Purchase a Project

To purchase a project on Upwork, choose a service tier, proceed to checkout, select a billing method, and add any optional customizations. After payment, including a one-time Contract Initiation Fee, submit any required project details within 48 hours to avoid cancellation. Once the freelancer delivers, you have 14 days to review before payment is automatically released.

When you’ve found a project that’s right for your needs, it’s time to let Upwork work for you. Your project begins as soon as you buy the project and provide the requirements.

How to purchase a project

1. Select a service tier, if applicable. These are different levels of the same project, designed to give you more options (starter, standard, or advanced). If you’re stuck between choosing a certain tier, select Compare tiers to see the tier differences, side-by-side in a chart.
2. Select Continue to Checkout
3. Enter your billing method. If you already have one on file, it will be automatically selected. If you have multiple billing methods on file, your default one will be selected  — you can choose another method, but note that if you do so, it will become your default billing method in Upwork. For information on the billing methods Upwork accepts, go here
4. Choose any extra available add-ons you want to further customize your project, and then select Confirm and Fund to finalize your purchase. You'll also pay the one-time Contract Initiation Fee at the time of purchase
5. Submit the project requirements. Sometimes a freelancer has requirements for information from you, and if they do, you must answer any questions and provide the needed information –– the freelancer can’t start working until you do. Once you submit these requirements, the clock starts on the project. For example, if you submit the requirements on Wednesday at 2 a.m. (your time) and the freelancer has promised a 3-day turnaround, the deadline is 2 a.m. Saturday.

Note: There is a “Remind me later” option for submitting requirements, but we recommend completing them as soon as possible so your freelancer can get to work.

If you do not submit the requirements within 48 hours, the project will be automatically canceled and you'll be refunded.

When the freelancer completes and submits the work, you'll have 14 days to review. The freelancer is paid after you review and approve the work. If you don’t take any action in 14 days, we automatically release the funds to the freelancer.

Frequently Asked Questions