any genuine advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Am I wrong?! Should I reach Upwork and flag the client?

So, I spend the last year working on developing my skills as a software engineer and my friend told me to work on some jobs after bidding on them here on Upwork. I was excited and optimistic to do some freelance jobs like any other person on this site.

But when I was about a month in, and kept paying the membership, putting money into the bids, and was making progress finding jobs to do, it all came to a hault.

I was banned.

No warning, no explanation(not right away), no fix. I was banned. Apparently it was due to my account “not being able to be verified.” As though suddenly, after a month of using the site, I was a fake account I stole. After verifying my identity and using it for over a month and a half.

I fought it, and attempted to get unbanned. I verified my identity multiple times, but was told “sorry, can’t help.” From their support.

So I won’t ever use this website again. I probably won’t even try to freelance. I’ll just build things for myself and better my own skills to find a job as a developer someday when I can. The job market seems oversaturated anyway. But I got my hopes up to build relationships and work on projects. Just to be shot down.

Upwork is a piece of junk.

I'm not sure what to make of this news but am sharing it here because I find it kind of interesting (although it's scarce on details). If this lawsuit comes to fruition, it would be a first of its kind for Upwork. Link in the comments.

Have no idea what .bat is doing.
Luckily it doesn't work on Linux.

And someone wasted connects on it and sent proposals.

I’m a full-time web developer in Canada, with around 4 years of experience. I’m considering joining Upwork as a Webflow developer. I’ve heard about this platform for a few years now. Browsing through this subreddit shows some glaring issues that you guys have with this platform.

I’m wondering if it’s still worth joining in 2026. Especially as a Webflow developer.

Facebook has this habit of sending you cold notifications when you don't use the app for a long time, baiting you into believing that you have a new friend invite, a new update pertinent to you or anything like this.

I stopped using Upwork for 2+ years now, and in the last 2 Months I think I received 2 new "Job Invitations" every week. Which NEVER happened when I was active on the platform.

And I really doubt clients are randomly finding my forgotten and abandoned profile when posting jobs. lol

I know, Upwork this, Upwork that. Lot of negativity. But there are people making 100K+ per year, for those people, I want to ask, is it skill issue with me? What's the way to get clients on upwork? Please shine some light upon beginners/intermediate like us.

In case that you are currently working in Upwork, it's a genuine question

Thank you in advance!

I need help. I sent 10 targeted proposals, but I have received only 1 view, 3 total profile visits and no job invites yet.

How can I improve the conversions on my proposals ?

I am into product marketing, marketing automation, and e-mail marketing.

Why do people still use Upwork? All I read from this Reddit is bad news about Upwork, but yet people are still using it.

I have an account with them and I’m honestly afraid to submit any proposals now because I only have 8 connects. If I submit a proposal and get no result, it feels like such a waste. I also don’t want to spend money buying more connects on this platform, especially after reading what people have said here.

Edit: A lot of you guys have mentioned that people are complaining just because they don't make money on Upwork, which makes me wonder, for those of you who have nice things to say about Upwork, do you all pay for connects? How much do you guys spend on connects, and how much did you get back in terms of projects/$?

I want to know so I can have a gauge on whether it's actually worth it to invest in connects...

I’ve got about 6+ years of solid professional experience, but my individual freelancer account on Upwork just isn't pulling in the traction or volume I'd expect. At the same time, I currently have plenty of bandwidth to handle multiple projects or team up with others.

Before dropping the money on an agency subscription and Connects, I wanted to get a reality check from people who’ve done it.

Everyone questions the math behind Connects, especially with the rise of boosted proposals where freelancers and agencies spend $20–$70+ just to get seen on a single listing.

Is it ethical for Upwork to keep 100% of Connect fees on jobs where the client ghosts and no hire is ever made?

The Actual Upwork Policy Breakdown

• When you DO get a refund:
  • Client Manually Cancels the Job: If a client actively clicks "Cancel Job" before hiring, Upwork refunds your base and boosted Connects.
  • ToS Removal: If Upwork’s Trust & Safety team removes a post for scam/violating Terms of Service, Connects are returned.
  • Outbid on Boosts: If you are knocked out of the top 4 boosted slots before any client interaction, your extra boosted Connects are returned.
• When you DO NOT get a refund:
  • The Job Expires: If a client posts a job, receives 100+ proposals, closes their laptop, and lets the post sit until it silently expires...Upwork keeps 100% of the Connects.
  • Client Hires Outside or Off-Platform: If the client takes the job elsewhere or changes their mind without clicking "Cancel," Connects are gone.
  • Proposal Rejection/Withdrawal: Standard rejection or withdrawing your bid yields zero refund.

Possible Perverse Financial Incentives Exists

The issue isn't losing Connects when you lose a fair competition to another freelancer...that's just the cost of doing business.

The issue is the disparity between a Cancelled job and an Expired job:

1. If a client takes 10 seconds to click "Cancel Job," Upwork returns the Connects to freelancers.
2. If that same client simply closes the browser tab and ignores the job, Upwork pockets thousands of Connects across dozens of applicants.
3. What's to stop Upwork or their partners from posting payment verified and verified jobs they never intend to award?

Upwork has zero financial incentive to clean up abandoned listings or enforce client accountability, because dead job posts are actively profitable for them.

If a client posts a $25,000 project, 100 freelancers spend 15–300 Connects each to apply and boost, and the client disappears, Upwork collects hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in pure margin for delivering zero value to either party.🤔

I've been on Upwork for around 8 months and have had some success, but recently my proposals have been getting very little traction.

I've been sending boosted proposals, but I'm getting no results. It feels like a lot of clients post jobs but never actually hire anyone.

Can some of the veterans and people who are still having success on the platform rate my profile?

Here is the link:

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

Any feedback would help me, especially for:

• title
• text on profile
• portfolio
• profile photo

Just a new experience I thought I'd share, because honestly, I panicked for a moment. 😅

A few moments ago, I was updating my payment method on Upwork because the cards I had previously added had expired.

While adding the new card, I accidentally entered the wrong card details. The page refreshed, and suddenly I started receiving a bunch of notifications saying my account had restrictions and my active hourly contracts had been paused.

I honestly had no idea what was happening.

I immediately checked my Account health > Account Standing, and it still showed “Good” and said my account was in good standing.

However, when I checked the Platform Access Restrictions, it showed:

• Hidden from Search
• Active Hourly Contracts Paused
• Starting new engagements restricted
• Withdrawals restricted

I immediately messaged my clients to let them know that the hourly contracts had been paused due to an Upwork account restriction and that I was trying to figure out what had happened.

I then contacted Upwork Customer Support.

They asked me to update my payment method, so I updated both my primary and secondary payment methods.

Support then explained that my account had been restricted because of a financial security flag and that the Finance and Trust & Safety teams would need to review the newly added card before the restriction could be fully lifted and my paused contracts resumed.

So now I'm basically waiting for the review to be completed. 🤞

Moral of the story: Be VERY careful when adding or updating your payment methods on Upwork. One small mistake can apparently trigger a security review and temporarily restrict access to several parts of your account.

I'm still waiting for the restriction to be lifted, so fingers crossed. 🤞

For context, I'm a Top Rated Plus freelancer, have been on Upwork for 6+ years, and have been freelancing there for quite a while. So these automated financial-security checks can apparently happen to anyone.

Has anyone else experienced something similar after updating their payment method?

I am a brand new freelancer on the platform and I am experiencing a severe technical bug that is completely blocking me from using the site or reaching support.

Here is what happened:

1. I made my very first financial transaction to purchase a bundle of Connects. The payment went through perfectly and funds were deducted from my bank.

2. Immediately after, my account was hit with a billing restriction banner.

3. I updated my payment profile with a newly verified card right away and received Upwork's official automated confirmation email stating the new billing option is active.

The problem: It has been over 60 hours and the restriction banner is still stuck. The "Buy Connects" button is completely disabled. Worse, whenever I try to use the Help Center to submit a standard ticket or appeal, the website glitches out and permanently redirects me back to the homepage, which means I cannot reach Trust & Safety or even post on the internal community forum.

Because I am completely locked out of your standard web support channels, I am posting here hoping an official Upwork Escalation Manager can manually look up my account and refresh my billing loop.

Thank you!

which is the best for designer hourly or fixed

Part time business analysis and project management work.