Does Upwork pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Upwork employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Upwork. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Upwork?

59% of Upwork employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Upwork 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Upwork?

Software Engineer (24) , Freelancer (20) , Senior Software Engineer (20) , Account Manager (19) , Account Executive (16) , Enterprise Account Executive (15) , Software Developer (12) , Enterprise Account Manager (11) , Product Manager (11) , Business Development Representative (BDR) (10) , Data Analyst (10) , Virtual Assistant (10) , Manager (9) , Customer Service Representative (8) , Director (8)

What are the pros of working at Upwork according to real employee reviews?

"Most people are great (there are some truly brilliant people here)" ((in 54 reviews)); "Great benefits and rewards." ((in 33 reviews)); "Flexible working hours and work from home." ((in 26 reviews)); "Pay is good and nice" ((in 26 reviews)); "Great team and dynamic was very supportive." ((in 21 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Upwork according to real employee reviews?

"constant layoffs with 2 happen across 2 years." ((in 33 reviews)); "bad leadership and a lot of feedback" ((in 31 reviews)); "Bad management and general disorganization" ((in 18 reviews)); "My direct manager had never even sold in her life." ((in 10 reviews)); "Salaries are obscure and no bonus for overseas employees compared to Full time employees" ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about Upwork layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Upwork layoffs and their outlook for job security at Upwork in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Upwork locations?

Madrid , Barcelona , Almería , Valencia

Upwork reviews

3.8

59% would recommend to a friend

(635 total reviews)

Hayden Brown

53% approve of CEO

42% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

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Upwork has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 635 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Upwork employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Tecnologías de la información industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

635 reviews

2.0

Mar 17, 2021

Beware if joining sales/AM - goals are a moving target

Account manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Office environment was great before we went fully remote due to COVID, pay is good if you're hitting goals, good benefits

Cons

Goals are unattainable because they are always changing - leadership comes out and says one thing and then changes it a few weeks later. Too much time spent in internal meetings and writing up documentation for internal meetings. Upwork has a huge culture of favoritism, if you were at Upwork pre IPO you are definitely treated better than newer employees. Middle managers lead by fear

2.0

Feb 28, 2018

Engineering is done, it is about sales and marketing now

Senior product architect

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very flexible PTO, nice life/work balance, working business model. A good place for someone who just wants to have a job.

Cons

Lots of new people installed into the management by investors. Oftentimes they are in the position of power without knowing the product or the technology.

3.0

Jun 28, 2017

Poor quality company, lackluster leadership, unmotivated management , major attrition among employees

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- The company lives by the ideals of remote work and its advantages - Extremely friendly people, similar to one big family

Cons

- Lack of any real processes with onboarding and training - Management/Leadership team has poor vision, wants to take action but unclear on proper steps to take - Poor communication among different organizations within the company - Unclear what the role of many people within the company is - So many promises made, so little followed through - Leadership is very self-important, yet many don't seem very excited about what they're doing

Viewing 88 - 90 of 635 Reviews

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Upwork

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Reviews by job title

Beware if joining sales/AM - goals are a moving target

Engineering is done, it is about sales and marketing now

Poor quality company, lackluster leadership, unmotivated management , major attrition among employees

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