Is Upwork Freelancer Plus Worth It?

Upwork’s Freelancer Plus membership plan is an optional subscription that gives you access to additional insights and tools not available to users of the free Freelancer Basic plan. Many users find that a Freelancer Plus membership is well worth the cost, as it helps them earn far more than they spend on the monthly subscription fee. 

Let’s take a closer look at what Freelancer Plus offers so you can decide if it’s right for you.

How much does Freelancer Plus cost?

If you subscribe to Freelancer Plus through Upwork, you’ll pay $19.99 per month. You can cancel at any time, too. 

You can also opt to subscribe to Freelancer Plus through the Apple App Store, but you’ll pay a higher price of $27 per month. 

I recommend subscribing through Upwork in your browser, as you’ll get a lower price and can manage your subscription directly in your Upwork account settings. 

What are the perks of Freelancer Plus?

Every aspect of the Freelancer Plus plan is designed to help you find great clients and freelance jobs faster. 

More Connects

To start, Freelancer Plus members get 100 Connects every month as part of their plan. (You can still purchase more Connects if you need them, too.) 

You can use Connects to:

• Submit proposals
• Boost proposals
• Run ads on Upwork

Upwork users on the Freelancer Basic plan only get 10 Connects per month. Additional Connects are priced at $0.15 each, and you can buy them as you need them. (Upwork will charge the cost of the Connects to your account balance or your preferred billing method.)

Reddit user u/asdis_rvk thinks that “if you are buying Connects on a regular basis, then it could make sense to get the Plus plan.”

Better proposal insights

Freelancer Plus also gives you access to expanded insights that clue you in to what rates other freelancers are submitting with their proposals. I found this very useful when I was first starting to use Upwork, as it helped me understand how my competitors were pricing their services. 

You might find these expanded insights useful, too, if:

• You’re new to Upwork
• You’re having trouble winning contracts
• You want to know which proposals are worth spending your time on
• You’re unsure how much to charge for a project

Unlimited access to Uma

While every freelancer on Upwork can use Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI, only Freelancer Plus members get unlimited Uma access. This means there’s no limit on the ways you can use Uma to help you with things like:

• Writing proposals 
• Brainstorming ideas
• Drafting content 
• Working on client projects 

Uma is the best AI tool available to freelancers on Upwork, as it’s been purpose-built with context from the Upwork platform. Because of this, Uma is well-tailored to the specific needs of freelancers — more so than a generic AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude.

ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro both cost $20 a month. By paying a comparable rate for Freelancer Plus instead, you can get access to a specialized AI tool as well as all the other great perks on this list. 

Freelancer profile customization tools

Freelancer Plus also gives you extra control over how your profile appears to clients on Upwork. You can:

• Customize your profile URL to include your name or another easy-to-remember phrase 
• Opt to keep your profile active and open to client invitations even when you’re taking a break from actively sending proposals
• Keep your total earnings private from clients’ view

Reduced service fees 

All freelancers on Upwork pay the same service fees on traditional Upwork contracts. These fees range from 0% to 15% depending on several factors. 

But only Freelancer Plus users get 0% fees assessed on Direct Contracts. A Direct Contract allows you to invite your clients who aren’t already on Upwork to the platform — a great way to centralize all of your invoicing and work in one spot.

Many payment processing systems charge 2% to 3% in fees each time your client pays your invoice. If you’re billing more than $1,000 a month you could save money as a Freelancer Plus subscriber by moving your clients to Upwork.

Personalized job alerts

Finally, Freelancer Plus gives you what I consider to be one of the most valuable features: personalized job alerts. Upwork will send you notifications for jobs that are a good fit for your industry, skills, and rates — meaning you can land great clients with no time spent searching and faster proposal delivery.

I’ve found some great projects through Upwork’s alerts, and can attest that it’s a worthwhile investment. Redditor u/Hei_di17 has had a similar experience. She says, “I care a lot about personalized job alerts and their timing. I landed 2 jobs almost instantly this week just/mostly because I wrote first ...They turned out to be respectful and professional clients.”

Is Freelancer Plus required to use Upwork?

No, Freelancer Plus isn’t a requirement to use Upwork as a freelancer.

If you’re on the free Freelancer Basic plan you can continue to find new clients and bring existing clients onto the platform via Direct Contracts. There are also no restrictions on whether you work on an hourly or fixed-price basis. 

But as a free user, you won’t be able to customize your profile. You won’t get unlimited access to Uma, and you’ll have to pay for Connects and Direct Contract service fees.

So, should you sign up for Freelancer Plus?

Many Freelancer Plus users find that the subscription’s features allow them to spend less time hunting for jobs and more time doing paid work.

Reddit user u/Cultural-Afternoon72 has good advice, saying “At a minimum, I’d say people need to try it for themselves and actually track what they get benefit from. Pay the $20 for a single month, and keep a log of what features you do and don’t use, if your proposal conversion rate increases, etc. If you get to the end of the month and see you used the Connects but nothing else, it isn’t worth it. If you get to the end and use all the tools but see zero change in your conversion or effort, it likely wasn’t worth it. If you get to the end, though, and your conversion rate notably increases, or it remains the same but saves you time, effort, and headache, well, maybe it’s worth (the cost).” 

Upgrade your Freelancer Basic membership for additional features 

If you would like to take advantage of everything that Freelancer Plus offers, doing so is easy. Existing Upwork users can log into their account, then navigate to “Settings” and “Membership & Connects.” Click on “Change Plan” to upgrade or downgrade your membership level. 

And if you’re not yet using Upwork, it’s easy to get started — simply create your account and opt to sign up for Freelancer Plus to take advantage of everything discussed in this guide.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

Prices are current at the time of writing and may change over time based on each service's offerings.