Learn how to increase your freelancer’s hourly rate on Upwork, when the new rate applies, and what to do if you need to lower or adjust contract rates.
In this article
- Can I change the rate on an hourly contract?
- How do I raise the rate on an hourly contract?
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When will the rate increase take effect?
Heads-up: We are currently testing out giving some clients the option to adjust the hourly rate they pay so their freelancer can get 100% of the intended net pay.
How it works
If your contract is eligible, you’ll see a Show them you care option in the contract workroom.
To enable it:
- Go to Manage work > All Contracts and find the contract
- Choose “See contract”
- Find the Show them you care widget
- Select Set up adjustment
- Review the updated hourly rate
- Confirm the adjustment
Once confirmed, the hourly rate on the contract increases so the freelancer receives their full earnings after the usual freelancer service fee deduction.
What happens after I use the “Show them you care” option?
After the adjustment is confirmed:
- The new hourly rate appears in the contract workroom
- The change is recorded under Recent activity
- The updated rate applies to future hours billed
- Both you and the freelancer receive a confirmation email
Hours billed before the adjustment continue using the previous rate.
Bonus payments, expenses, and weekly billing schedules remain unchanged.
Important things to know
- This feature is currently available only for eligible hourly contracts
- Fixed-price contracts aren’t included in this test
- Contracts with scheduled rate increases aren’t eligible
- Contracts with agency freelancers aren’t eligible
- Once enabled, the adjustment can’t be reversed and will apply to future billed hours (not past payments)
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If you increase the freelancer’s rate later, the system automatically continues applying the same adjustment
Does this replace the Upwork client fees that I pay?
No. Upwork client service fees still apply.
Can I change the rate on an hourly contract?
Yes, with some caveats.
- You can raise the rate on an hourly contract as long as there are no scheduled rate increases
- You can't lower the rate — only the freelancer can lower it, which you can ask them to do (here's how they can)
- For a lower rate, or a higher rate on a contract that has scheduled increases, you can close the contract and rehire your freelancer, if they'll agree to accept a new contract
How do I raise the rate on an hourly contract?
- Go to Manage work > All Contracts and find the contract
- Open the (...) options menu and select Increase rate
- Enter the new rate and choose Save Changes
Note:
On Upwork, only your freelancer can lower a contract’s hourly rate and only you can raise it.
When will the rate increase take effect?
The new rate is effective immediately for future logged hours. Hours the freelancer has already logged will be paid at the previous rate.