Note:
Beginning April 26, 2023, Pacific Time, we will charge clients a one-time per contract initiation fee of up to $4.95 per contract on new contracts on Marketplace and Project Catalog. This fee will be charged when you make the first payment on a contract and will be added to the escrow amount that you deposit for a new fixed-price contract.
Contract initiation fees may vary, up to $4.95, as we collect data and feedback. Once complete, we will update Help and Community and directly notify all impacted customers in advance of any pricing updates
The combination of services and features you have available on Upwork’s Marketplace and Project Catalog is called the Client Marketplace Plan. There’s no monthly fee for the Client Marketplace Plan, but there are associated costs.
Costs
The marketplace fee is 5%* of all payments that you make to freelancers for fixed-price and hourly jobs, Project Catalog projects, bonuses, and BYO contracts.
For example, if your payment is $100, you’ll pay an additional $5 to Upwork.
You’ll also pay a one-time per contract initiation fee of up to $4.95 on all new contracts that begin on or after April 26, 2023, Pacific Time. We will charge this fee when you make your first payment to the freelancer for an hourly or fixed-price contract on Upwork’s Marketplace or Project Catalog, including bonuses or other payments.
* We do offer a discounted rate of 3% for eligible clients in the U.S. who pay with a checking account. In that case, for example, you’ll pay an additional $3 on a $100 payment. Check to see if you’re eligible here.
Benefits
These features are available to all clients — no subscription required:
- Access to premium talent, including Rising Talent, Top Rated, and Top Rated Plus.
- Being able to invite up to 30 freelancers to your job
- Increased report options — Weekly Summary, transactions, Work Diary, budgets, timesheet, time by freelancer, time by activity, and custom export
- Coworker teams and advanced member permissions settings
- Activity codes for organizing work on hourly contracts
- Advanced freelancer search
- Only pay a fee when you make payments (as opposed to a monthly subscription cost regardless of whether you have an active Upwork project)
Frequently Asked Questions
The Client Marketplace Plan combines the former Client Basic and Plus into one service plan for one flat fee.
The following are subject to the marketplace fee:
- Traditional hourly and fixed-price contracts payments, including bonuses, BYO, expense payouts, and payroll on marketplace contracts.
- Project Catalog contracts
Many features that were only available on the Plus plan will now be available to everyone without a subscription, including:
- Being able to invite up to 30 freelancers to your job post
- Increased report options — weekly summary, transactions, Work Diary, budgets, timesheet, time by freelancer, time by activity, and custom export
- Access to premium talent, including Rising Talent, Top Rated and Top Rated Plus talent.
- Coworker teams and advanced member permissions settings
- Activity codes for organizing work on hourly contracts
- Advanced freelancer search
Since you’ll only pay fees when you have contracts with freelancers or agencies, you’ll only be paying when you’re actively working on Upwork.
All clients who meet eligibility requirements can message talent directly. Here’s how to qualify:
- Have a current verified billing method
- Spent over $1,000 in the past 12 months
- Have been on the platform more than 90 days
- Made a payment over 90 days ago
- Account is in good standing (not on hold)
You can make up to 5 new connections via direct message per day.
For each transaction, you’ll pay a flat 5% fee. We also offer a discounted fee of 3% for eligible clients in the U.S. who pay using their checking account (ACH).
The Marketplace fee applies to marketplace contracts including fixed-rate and hourly, catalog projects, BYO, bonus payouts, and expense payouts.
It does not apply to the $29.99 fee to post a Featured Job, Enterprise services, or Direct Contracts. Enterprise and Direct Contracts have their own payment structures.
The contract initiation fee is a charge of up to $4.95 for clients on new contracts on Upwork’s Marketplace and Project Catalog. We will charge this fee once per contract, when you make the first payment to a freelancer.
Contract initiation fees may vary, up to $4.95, as we collect data and feedback. Once complete, we will update Help and Community and directly notify all impacted customers in advance of any pricing updates
We will begin charging the fee for all new contracts created on or after April 26, 2023, Pacific Time. This is a one-per-contract fee that we will charge with each new contract. It will not be retroactive for existing contracts.
Once the contract initiation fee goes into effect, you will see it as a separate line item during checkout when you make an offer or purchase a project.
No, the contract initiation fee will only apply to contracts created on or after April 26, 2023, Pacific Time.
No, we realize that not all contracts have work started on them, or funds paid out. We will charge this fee when you make the first payment to a freelancer on the contract, including releasing milestones, making hourly payments, bonuses or any other payments to freelancers.
Yes, you will fund the once-per-contract initiation fee in the first escrow deposit for fixed-price contracts.
No, if you are continuing to work on an existing contract and just adding milestones, you will not have to pay the contract initiation fee again.
Yes, you will deposit the fee in escrow. However, if the project or consultation is canceled with no payment released to the freelancer, the contract initiation fee will be returned to you with the rest of your escrow deposit.
No, the contract initiation fee is a flat fee of up to $4.95. You’ll be able to see the exact amount for your contract when you check out. The contract initiation fee will show as a separate line item.
No, the once-per-contract initiation fee will not be refunded after you have made a payment to a freelancer, even if the freelancer issues you a refund.
No, the once-per-contract initiation fee isn’t eligible for a refund after you have made a payment to a freelancer, even if the contract payment to the freelancer is refunded due to a dispute.
You will have a separate invoice for the contract initiation fee, which includes the fee and any applicable taxes on the fee. You’ll also see the fee and any applicable taxes as line items on your Transaction History Report. It will not display on your Weekly Billing Summary, which reflects payments to freelancers.
Yes, you will pay the contract initiation fee for the start of a new contract with an agency.
Yes, each new contract with a different freelancer will have a once-per-contract initiation fee, even if all the freelancers work for the same agency. If you hire 3 freelancers to work on a job, you’ll pay the fee 3 times.
Yes, the fee is per contract. If you start a new contract, you will pay the contract initiation fee even if you have worked with the freelancer before.
No, those services have their own fee structures designed specifically for the features they offer. We are only charging this contract initiation fee on Upwork Marketplace and Project Catalog contracts.
No, we will not apply an additional marketplace fee to the contract initiation fee. The client marketplace fee only applies to the contract value for the amount you pay the freelancer.