Is Upwork Legit? Uncovering the Truth and Value for Freelancers in 2025

“Is Upwork safe for freelancers?” – many ask. In fact, it is one of the most popular freelance platforms in the world, which strives to support fairness and transparency of cooperation between clients and freelancers. This can explain such a large number of its users – currently, more than 18 million freelancers and more than 814,000 active clients are registered on Upwork. Below, we will explain the specifics of this platform, share insights on how to maximize your chances of success here, and answer the general question: “Is Upwork worth it in 2025?”

What Is Upwork and How Does It Work?

Upwork is an online platform that connects freelancers and clients who need services that can be provided remotely. It is a marketplace where companies and individuals can find contractors to perform various tasks (usually short-term), and freelancers can offer their skills and experience.

For freelancers, the platform allows them to create profiles where they list their skills and experience, as well as showcase their portfolios. Once the profile is ready, they can find projects that match their skills in many areas, including design, programming, copywriting, digital marketing, etc. You can find more tips on finding the most profitable niches on Upwork here. 

When a freelancer finds a project that matches their skills and interests, they can submit a proposal describing how the task will be completed and how much it will cost. If the Upwork client accepts the freelancer’s proposal, they agree on the terms of the work. Once the task is completed, the client pays through Upwork, and the platform transfers the money to the freelancer, charging a 10% fee.

As for clients, they can post a task or project on Upwork, indicating what has to be done and what their budget is. They can check freelancers’ responses or search for them personally, checking their profiles. After the choice has been made, the parties agree on the deadline, payment, and order details. After that, the clients pay through Upwork, which holds money until the work is completed.

Thus, Upwork helps freelancers find interesting projects worldwide and clients – quickly hire professionals to complete various tasks. However, is Upwork and jobs on it legit? Let’s answer these questions in the next paragraphs.

Try Upwex’s free proposal generator to save time and win more jobs.

Is Upwork Trustworthy? Addressing Common Concerns

In short, the answer to questions like: “Is Upwork safe?” or “Are jobs on Upwork legit?” is “Yes”. However, both freelancers and clients still may have problems here.

For example, freelancers may face payment refusals or delays in receiving payment. Specifically, despite the Escrow system supported by Upwork (according to which payment for a task or project is reserved by the platform until its completion), there are cases when clients refuse to pay, citing dissatisfaction with the quality. 

In this regard, freelancers have to open a dispute to resolve the issue, which can take valuable time. Also, due to the incorrect assignment of a freelancer, a client may leave a bad review of the work done (which may be unfair). Thus, the freelancer will face an unfair decrease in their rating.

As for clients, they may suffer from situations when the freelancers they hired do not perform the task at the proper level, and then successfully dispute the withheld payment in their favor. Also, some unscrupulous freelancers may overcharge for work, miss deadlines, or even not complete a project at all.

Finally, both clients and freelancers may face account blocking due to even minor or accidental violations of the platform’s strict rules.

How Upwork Has Evolved: A Look at 2025

Upwork, originally created from the merger of Elance and oDesk in 2015, has long been considered the main platform in the freelance market in the US and beyond. However, its most significant evolution has occurred in the last two years. In particular, in 2023-2024, the Upwork team introduced solutions aimed at simplifying the interactions between freelancers and clients.

For example, AI and machine learning are now tightly integrated into Upwork’s search and matching algorithms, allowing companies to find talent with the right expertise faster. The platform has also deployed intelligent automation for proposals, job matching, and profile recommendations, improving the interactions for both parties.

In addition, Upwork has begun integrating blockchain-based solutions to increase transparency and trust. The platform’s team is currently actively testing smart contracts and tokenized transactions to ensure dispute transparency and speed up payments.

Another strategic solution implemented is hybrid hiring (as part of the platform’s adaptation to emerging companies’ approaches to team building after the COVID-19 pandemic). Today, Upwork supports mixed remote and on-site work arrangements and offers services tailored to both part-time work and longer-term contractor projects.

The Pros and Cons of Using Upwork

Now, let’s summarize all of the above and determine Upwork pros and cons to help you answer the question: “Is Upwork worth it for freelancers and clients?”.

Advantages:

• Access to an unlimited talent pool (for clients) and constantly updated job offers (for freelancers);
• A variety of supported business niches;
• A lot of built-in tools for convenient and transparent cooperation;
• Rating system for trustworthiness;
• Possibility of long-term cooperation.

Disadvantages:

• High competition among freelancers and hard finding orders for beginners;
• Upwork charges fees from freelancers;
• Some options are paid;
• Long dispute resolution;
• Strict policies and the risk of account blocking.

Success Stories: Freelancers Who Thrived on Upwork

Upwork has become a platform for many successful freelancers today. Here are the Upwork experiences of just three of them.

Paul Mendes, PowerPoint Presentation Designer

Paul started his Upwork activities with simple presentation design projects, relying on a strong portfolio and good reviews. As a result, he quickly managed to earn tens of thousands of dollars per month, all within just one platform. Soon, Paul became one of the top freelancers in his niche.

Nina Mufleh, Startup Marketer and Consultant

Nina began using Upwork to work with clients, starting with small projects, too. She worked with various startups and quickly gained good rates. Over time, she created a strategy for working with large projects, including Airbnb and other well-known brands. Her success on the platform helped her become a sought-after consultant in her field.

Martha Krejci, Digital Marketer and SEO Specialist

Martha started out as a freelance digital marketer and SEO expert, offering her services on Upwork. Thanks to the high quality of her works and great reviews, Marthf was able to gradually raise her rates and work on larger projects. Now, she’s the CEO of a digital marketing company.

Enhancing Your Upwork Experience with Tools like Upwex

Is Upwork worth it for freelancers? Yes, of course! Still, you can make your activities within this platform even more productive. Meet Upwex, a highly specialized Chrome extension that allows you to work more efficiently on the Upwork platform using the benefits of artificial intelligence.

Here are the main features that this tool provides:

• Creating Upwork work offers using AI (you can learn how to write a winning job proposal here);
• Your personal intelligence AI Job Assistant to understand whether a specific task or project is worth applying;
• Smart generator of answers to customer questions;
• Integration with Pipedrive CRM;
• A review system and analytics on completed projects.

All in all, these tools will help you save your time and maximize your chances of successful cooperation.​

How to Stay Safe and Avoid Scams on Upwork

To avoid falling into the trap of fraudulent clients on Upwork, you should follow these simple recommendations:

• Interact with clients only within the platform. Never agree to pay for completed work outside of Upwork – this violates the platform’s rules and deprives you of Escrow protection;
• Check the client’s reputation. To do this, you have to carefully analyze reviews on previously completed projects, evaluate their number, and compare the level of payment with other clients for similar tasks;
• Beware of overly favorable conditions. A high rate for work that requires almost no labor costs may indicate a fake offer for which you will not be paid at all;
• Do not share personal information. Do not share your passport data, bank details, and other personal information in correspondence with the client;

Report suspicious activity to Upwork support. For this purpose, the platform has a special “Report” button, where you can leave your request and thereby encourage the moderators to respond.

Is Upwork Worth It in 2025? Final Verdict

So, is Upwork legit in 2024? Absolutely, yes! Now, after checking all the above freelancer success stories and its advantages and disadvantages, you can act within this platform wisely, whoever you are – a freelancer or a business owner. And, of course, don’t miss out the opportunity to get the most out of Upwork – try this Upwork proposal generator for free!

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