This article explains how to use "Connects" on Upwork, which are required to submit job proposals, use ad products (like Boosted Proposals), and activate an Availability Badge. The number of Connects needed for job proposals varies by project and is displayed on the job post. Connects are returned to you in two cases: (1) if a project is canceled by the client before a contract is created, and (2) if a job post is removed because it violates our Terms of Service. Unused Connects roll over each month and expire after one year. Agencies can purchase agency Connects if you subscribe to Agency Plus. Those Connects cannot be used if you close or downgrade the account, but they’ll still be available if you subscribe to Agency Plus again. - Article summary created by AI
Did you receive fewer Connects than expected?
When you upgrade from the free basic plan to Freelancer Plus, we'll prorate your Connects based on how many days remain in your billing cycle. For example, if your billing cycle starts on the 1st and you upgrade on the 15th, you'll receive half of the Connects for the month since you’re only paying for half the billing period. This way, you always get the right number of Connects for what you’ve paid.
You can use Connects to let clients know you’re ready to work in several ways. You can:
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Submit a proposal to a specific job post.
- The number of Connects you’ll need varies per job, and we consider a range of factors, including project size, scope, and market demand. We’ll show you the amount in the job post
- For some jobs, you won’t need any Connects, such as when a client invites you, sends you an offer, or purchases your Project Catalog project
- Boost your proposal to put it at the top of the client’s list and let clients know you’re serious about their project. You choose the number of extra Connects to bid, but the winning amount will vary because you’re bidding against other freelancers
- Turn on your availability badge to let clients know that you’re available for work right now. The weekly number of Connects needed for the badge varies based on demand. You control the amount by setting the maximum Connects that you’re willing to use per week
You can get Connects in several ways:
Monthly bonus Connects
Each month, freelancers may receive 10 Connects at no extra cost. Depending on what offers were available when you signed up for Upwork, you may only get these after purchasing Connects or a Freelancer Plus membership. To see if you get them, go to your Connects history.
We distribute these Connects monthly on the first day of your billing cycle, which you can see here. For example, if your current billing cycle is Oct. 11, 2024 - Nov. 10, 2024, you’ll receive your Connects on the 11th of each month.
Buy Connects
Connects cost $0.15 (USD) each and are sold in bundles:
- Go to Connects and choose Buy Connects
- Select the bundle or customer amount you wish to purchase
- Select Buy Connects, and we’ll automatically charge your account.
Here’s how billing works:
- We’ll first look to use any existing earnings balance on your Upwork account. But, if you don’t have enough of a balance to cover the entire cost, we’ll move to step 2.
- We’ll charge the billing method you have on file with us for the entire amount due. (If you haven’t set up a billing method yet, you’ll need to add one. Learn more about billing methods.)
The key thing to remember is that we can’t split payments between your Upwork balance and your billing method.
If you’d like to keep money in your earnings balance to cover the cost of Connects, you can set up a reserve balance that won’t be disbursed with your automatic or manual withdrawals. Learn more about setting up a reserve balance.
Buy agency Connects
If you want to purchase Connects for an agency on Upwork, you’ll need to subscribe to an Agency Plus plan first.
Earn Connects
To help freelancers succeed on Upwork, we occasionally reward free Connects. While we can’t share all the details of when Connects are given out (we don’t want to encourage “gaming” the system), here’s what we can share:
- When you join Upwork, you may be required to purchase Connects or subscribe to our Freelancer Plus plan to be able to submit proposals. Once you choose one, we’ll give you a one-time bonus of 50 Connects to help you get started
- You earn 30 free Connects for each badge: Rising Talent, Top Rated, and Top Rated Plus.
If you skip a badge, the Connects are combined. For example:- If you become Top Rated but didn’t get the Rising Talent badge, you'll get 60 Connects when you become Top Rated
- If you go straight to Top Rated Plus, you'll get all 90 Connects at that time
- The most Connects you can earn through the three badges is 90 total
- You’ll receive free Connects (the number can vary) when you win an interview with an established client on Upwork. (To prevent gaming, we aren’t sharing all the details of what we consider “established.” In general, it’s a client who has hired and spent on Upwork)
- If you've submitted a proposal, you may see opportunities to receive a one-time Connects bonus by completing educational content about trust and safety on Upwork. You’ll find these opportunities through banners on your My proposals page, when they're available
If you’re awarded Connects for winning an interview, you might see some are issued as refunds. That’s because when you get 10 Connects for winning an interview, some of those are the Connects you used to submit your proposal for the job, which are refunded. We add the rest as awarded Connects. For example, if you used 8 Connects to submit the proposal, you’ll see 8 Connects “refunded” and 2 “awarded.”
From time to time, we offer free Connects as part of a limited promotion and issue you a promo code to redeem the Connects. To use a promo code:
- Go to Connects and choose Buy Connects
- Select an amount
- Enter your coupon or promo code
- Choose Apply
That’s it! Enjoy your reward!
Connects are a valuable resource. Before using yours to submit a proposal, we recommend that you:
- Carefully review the job post to make sure it matches your skills and availability
- Make sure you have enough time to submit a quality proposal
- Check to see if the client has hired anyone yet and how many freelancers they plan to hire
- Review the client’s history. Do they usually hire right away and do other freelancers enjoy working with them?
- Consider the amount of activity on the job post. You can still submit if there are many proposals or the client is already interviewing other freelancers, but it may be more difficult to get the client’s attention
Sometimes, a project gets canceled or a job is removed from Upwork without a hire. In the following cases, these Connects will be returned:
- If a client cancels a project before a contract is made, the Connects you used on that proposal will be returned. This does not apply to expired job posts
- If we remove a project’s post because we believe it violates our Terms of Service, Connects you used on that proposal will be returned
In these cases, Connects are credited back to your account for reuse — not for a refund of their cash value.
When Connects are not returned
When you use Connects, you’re using them to promote your services, and they won’t be returned if a client doesn’t select you or you change your mind about a job post. For example, we won’t return your Connects when:
- The client rejects your proposal
- The client chooses another freelancer
- The job expires without a hire
- You withdraw your proposal from a project
PRO TIP:
When you use your Connects, you’re using them to promote your services to prospective clients. Think carefully about a project before reaching out!
To check your Connects balance, go to Find Work. Your balance is shown on the right.
Rollover and expiration
Each month, your unused Connects will roll over. Connects will be used in the order you get them and unused ones will expire after one year.
To see how many of your Connects will expire in the next 30 days, go to your Account Settings > Membership and Connects. Under your Connects balance, you can see your balance and the number of Connects that are expiring in the next 30 days, if any.
Connects history
To help you review and manage your monthly Connects use, we provide a report of your Connects transactions for the past 7, 30, and 90 days. To view your history, go to Connects.
Prorated Connects
If you upgrade your account from Basic to Plus, we’ll prorate your free Connects. This means that we'll allocate them based on how many days have already passed during your billing cycle.
By prorating free Connects, we can be sure that you always get a fair amount, no matter when you make changes to your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can see how many Connects you need to send a proposal when you open the job post, below the Apply now and Save job buttons. The number varies per job, and we consider a range of factors, including project size, scope, and market demand.
Yes, you can purchase or earn an unlimited amount of Connects. Remember, Connects expire after a year, but we’ll notify you before they are due to expire. You can’t return Connects for money back, either.
No, you can use either your earnings balance OR another billing method to pay for a membership or Connects. You can’t combine payments from each to make one purchase.
No, we’re not awarding Connects when you’re invited to interview for a job post without submitting a proposal first.
If the proposal was submitted under the agency, the Connects reward goes to the agency. If it was submitted under an individual freelancer account, then the free Connects are awarded to the freelancer.
If your account is active and your plan includes free Connects, you'll get them each month on the first day of your billing cycle, which you can see here. For example, if your current billing cycle is Sept. 21, 2024 - Oct. 20, 2024, you’ll receive your Connects on the 21st of each month.
All of your Connects will rollover (unless they expire). There is no limit on the amount of Connects you can hold.
Connects expire one year from the date of issue.
You can't check the expiry date for specific Connects, but you can see how many Connects will expire in the next 30 days. In your Account Settings > Membership and Connects, under “Connects balance,” you can see your balance and the number of Connects that are expiring in the next 30 days, if any.
