Upwork’s Pricing Issue: Freelancer.com Did Something About This – And You Can Learn From Them

If you followed the news early this month, the giant online freelance job marketplace in the world, Upwork has launched the new pricin...


If you followed the news early this month, the giant online freelance job marketplace in the world, Upwork has launched the new pricing structure (starts June 2016) to give better service to its members. They make some changes on how much they will charge for the service fee based on the contract value. Because of this, people who earn a living by doing freelancing on Upwork sparks over the news and social media (some are way too funny to see). 







I made a small poll about the issue; the result was 14% people said they are okay with the new pricing, and 86% are willing to leave the platform.

The freelancers who get the project up to $500 will be charged 20% rate from the project value. The UpWork will charge 10% for total billings with your client between $500.01 and $10,000. For total billings that exceed $10,000, the Upwork only charge 5%. Besides that, there will be 2.75% processing fee charged to the clients.

Here’s a screenshot of the message from the Upwork CEO, StephaneKasriel on Upwork Blog.


So, Are You Gonna Leaving?
The rate might be a little higher than other platforms, but you are going to stay if your business is not affected by the new policy. Your clients might be satisfied with the platform's service, because when you love something, it’s hard to move on. But, when you’re not, it will easy for you switching to other platforms. Even the Freelancer.com takes this momentum through the newsletter and social media to pitch their “campaign proposal” to gain attentions from the “unsatisfied freelancers” on Upwork. The freelancer who bring their clients to Freelancers.com, they will charge 0% service fee for a lifetime. Quite smart, huh?


Whether this strategy works or not in this case, but the underlined words are the KEY POINT to grab more users, both on the client side and the freelancer side. For me, it’s not just about being in the right place and at the right time, but it’s more about being READY when you are in the right place and at the right time. Ready means being flexible to any situation happen and make a quick decision in a timely fashion so you can stay on the momentum. Then, you can deliver your growth hacking strategy.

5 Things You Can Do on Using the Momentum:
  1. Send newsletter emails to subscribers and maybe the key media person as soon as the competitor made announcement
  2. Send PM (private message) on Twitter to your NEW followers with your proposal. (It needs automation app)
  3. Make a blog post telling about the new campaign
  4. Consistently active on monitoring over the news made by both parties (your competitor and your business) as well as the media, especially online media. Your PR, Social Media or Communication team can do much more on handling comments and interview inquiries.
  5. Connect with the new users who come from the competitors (user acquisition). Welcome them with grace. Don’t let them down. Keep on improving your services and of course, prove them that they’re working with the right partner.

Those are five things you can learn regarding the pricing issue on Upwork. Maybe it could be a good sample for you before facing the same situation in your business. I appreciate your comment, and if you find this post useful, please share it on your social media.


Blogger, PR, Creative and Social Media Strategist. Current: Project Manager at Entrance Digital Agency. Previously worked at Celebrity Fitness, and FremantleMedia Asia for X Factor Indonesia, Indonesian Idol, MasterChef Indonesia, Indonesia's Got Talent and more.

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