Upwork no longer has one fee. Since May 2025 every new contract gets its own freelancer service fee somewhere between 0% and 15%, older contracts keep 10%, and Direct Contracts have their own rates. The client pays a separate fee on top, and what finally reaches your bank depends on where you live and how you withdraw. The calculator above uses the rate on your contract, rounds each payment the way Upwork does, and keeps the client’s side apart so you can see both.
Every Upwork fee at a glance
These are the fees for a freelancer with a US tax address. Pick another country in the calculator to see its withdrawal options and the tax Upwork adds to its fees.
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer service fee | 0%–15% per contract | Everything you bill: hourly, fixed-price, bonuses, expenses | Contracts formed from May 2025; rate shown on the offersource |
| Freelancer service fee | 10% | Everything you bill | Contracts formed before May 2025source |
| Direct Contracts fee | 5% (0% with Freelancer Plus) | Everything you bill that client | Clients you bring to Upworksource |
| Enterprise contracts | Usually 10% | Everything you bill | Clients with an Enterprise badgesource |
| Any Hire, Payroll, client-sent Direct Contracts | 0% | — | The client pays Upwork insteadsource |
| Connects | $0.15 each | Proposals, boosts, Availability Badge | Each job you apply to (number varies by job)source |
| Freelancer Plus | $19.99/month | Membership (includes 100 Connects a month) | Optionalsource |
| Withdrawal: Direct to U.S. Bank | Free | Each withdrawal | US tax addresssource |
| Withdrawal: Instant Pay to a debit card | $2.00 (max $2,999 each) | Each withdrawal | Every salesource |
| Withdrawal: PayPal | Not published (“a small fee”) | Each withdrawal | Every salesource |
| Client marketplace fee | 5% (3% by US bank; up to 7.99%) | Paid by the client on top of each payment | Basic plansource |
| Client Business Plus fee | 10% (8% by US checking) | Paid by the client on top of each payment | Business Plus plansource |
| Contract initiation fee | $0.99–$14.99 | Paid by the client, once per new contract | Business Plus: up to $4.99, fixed-price ≤ $100 onlysource |
Four things catch freelancers out:
- There is no standard rate to assume. Many calculators still use 10%, but a new contract can be anywhere from 0% to 15%. The rate is on the offer and in your contract details.
- Bonuses and expenses pay the fee too. If a client reimburses software you bought for the job, Upwork takes its percentage of that payment as well.
- The client’s fee isn’t taken from you. The 5% marketplace fee and the $0.99 to $14.99 contract initiation fee are added to the client’s bill, so they raise what the job costs the client without lowering your pay.
- Withdrawal fees are per withdrawal. $0.99 to a local bank or $50 for a wire is the same whether you move one payment or ten.
What you keep at common prices
Each row assumes a freelancer outside the US, a new contract at 10%, no VAT or GST added, and one $0.99 Direct to Local Bank withdrawal per payment.
| Contract amount | Total fees | Fee rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | $10.99 | 11.0% | $89.01 |
| $250.00 | $25.99 | 10.4% | $224.01 |
| $500.00 | $50.99 | 10.2% | $449.01 |
| $1,000.00 | $100.99 | 10.1% | $899.01 |
| $2,500.00 | $250.99 | 10.0% | $2,249.01 |
| $5,000.00 | $500.99 | 10.0% | $4,499.01 |
Because the $0.99 withdrawal is the only fixed cost, small payments give up a little more: 11.0% of a $100 payment versus 10.0% of a $5,000 one. The contract’s rate is what really moves the number.
How the fees add up on one payment
Upwork’s own example: 12 hours at $22.22 an hour on a 10% contract, withdrawn free to a US bank.
- Client pays in total$279.97
- of which client’s marketplace fee (5%) (paid by the client)5% × $266.64$13.33
- Sale amount$266.64
- Freelancer service fee (10%)10% × $266.64 (12 h × $22.22)−$26.66
- Withdrawal: Direct to U.S. BankFree$0.00
- You keep$239.98
The weekly invoice is 12 × $22.22 = $266.64. Ten percent of that is $26.664, which Upwork rounds to $26.66, so you keep $239.98, two cents less than the $240 you’d expect from $20 an hour. The client is billed $266.64 plus its 5% marketplace fee of $13.33, $279.97 in all, and pays the one-time contract initiation fee on the contract’s first payment.
The 0% to 15% service fee, and the exceptions
Upwork sets the fee for each new contract with its own algorithm, using factors such as client demand, freelancer supply, the job category and your membership plan. You see it before you commit: on the offer, or next to your proposal. Once the contract starts it never changes, but your next contract with the same client can have a different rate. On a $500 milestone the range is the difference between keeping $425.00 and $500.00.
Some contracts don’t use the variable fee:
- Contracts formed before May 2025 keep the flat 10% that replaced the old 20% / 10% / 5% tiers in May 2023.
- Direct Contracts you start for a client who is new to Upwork cost 5%, or 0% while you have Freelancer Plus.
- Enterprise clients usually mean 10%, depending on that client’s agreement with Upwork.
- Any Hire, Upwork Payroll and Direct Contracts the client sends you cost you nothing; the client pays Upwork instead.
If a client is refunded, Upwork returns the service fee on the refunded amount.
What the client pays on top
The client’s fees never come out of your earnings, but they decide what the job really costs the client. On the Basic plan the client pays a 5% marketplace fee on every payment, or 3% if they qualify to pay from a US bank account. Upwork’s help center now says the Basic fee is up to 7.99%, and some accounts pay a flat 7.99% whatever the payment method. Business Plus clients pay 10%, or 8% from a US checking account.
On a $500 milestone that is $525.00 for a 5% client, $539.95 for a 7.99% account and $550.00 on Business Plus. Every new contract also carries a one-time contract initiation fee of $0.99 to $14.99, charged on the first payment. Business Plus clients pay it only on fixed-price contracts of $100 or less, up to $4.99. None of these client fees are refunded.
Connects and Freelancer Plus
Connects cost $0.15 each, and each proposal needs a number that Upwork sets per job. A 16-Connect proposal costs $2.40, and the identity verification badge you need for US-only and UK-only jobs costs 35 Connects, or $5.25. You don’t get them back when a client picks someone else, so under “More options” enter all the Connects it took to win the job, not just the winning proposal.
Freelancer Plus costs $19.99 a month and includes 100 Connects a month, worth $15 at the bundle price, plus 0% instead of 5% on Direct Contracts. On the fee saving alone it pays for itself once your Direct Contracts bring in $399.80 a month.
Withdrawal fees and tax outside the US
Upwork pays everyone in US dollars, but what you keep depends on your country. The same $500 milestone at 10%, with each country’s usual withdrawal, no VAT or GST number on file and Ontario for Canada:
| Market | Sale | Fees | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | $500.00 | $50.00 10.0% | $450.00 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | $500.00 | $60.99 12.2% | $439.01 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $500.00 | $57.49 11.5% | $442.51 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | $500.00 | $55.99 11.2% | $444.01 |
| 🇮🇳 India | $500.00 | $60.49 12.1% | $439.51 |
| 🌍 Other countries | $500.00 | $50.99 10.2% | $449.01 |
- Withdrawals: free to a US bank with a US tax address, or $2.00 for Instant Pay to a debit card (at most $2,999 per transfer). Outside the US, Direct to Local Bank costs $0.99, Direct to U.S. Bank $2.99 since September 1, 2026, and a US-dollar wire $50. Upwork calls its PayPal, Payoneer and wallet fees “a small fee” without publishing them.
- Tax on Upwork’s fees: 20% VAT in the UK, 10% GST in Australia, 18% GST in India and 5% to 15% in Canada by province, on the service fee, Connects and membership. A valid VAT or GST number stops it, except provincial sales tax in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
- India’s TDS is withheld from the gross amount, before the service fee: 0.1% once your PAN is linked to Aadhaar, 5% if it isn’t.
Ways to keep more of each payment
- Read the fee before you bid. It is shown next to your proposal, so build it into the rate you quote.
- Price for what you take home. Use “What to charge” with your contract’s fee and hours.
- Bring your own clients through Direct Contracts. 5% instead of a rate that can reach 15%, and 0% with Freelancer Plus.
- Withdraw less often. A $0.99 local-bank withdrawal every week costs $51.48 a year; once a month, $11.88.
- Give Upwork your VAT or GST number if you are registered, and in India link your PAN to Aadhaar to keep TDS at 0.1%.
Recent Upwork fee changes
- September 1, 2026Direct to U.S. Bank withdrawals now cost $2.99 each for freelancers whose tax address is outside the US (they were free). They stay free with a US tax address.source
- April 7, 2026Upwork’s help center now describes the Basic-plan client marketplace fee as “up to 7.99%” (it had been 5%, or 3% by US bank account). Some client accounts pay a flat 7.99% whatever the payment method; the pricing page still shows 5%.source
- May 1, 2025From May 2025, new contracts pay a variable freelancer service fee of 0% to 15%, set per contract and fixed for its life (it had been a flat 10%). Contracts formed before May 2025 keep 10%.source
- February 8, 2024Clients started paying a one-time contract initiation fee on each new contract (now $0.99 to $14.99).source
- May 1, 2023The tiered freelancer service fee (20% / 10% / 5%) was replaced by a flat 10% for new contracts.source
We re-check Upwork’s fee pages every day and update this calculator when they change. If your transaction history shows something different, use the “Something’s off” button under the result.