Upwork Fee Calculator
Upwork Fee Calculator
Your Upwork fee can change with every contract. Enter the rate on your offer to see what you keep after the fee, Connects and withdrawal, or the rate to quote.
Free, no signup · Rates checked against Upwork’s pricing and Help Center · By Arsen Harutyunyan · Sources
You keep
$3,600.00
from $4,000.00 billed (80 hours at $50.00). Upwork and payout costs take $400.00, or 10%.
- Upwork service fee
- $400.00
- You keep per hour
- $45.00
- Client pays
- $4,200.00
Your client pays $4,200.00: $4,000.00 plus a 5% fee (Basic plan). On the Basic plan they also pay a one-time Contract Initiation Fee of $0.99 to $14.99.
Selling the same work as a Fiverr gig? See what you would keep on $4,000.00
Did this match what you were actually charged?
Your take-home at every Upwork fee level
What reaches you from $4,000.00 at each service fee level, with your other costs.
| Fee level | Service fee | You keep | Upwork and payout cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% service fee | $0.00 | $4,000.00 | 0% |
| 5% service fee | $200.00 | $3,800.00 | 5% |
| 10% service feeYours | $400.00 | $3,600.00 | 10% |
| 15% service fee | $600.00 | $3,400.00 | 15% |
What to charge per hour on Upwork
At a 10% service fee, before Connects and withdrawal fees. The client column uses the Basic plan fee of 5%.
| You want to keep | Charge | Upwork takes | Client pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20.00/hr | $22.23/hr | $2.22 | $23.34 |
| $30.00/hr | $33.34/hr | $3.33 | $35.01 |
| $40.00/hr | $44.45/hr | $4.45 | $46.67 |
| $50.00/hr | $55.56/hr | $5.56 | $58.34 |
| $75.00/hr | $83.34/hr | $8.33 | $87.51 |
| $100.00/hr | $111.12/hr | $11.11 | $116.68 |
| $150.00/hr | $166.67/hr | $16.67 | $175.00 |
Upwork fees on common amounts
What you receive after the Freelancer Service Fee alone, at 5%, 10% and 15%.
| You bill | At 5% | At 10% | At 15% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | $95.00 | $90.00 | $85.00 |
| $500.00 | $475.00 | $450.00 | $425.00 |
| $1,000.00 | $950.00 | $900.00 | $850.00 |
| $2,500.00 | $2,375.00 | $2,250.00 | $2,125.00 |
| $5,000.00 | $4,750.00 | $4,500.00 | $4,250.00 |
| $10,000.00 | $9,500.00 | $9,000.00 | $8,500.00 |
How Upwork fees work in 2026
Upwork no longer uses the old sliding scale of 20%, 10% and 5%. Every contract now has its own Freelancer Service Fee between 0% and 15% of what you bill. You see the exact rate on the offer or when you submit a proposal, and it is locked in for the life of the contract.
Upwork Freelancer Service Fee: 0% to 15%
The fee is a percentage of every payment on the contract: hourly invoices, fixed-price milestones, bonuses, and expense and miscellaneous payments. Upwork rounds it to the nearest cent on each payment. Contracts you start with your own client through Direct Contracts pay 5%, or 0% with Freelancer Plus, and Enterprise clients usually mean a 10% fee.
Upwork Connects cost
Each proposal costs the number of Connects shown on the job, at $0.15 per Connect. If you send 5 proposals of 10 Connects for every job you win, each new contract costs you $7.50 before you earn anything. Basic accounts may get 10 free Connects a month.
Upwork withdrawal fees
| Withdrawal method | Upwork fee |
|---|---|
| Direct to US bank (ACH), US tax address | Free |
| Direct to US bank (ACH), non-US tax address | $2.99 per transfer (since 1 September 2026) |
| Direct to local bank, outside the US | $0.99 per transfer |
| Instant Pay, US freelancers | $2.00 per transfer, up to $2,999 |
| US dollar wire transfer | $50.00 per transfer |
| PayPal, Payoneer | A small per-transfer fee shown in your Withdrawals settings, plus the provider’s own fees |
Currency conversion and VAT
Your Upwork balance is in US dollars. If you withdraw in another currency, the payment partner sets the exchange rate and may add a markup. In some countries, such as in Europe, Upwork can also add VAT to its service fee.
Upwork Freelancer Plus
The optional Freelancer Plus plan costs $19.99 a month. It includes 100 Connects a month and a 0% fee on Direct Contracts. It doesn’t lower the service fee on regular marketplace contracts, which stays at 0% to 15%.
Who pays what on Upwork
| Fee | Freelancer | Client |
|---|---|---|
| Service or Marketplace Fee | 0% to 15% per contract (5% on Direct Contracts, 0% with Freelancer Plus) | 5% on Basic (3% from a US checking account), 10% on Business Plus (8%) |
| One-time fee | None | Contract Initiation Fee, $0.99 to $14.99 per new contract on Basic |
| Bidding | Connects, $0.15 each | None |
| Getting money out | $0 to $50 per withdrawal, by method | None |
| Membership | Freelancer Plus, $19.99 a month (optional) | Business Plus (optional) |
On a $1,000 contract at a 10% fee, your client pays $1,050 plus the one-time fee and you receive $900, so Upwork collects about $150 across both sides.
Upwork’s client pricing page lists the 5% Marketplace Fee used here. An older Upwork Help Center article still mentions “up to 7.99%”.
Upwork vs Fiverr fees
| Upwork | Fiverr | |
|---|---|---|
| Seller or freelancer fee | 0% to 15%, set per contract | 20% of every order, extra and tip |
| You keep from $1,000 | $850 to $1,000 | $800 |
| Buyer or client fee | 5% (Basic) plus $0.99 to $14.99 per contract | 5.5%, plus $3.50 on purchases under $200 |
| Cost to win work | Connects, $0.15 each | Buyers order your gig; ads are optional |
| When you can withdraw | About 10 days after the week (hourly); up to 19 days after you submit (fixed price) | 14 days after the order completes, 7 for Top Rated Sellers |
Fees are only part of the choice. On Fiverr, buyers find and order a gig you’ve listed; on Upwork, you usually send proposals for jobs clients post. Which works better depends on your service and how you like to find clients, not just the fee.
See the full breakdown in our Fiverr fee calculator.
How this calculator works
Take-home = billed × (1 − service fee) − VAT on the fee − Connects − withdrawal fees − currency conversion
Rate to charge = (take-home you want + Connects + withdrawal fees) ÷ (1 − service fee), adjusted for VAT and conversion
Agency profit = take-home − pay to your freelancer or team − management cost
Upwork rounds its fee on each payment, such as each weekly invoice, while the calculator rounds once on the total, so a multi-week result can differ by a few cents.
Example: $50 an hour for 80 hours is $4,000. A 10% fee takes $400 and 50 Connects cost $7.50, so you take home $3,592.50, or $44.91 for every hour you billed.
6 ways to keep more of your Upwork earnings
- Price from your take-home. Decide what you need per hour, then use “What to charge” so the fee comes out of the rate, not your income.
- Check the fee before you bid. It differs by contract, so the same rate can pay differently on two jobs.
- Bring your own clients. Direct Contracts cost 5%, or 0% with Freelancer Plus, against up to 15% on marketplace work.
- Bid where you can win. Connects cost the same whether you win or not, so a better win rate cuts your cost per contract.
- Favour bigger contracts. Connects and withdrawal fees are fixed, so they matter less on larger jobs.
- Withdraw in batches. Per-transfer fees cost less per job when you move several payments at once.
Running an agency on Upwork?
Switch to Agency profit above. Enter what you bill the client, what you pay the freelancer doing the work, and your weekly management time, and the calculator shows your net profit and margin after Upwork’s fee, Connects and withdrawals. Agencies pay the same 0% to 15% service fee per contract.
Upwork fee questions
How much does Upwork take from freelancers?
Upwork charges freelancers a service fee of 0% to 15% of what you bill, set separately for each contract. You see the exact percentage on the offer or when you submit a proposal, and it stays fixed once the contract starts. On a $1,000 contract at 10%, Upwork keeps $100 and you receive $900, before Connects and withdrawal fees.
Is Upwork’s fee 10% or 15%?
It can be either, or anything from 0% to 15%. Upwork sets the Freelancer Service Fee per contract based on factors such as the type of work, and shows it before you submit a proposal or accept an offer. Use the percentage on your own offer rather than an average.
Does Upwork still charge 20%, 10% and 5%?
No. The old sliding scale of 20% on the first $500 with a client, then 10% and 5%, has been replaced by a variable fee of 0% to 15% per contract. The legacy tiered rates only apply where Upwork has confirmed them to you in writing.
What fees do Upwork clients pay?
Clients on the free Basic plan pay a 5% Marketplace Fee on every payment, or 3% if they are eligible US clients paying from a checking account, plus a one-time Contract Initiation Fee of $0.99 to $14.99 for each new contract. Business Plus clients pay 10%, or 8% from a US checking account.
Does the Upwork fee apply to bonuses?
Yes. The Freelancer Service Fee is charged on bonuses, expense payments and miscellaneous payments as well as hourly invoices and fixed-price milestones.
How much do Upwork Connects cost?
Connects cost $0.15 each and are sold in bundles. Each proposal needs the number of Connects shown on the job, so the real cost of winning a contract is the Connects per proposal times the number of proposals you send for each job you win.
What is the cheapest way to withdraw from Upwork?
Direct to a US bank is free if your tax address is in the US. Outside the US, Direct to Local Bank costs $0.99 per transfer, and Direct to a US bank costs $2.99 for non-US tax addresses. Instant Pay costs $2 and a US dollar wire $50. Upwork charges a small fee for PayPal and Payoneer that it shows in your Withdrawals settings, and those providers may add their own fees.
What is the fee on Upwork Direct Contracts?
If you bring your own client to Upwork with a Direct Contract you start, Upwork charges 5% of what you earn on it. Freelancer Plus members, at $19.99 a month, pay 0% on Direct Contracts.
Is Freelancer Plus worth it?
Freelancer Plus costs $19.99 a month and includes 100 Connects (worth $15 at $0.15 each) plus a 0% fee on Direct Contracts. It doesn’t reduce the 0% to 15% fee on marketplace contracts, so it pays off mainly if you buy a lot of Connects or bill clients through Direct Contracts.
When do I get paid on Upwork?
For hourly contracts, you are paid 10 days after the weekly billing period ends on Sunday: hours are invoiced on Monday, the client can review them until Friday, and the money becomes available the following Wednesday (UTC). For fixed-price milestones, the client has 14 days to review your submitted work, after which payment is released automatically, and then a five-day security hold applies.
Does Upwork refund the fee if I refund my client?
Yes. If money is returned to your client, by you or through payment protection, Upwork returns the service fee you paid on that amount.
How do I work out what to charge on Upwork?
Divide the take-home you want by one minus your fee. To take home $45 an hour at a 10% fee, charge $45 ÷ 0.9 = $50. Add Connects and withdrawal fees on top if you want them covered too. The calculator’s “What to charge” mode does all of this for you.
Which takes less, Upwork or Fiverr?
On the seller side, Upwork charges 0% to 15% per contract and Fiverr a flat 20%, so on a $1,000 job you keep $850 to $1,000 on Upwork and $800 on Fiverr. Upwork also charges you for Connects to send proposals, and both platforms add a fee for the client or buyer. Fees are only part of the choice, though: on Fiverr buyers order a gig you’ve listed, while on Upwork you usually send proposals, so the platform with the lower fee isn’t automatically the better one for your work.
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Fees checked on 1 October 2026 against Upwork’s client pricing page, its 2026 pricing breakdown (23 July 2026), the Fee and ACH Authorization Agreement (effective 20 July 2026) and Help Center articles on the Freelancer Service Fee, getting paid, hourly and fixed-price payments, Connects, Direct Contracts and the Contract Initiation Fee. Upwork doesn’t publish its PayPal and Payoneer withdrawal fees or its conversion markup, so enter yours. Fiverr figures come from Fiverr’s Payment Terms. Enterprise and Payroll contracts can have different terms.