Upwork

The world’s work marketplace

Fractional Leaders & Talent
★★★★☆ 4.4
2015 Founded
501-1000 Employees
unknown Customers
Palo Alto, California, USA Headquarters
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Quick Facts

Website
upwork.com →
Pricing Model
usage-based
Company Type
public
Social
LinkedIn Twitter/X

About Upwork

Upwork is a publicly traded freelancing marketplace that connects businesses of all sizes with independent professionals, agencies, and fractional leaders across more than 10,000 skills worldwide. The platform evolved from the merger of two early online work pioneers, Elance (founded in 1999) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2013 as Elance-oDesk and rebranded as Upwork in 2015. en.wikipedia.org

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Upwork operates a large-scale work marketplace used by clients ranging from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100. Its marketplace spans categories such as development and IT, design and creative, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, consulting, operations, legal, and HR and training. Independent professionals on Upwork earned over $3.3 billion in 2021 through the platform, underscoring its role as a major channel for remote and freelance work globally. stockanalysis.com

For businesses, Upwork offers several ways to engage talent: posting open roles to the Talent Marketplace, purchasing pre-scoped Project Catalog offerings, booking expert consultations, or using Enterprise and Any Hire solutions for more complex, scaled programs. Clients get built-in tools for job posting, AI-assisted matching and job post generation, talent vetting based on work history and reviews, Work Diary time tracking, collaboration via chat and video, escrow-based payments, and dispute resolution. Business Plus and Enterprise plans add capabilities like Uma Recruiter (an AI-powered hiring agent), advanced reporting, domain-based team controls, compliance and classification support, and API access. upwork.com

Upwork is positioned as a flexible alternative or complement to traditional staffing and consulting, especially for organizations looking to tap fractional executives, specialized experts, and distributed teams. With around 600 employees and 2024 revenue of roughly $769 million, the company is one of the largest players in the freelance and external talent market and is included in indices such as the Russell 2000 and S&P 600. Its strategy increasingly focuses on higher-value clients and enterprise use cases, while continuing to serve millions of smaller businesses that need occasional or project-based help. en.wikipedia.org

Key Features

Global talent marketplace - Post jobs and access independent professionals and agencies in 180+ countries across 10,000+ skills, from development and IT to creative, marketing, finance, and operations.

Talent Marketplace & Project Catalog - Hire via open job posts or buy pre-scoped fixed-price projects and consultations for common business needs like design, content, and implementation work.

Business Plus & Enterprise plans - Unlock premium features such as access to pre-vetted top 1% talent, program management support, advanced reporting, and governance for larger teams.

AI-assisted job posting & matching - Use AI tools to generate job descriptions and surface best-fit freelancers based on skills, rate, availability, and prior performance data.

Uma Recruiter - Always-on AI recruiting assistant that delivers a curated shortlist of top freelancers matched to your job, typically within hours, reducing manual sourcing time.

Work Diary & desktop time tracking - Track hourly work with activity indicators and optional screenshots, giving managers visibility into progress and providing payment protection for both sides.

Integrated collaboration workspace - Centralized messages, file sharing, task updates, and Zoom-based voice and video calls within Upwork's web and mobile apps.

Escrow and milestone-based payments - Fund projects up front into escrow and release funds on approved milestones or upon completion, with dispute resolution mechanisms when needed.

Direct Contracts & Any Hire - Bring your own freelancers or full-time hires onto the platform to manage contracts, compliance, and payments through Upwork's infrastructure.

Enterprise compliance & classification support - Enterprise solutions include configurable contracts, worker classification help, IP transfer terms, and optional EOR/payroll services to reduce misclassification risk.

Advanced analytics & reporting - Standard and advanced dashboards for spend, hiring velocity, contract status, and talent performance to help program owners manage large freelance populations.

Domain-based teams & admin controls - Manage multiple hiring managers under one company domain, set permissions, and centralize billing and approvals for coordinated hiring.

Full-time and contract-to-hire workflows - Support for full-time hiring, including contract-to-hire models, so companies can trial freelance engagements before extending permanent offers.

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • Very large, global talent pool with specialists in thousands of skills, making it easy to find candidates for almost any role.
  • Integrated workflow for sourcing, messaging, contracting, time tracking, and payments in a single platform.
  • Secure Work Diary and escrow system that help protect both clients and freelancers and simplify billing.
  • Flexible engagement models including hourly, fixed-price, contract-to-hire, and, through Enterprise, full-time hiring.
  • Strong filters and search tools (including location and badge filters) that help narrow talent to specific experience levels, geographies, or credentials.

👎 Cons

  • High and rising fees for freelancers and clients, plus the need to purchase Connects to bid on many jobs, which some users feel creates a pay-to-play dynamic.
  • Quality and reliability of talent and job postings can be uneven, requiring careful vetting and time to filter out scams or low-quality opportunities.
  • Customer support is frequently described as slow, scripted, or difficult to reach for non-Enterprise users.
  • Intense competition on many roles makes it hard for new freelancers to win work and can encourage downward pressure on rates.
  • Some concerns about account suspensions, policy enforcement, and dispute resolution outcomes, which users feel can favor platform or client interests.

User Reviews

G2
4.5
★★★★★
Capterra
4.4
★★★★☆
TrustRadius
8.4
★★★★★

Integrations

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Asana AWS Lambda Behance Calendly Canva ChatGPT ClickUp Dropbox GHL Google Analytics for G Suite Google Workspace Labelbox LinkedIn Job Search Literatu for Google Docs for G Suite Microsoft Word monday.com Work Management Payoneer QuickBooks Online Salesforce Platform Slack TimeTracker.pro Zapier Zoom Rooms Zoom Workplace

Best For

Company Size

smb mid-market enterprise

Industries

Technology & SaaS Marketing & Advertising Professional Services & Consulting E-commerce & Retail Financial Services Media & Publishing

Use Cases

Hiring fractional executives, subject-matter experts, and advisors for strategic projects Augmenting internal teams with on-demand specialists for design, development, marketing, and analytics work Standing up distributed project teams for launches, migrations, and transformations Building ongoing freelance benches for content, creative, customer support, or back-office work Running contract-to-hire pilots before extending full-time offers

FAQ

What is Upwork?

+

Upwork is a global online work marketplace where businesses can find, hire, and manage independent professionals, agencies, and fractional leaders for projects or ongoing roles. It spans thousands of skills - from software development and design to marketing, finance, operations, and consulting - and provides built-in tools for job posting, collaboration, time tracking, contracts, and payments.

How much does Upwork cost?

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Creating an account and posting jobs on Upwork is free for clients. Under the Basic plan, clients generally pay a marketplace fee of around 5% on payments to freelancers, plus a one-time contract initiation fee for each new contract. Business Plus typically charges a 10% fee but includes premium support, access to pre-vetted top talent, Uma Recruiter, and advanced controls, while Enterprise and Any Hire solutions use custom, contract-based pricing that can include employer-of-record and payroll fees.

What are the main features of Upwork?

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Key Upwork features include a large global talent marketplace, AI-assisted job posting and matching, Business Plus and Enterprise tiers, Project Catalog and consultations, Work Diary and desktop time tracking, integrated messaging and Zoom calls, escrow and milestone-based payments, Direct Contracts and Any Hire for bringing your own talent, compliance and classification support, and advanced analytics and reporting for larger programs.

Who are Upwork's main competitors?

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Upwork's primary competitors in the freelance and external workforce space include Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Toptal, Guru.com, YouTeam, and various vendor management and freelancer management systems. Compared with these, Upwork tends to offer a broader marketplace and more integrated program tools, while some rivals emphasize either tighter vetting, specific verticals, or lower-cost gig-style work.

Is Upwork good for small businesses?

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Yes. Upwork is widely used by small and midsize businesses that need flexible access to specialized skills without committing to full-time hires. The Basic plan is free to join and works well for ad hoc projects and fractional contributors, while Business Plus can help growing teams standardize hiring, gain better reporting, and tap pre-vetted talent. That said, small businesses should budget for marketplace fees and spend time learning how to write good job posts, vet candidates, and avoid low-quality or scam listings.

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