Is Upwork Reliable? What You Need To Know

Upwork is a reliable freelancing website that brings together clients and independent professionals from all around the world. Its users include major corporations, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and independent freelancers alike. 

I’m one of them — I’ve been using Upwork as a freelancer and a small business client since 2019. Today, I’ll walk you through what makes Upwork a reliable marketplace for finding, or filling, freelance jobs.

How Upwork works

Upwork is totally driven by freelancers and clients. Professionals set their own project or hourly rates, companies seeking help set their own budgets, and all parties come to an agreement that works for everyone. 

However, when you use Upwork, you don’t have to worry about how to figure out project management tools, messaging apps, contracts, payment processing, or invoicing — it’s all included on the platform. 

If you know what you need help with, or what services you can offer, Upwork will help you get work done. This is true whether you’re a brand-new freelancer or an experienced hiring manager seeking support on a project.

Why Upwork is a reliable platform for freelancers and clients

First things first: Upwork’s been around for a long time — more than 20 years (albeit under a different name before 2015). Upwork is also a publicly traded company and is well beyond the startup phase. This means that you can trust Upwork to be there when you want to hire a freelancer, start a new side hustle, or grow your full-time freelancing business.

Second, thanks to multiple decades spent serving freelancers and clients, all of Upwork’s features, tools, and services are designed with freelancing in mind. Whether you’re most interested in job opportunities, building a portfolio, or safely paying freelancers, Upwork has a solution. 

Let’s take a closer look at what Upwork’s freelance-focused features are and how they work.

User-friendly website and app

You can access Upwork through its website or a mobile app. Both work well for many tasks like browsing jobs or freelancer profiles and sending messages. The one major exception is automatic time tracking, as that requires access to Upwork’s desktop app for freelancers.

The Upwork team is always looking for ways to improve both the website and the app, so you can be confident that you’ll continue to have access to the jobs and tools you need. 

Verification methods

Working with someone you meet online takes a fair amount of trust. While reviewing someone’s portfolio and talking to them first can help you feel more confident in a new partnership, Upwork also offers added peace of mind through freelancer ID verification and client billing method verification.

These measures allow you to feel more comfortable that the freelancer you’re talking to is who they say they are and that the client you’d like to work with has a real, reliable payment method.

Profiles, reviews, and transaction histories

You can also easily gather information about someone’s prior activity (if any) on Upwork through:

• Profiles that display reviews from former clients and freelancers, along with responses
• Job Success Scores (JSS) and talent badges that give clients a quick assessment of how well a freelancer has worked with clients in the past
• Earnings totals so you can see how much a freelancer has made on the platform to date (note: Freelancer Plus users can opt to hide this metric from public view)
• Total and average amounts paid, which shows you how much prospective clients typically pay the freelancers they work with
• Many freelancers and clients use these data points to build a better picture of who someone is before deciding to submit a proposal or request an interview. 

For example, Reddit user and freelancer u/PlayfulTheory3 says “I’m not thrown off immediately by clients that are relatively new to the platform. If I see some spend, maybe a positive review or two, and a decent job post that’s thought out well, I’ll apply and learn more about them in the interview.”

Project funds

All payments for work arranged via Upwork are paid through Upwork, too. This allows for use of Upwork’s hourly work diary system as well as milestone-based project funds for fixed-price projects.

The project funds system requires clients to provide Upwork with the agreed-upon payment amount up front. For instance, if a client and freelancer agree on $500 as a flat rate for the first milestone in a project, the client will put that amount in the project funds. 

Project funds are released once the freelancer has completed work and the client approves it. This gives clients extra security, as they know they won’t pay for work that was never delivered — and freelancers can be assured they won’t have to chase down payment for finished work.

In-app communication tools

Another nice thing about Upwork is that it provides all of the tools you need to get work started — proposals, contracts, and even video calls are built into the app. 

You can use Upwork Messages to converse via chat, audio, or video. Plus, if you opt for a video call, you can get automatic call summaries, action items, and recordings from Uma, Upwork's Mindful AI. You don’t need to worry about remembering exactly what was said, asking the other party for a transcript afterward, or taking notes during the call — Uma does it for you.

Desktop time tracking and payment protection

There’s also an Upwork desktop app that can run on your computer while you work and automatically log your time. It can also capture what activities you’re working on. This can be a great time saver for freelancers, and gives clients peace of mind that work is being completed as promised.

Reddit user u/MsWiggy says “I’m in legal and I love the tracker. Much easier than when I worked at law firms and to manually capture my time and billing. (I’ve spent) 30 years in the legal profession, 10 or more as contract/freelance … would never go back to manual tracking.” 

It’s particularly important to use the desktop time tracker on hourly contracts, as this is a component of how Upwork provides Hourly Payment Protection.

Dispute resolution support

If certain covered issues arise, Upwork can help with a dispute and arbitration process. (Clients can also request refunds directly from freelancers, though that isn’t the same thing as filing a dispute..)

While many Upwork users never need dispute or arbitration support, it’s always good to know there’s help if you need it. From my personal experience in six years on the platform, I’ve never been asked for or requested a refund, let alone filed a dispute. But I like knowing this help is readily available. .

It’s also important to know about the scam and incident reporting tools on Upwork. These tools allow you to flag suspicious job posts, messages, profiles, and more. 

Purpose-built AI tools

Upwork’s support team isn’t the only way to get help during your first experience searching for or posting a job. If you need or want a hand with tasks like creating a job post, writing a proposal, or outlining project steps, Uma can help. 

Uma is more than your standard AI meeting transcription or chat tool. It was purpose-built with context from the Upwork platform, so when you use Uma, you’re using AI made for freelancers and their clients. 

Upwork users find all sorts of uses for Uma — take user u/OccasionMysterious31’s experience as an example. This user asked Uma for help improving their Upwork profile and was pleased with the outcome. When reflecting on the experience, they said “sometimes we look at our own profiles too much and we miss things that an outside eye — or AI-eye! — might see. (Uma) still kept it in my voice, but pulled things out in a way I didn’t think to.” 

The No. 1 reason to try Upwork

All of these reasons (and more) make Upwork a reliable choice for freelancers and clients. But I think the number one reason that makes Upwork most worthwhile is its versatility. You can work, or get help with your work, at home, on vacation, on top of a mountain — anywhere with an internet connection. 

And your work is on your own terms. Other freelance platforms may require you to buy specific packages or work for certain rates. On Upwork, you’re in control. 

Try it out today by creating an Upwork account and sending proposals, posting a job, or arranging a paid consultation to learn in real time how Upwork works the way you want it to.

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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.