Upwork 

Not getting jobs applying for many jobs but the proposal didn't accepted any time. please fix it I am belonging to a journalism background having experience of 25 years but did not get job yet on upwork app .

I've been a long-time buyer on Upwork, I think we've spent over $30,000 on the platform for our business.

The good:

The escrow and milestone payment system works well. It provides a solid framework to keep projects on track, as long as you set them up properly. Upwork’s system has decent checks and balances, which help manage expectations and progress.

The platform is also strong when it comes to finding both general and niche talent. The rating system adds some value, though it’s worth remembering that reviews shouldn’t be relied on in isolation — five stars often translates to more like four in reality.

The not-so-good:

Upwork is appallingly paranoid, to the point where it can be frustrating for both buyers and sellers who have no intention of contracting outside of it.

The plafform is terribly relaxed about creating friction for users — enforcing unneccessary policies that make things more complicated in the name of platform security (whilst framing this in a low hand way as keeping the "platorm safe" which comes across as nonsensical). Upwork knows what it's doing but seemingly doesn't care.

Do better Upwork, you know you can.

I despise Upwork with every fiber of my being. My journey started back in 2018, when I poured my heart into applying to every job I could, just to finally land one — 200 vector icons for only $15. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was something. And what did Upwork do? They deactivated my account for "submitting too many proposals." That’s how they reward determination.

Fast forward to 2025. I’m now a web developer, with experience, skill, and a 5-star rating across several completed jobs. But nothing has changed — in fact, it’s worse. Upwork has become a pay-to-win bidding arena, where you have to spend real money just to get your proposal seen. It’s no longer about quality, dedication, or even experience — just how much you’re willing to pay to be seen.

This platform no longer supports freelancers; it exploits them. It has devolved into a bazaar of cheap, low-quality labor, where writing bad code fast gets you further than being skilled or professional.

I genuinely, wholeheartedly hope this company collapses under the weight of its own greed and mismanagement.

I landed 2 jobs as a freelancer and then they canceled my account without a reason, I tried to appeal and their answer was as follow:
In response to your concerns, we’ve completed another review of all the information available. In doing so we have concluded that your account will remain permanently deactivated.

Please note that this decision is final and we are unlikely to respond to further replies on this case.

0% users support
Just don't use it.
They are likely a scam platform.

Upwork ticket center/support is one step up from a "scam call center". Upwork support doesn’t support freelancers. If you plan to use this site for your business, be aware: they will not back their freelancers. Read the reviews, they are known for taking freelancers money, refunding clients even with proof the job was completed. The 89% 1-star reviews say it all—

I created a job and tried to hire a freelancer. When I went into the hiring process none of my payment methods were accepted. The freelancer took the risk anyway, for which I'm grateful. I contacted "Customer Support", but they didn't help me. Then I tried verifying my ID, which failed because it didn't match the profile country. I run a business from another country, which is perfectly legal so that's no ground to reject it. Then without any explanation my account got suspended. I have no way to contact the freelancer anymore and I can't pay him for his time, for which I feel guilty. I'll try Fiverr next time because it couldn't possibly get any worse than this :(

I had a great experience working with them

Clients never review your applications and you don't receive your money back after the ghosted proposals.

Great working

I was a top-rated freelancer on Upwork, but now my profile gets no views, no invites, and nothing at all is happening. I’ve applied to many jobs, used connects, and followed all the rules—but still no response. It feels like the platform has completely stopped supporting experienced freelancers. Very disappointing.

TRASSHHH. Highly dont recommend

Account is suspended for now clear reason!
They do not have any clear way to support/ open a ticket or event to send an email!

Hours and hours of searching with no success!

I had been working with a freelancer on an ongoing basis. I asked them to send a brief we were working on while I updated the contract for a new milestone to pay them. In the few minutes it took me to pay them upwork determined we broke the rules and banned the freelancer. I am devastated and have spent days trying to resolve the problem and upwork does not care. I feel so bad for the freelancer 😭

Absolutely appaling customer service. They block you out your account for now reason and make it almost impossible to get back in. AVOID

If I could give zero stars, I would. In fact, minus five would be generous.

"Customer service" is a term Upwork uses, but in my experience, it doesn't apply. What I’ve dealt with is the complete opposite.

In my case, I was locked in a loop of logging into the wrong accounts due to email confusion across multiple profiles. One account vanished entirely, another isn’t mine but a workspace invite, and the one I do need is stuck in limbo. For over 32 hours, I haven’t been able to post a job — and support either didn’t read my messages or simply didn’t understand the issue.

Sadly, from what I’ve read, my situation isn’t unique. Others seem to have faced the same level of confusion and inaction. Truly unacceptable for a platform built on trust and professionalism.

I have to say I feel very sorry for the Freelancers, as I was trying to offer work.

I needed a freelancer recently, so I went on UpWork. Set-up of the account was straightforward and I managed to find some good freelancers to do the work for me. However, the system broke after the first completed job - and I mean broke in the literal sense. The payment processing system started malfunctioning and would charge my card only to immediately reimburse it. I tried FOUR CARDS from four different banks + Paypal, and none of them worked. I was unable to initiate new contracts and even unable to tip my contractor, who was great. UpWork was unresponsive af and basically disinterested, which is beyond baffling seeing that we're talking about their revenue. Fiverr is absolutely awful, but UpWork, as it turns out, is just as bad. Use something else.

I entered into a contract with an individual on Upwork to create a Wikipedia page for me. The individual had good reviews on the Upwork site and although I am generally uncomfortable with engaging in business transactions with people I have not met, I thought I would take a chance. As it turned out, I should have trusted my initial instincts.

After an initial review of my request and preliminary documents that were sent, the individual said he guaranteed a successful page would be created. Knowing a little about how Wikipedia content is vetted, I countered and said that it had to be an enduring page, not one that would be put up and taken down a day or two later by the Wikipedia content editors. He guaranteed it would pass their scrutiny. In the end, we agreed on a price and moved forward.

Although I provided all of the background materials, the initial draft was very limited and poorly written. I revised the draft with substantially more content, and he agreed to create the page. I received an email the next day that the page had been created along with a link. The page looked fine and appeared to have been uploaded the previous day so I released the payment.

When I went back to the page the following day, I found it had been taken down. After contacting the writer, he assured me that he would revise the page and repost it. Of course, that was never done even after several email exchanges. Each time he apologized and promised to do the work he had been contracted to do but never did. Requests to refund the money were subsequently ignored by the writer as well.

When I filed a complaint with Upwork, I received a reply saying that they would contact the writer. That contact was unsurprisingly ignored. Every few days I would receive an email for Upwork stating that the issue had been resolved, and they were closing the case even though we had not been in contact and nothing had changed.

Additional complaints to Upwork went nowhere. Their official position is “Upwork serves as a platform that connects clients and freelancers, enabling them to communicate, collaborate, and handle payments. However, we are not intermediaries and do not guarantee the freelancer's work or the terms of the contract.”

The final email received contained the following. “Should you wish to take any form of legal action against the freelancer directly, outside of Upwork, we will cooperate with any official criminal investigations or legal requests that are properly submitted to our Legal Department.”

In summary, I was scammed out of $500 when I used someone associated with Upwork and Upwork’s position is that isn’t their problem. Whether or not they have allowed that person to remain on their site so that he can scam others out of their cash is uncertain. The choice is yours but I am certainly not going to use Upwork or any similar group again. Will a little luck, reviews like this will lend itself to seeing Upwork go out of business- Preferably sooner than later.

Suspended my account based on their opinions and wouldn't reopen it until I submitted to a punishment. Hopefully we all can find other sources for getting jobs done.

Used this as a Client seeking Freelancers.

If a freelancer turns out to be incompetent by lying about their capabilities, you’re stuck with invoices paid for nothing with no product delivered. UpWork is basically the rejects of Fivr scamming
Clients and UpWork customer service won’t help when you get scammed.

Avoid at all costs.