Upwork Fees and Payment Review: Complete Guide (2023)
Upwork fees range from 5% to 20%. Let’s dig deeper: ✔ How it works ✔ Fee breakdown ✔ Hourly rates ✔ Enterprise fees ✔ Competitor fees
The most exciting part of every job is getting paid. But without doing enough research, you might end up paying a fortune on fees just by withdrawing your hard-earned money from Upwork.
This article will guide you through how to get paid on Upwork and help you find a cost-effective way of withdrawing your earnings using the Wise Business account.
Withdraw and spend in your
preferred currency with Wise
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The first step to getting paid on Upwork is to set up a method to receive payment. To withdraw your earnings, you must set up a method and enter your tax information.
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The new payment method that you added will be active in three calendar days.
Once you’ve set up the payment methods, Upwork automatically pays your earnings according to your preferred Upwork payout schedule.
You can update or change your Payment Schedule under Settings > Get paid.
There are 4 payment schedules available:
You’ll be asked to set a withdrawal limit for when the funds get automatically disbursed. If the balance is less than the limit, the funds won’t be disbursed. You can adjust your automatic withdrawal limit in your 'Get paid' settings under 'Edit Schedule'.
Setting up an automated payment schedule might not be the best option for you, especially if you’re just starting on Upwork, so you don’t have to be restricted by the minimum withdrawal amount.
You can manually withdraw your available balance at any time using the 'Get Paid Now' option.
Here’s how to do it:
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Upwork payment protection ensures that you get paid for hourly and fixed-price projects. It also gives peace of mind to the client, as they can see the hours logged for their project.
But not all cases qualify for payment protection.
If you have an hourly contract, you must:
In a fixed-price contract:
You agree on the project price in advance. Your client deposits the funds into escrow, and once you finish the project, you can request payment. To make the payment request, go to ‘My Jobs’ and click 'Request Milestone Approval'.
The client has 14 days to review and request changes or approve the milestone. After 14 days, Upwork will automatically release the amount held in escrow.
It is important to set a fair amount for the project to be held in escrow. Fixed-price protection doesn’t cover any amount above this that you may have been promised by the client.²
If you’re wondering, ‘how do I get paid on Upwork?’ - the answer is that it depends on the payment method you choose. Upwork offers some flexibility in how you withdraw your earnings.
You can use the following methods:
1. Direct to U.S. Bank (ACH) – It's free to withdraw your earnings.
2. Direct to Local Bank – $0.99 per transfer.
3. U.S. Dollar Wire Transfer – $30 per transfer.
4. Upwork Instant Pay for US Freelancers - $2.00 per transfer. To use Instant Pay, you must be based in the U.S. and have a Visa or Mastercard debit card linked to your bank account.³ Check with your bank to see if your account is eligible for this payment method.
It would make send to use the multi-currency functionality of the following services to avoid steep exchange rate mark-up.
1. PayPal - There’s a small transaction fee from Upwork plus the minimum and maximum transaction fee PayPal charges (minimum of $1.00 and a maximum of $10,000).
2. Payoneer - Small transaction fee from Upwork. Payoneer may charge a 0 - 1% fee from their side.⁴
3. M-Pesa (Kenya only) - Upwork transaction fee.
⚠️ Note: It's important to remember that the account you’re withdrawing to has to be under your name.
🔍 Read the guide to withdrawing USD from Upwork outside of the US for more tips |
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The time it takes for Upwork to pay will depend on the payment method. It can take from just a few minutes, to eight days. Here are some examples:⁵
Method | Payment time |
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Upwork Instant Pay | A few minutes (after your card has been linked) |
ACH Direct to U.S. Bank | One business day |
Wire Transfer | Up to eight business days |
PayPal | Up to 24 hours |
Payoneer | Up to 24 hours |
M-Pesa | Up to 24 hours |
You can set up Upwork Instant Pay as a US freelancer to get paid in minutes.
Once set up, you can use Instant Pay to withdraw your earnings in the same way as other payment methods. Bear in mind that Upwork charges a $2 processing fee for each Instant Pay withdrawal.⁶
There are two modes you could get paid by on Upwork. If you apply to a certain job post, the employer usually has the contract set to hourly or per project.
Are based on the weekly billing cycle. When working hourly contracts, freelancers need to keep a time log in the Upwork desktop app and Work Diary. This gets automatically invoiced to the client using the schedule.
The billing period for hourly contracts begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. Your funds are available 10 days later (the following Wednesday).
The first week is the billing period where the freelancer keeps the time log. Second week is the time allotted to the client to review the work until Friday and on Wednesday of the third week, the earnings become available.
Here’s how to find the Work Diary:
How to log your time:
Fixed-price contracts are based on milestones. Once the client approves a milestone, the funds are available for withdrawal after a five-day security period has passed.
In order to withdraw your earnings, you’ll need to add a payment method and set your tax status. If you work under an agency, you’ll need to arrange payments from them directly.
Upwork provides a global network that freelancers can, and do, tap into. It’s not uncommon to end up receiving payments in a different currency.
You can set PayPal as your preferred payment method if your earnings are in a different currency. To avoid losing money on poor exchange rates, once the funds are available in your PayPal account, you can withdraw the same currency to your Wise Multi-currency account.
It's free to receive the payment, and there’s no exchange rate mark-up for conversions to USD. Only a small and upfront fee. Check out the Wise price page to see how much you can save on fees.
Once the funds are in your Wise Account, you can check your account, move money, and manage transactions. All in one place.
Register your Wise account for free
Here's how to receive Upwork payments with Wise:
Create an account with Wise Business and make sure you have USD account details
On Upwork, go to 'Settings' and select 'Get Paid'
Select Payment details and Add method
Select Direct to US Bank (USD) and Set up
Add your USD account details from Wise and check the box to validate the information provided — you’ll have to confirm this by entering your Upwork password
Confirm the details by selecting 'Add account'
Upwork might send you 1 or 2 microdeposits to your Wise USD account to verify your ownership of the account. This can take 1–3 days to arrive, and you’ll need to go to Upwork and confirm the amounts received
All set. Now you can get paid in USD from Upwork.
Once you have a Wise Business account, you're ready to:
Sources:
This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content in this publication. The information in this publication does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from TransferWise Limited or its affiliates. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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