Understanding Upwork Service Fees for Freelancers

Introduction

Welcome to the world of freelancing on Upwork! It’s important to understand the fee structure to effectively plan your bidding and pricing. I’ll provide a simplified overview of Upwork’s service fees for freelancers.

Upwork’s sliding fee structure

Upwork uses a sliding service fee structure based on the lifetime billings with a particular client. This fee is deducted from the payment you receive from your client.

Here’s a breakdown of the fee structure:

• 20% for the first $500 billed with the client
• 10% for lifetime billings with the client between $500.01 and $10,000
• 5% for lifetime billings with the client that exceed $10,000

Example

Let’s say you have a contract for $1000 with a new client. You will pay a 20% fee on the first $500 br> ($100), and a 10% fee on the remaining $500 br> ($50). The total service fee would thus, be $150.

Conclusion

The more business you do with a client, the less service fee you pay. It’s Upwork’s way of encouraging long term relationships.

Remember, these service charges are worth considering when bidding on a project, as they impact your take home earnings.