Online freelancing platforms, such as Upwork, have become a major gateway to remote work. They connect freelancers with clients worldwide, offering opportunities across several industries, including tech. However, in recent years, many of these platforms have introduced payment requirements for freelancers — meaning professionals have to spend money just to apply for projects or increase their visibility. This shift raises an important question: Is it reasonable for freelancers to pay to access work opportunities?
On Upwork, freelancers must purchase “Connects” — the platform defines Connects as “virtual tokens you’ll use to pursue jobs and start earning.” Other platforms have their own currencies — on Guru.com, for example, the currency is Bids, which are used by freelancers to send quotes to potential clients. In all cases, this means freelancers are required to invest money before earning any income on the platform — with no guarantee they will ever earn any at all.
The debate around the system
One argument in favor of this paid-access model is that charging for applications can improve the overall quality of the marketplace. By attaching a cost to proposals, platforms may deter spam applications and encourage only serious, qualified freelancers to apply. This can save time for clients and potentially improve matching outcomes. Of course, this system also serves as an important revenue source for the platforms.
For experienced freelancers with a strong track record on the platform, these costs can be seen as a business investment. If a platform provides access to high-paying or long-term clients, paying for visibility or proposals may yield a positive return. From this perspective, Connects (or other platforms’ currencies) function similarly to marketing expenses in a traditional business. We’ll scrutinize this assumption later on.
Despite these potential benefits, the system raises concerns. Freelancers already pay platform commissions on their earnings — Upwork, for instance, charges a 10% service fee. Requiring upfront payments adds an additional layer of cost and risk, especially since there is no guarantee of securing work.
Thus, for newcomers, this model is particularly challenging. They often face worse response rates and less visibility, meaning they may need to spend more on applications just to compete. Consequently, freelancing can start to resemble a “pay-to-work” system, where access is determined not only by skills but also by one’s ability to pay. Many freelancers view this as fundamentally unfair.
It’s also important to consider the clients’ perspective. While the system relies on self-regulation, the lack of specialized curation can lead to issues. Employers may end up attracting freelancers with the most aggressive bidding strategies — rather than the most skilled professionals. Platforms that offer professional curation rather than relying on market forces can be more effective at finding the most qualified freelancers.
How Connects work on Upwork
To assess whether these paid-access systems are fair, it’s necessary to examine how they work in practice.
The number of Connects needed to submit a proposal “varies per job and can change during the time the job is posted.” Upwork says it takes several factors into account when determining the number of Connects needed, including project size, scope, and market demand.
The Connects can also be used to boost a proposal’s visibility, moving it to the top of the client’s list. It’s a bidding process, and the winning amount will vary. According to Upwork, the point of the boosting functionality is to “let clients know you’re serious about their project.”
Connects can also be used to purchase the Availability badge. The required number of Connects needed for this varies each week based on demand. Freelancers can set a maximum number of Connects that they’re willing to use each week to get the badge. On December 22, we checked that the number of Connects required to get the Availability badge was 14.
The platform also provides an option to enhance the visibility of the entire profile. One can bid Connects to jump to the top of the search results. The freelancer is charged only if a client clicks on their profile.
Connects cost $0.15 (as of December 2025). They can’t be purchased individually, though. The platform offers a 100 Connects starter pack for USD 15 (plus taxes). Additionally, there are other options available:
- 150 Connects for USD 22.50 (plus taxes)
- 200 Connects for USD 30.00 (plus taxes)
- 250 Connects for USD 37.50 (plus taxes)
- 300 Connects for USD 45.00 (plus taxes)
In all cases, the Connects are valid for one year.
Upwork also offers a Freelancer Plus subscription, which includes 100 Connects per month at a monthly rate of USD 19.99, along with the ability to view competitor bids.
New freelancers may receive a one-time bonus of 50 Connects after buying Connects or subscribing to the Freelancer Plus plan.
Using Upwork for free comes with several limitations. The platform runs different offers at times, and some freelancers may receive 10 free Connects each month. Still, 10 Connects are typically not enough to apply for a single tech assignment. It’s possible to earn Connects by completing onboarding tasks or other activities (such as setting up your profile, verifying your identity, watching how-to videos, and submitting three or more proposals), or by earning talent badges — always with some limitations.
When is it reasonable to pay to find freelancing projects?
While this model is often justified as a way to improve platform quality, it also transfers financial risk from platforms to freelancers. The system adopted by Upwork and other marketplaces turns visibility into a paid resource. As competition increases, freelancers are pushed into bidding wars that favor those with larger budgets, who are not always the most qualified candidates.
Paying to find freelancing projects can be reasonable in certain situations — particularly for established freelancers who understand the platform, track their conversion rates, and can justify the expense as part of their business strategy.
However, for most freelancers, these costs can represent a significant barrier and increase financial risk. For a developer submitting five proposals per week, with an average of 22 Connects needed for each proposal, the cost of Connects alone can easily exceed USD 70 per month, with no guarantee of return.
Is it even legal to charge freelancers for submitting proposals?
Freelancers can be viewed as business entities, or at least this is the narrative promoted by many platforms. In theory, freelancers set their own prices, choose clients, manage marketing, and should bear financial risks. From this perspective, it’s reasonable to charge them a fee for lead generation. In this narrative, Connects (or any other virtual token) are considered advertising expenditures.
However, is a freelancer truly a business entity in today’s world?
What we see in today’s labor market is that freelancing increasingly functions as an alternative to traditional employment rather than a purely entrepreneurial activity. In practice, freelancers often depend on one or two platforms for income, compete for standardized roles, have limited bargaining power, and follow platform rules. For them, submitting a proposal is not different from sending job applications. This situation starts to stray from the concept of independent entrepreneurship. The fees freelancers encounter resemble access costs rather than marketing expenses.
Most importantly, in many countries, charging workers to apply for jobs is either restricted or outright illegal, as recruitment fees should be paid by employers, not candidates.
Wrapping up
As freelancing platforms continue to monetize visibility, the risk is not only higher costs for freelancers, but a hiring process that rewards spending power over actual expertise.
Freelancers should carefully assess whether these costs align with their goals and expected outcomes. Alternative approaches, such as networking or direct outreach, may be more sustainable for some.
Another option is to join freelancing platforms that don’t charge freelancers to submit proposals, such as Jobshark and PeoplePerHour. That said, PeoplePerHour does charge a £10 fee for a fast-track approval process for new freelancers, guaranteeing approval within one working day. Without fast-track approval, applicants may face long waiting times — as of December 22, there were 162,946 applicants in the regular queue, according to the platform.
For employers, it’s important to understand that the system adopted by Upwork and similar platforms equates a freelancer’s willingness to spend money with their suitability for the job. However, this premise is not always accurate. Market forces don’t necessarily equal quality. Platforms that provide curatorial services, like Jobshark and Proxify, may be more effective at matching the right freelancer with the appropriate job. These platforms assess profiles before presenting any candidate to employers.
More broadly, as platforms increasingly function as labor intermediaries and control access and visibility, freelancing begins to drift away from the model of independent entrepreneurship. In this context, charging freelancers to apply for work raises not only ethical concerns, but also regulatory questions that are likely to attract greater scrutiny in the future.
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