We want to help you take more control over your services with the Availability Badge — an option designed to help you signal to clients that you are ready for new work now.
Freelancers can use Connects to add the blue “Available Now” badge. Please note, this feature is not available for exclusive agency members at this time.
By turning on your Availability Badge, you're offering clients a strong incentive to check out your profile and increasing your chances of receiving 50% more invites. It's a small but impactful step towards gaining more opportunities and showcasing your skills.
Control the flow of work opportunities when there are openings in your schedule. You have the option to turn the Availability Badge on and off as needed to signal when you're ready to take on new clients. As you begin to build a steady stream of work on your terms, you'll find that you can create your ideal work schedule. Clients will see your badge in search results, recommendations, and on your profile. They can also use an "Available now" filter to see who has the badge on when they’re inviting freelancers to submit a proposal, which can show you’re ready and eager for new work.
The Availability Badge works best for
- Freelancers who are available to work right now
- Freelancers who are ready to control the flow of opportunities
Use Connects to activate the Availability Badge
Turning on the Availability Badge is a way to use your Connects to control your workflow and manage your time.
- The weekly price of the badge may fluctuate, but you control how many Connects are used, by setting a maximum number you'd like to spend in a week
- If at any point the cost of the badge exceeds what you've set as your maximum, we will turn off the badge automatically. You will not be charged a weekly rate more than what you've set as your maximum
And remember, you can always turn the badge off at any time if you don’t need it, so you will only spend when you would like to take on more work.
Badge cost examples
- If the badge costs 14 Connects, 2 Connects will be deducted from your balance every 24 hours to add up to 14 Connects for the week.
- If the badge costs 21 Connects, 1 Connect will be deducted from your balance every 8 hours.
- If the badge cost changes while you are using it, you will be charged more Connects each day, however you will never be charged more than the maximum you set.
Turn on the Availability Badge
- Go to Find Work and look at your profile banner on the right side of the screen. Select the pencil icon ✎ next to Availability Badge.
- Set your maximum amount of Connects you want to spend in one week to keep the badge on. If the price changes to exceed this number, we will turn the badge off for you.
- Select Turn On
You can also access the badge on your profile, under your name at the top of the page.
We will deduct your Connects in necessary increments to meet the set amount over the course of the week, as long as the badge is turned on and does not exceed your maximum.
Frequently Asked Questions
This badge is a way for you to earn more invites with less effort. Let potential clients know you are ready for new projects. You’ll be able to use Connects to add a blue “Available now” badge to your profile, which will also be visible to clients who find you in search results. Clients can also use an "Available now" filter to see who has the badge on when they’re inviting freelancers to submit a proposal.
- Go to Find Work and look at your profile banner on the right side of the screen. Select the pencil icon ✎ next to Availability Badge
- Set your maximum amount of Connects you want to spend in one week to keep the badge on. If the price changes to exceed this number, we will turn the badge off for you.
- Select Turn On
You can also access the badge on your profile, under your name at the top of the page.
Your standard availability settings tell clients about your general availability for Upwork jobs. This is another way to highlight that those hours aren’t filled yet. For example, you may be a part time freelancer who can dedicate 20 hours per week to Upwork, which you can state in your profile. Using the badge can let clients know that your 20 hours for this particular week are not all filled and that you’re still looking for work at the moment.
The price of the badge fluctuates for many reasons, including based on demand. We're always monitoring prices to better learn how this impacts the market.
The badge price may change at any time, but will not change more than once a week.
If you can’t activate the badge it is typically because your profile has been set to private or you do not have enough Connects.
To check your Connects balance, go to Find Work. Your balance is shown on the right.
Yes, a lightning bolt icon displays beside the blue “Available now” badge so clients know it is an advertisement.
No, there’s no maximum price for the Availability Badge.
Note:
You’ll have complete control over how many Connects you are willing to spend for the badge. You let us know the maximum number of Connects you are willing to spend and when that amount is reached, we will automatically remove the badge.
No, the Availability Badge is not available for exclusive agency member use. If you’re a non-exclusive agency member, you can add the Availability Badge to your freelancer profile, but it doesn’t work as part of the agency.
Clients will see your badge in search results, recommendations, and on your profile, and will know you’re eager for new work.
The Availability Badge does not impact where you appear in search results, but you can attract interest from clients filtering for the badge in search results. When searching for freelancers to invite to a job, clients can filter through the Availability Badge to see who is available for work right now.
You can see how many invites you are getting while using the badge on your My Stats page. You can find this information under Find Work > My Stats.
