Announcing new, simpler fees on Upwork

[StanG]

Today we introduced two key pricing changes: on May 3, 2023, we are retiring our sliding scale fee structure and introducing a 10% service fee for all freelancers, and on April 26, 2023, we are implementing a one-time contract initiation fee for clients of up to $4.95 per contract. Click here for the full announcement.

Please share your questions and feedback in the thread below.

[spod777ru]

I've already put a short on your company's shares, I will make money on your collapse as you want to make money on us.

[raf65]

I'm a freelancer with 5% contract clients and a shareholder. I shall be selling my shares today and cutting my losses. There are other ways that Upwork could increase revenue (I've tried reaching out to them with this to no avail) without touching these fee tiers.

[pdufour]

"It'll be so much simpler for you when we double our cut of your earnings" is actually not a very convincing argument for freelancers who rely mostly on long-term contracts. What exactly is my incentive to keep my clients here? They pay fees, too--is there any reason I shouldn't tell them that I offer lower rates with no fees to non-Upwork clients? 

[henryrivera123]

I dont think that raising the fee from 5% to 10% to freelancers using Upwork long enough with same client to reach $10.000+ is a smart decision but you just do what you have to do 

[deborahtayloe]

You are doing a disservice to people who worked hard to build long-term relationships. This is incredibly harmful to small businesses and freelancers.  DOUBLING MY FEES? Um. No thanks. I plan to pursue new relationships and ditch my UW clients - I will be sure to tell them WHY

[johnedgarmontojo]

Bad Idea

[antoniormrzz]

Valeria, Upwork is already taking more fees because of the terrible exchange rate. You miscalculated this step. short term clients might not care about their freelancers enough to move out of Upwork with them. Long-term clients are basically employers, they form relationships with their freelancers. Do you think they'd rather end a months long relationship with a freelancer and deal with onboarding someone else than move their contract? yeah, nah. This might slightly benefit freelancers who work on short-term jobs, but those of us working long-term contracts will have to pay double the fees. Do you think we appreciate paying an additional 5% in exchange for not calculating fee tires? we don't calculate fee tires often anyways, since we only change contracts a couple of times a year. You could limit this to an hourly rate. but for someone working 100$ an hour (not me, but a lot of contractors do), 800 dollars a month is not worth not checking their contract history once a year. For me, that amount is 480 dollars a month, or whatever that translates to with the "great" exchange rate.

Please reconsider. Thanks.

[perry_rob]

Hi Valeria,

Those are not benefits. Here, I fixed it for you:

We will be continuing the 5% service fee through the end of 2023 on contracts that are already eligible, in order to give freelancers like you time to adjust to this new fee structure and to adjust their own rates, work strategies, and contract selections accordingly. update their websites and move their business off the platform.

[mikead]

"Many cases" but certainly not most, and especially not the most profitable larger/long-term projects we rely on for income. 

Read the comments and you'll see how many of us would rather sacrifice an extra 3-4 minutes calculating our than a measurable cut of our earnings. 

[deseraimp]

Not good enough.

[57446a10]

Wow, awesome. I have two clients on Upwork. One of them is approaching a 2-year term. The other also passed the $10k threshold. So now I have a task to move them off Upwork before the end of 2023, so I won't be paying you double! of what I am now. 

What were you thinking? The 5% fee was an incentive to keep long-term clients running. What motivation do freelancers have now to just not switch clients like hot potatoes? 
Not a smart move! 

[daramos]

The 3 reasons you provided below are not valid reasons for doubling our fees. We are smart enough to calculate those tier values relatively quickly, and if we weren't, I am certain that paying someone to create an excel spreadsheet to do it, would be materially less than the extra 5%. I would create the spreadsheet myself and give it to all freelancers.

This move of Upwork is extremely abusive. You are abusing the individual who seeks freedom, family balance or works here to meet other personal goals. You know that we need a platform and that at the end of the day, there is absolutely nothing we can do to influence this decision. This at the end of the day is abusive, selfish, ill-intended and tyrannical. 

[travisturgeon]

Awful. Just awful. Nice try on the spin to make paying UpWork thousands of additional dollars a year more appealing, though.

[robin_raz_mithu]

Valeria, 
With due respect, Upwork shouldn't make this fee changes. Most of the Top Rated Plus freelancers will have to move their contact outside Upwork. I mean, who wants to lose hundreds/thousands of dollars? Upwork suppose to professional platform, and we believe it is. Please, do not make any changes to any fees. It's gonna be very disappointing. 

[aaadd152]

Just useless. 

I started my contracts knowing I'll get to the 5% fees, and that's what I based my fees on. That's not happenning anymore. So completely useless "We will be continuing the 5% service fee through the end of 2023 on contracts that are already eligible, in order to give freelancers like you time to adjust to this new fee structure and to adjust their own rates, work strategies, and contract selections accordingly."

But thanks for giving the opportunity to explore other platforms. 

[joosterman]

So, a penalty for those who kept their contracts on Upwork. A penalty for loyalty. Why you would think that you are the best for doubling the rate is beyond me

[uslawclerk]

Terrible decision. That was one (maybe the only one) interesting prerrogative for freelancers with a top rated plus badge. Freelancer with a full time contract relationship will be negatively impacted for this terrible decision. 

[uslawclerk]

I was paying for the premium option, now it is gone. I don't want to afford that. You're welcome. 

[apheiner]

"Freelancers don't have to calculate". That's what Excel is for.

20% for 500$ contracts is a lot; 10% of contracts up to 10k is reasonable. But 10% on contracts over 10k where everything is automated? I've a repeat customer with whom I've had contracts collectively of 80k. So without doing anything more you will cash in an additional 3500$.

As the saying goes, better a small share of a lot than a large share of little. What looks a profitable move is likely to backfire dramatically. 

[56886e94]

Yes we did got that, but after 2023 we will pay 10% even if we have already paid the initial fee which makes us eligible to pay 5% fee

[1c3fe905]

Not a good strategy for those freelancer who earned hard to make the 5%. 

[windwardnorth]

This is a shameful explanation! Careful,,, changes like this that take money out of the pockets of your succesful providers might see them exiting the platform. We don't need this kind of help when calculating fees, revenue. expenses and how much we will earn on each contract at the end of the week! 

[phynds]

Exactly!

[danielmbcn]

---

Valeria K wrote:

The new fee structure will also simplify freelancer processes:

• Freelancers won’t have to track tiers on contracts to determine how much they will earn each week. 
• Freelancers won’t have to calculate fees for multiple tiers when determining pricing for a contract.
• Calculating year-end revenue and expenses may be easier to do once all contracts have the same freelancer service fee percentage

---

If the government of your country decided that, regardless your job, you will always earn a flat salary of $800 per month because "this will simplify the workers taxes structure", allegating the same reasons you listed in your message, what would you think?

Don't you feel like you are insulting our intelligence by stating that Upwork is stealing our money "for our good"? Don't you feel like it's humiliating taking away someone's money in order to "simplify his calculations"?

[mccauley-susan]

You do realize that you are penalizing the best freelancers, right? I'll make a prediction, every freelancer who is currently at a 5% fee will be gone before the end of the year... taking all of their clients with them. Whoever came up with this concept should be prepared for a mass exodus of the most seasoned VA's on here.  Our clients have stayed with us for years because they trust and appreciate us; they have zero commitment to Upwork. I would suggest that you consider abandoning this "new, simpler fee" business plan for the 5% people; I can guarantee that all of us are already making plans to leave, and your 5% fee will be reduced to 0%. 

[shaespencer]

We would rather have the extra $1000s than be saved a little math at year's end.

[stewartrico]

I think this sucks, I am a top rated plus freelancer and have a long term relationship with a very nice client from USA, I will simply move out from Upwork after the 5% is gone and will find a way to continue with the client on another payment option, simple as that you just kill the effort of ppl like me in this platform, I know most of the freelancers with nice long term relationships will simply just leave you. I will not lose 5% more in fees.

[davis-jeanie]

Valerie - those with a long-standing contract at a set rate CANNOT adjust their rates.

This is very disconcerting and NOT FAIR to those of us who have stood by our clients for multiple years.

I am disgusted.

[phynds]

Valerie...You are insulting our intelligence. Don't you think we already know how to calculate our rates and earnings? Give me a break Upwork!

[vreljanski]

Valeria,

What you are replying is not what we are complaining about. You cant raise me a service 100% without any justifications. It is simply not possible. We were partners, now you want to be what?  To own me?  My skills work and talents?

People... come to your senses.

[colomboemanuel]

I have been working with 5 % fee since 2019. Definitely,
I will leave the Upwork platform at the end of 2023 if you raise the fee to 10%.
Perhaps I will leave sooner because I don't like how the platform treats those who are loyal to it.
Emanuel 

[byteshertz]

Ratiod

[mvg2015]

Hi,

If we have a client with a 5% rate already, but we haven't got to the  2 years of working together. Can we move them out of Upwork without a penalty? Upwork is changing the pricing rules, so we should be free to opt out without penalties. Right?

[mark_stephen]

I'll find a way to move my clients away from your platform. We worked so hard to be able to reach that 5% and for some shady reason this is how you treat long term and loyal freelancers to your platform. 

Upwork has very low conversion rate anyway so I guess there is no reason to stick around.

[9608a775]

I don't see how raising these fees saves anyone money now or at the end of 2023; not sure how you figure "in many cases freelancers on Upwork will see simplified and reduced fees as a result of this change." That seems like a ridiculous statement to me. 

[steph_gon1440]

Valerie, what are the options to take a contract off Upwork now that the terms on the fees are changing from when I inititally took on some of my contracts? 

[iwan-spillebeen]

Moving clients off the platform hasn't changed: https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043210654-Convert-your-contract-to-move-outside-of-U...

[madebymeeshy]

I have been with upwork for 2 years, I have worked hard to build up good relationships with my clients so I could get repeat business and get my fees down to 5%. I'm part time, and I don't earn a lot so every dollar counts. Now you have doubled the fees on my jobs - because apparently I dont make enough to keep my hard earned 5% until the end of the year - it's making a big dent in my income. Suffice to say I am going to look for work outside of upwork in the future. 

[carinaotero]

You should continue to honor the 5% for long term contracts indefinitely, otherwise you will earn 0% on those contracts that are moved off the platform. 

[alisoncorbett]

Not helpful!  I have already migrated my big contract off this platform and will move my others by the end of the year also.  Who else is joining?