As a freelancer or agency on Upwork, you’ll pay a 10% service fee on all earnings from contracts, including hourly, fixed-price, and Project Catalog projects. We deduct this fee automatically from your earnings. For example, if you earn $500 USD from a project, you’ll pay a $50 USD fee and be able to withdraw $450 USD. Upwork’s rate calculator helps you estimate your net earnings, although rounding can cause slight discrepancies in the final amount. Certain types of contracts may have different fee structures, including contracts with Enterprise clients, which may have contract-specific fee structures.


As a freelancer, you’ll pay a 10% freelancer service fee on the earnings you make on Upwork. This fee is charged on all your contracts with a client — whether hourly, fixed-price, or Project Catalog projects.

For example, if you work on a project with a client and earn $500.00 USD, the 10% freelancer service fee will be $50 USD, leaving you with $450 USD after fees.

You can see your fees on your Billings and earnings report and on your Transaction and invoices report.

Agency Service Fees


Agencies working with non-Enterprise clients are subject to the same freelancer service fees as other freelancers. Agencies pay 10% freelancer service fees on contracts.

Rounding estimated earnings


The rate calculator estimates your net take-home pay after fees to help you bid accurately. We charge the client the exact billing rate you enter, but sometimes the resulting fee is a number with more than two decimal points that must be rounded to the nearest cent with each transaction.

Rounding Results in Earnings Slightly Less Than Estimated

Example: You want to take home $20 USD per hour after freelancer service fees, so you charge the client $22.22 USD per hour. 10% of that rounds to $2.22 USD per hour. Let’s say you bill 12 hours.

  • Your client is charged $266.64 USD (12 hours x $22.22)
  • The 10% fee is $26.664 USD or $26.66 USD when rounded down
  • Your net earnings are $239.98 USD ($0.02 less than estimated, 12 x $20 = $240 USD)

Rounding Results in Earnings Slightly More Than Estimated

Example: You want to take home $25 USD per hour, so you charge the client $27.78 USD per hour. 10% of that rounds to $2.78 USD per hour. Let’s say you bill 12 hours.

  • Your client is charged $333.36 USD (12 hours x $27.78 USD).
  • The 10% fee is $33.336 USD or $33.34 USD when rounded up.
  • Your net earnings are $300.02 USD ($0.02 more than estimated, 12 x $25 USD = $300 USD).

Exceptions


Upwork Payroll

Freelancers participating in the Upwork Payroll service are paid through a third-party staffing firm and are therefore excluded from paying Upwork freelancer service fees.

Any Hire

If you work for a client on an Any Hire contract, you will not pay freelancer service fees. These contracts are negotiated with the individual client who either met the freelancer off Upwork or paid the conversion fee to work with a freelancer found on Upwork's Marketplace.

Direct Contracts

If you have created a Direct Contracts contract with a client you brought to Upwork, you’ll pay reduced freelancer service fees of 5% instead of 10%. To receive the discounted fees on future contracts with that client, you’ll have to initiate each contract through the Direct Contracts page. Learn more about how Direct Contracts fees work here.

Bring Your Own (BYO)

If you have a BYO contract that has a 0% service fee rate, you’ll keep that 0% rate.

If you have a BYO contract that does include paying a freelancer service fee, you’ll pay 10% of your earnings.

Enterprise

If you’re working with an Enterprise client, then the standard freelancer service fee structure might not apply to you. In general, Enterprise contracts have a 10% freelancer service fee. Enterprise clients are designated by a badge on their client profiles.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I pay a freelancer service fee?

As a freelancer, you pay the freelancer service fee on all earnings, including bonuses. The fee is included in the amounts clients see on your proposals, contracts, and profile. Most of your reports show only total charges, inclusive of fees—the same as what the client would see.

Your freelancer service fees are listed as line items in your Transaction and invoices report and your Billings and earnings report. The total billed to your clients is considered your income, and the fees paid may be deductible as business expenses.

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