Upwork fees are about to go down! The major freelancing and hiring platform just just announced a new fee structure that cuts down fees from 20% to 10%, starting in May 2023.
At Feisworld Media, we love Upwork. Even though we felt it pricey in many occasions (on both client and hiring side), it has been very straightforward to find talent, test things out and build a team through them. We established long lasting and beautiful relationship with our producer and assistant, and Upwork was the starting point.
However, as a freelancer, paying 20% of your profits on top of their connects and subscriptions is problematic: you need to charge more for your services which makes you less competitive and attractive, and reduces your profitability.
The decision to cut down fess by 10% is something we celebrate, as it promotes more work through the platform, and it stands very strong against competitor like Fiverr (which still charge 20%)
New Upwork Fees from May 2023
As a freelancer, you’ll pay a 10% freelancer service fee based on your contract’s invoiced earnings. This includes all your contracts with a client whether hourly, fixed-price, or a Project Catalog project.
Example
On a $500 project with a new client, your freelancer service fee would be $50. Your earnings after fees would be $450.
What are Upwork Fees before May 2023?
As a freelancer now you pay a sliding freelancer service fee based on your total lifetime billings with a client. This includes all your contracts with a client whether hourly, fixed-price, or a Project Catalog project.
Here’s how the sliding freelancer service fee works:
- $0-$500 in earnings from a client: 20% freelancer service fee applied to earnings
- $500.01-$10,000 in earnings from a client: 10% freelancer service fee
- $10,000.01 or more in earnings from a client: 5% freelancer service fee
Example
On a $600 project with a new client, your freelancer service fee would be 20% on the first $500 and 10% on the remaining $100. Your earnings after fees would be $490.
IMHO, this sucked because most people work on Upwork have one-time clients, which makes it really hard to reach those high thresholds. Long-term clients typically continue their relationship outside the platform.
New Upwork Fees: Wrap Up
We’ve been educating about freelancing and entrepreneurship for over 10 years. News and initiatives like this which promote more benefits to freelancers and stimulate positive relationships between client and workers are what we thrive for.
After all, Upwork is a service platform that should serve and facilitate others. It’s a big plus that they are making this change. Looking forward to see what else they have under the sleeve for 2023!
Written by
Fei WuFei Wu is the founder and CEO of Feisworld Media, a Massachusetts-based digital media company helping brands get discovered by people and by AI. An Adobe Global Ambassador and brand partner to ElevenLabs, Synthesia, and 50+ other tech and AI companies, she hosts the Feisworld Podcast (400+ episodes, 500K+ downloads — guests have included Seth Godin, Steve Wozniak, Chris Voss, and Arianna Huffington) and co-created the documentary Feisworld: Live Your Art on Amazon Prime. Fei writes for CNET, Lifehacker, and PCMag, and her work has been featured in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and WIRED. She has been publishing on the internet since 2014 — long before AI discoverability had a name.
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