Upwork for Freelancers

I haven't even been able to finish setting up my profile. Every time I try to upload my picture I get a white screen, or the picture will show up but error when I try to attach. It wad also extremely hard to set my profile up. I couldn't even add "Bachelors" in my education section. Seeming like this might be a waste of time.

Every time I go into the Upwork app, it prompts me to log in. The app must have a bug because then it doesn't allow me to click into the space to input my login. The search tool also doesn't work well because you can't search anything except for their suggested topics. I think they would have a lot more users if the experience was more user-friendly.

I started on Upwork almost a decade ago & back then it was a great app for freelancers. You could always buy connects but also received some every month, most jobs only required a few to apply. The most I ever used for a single application was 5. Now you have to pay and jobs are upwards of 20 connects to AND you no longer get them back. Not to mention the sheer amount of scams and leeches now running rampant on the app. Just another classic example of corporate greed. Don't waste your time

Dark pattern ads. It seems they've introduced Fullscreen ads for their apps, which is displayed once a day (?). There's no option to disallow it, and the worse thing about it is, there's a small dot at the top left of the close button, so when you can't close it easily. Otherwise the app is fine in most cases. I'll update my review if the ad is stopped or there's an option to stop the ad. This is really unexpected from Upwork, doing something so cheap.

Be very careful to make sure you enter a contract. Do not chat with the clients on "telegram" or outside of the Upwork app. Do not do any work until a contract is initiated. Like any other platform it's prone to having inconsistent dealings, so protect yourself. Other than that if you are diligent it works. The UI is a bit cluttered and can be hard to find things but it is still acceptable. For their efforts to mitigate issues, I give some props.

The web version is a little bit better and I like all of the features in messages, like the able to save attachments from a conversation, and to keep private notes about a customer. That is great. But on both platforms it's easy to get scammed and way too hard to report a scam. And it's nearly impossible to talk to a human. You have to send one message then wait two days, and hope they answered you, otherwise you gotta wait and wait.

Site is good but the app needs serious help... 1) I cannot decline invitations from my phone. 2) Messages do not update or refresh automatically. 3) Notifications are either late or don't come in at all. 4) Messages take forever to load if they load at all. For example, if I see a notification (even when it's late), I MUST click the notification to view the message. If I attempt to open the app to view all messages first, it won't load. 5) Typing is a chore thanks to their selection method.

Overall it works well except for a few things that I've noticed. The most annoying is that message notifications are really delayed. Somethimes is only 10min other times it's more. The other really annoying thing is when you get a notification that you have been invited to a job, go to notifications and, click respond, you are taken out of the app to your browser.

The concept is sound, The ability to post skills and search for jobs people need completed is a nice option to have. I have not been on long enough to find any potential contracts, but it seems like a solid app. The one issue that loses a few points for you is not so much the spending of connects to bid on jobs, (though not a fan) it is that It was somewhat hidden before the sign up process was complete. There is a chance I just did not see it. **would be great if edits were clearly marked. 👍

Terrible business practice. You buy and spend "connects" to bid on contracts, but all of this is done prior to identification verification (which is automated). You can only do the verification after you're offered your first contract. If there's an error with your verification, you get suspended immediately, lose the contract, and lose all of the money and time you already invested. They have no real support, just ai. Not a good experience.

I've had mixed feelings about my experience with Upwork. It has been great for finding freelance gigs and the app itself is easy enough to use. However, I feel like they need to be more transparent about their payment processes. I've gone from waiting two weeks to get my first paycheck. Now today, when I am supposed to get paid. I learn about a ten day security hold. Meaning you will actually have to wait 3+ weeks to get paid. Read up on all their payment processes before you take a job!!

This platform has completely fallen apart. Maddening that's 2023 and links in job alert emails don't open the mobile app. Also, a vast majority of the jobs offer egregious pay. Worst of all, I just spend the past month bidding on gigs that prospects couldn't see because my profile was set to private, which can't be easily turned back on unless you go through the support area of the site. Basically, I just wasted a month applying for gigs that there's virtually no way I could land.

I love this app, it's easy to navigate and I can do almost everything through it. But there are 2 big flaws. 1, to check on earnings it takes me to my browser where I have to log in again. I don't like that. Second, which is extremely annoying, you are required to have the client app and freelancer app. But it only keeps one account logged in on both! So I have to log out of my client account on the freelancer app and log into my freelancer account! And vice versa! Why 2 apps then???

Cancelled account & I'm still being charged. Signed up for one month then cancelled membership. However they keep charging me $15 a month for the past 4 months. Multiple requests submitted through their chat bot. They tell me to sign into my account for help, but their website says my email isn't tied to an account in their system. I can't receive help from a real person. I'm so frustrated.

Can't even truly get started. I got as far as trying to enter my education details. The instructions say to use the "drop down list," but there is no drop down list, even after I type some text into the available field. I presume that I would have to navigate to their website, log in, and try to complete my profile through there. However, the lack of implementation of a feature that they clearly planned for, speaks ill of the competency of this company. Unfortunate.

Good, but could be faster. It's convenient to be able to browse job posts and see messages from my phone, but it boots up pretty slowly. The current version of the app is significantly slower than the previous version. (My phone is a bit older, though, so that could be causing it.) For anyone getting stuck on the "download client app" screen, uninstalling and then reinstalling the app fixed that for me.

This app is very sluggish. On Wi-Fi or on 4G data, they're both just as slow. The messaging is really bad. It can take 1-2 minutes just to load the messages. Sometimes it won't load any recent messages, just ones from days ago. Everything else seems to work fine though. Just use the desktop version if your computer is available. Don't bother with the app until it's fixed.

Update: as of the last 2 updates, the app doesn't work at all. It opens to a full-page screen that demands I download the client app, then it crashes. There's no option to close or ignore the demand. This app is literally useless now. This version of the app is just a more sluggish version of the website. Prefer the old app for quickly checking and responding to messages.

The user interface on the app is clunky. The back button almost always takes you out of the app. Something occasionally causes the search results to scroll all the way to the bottom. My account was banned from upwork because I browse jobs but haven't received any recent work on the site. Seems legit. In general, if you're a freelancer looking for the occasional side gig, you won't find it here. Maintaining a good standing where you get promoted with upwork is nearly impossible.

Freezes often. When scrolling through jobs, if I click on a job posting, the app will freeze for several seconds upon trying to return to the full list of current openings. It also needs to be opened and closed 2x to fully update my messages, even when I have notifications for them all. It's also 50/50 whether or not I receive notifications, which has cost me an assignment more than once. Great site and company, but this app desperately needs work, it's been like this for a while now.