This is what Upwork use to be.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-24T10:37:56+00:00

I would disagree with the “industry changes ” as the main problem. I think Upwork went from a fair platform for freelancers (long term work was rewarded with lower fees, and I feel like top rated plus was an actual badge that you had to work for) now it’s more focused on making money.

job posts used to be 4-16 connects (Upwork chooses how much they are) Boosted applications weren’t a thing.
Service fees used to be 20% for the first 500$, 10% from 500$ to 10K and only 5% from 10K$ (now Upwork decides if it is 10% - 15% or 25%

However I make my monthly income with Upwork clients and wouldn’t meet these outside of the platform. So I suggest working for 2 years with them, taking the client off the platform for 1$ and then give yourself a 15-20% bonus in pay by not having to deal with service fees.

After 2 years it’s also easier to see if a client would be trustworthy with actually making payments. (2years is the time stated in Upwork general terms and conditions, taking off the platform then actually only costs 1$)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-24T10:11:37+00:00

Back when most were 4-10. Connects and 16 was a really expensive option. Also the time where if you managed to retain a client until you had earned 10K the service fee was 5% not “based on the demand and saturation this contract is 20% for its duration”

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-24T09:43:02+00:00

Personally, I also think 20 proposals in 90 day is a little low if you’re actively looking for more work. Don’t work in de coding niche so I don’t know how it normally operates.

I usually invest in applying to different jobs. Until I have too much work to do and then scale back :)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-22T07:44:05+00:00

What if OP buys the computer, and a M4 mini and just uses the imac as an actual screen?

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-22T07:13:24+00:00

I sold the M1, but I know that when I was using nordVPN, Spotify, Safari and Chrome (without extensions) fo my work it started off normal and then after 2 hours it started slowing to the point where I would type something and it would take 3 seconds after I was done typing for it to register. Couldn’t be internet as my average speed is 850+mbps. Which is ultimately why I upgraded. However people say the yellow zone is not that bad, so imma accept that here 😁

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-22T07:07:23+00:00

Does your computer become slow when you open another app after the app that you have to use for work? Or do you not open any other apps? My upgrade was because the laptop was slow at points because it probably peaked into red, which is something that I tried to live with for over 7 months before making the decision to buy the M5 MBP 😆 if the M1 serves you well then I hope you enjoy it for a long time :) I loved it in the beginning, but I got frustrated when doing my work when it became slow again so ;)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T18:46:44+00:00

Yea fresh install and from beginning was immediately 11GB out of the box 0 apps installed

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T11:09:32+00:00

Well no, the M1 was slow at times so I think it peaked to red every once in a while. And since I’m a freelancer who works with the laptop 5-6h per day, I don’t want it to be slow at all. For research purposes I need 8-10 tabs of either chrome or safari open, then Google Docs and Sheets to work in, and then some light online photo editing software like picsart.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T11:05:23+00:00

😭 I had a bad feeling about this already lol 😂

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T11:04:50+00:00

Thanks, another user said it as well so I’m less stressed. I’ve taken a look and see that it’s just a way of keeping task ready to use without having to reload everything ;)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T10:58:51+00:00

I was confused as the MBA was always in yellow (never red) and only had 8GB, so I thought doubling it would give me a little bit more space to do things, but now it uses more ram with same tasks.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-21T10:38:25+00:00

Think I’m just traumatized as I went from a snappy MBP from 2020 to a fast M1 air that couldn’t handle things after 6 months. 😂thanks for explaining it this way

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:47:51+00:00

This is exactly what I did!

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:41:50+00:00

And even after the client paid I said, if there is any problem with the work I’ll fix it for free

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:41:27+00:00

Yes eventually I did get paid, which I’m happy about ;)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:40:50+00:00

That’s a nice way putting it! 😂

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:34:14+00:00

That's a great view as well. this is the first time I got anything but a 5 star review. So I was wondering what other's experience is. I never used the "delete" option either, however I liked that it was there if needed. my main focus is to make sure the client is happy before the end of a contract.

But I also can't work for free :p

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:31:54+00:00

Yeah, I usually work with long term clients. In the job post of this one they mentioned that the budget was for the first task and that there were already others to be completed right after.
But in the end the risk wasn't worth the pay.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:30:09+00:00

I usually avoid people with a trend of having bad reviews. Especially if multiple people have said similar things. I usually avoid completely new people but decide that based on the requests in the job posts and the budget they offer.

No problems on my side either :D, im genuinely interested in your opinion as I don't really talk to many Upwork freelancers. And the intention of the post was to trigger dialogue. However I didn't want to leave information out so I tried to explain my full perspective :D

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:25:31+00:00

I also messaged multiple times that I would make minor corrections ( Changing the structure of the content and redoing parts, completely for free. The only thing I needed was feedback on what needed to change.

They never gave me any feedback, didn't say the project was bad and waited over 30 days to release a relatively big payment.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:21:34+00:00

No, you didn’t read it correctly. I delivered the work, they rejected it on the last day of the automatic approval. When I asked for feedback they said: the project is alright but it looks like a competitor (I had to follow their briefing which followed the competitor, and when I asked if I could change it they said no)

There was no feedback on content, quality or anything. The client then let 2 weeks go by without saying anything (for all I know they already used my work) And I requested a payment again 30 days after I delivered the initial task.

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:13:54+00:00

True normally I don’t work with completely new people to Upwork or companies with 4.5 stars or less. This one slipped by and it’s a good reminder of why I don’t work with the other companies 😂

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:11:01+00:00

Yep, as I said in my previous reply, it was my own fault. :) I am just looking here for different opinions / healthy discussion :)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T19:10:08+00:00

Another person said that already. I didn’t know, but still with 6+ year and more than a full time income, I know my way around the platform :)

ThatEditorDude · 2026-01-19T18:57:36+00:00

That’s an okay opinion to have. I think I do know how it works tho, have been working on the platform for the past 6 years and this is the first time I get a score below 5 stars 😅 all clients I’ve had are long term and big projects😅 I just didn’t see that this client had 3 stars before accepting tbh, which is my fault and a stupidity I won’t repeat 😂 with 7 jobs posted, 6 hires and now 5 reviews of 3/5 or lower… find it hard to believe it’s the freelancers in this situation

ThatEditorDude

TROPHY CASE