Is Upwork Free To Join? Our Pricing Breakdown (2026)
Upwork is free to join in 2026, but you’ll encounter fees for certain features. Our guide explains everything you can do for no cost vs. a paid plan.
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What to know about using Upwork for free
- Upwork is free to join for freelancers, agencies, and clients
- Freelancers can use a free Basic plan or upgrade to Freelancer Plus for $19.99/month with 100 Connects and full access to Uma
- Agencies can use Agency Basic for free or upgrade to Agency Plus for $19.99/month to bid on new projects
- Clients pay service fees when they hire — 3% or 5% for Upwork’s Basic plan, 8% or 10% for Business Plus
- Contract initiation fees may also apply when starting a new contract
This guide breaks down the free features on Upwork, fees you might encounter based on plan type, and how much you can expect to pay.
What you can do on Upwork for free
Freelancers and clients can get started on Upwork for free. Here’s what’s included at no cost:
Free features for freelancers and agencies:
- Create a profile and showcase your skills, portfolio, and work history
- Receive 10 free Connects per month to submit proposals
- Use Upwork messaging to communicate with clients
- Access payment protection on eligible contracts
- Use Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI on a limited basis
Free features for clients:
- Post jobs and receive proposals from freelancers
- Browse freelancer profiles and send up to 30 invites per job
- Create hourly and fixed-price contracts with milestones
- View talent badges, Job Success Scores, and client feedback
- Use Uma on a limited basis
You only pay for Upwork when you take actions like purchasing additional Connects, upgrading to a Plus plan, or hiring a freelancer and making payments through the platform.
Full Upwork pricing breakdown
Upwork charges fees based on how you use our platform after you sign up for free. Clients and freelancers can start with our free Basic accounts, or sign up for a Plus membership plan.
The benefits of a Plus account include:
- More Connects every month for freelancers
- Availability badges for freelancers and agencies
- Greater insights into competitor bids and activity on job posts
- Additional Upwork profile customization options for freelancers and agencies
- Client-specific support for finding the best freelancers for a job
Here’s how fees compare for freelancers, agencies, and clients:
On Upwork, our service and contract initiation fees are transparent, stated up front, and locked in for the duration of your contract. Clients and freelancers both know how much money is being charged, what Upwork collects, and what the freelancer will take home.
How much does Upwork cost for freelancers?
A Freelancer Basic account is free and includes 10 Upwork Connects per month. You can use Connects to submit proposals for fixed-price and hourly projects, and if you run out, purchase additional Connects for $0.15 each. Many new freelancers start by using a Basic account to find their first job.
As a Basic member, you’ll still get access to our payment protection and direct contracts. But use of Uma is limited to about 10 messages per week.
Freelancer Plus offers additional tools to help you grow your freelance career. For $19.99 per month, you’ll receive additional Connects, full access to Uma, 0% freelancer service fees, and more:
- 100 Connects per month (vs. 10 for Basic)
- Full access to Uma
- 0% fee on earnings through direct contracts (vs. 5% for Basic)
- Freelance job alerts
- Profile customization tools that let you adjust what potential clients see
- Greater insights around competing bids on proposals
Compare monthly cost, fees, and features of Freelancer Basic and Plus accounts in the table below:
Service fees on standard contracts range from 0% to 15% depending on the type of contract, plus supply and demand. The exact fee you’ll pay is visible to you before you submit a proposal or accept an offer, and stays fixed once the contract begins.
No matter which plan you choose, note that Upwork won’t charge you service fees until you’re paid. (Freelancer Plus membership fees and Connects payments are due at the time of purchase.)
How much does Upwork cost for agencies?
Agency Basic is free to join. Free Basic accounts allow you to work on current active projects and use Uma on a limited basis. You can’t bid on new projects, boost your agency profile, or buy more Connects with this type of account, however.
While there’s no cost to sign up for Upwork as an agency, many users find they get more out of our Agency Plus membership. Agency Plus users can:
- Buy Connects ($0.15 each) and boost profiles
- Bid on new projects
- Accept invites from any Upwork client
- Hide agency earnings from prospective clients
- Get full access to Uma
Here’s how fees, features, and more stack up for Agency Basic and Agency Plus plans:
Some of your Agency Plus benefits will pass through to the freelancers in your agency, too, such as the ability to use the agency’s Connects for boosting individual profiles and turning on availability badges.
How much does Upwork cost for clients?
Clients can create a client account for free with Upwork’s Basic plan. A basic account is great for clients just starting out who want to explore hiring their first freelancer. In most cases, you only have additional costs when you hire or use paid hiring features.
With a Basic account, you can:
- Post jobs
- Browse freelancer profiles and send up to 30 invites per job
- Create hourly contracts
- Create fixed-price contracts with milestones
- See freelancers’ Job Success Scores (JSS)
- View Rising Talent, Top Rated, and Top Rated Plus talent badges on freelancer profiles
- Generate basic reports about your account activity
- Use Uma on a limited basis
When you’re ready to grow your business, upgrading to the Business Plus plan will give you access to more features. With a Plus account, you can:
- See which freelancers have achieved Expert-Vetted status
- Request shortlists of qualified talent for a specific job
- Use advanced account reporting tools
- Send up to 60 invites per job
- Take advantage of flexible payment options with Net 30 terms (upon approval)
- Get 24/7 premium customer support from the Upwork team
There’s no monthly subscription cost for a Business Plus account. Instead, you’ll pay a slightly higher service fee on payments made to freelancers.
Use this table to decide if the Basic or Business Plus plan is best for you:
How do Upwork fees compare to other freelancing platforms?
Work marketplace fees can vary a lot — some platforms, like Toptal, charge every client a monthly subscription fee; others, like Fiverr, charge a 20% service fee on all freelancer earnings.
You can see how Upwork fees compare to other services in our platform-specific guides:
We review and update these guides several times a year for accuracy.
Do people actually build a career on Upwork?
Yes! Lots of freelancers build a career on Upwork — and clients build businesses of all sizes here, too. Just look at how the platform has helped these professionals achieve their business and income goals:
- Computer scientist Nick Gallo freelances while exploring the U.S.
- Designer Mateja Miladinović works independently to create better balance in his life
- Nonprofit founder Quilen Blackwell relies on freelancers from Upwork to help him grow his urban farm and flower shop in Chicago
- Agency owner Kennan Theron creates job opportunities for his friends and family
- Project manager Margareth Espero builds a full-time schedule that allows her to be present for her children
Startup founder Jared Steele turned his ideas into reality with the help of freelancers on Upwork
Take the next step to grow your business for free
Whether you’re a freelancer, business, or agency, Upwork is free to sign up for and get started on. Join today to view jobs, search freelancer profiles, build a portfolio, and more.
Prices are current at the time of writing and may change over time based on each service’s offerings.
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.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. Upwork is free to join for freelancers, agencies, and clients. You may incur fees depending on whether you buy Connects, need full access to Uma, or to make/receive payments, for example.
Additional Connects for Freelancer Basic, Freelancer Plus, and Agency Plus users currently cost $0.15 each, with a minimum purchase of 10.
It’s simple to purchase additional Upwork Connects for your free, Basic account. Simply log into your Upwork account and select the “Buy Connects” button located along the right side of your homepage. Connects currently cost $0.15 each with a minimum of 10.
Yes, Freelancer Basic members currently receive 10 Connects per month, and Freelancer Plus members receive 100. Since proposals require Connects and the number needed varies by job, some freelancers decide that buying more (at $0.15 each) is a worthwhile investment in their business.
A Basic freelancer account is free. Freelancer Plus currently costs $19.99 per month. Standard freelancer service fees are 0% to 15% per contract, and direct contracts are 5% for Basic or 0% for active Freelancer Plus members.
Yes, clients can join for free. Upwork’s Basic pricing ranges from 3% to 5% on payments to freelancers, while Business Plus is 8% to 10%. Contract initiation fees may also apply when starting a new contract.
For clients, service fees apply to freelancer payments under the applicable plan. For freelancers, service fees apply to earnings under the terms of the contract. Upwork is transparent about these fees, showing them before you submit a proposal, accept an offer, or make a payment.
Upwork is best used by companies of all sizes that need flexible, reliable freelance talent. While solopreneurs can use Upwork for one-off projects, the platform really shines when businesses use it to build teams, scale quickly, or bring in specialized skills without the cost of full-time hiring.
Freelancers use Upwork to connect with businesses of all sizes around the world, find steady work, and grow their careers. It’s also a great place for beginners to start freelancing and grow their career over time – like Josh Burns, who earned over $1 million on Upwork after leaving his full-time job to focus on freelancing.
Author Spotlight
Upwork is the world’s largest human and AI-powered work marketplace that connects businesses with independent talent from across the globe. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large organizations with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.
