A Comprehensive Guide to Upwork Connects Price Changes

Price changes for Upwork Connects

Upwork Connects has announced they will be making big changes to their pricing policy in a town hall meeting and blog post from the VP of Product.

Starting in May, freelancers will be required to pay between $0.15 and $0.90 instead of doing so for free.

The many employers who are struggling to sift through mountains of bids to locate the highest caliber will find relief in this upgrade. According to the reasoning, requiring freelancers to pay for proposals will sort out those who are not serious about accepting the job or will discourage those who are aware they are not qualified from applying for the position.

On May 2, Upwork will begin gradually implementing these adjustments, and by June, the new policy will be fully implemented.

Here is a thorough guide to the Upwork Connects pricing changes with all you need to know to help freelancers and employers alike get ready for the change.

 

Upwork links information

On Upwork, what do “Connects” mean?

You might need a short reminder of what Connects are if you are new to Upwork or are not familiar with the terminology used there.

Freelancers make proposals for projects posted on the Upwork marketplace using connects. Freelance workers currently receive 60 free connections per month. This gives independent contractors the chance to apply for jobs, but not for every position listed on the Upwork marketplace. In essence, Connects is a technique to meaningfully limit the number of gigs a particular freelancer can apply for each month.

It’s also critical to understand that different jobs call for various quantities of Connects. For instance, while some jobs call for freelancers to use 0 Connects, others call for them to use 1 or 2 Connects. This information is crucial since starting in May, cost will vary according on the work and the number of connections needed to apply.

Freelancers will get at their homepage after logging into Upwork. You’ll see a sidebar with several options if you cast your eyes to the right. At this sidebar’s bottom right corner, connects are shown.

connections that are open on your Upwork profile

You’ll see this refelancer has 60 connections visible in this profile. The freelancer is not permitted to make any additional submissions for that month once these connections expire.

 

What have the price fluctuations for Upwork Connects been?

Now that you are aware of how what are connects on upwork at the moment, let’s explore the changes.

The first modification is the end of the free nature of Connects. This means that your freelance account will now have 60 paid Connects for $.15 each rather than 60 free Connects.

The quantity of Connects need to apply is the second adjustment in the Upwork Connects price policy. The range will now shift from 1-6 Connects for proposals, which previously required 0-2 Connects. This implies that the price for freelancers to simply submit a proposal might range from $.015 to $.90. Also, there is no assurance that the freelancer will be hired.

As was already said, the goal of this regulation is to ensure that freelancers are qualified and serious. While there are various reasons why Upwork may have made this decision, freelancers have many reservations about it.

Freelancers are concerned that they will have to pay for Connects in addition to their subscription and that there is no certainty they will be hired. Furthermore, Upwork will continue to take the 20% fees even if they do land the job.

 

What are the prices for job proposals?

What does it actually mean in terms of price that job proposals will go from costing 0-2 Connects to 1-6 Connects? Moreover, how do you calculate how many Connects a particular work type will cost?

At first look, it can appear that the number of Connects a job request requires has no rhyme or reason. But, Upwork is setting up a mechanism that will assist freelancers in determining the pricing of particular services, and it is based on how much the job is genuinely worth. In other words, sending a proposal for a job with a lower value requires fewer Connects, and sending a proposal for a job with a higher value requires more Connects.

Here is what Upwork has said thus far in response to that:

Little jobs will cost 2 Connects ($0.30), which is any task that costs $49 or less.
Medium jobs will cost 4 Connects ($0.60), which ranges from $50 to $599.
Big Tasks will cost 6 Connects ($0.90), which is over $600.
Costs of job proposals

As of right now, jobs will never charge more than $.90 to submit a proposal.

60 Connects will only run you $9 per month when all is said and done. $9 is not an excessive amount to give in exchange for what you gain if you have a high success rate or even only land one significant project per month. It is still more than free, though.

Remember that Upwork is actively watching this system. Upwork will return the Connects to the freelancer if an employer closes a job without hiring anyone or if the employer has broken posting rules.

 

Is it feasible to get Connects for nothing?
What if you’re a novice freelancer and don’t really have the extra cash or don’t want to invest the cash before you start?

Not to worry. There is a technique for you to get Connects for free on Upwork. Here are 4 strategies for getting free Connects while avoiding the standard Connect system:

1. Create a brand-new account.
Anyone looking to test out the site can create an Upwork account. 20 free Connects will be given to them as a start. The freelancer now has a low-risk opportunity to test out the platform. If it goes well, the freelancer can purchase further Connects when the initial 20 expire.

2. Become a rising talent.
Upwork wants its platform to be successful, and part of that includes rewarding successful freelancers. You will receive 30 free Connects from Upwork if you reach emerging talent rank. They will also include you in a talent pool, which will make it simpler and more likely for businesses to get in touch with you.

3. Amass top-tier stats.
To become a highly rated member, it takes a little more time, but once you are, you receive 70 free Connects each month. Not a bad objective to strive for.

4. Purchase a Freelancer Plus subscription.
A membership to Freelancer Plus is another option to get free Connects. The cost of the Freelancer Plus plan will increase from $10 to $14.99 per month, but it will also come with 70 Connects and other fantastic benefits.

 

Can Connects be purchased?
Even with this plan, you may always purchase additional Connects by purchasing a bundle. The pricing for the various bundles are as follows:

10 items for $1.50, 20 for $3, 40 for $6, 60 for $9, and 80 for $12
Moreover, keep in mind that Connects do lose their validity after a year. Don’t purchase extra connectors if you don’t need them. Your Connects will carry over to the following month if you don’t utilize them all this month. But, they will stop at 140.

If you currently have any free Connects left, they will transfer over to the new program.

 

What else is different?
The biggest change to Upwork is the pricing for Upwork Connects, but it’s crucial to remember that there will be other changes as well in May.

You’ll also notice that Upwork’s Freelancer Plus plan will cost more once these changes go into effect. It currently costs $10 per month. When the adjustments go into effect, costs will nearly double to $14.99 per month. However, the Freelancer Plus plan will include 70 free Connects, as was already mentioned.

Although the Agency Plus plan will still cost $20, Connects will not be included. This implies that you must purchase Connects as a package if you’re on the Agency Plus plan. You may continue working on any current jobs if you are still enrolled in the Agency Basic plan. The Agency Plus plan, though, is what you’ll need to upgrade to if you ever wish to submit proposals for any new jobs.

 

The changes: Why?
If you’ve been using Upwork for a while, you might be asking why they are even considering making these changes. Have things not been going well lately? Are price increases really necessary?

Upwork is altering this guideline to assist clients identify higher-quality workers more quickly and to address the inflow of low-quality freelancers.

If you are a freelancer, you may have avoided Upwork or experienced tremendous annoyance when you came across a project only to discover that 49 people had already applied and the position wasn’t even close to being closed.

Upwork hopes to be able to more effectively control quality by asking freelancers to pay for their Connects and to employ a variety of Connects for small, medium, and big jobs. As a result, you will be able to apply for projects knowing that not everyone on Upwork is simply submitting a proposal whether or not they are qualified.

The user experience should improve as a result of these modifications for both clients and freelancers. High-quality labor should be easy for clients to locate, and freelancers should only be able to submit proposals on assignments they are confident in their ability to handle.

It will be interesting to watch how things develop for independent contractors. Although fewer bids are anticipated, this also means that they will be of higher quality. Freelancers must make every effort to ensure that their proposals are exceptional if they want to stand out from the competition.

Freelancing has the potential to result in higher paid jobs, which is another benefit for freelancers. Why submit lesser paid projects if clients are aware that they may hire anyone for low wages? But, if freelancers must pay for proposals, they will only do so for those that are worthwhile of their time. This should prompt customers to demand higher standards and prices as a result.

 

substitutes for Upwork
There are many alternative places you can work as a freelancer or hire a freelancer, respectively, if you don’t agree with the new adjustments at all or if you want to broaden your horizons.

The following are some of the best locations to look for freelance job or to employ a freelancer:

Freelancer \sFiverr
Upstack.co
Toptal.com
Guru \sPeoplePerHour \sTaskRabbit \sOutsourcely
plus more!
If you want to delve more into this, you can check out our list of Upwork alternatives.

You are not required to just work for Upwork, even if you have been doing so for years. Success might be found on a different platform.

In addition, there are several sites other than Upwork that are superior for particular sorts of freelancers. For instance, Upwork has employment opportunities for developers. Nonetheless, Toptal may have greater employment opportunities. Finding out which platforms best meet your demands requires some research and work, but it’s worthwhile.

You may also like: Working at Upwork: Reviews from Employees

End of sentence
These modifications won’t take effect until May 2nd. This guide should address all of your inquiries regarding the Upwork Connects pricing changes, however if you still have other inquiries, you can always go directly to the source.

If you have any queries, Upwork has also created a FAQ regarding the Upwork Connects updates that you may find helpful.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Are you anticipating the changes if you are an employer searching for a freelancer? How will this affect the kinds of assignments you offer on Upwork, and do you anticipate paying more as a result?

How do you feel about working for yourself? Do you believe the latest adjustments will not break the bank? With these increased demands, do you believe you will be able to secure more and better-paying projects? Please share your opinions on these fresh modifications with us.