As a worker you can only apply to 2 jobs a month unless you buy credit. A lot of the "open" jobs are already hired so you waise your credits. You can't ask for details about a job until after you submit a proposal and spend credits, then learn their job is very different. Don't use.
I would just emphasize like a lot of comments here and unfortunately my opinion that its a platform for the purpose of tokens collection , posts are not always what they are about . If you are trying to get a work that actually cost 30-40-50$ an hour by paying only 5 or 7 $ , i would say up work might be a good destination. Other than this do not waste your money .
No customer support, suspected fake job postings, suspected proposal filtering, clients who disappear, large percentage of unawarded projects, and increasing costs. I am glad I have a strong Internet presence to obtain work because this platform is just not worth it.
Hello, Upworkers! I bought connects to apply for jobs on this platform. The platform is full of scams that everyone obviously knows about. A guy messages me for a small data entry role. They were trying to scam by messaging through telegram, another platform. Me, unknowing of policy tried to message this person because i did not know it was a acam yet as i am new to the platform. I report the scam after finding out it is a scam. The customer support puts a permanent mark on my account for scamming and forces me to reagree to the terms of service. I did not know it was the norm to punish the victim for scammers' activities, but alright. Save yourself the time and kindly avoid this platform. They are unprofessional and do not care for anything about you or your business. There are so many cases on the internet where people on Upwork got banned for little things and they are out of their money and time. They may even have ended up on the street because of their banning and bad decisions as a business entity. You cannot get refunds for scams on the platform unless they see it themselves as well. I have flagged several scams as scams and they sent me an email about seeing nothing wrong with the post. Several times. Please kindly, kindly, kindly avoid these people if you can. I fear for your your safety and well-being. I am very concerned that I put my person on this platform.
Upwork is the most dishonest and discriminating co in the Bay area. My account was used for 6 years for our charity's needs, anything from website building, videos, articles, social media promotion, etc. Upwork closed my account when we had small problem with one of the freelancers. The freelancer was always late and underperforming, but wanted to be paid. When we reported this, Upwork close out account without any reason given. There is no appeal process or fairness anywhere in the system. It's all AI-run company full of nonsense and no human understanding.
Upwork closed my account without a warning because i had worked with Palestinian freelancer. I have had Upwork account for 8 years and had nothing but 100% satisfied and happy reviews an all my jobs. Once I did a job with a Palestinian, my account was permanently suspended.
I was asked to verify my account, I sent my national ID. Then they blocked my account because my ID was not recognized. That's the one that is provided in my country. It ridiculous that you don't have the ID format used for each country when you are a remote employment site. And simply decide to block my account that I have used for 10 years! Adding that I sent all my documents and ID required 10 years ago and had no issue. I do not recommend this site.
What is this? Their support is genuinely disgusting as well as their AI automated system. I expect contact from a developer or somebody serious ASAP. This appears to be fraud to me.
I earn over 1,000K in a day , with my fast way of accomplishing the work
I encountered fraud on this platform right from my first job. The client simply did not pay for the work I did. Upwork support does not respond; in fact, there is no support as such. You can only communicate with a chatbot that sends you the same messages over and over again and doesn't really provide any answers to your situation. As a contractor, you are not insured against simply not getting paid. It's a waste of time and nerves. I don't recommend this platform to anyone; it's better to look elsewhere.
Account got deleted without a reason. Support is not available.The money will then go to the competition.
As a new user, my experience with Upwork has been extremely frustrating and frankly unacceptable. My account was suspended without a clear explanation, and despite fully complying with every instruction and sending repeated follow-ups over several days, I’ve been met with little more than inconsistent, generic responses. Their support team has offered no meaningful help or accountability throughout this process.
This has derailed a critical client project, put my professional reputation at risk, and left me in a position where I’m unable to move forward — all due to Upwork’s failure to act with urgency or clarity. I came to the platform expecting a reliable, professional service. What I encountered was a system that is opaque, unresponsive, and disconnected from the real-world consequences of its actions. I would strongly caution anyone considering Upwork for important work to look elsewhere.
I was also scammed by UPWORK for $30k in fraud and had an incident of fraud. NO ONE from upwork called me, and my issue was left virtually unresolved with UPWORK. They have no support phone number or chat features. For a company that makes millions of dollars, I am really not sure why they would treat customers this way. I will never work with them again, and frankly I will tell many people not to us this platform. I own a large award winning creative agency and will make sure we prevent business coming their way.
Zero star rating.
Terrible vetting process. Our freelancer ended up being a total scam. Listed his residence in Louisiana, after no delivery on work, we traced his IP to India. No LinkedIn profile. Not only was Upwork of no help in resolution, they insisted we pay them back when we reversed all payments through Amex.
We used Upwork with good success about 4 years ago (hence why we trusted and believed in their vetting process this time around). Clearly this company is not the same and I recommend staying away.
I hired Danish Qureshi through Upwork to create a logo and brand kit for my new business. The contract clearly outlined the deliverables—multiple file formats, layout variations, and branded elements. Despite six rounds of detailed, constructive feedback, he ignored critical revisions, added elements I never asked for, and ultimately refused to deliver required variations, claiming they "don’t work"—even though they were clearly included in the scope.
When I escalated to Upwork Support, I was told I no longer qualified for formal mediation because 30 days had passed since payment was auto-released—despite providing a clear paper trail proving breach of contract and non-delivery.
Upwork offered "informal mediation" but never followed through. I was left with incomplete, unusable files and wasted $200. I then had to hire a second designer—costing me more money and delaying my launch. As someone starting a small business, I felt completely taken advantage of. To make matters worse, Danish Qureshi was rude, dismissive, and blamed me throughout the process.
Upwork made it clear they don't stand behind their contracts, protect their clients, or enforce accountability on their platform. If you're a small business owner or anyone looking for reliable work, stay away. You're better off spending your money elsewhere than trusting Upwork with your project.
The WORST online experience of any web site in the history of web sites. The site just does not work correctly. For weeks now, when I put a keyword into the search bar, the search results refuse to come back in the order of newest results first, they are totally chronologically out of order, and impossible to look for the newest project posts from hirers. Don't tell me to empty my cache or restart my computer like it's 1997. Your site is AWFUL! Not to mention how intrusive you are, the high fees for projects, and violation of NYS and US law when you ask for ID to be scanned into your system.
Upwork has no meaningful customer service. I predict this platform will self-destruct soon. I hired a vendor from Japan, just to find out his IP address was in Nigeria. Luckily, I have not shared confidential information yet. I paid just $100 for the vendor to get started, but 5 minutes later, I discovered the improper IP address. When confronting the vendor, the profile disappeared. I immediately stopped communicating with the fraudster and reported to Upwork. What a nightmare Upwork puts you through for something so obviously wrong and verifiable. It's been over a week and still no refund because, according to Upwork, the vendor who no longer has a profile on their platform has 2 weeks to respond to my refund request. I don't care about the $100. It's the principle. I will no longer seek vendors on Upwork.
After 11 months and full payment, we encountered serious issues that compromised delivery, trust, and platform safety with a developer via Upwork. Asked UpWork for help but was not able to help at all.
I’m warning others about my experience with Upwork Escrow Inc., who I believe is unlawfully withholding funds that were rightfully refunded to me after a resolved contract. Despite Upwork ruling in my favor, the money was not returned to my original payment method and instead diverted into an unrelated escrow account without my consent or explanation. After weeks of trying to reach support, requesting escalation, and receiving only automated or evasive responses, it’s clear they are actively preventing me from reclaiming what’s mine. This isn’t just bad service—it borders on theft and violates California escrow law, which requires prompt return of funds. I’ve contacted the Palo Alto Police to file a report and strongly urge others facing similar issues to document everything and do the same.
