Hiring on Upwork to find a good freelancer can be tough, but when you do find that person, it’s all worth it. Since I’ve worked on Upwork in the past, I know what a freelancer needs to do to make a client happy. However, I’ve also hired on Upwork before, so I know the frustrations that come with trying to find a good freelancer online.

Upwork can be a great tool to hire people, but if you end up with the wrong freelancer, are you protected? What if the work you hire for isn’t anything like you expect? When you hire a freelancer, there’s always a small risk that it won’t work out. Thankfully, Upwork tries very hard to protect both the freelancer and client. But, let’s look at that a little more. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly with hiring on Upwork:

The Good

What I love about hiring on Upwork is that there are so many freelancers to choose from. Whether you need something small or an ongoing person to partner with, it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. There are no shortage of people to hire from all over the world, so it makes it easy to grab a freelancer who is bilingual or native to whatever language you need.

Upwork rating system

Another thing that I love about Upwork is that the freelancers are rated and have a chance to be Top Rated. Each freelancer has a star rating out of five stars. They get this rating from past clients that have rated their work on their communication, skills, timeliness, and more. The Top Rated status happens when a freelancer keeps up good work for at least 13 weeks in a row. You can also check out a freelancer’s job success score, which is calculated based on how fast their responses are and how many of their past clients would hire them. Generally, anything over 90% is considered to be exceptional by Upwork.

Invite freelancers

You can invite specific freelancers to your job, or you can wait until people apply. It’s easy to filter through the applications and see each freelancer’s profile during the hiring process. Upwork is set up fairly well, so it’s easy to see your open contracts and all the messages with your freelancer.

Payment protection

Upwork also holds your money in escrow, so it won’t release it to the freelancer until you’re satisfied with the work that has been submitted.

So, to sum it up:

• Tons of freelancers
• Easy to read freelancer rating and reviews
• Ability to choose freelancers or receive open applications
• Protects your money

The Bad

With everything, there is some bad when it comes to Upwork. The first thing is that Upwork starts out as free. With the free membership, you can post a job and invite up to three freelancers to apply for the job. However, three freelancers can easily say no, which would leave you waiting for applicants. Speaking from experience, the Top Rated freelancers often don’t apply for many jobs because they get too many invites as it is.

Monthly plans

So, to get a freelancer, you may have to pay. They offer two different memberships, Plus and Premium. Each are $49.99 and $499.99 per month, respectively. Those are pretty hefty fees to find a freelancer. You can also expect to pay a 3% processing fee every time you pay your freelancer. This can add up over time, so it’s important to keep in mind.

Disputes can go south

While Upwork does provide a payment protection plan, it isn’t necessarily clear how much they will intervene if things were to go south. The disputes often take a long time, and you could be out the money if you don’t respond within a timely manner to the dispute.

Here are the bad things to watch for:

• Inability to invite freelancers
• Membership pricing
• Payment processing fees
• Disputes could end badly

The Ugly

Truthfully, there is a lot more good than bad when it comes to Upwork. The freelancers are mostly great, but you can end up with a bad apple here or there. When I’ve hired on Upwork, I’ve had about a 50% success rate. I always do a “test” job so I can see a freelancer’s work. However, the 50% that I’ve ended up hiring successfully have been wonderful and worked with me for quite some time.

Fee structure changes

The biggest thing to watch for with Upwork is that their structure changes often. They may randomly change how much the fees are, and because they make most of their money off of freelancers, they are more apt to side with them. If a freelancer gives you work, you should always ask for revisions if it isn’t what you want. Otherwise, even if it isn’t what you want, there’s only a certain window of time (14 days) that you can get revisions without your money being released to the freelancer.

Have to work on Upwork

It’s important to always be in contact with your freelancer. If things aren’t going how you want them to, ask the freelancer for a refund. Just be aware that a freelancer has the ability to say no, which then leads to a dispute. Make sure all your communication happens over Upwork so you have records for the dispute. Anything off of Upwork, they won’t take into mind.

Watch out for this:

• Some good freelancers, some bad
• Upwork changes their fees a lot
• Anything off of Upwork won’t count in a dispute

Is It Worth It?

I really do think Upwork is worth it. With any large company, you’ll end up with a few bumps in the road. However, hiring off of the internet without any idea how a freelancer works is much more risky. The Upwork rating system is nearly foolproof, and if you go with a Top Rated freelancer, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get good work.

If you’re looking for a writer, check out my Upwork profile or contact me here. I’d be happy to help with your project. Otherwise, give Upwork a chance.