You earn “Top Rated” status by building an impressive reputation on Upwork. You must have a proven history of success with multiple clients, delight your clients every time with high-quality work, and contribute to a safe and vibrant marketplace by knowing and following the Upwork Terms of Service.

Top Rated status helps outstanding freelancers and agencies grow their businesses and become even more successful in the Upwork marketplace. When you earn this status, you’ll be recognized through a badge on your profile and rewarded with exclusive perks, including increased access to client projects.

Become Top Rated

You can manage your success on Upwork by tracking your Job Success Score, 12-month earnings, and more on your My Stats page. To earn and maintain Top Rated status you must have:

Freelancers

1. A current Job Success Score of 90% or higher
2. First hire on Upwork was more than 90 days ago
3. Maintained Rising Talent status or a Job Success Score of at least 90% for at least 13 of the last 16 weeks
4. A 100% complete profile  (90% for those who brought their profiles over from Elance)
5. 12-month earnings of at least $1,000
6. Up-to-date availability (if unavailable now, set a date estimate)
7. An account in good standing with no recent account holds
8. Activity on the platform (proposal, accepted invitation, or earnings) in the past 90 days

Agencies (with two or more team members) 

1. An agency Job Success Score of 90% or higher
2. An agency owner Job Success Score of 90% or higher (or none earned yet)
3. Maintained agency Rising Talent status or an agency Job Success Score of at least 90% for at least 13 of the last 16 weeks
4. A 100% complete Agency owner profile with photo (90% for those who brought their profiles over from Elance)
5. An agency profile with a logo, overview, and services offered
6. Agency member profiles at least 60% complete on average (50% for those who brought their profiles over from Elance)
7. 12-month agency earnings of at least $10,000
8. Up-to-date availability (if unavailable now, set a date estimate)
9. An account in good standing with no recent account holds (including yourself, your agency, and all agency members including agency owners)
10. Activity on the platform (proposal, accepted invitation, or earnings) in the past 90 days

Perks

As a Top Rated freelancer or agency, you’ll receive

• A badge on your Upwork freelancer profile
• Reduced fees (starting at 10%) on Featured Jobs
• Premium customer support, including phone and chat
• Exclusive invitations to submit proposals
• An exclusive Job Digest email to make it easier for you to find attractive opportunities
• The ability to exercise more control over your Job Success Score
• The opportunity to chat with Upwork during online office hours exclusively for Top Rated
• The opportunity to host Top Rated Events in your city

As a Top Rated agency, you'll also receive

• A badge on your Upwork agency profile
• A badge on your agency members' profiles – if they have enough history to have a Job Success Score, it will be a Top Rated badge, if they do not yet have enough history, it will be a Rising Talent badge as long as their profiles are at least 60% complete (50% for migrated freelancers)

For tips on how to be great freelancer, check out “17 Tips for Boosting Your Success on Upwork.”

For a comparison chart of program eligibility and benefits for freelancers, click here.