Upwork
Specific, scoped technical tasks like scrapers and APIs, Finding and hiring customer service representatives
It works well for clearly defined, one-off tasks but requires effort to find the right clients or freelancers.
Working with small businesses directly (can involve a large pile of BS)
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FIRST-HAND READS
What people reported, in their own words. Every line links to where it was said.
“following marketing channels worked 1. [Upwork](http://upwork.com)”
POSITIVE · Reddit · 2026-08-15
“most of my leads came through Upwork. That was far easier — we hit $80k MRR with just that one channel plus referrals.”
MIXED · features · Reddit · 2026-08-15
“I stopped using Upwork after the novelty wore off and it was a regular occurrence”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2026-06-02
“I literally hired a developer on Upwork to be my personal "tutor."”
POSITIVE · Hacker News · 2026-03-24
“Hired someone on Upwork (different IP, 2-year-old account). Banned faster than my attempts.”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2026-02-19
“made a upwork profile and applied to a bunch of freelancer roles. got a bunch and made websites and all sorts of things, netted several k after a few weeks and i did this for 2 years on and off”
POSITIVE · Hacker News · 2026-02-01
“For Upwork specifically, this was an issue for years already. With people buying US accounts and lying about their location or subcontracting to cheaper foreign labor.”
NEGATIVE · reliability · Hacker News · 2026-01-24
“tired of how time-consuming and frustrating it was to find good jobs on Upwork. I'd spend hours scrolling, refreshing, and applying — only to realize I'd missed great opportunities because they were buried or already taken.”
NEGATIVE · ease of use · Hacker News · 2025-10-17
“it costs money to send business proposal on Upwork. I think job sites should follow this model. It would reduce spam for companies and make it easier for skilled applicants to get interviews”
MIXED · features · Hacker News · 2025-09-26
“upwork and linkedin and all seem to be dead now unless you live in india”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2025-09-10
“Reported to Upwork but I sort of doubt they did much about it.”
NEGATIVE · support · Hacker News · 2025-07-14
“I've had my fair share of cheap a* clients in my early days with upwork (which I never figured out, my bigger clients came from outside)”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2025-06-08
“frustrated with missing good gigs on Upwork just because I saw them too late”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2025-04-16
“i have made $15M+ worth of business from Upwork and from people who i met there”
MIXED · features · Hacker News · 2025-03-23
“the times I used Upwork it was to get tasks where quality wasn't too important off my plate. AI does all those now.”
NEGATIVE · features · Hacker News · 2025-03-23
“I hired them off upwork, they then were like "soo you should cancel avalara since we can do this cheaper."”
POSITIVE · Reddit · 2025-03-12
“2 years ago UpWork was surprisingly good for finding projects, these days there is lots of AI stuff coming from freelancers when they apply and I'm not so sure anymore”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2025-02-26
“2 years ago UpWork was surprisingly good for finding projects”
MIXED · features · Hacker News · 2025-02-25
“Upwork really helps in finding international clients, especially when you're just starting out”
POSITIVE · features · Reddit · 2025-01-13
“Not great so far. I've applied to about 5 jobs on Upwork and the clients still haven't even hired anyone.”
NEGATIVE · Hacker News · 2025-01-02
“I'm grateful that I crossed 100 usd on Upwork as a web developer”
POSITIVE · Hacker News · 2024-11-28
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