Upwork
Freelance talent marketplace with Uma AI for job posts and shortlists, plus an official MCP server for hiring from Claude or ChatGPT.
From 5% fee MCP server API
Bottom line
Upwork is the biggest freelance marketplace, free to join with a 5% client fee on Basic. It now has an official MCP server, so recruiters can search talent, post jobs and review proposals from Claude or ChatGPT without opening the site.
Stands out for: Upwork is one of the first large hiring marketplaces with its own hosted MCP server. It covers the full client workflow (talent search, job posts, invites, proposals, milestones, messages) and drafts every write for you to confirm, while money only moves on upwork.com.
Watch out for: Talent quality varies widely because anyone can join, so screening falls on you. Fees stack: the client marketplace fee, a contract initiation fee, and the freelancer service fee priced into rates. The MCP grants the full set of scopes when you connect.
Overview
Upwork is a freelance talent marketplace where clients post jobs, review proposals or invite freelancers, and pay hourly or by milestone through escrow.
Clients on Basic pay a 5% marketplace fee on payments to talent (3% for eligible US bank payments) plus a small contract initiation fee. Business Plus costs 8% to 10% and adds premium support and pre-vetted talent.
Uma, Upwork's AI, drafts job posts, rates their strength, summarises proposals and builds AI-curated shortlists.
The official MCP server at mcp.upwork.com uses OAuth 2.1 and is free with any Upwork account. It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex and other remote MCP clients.
Every write through the MCP is a draft you confirm, and binding steps such as offers, contract acceptance and milestone payments finish on upwork.com.
Who it's for
Best for
- Recruiters and agencies hiring contract specialists fast
- Teams that want to hire from Claude or ChatGPT
- Small companies without an agency budget
- Short projects and overflow work
Not ideal for
- Full-time permanent hiring
- Teams that only want pre-vetted talent
- Roles that need local on-site staff
Key features
Global freelance marketplace. Post a job or search freelancers by skill, rate, location and work history, then hire hourly or fixed price.
Uma AI. Upwork's AI drafts job posts, rates post strength, summarises proposals and builds AI-curated shortlists of matching talent.
Official MCP server. Hosted at mcp.upwork.com with OAuth 2.1 sign-in, for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex and other MCP clients.
Escrow and milestones. Funds are held in escrow and released by milestone or weekly timesheet, with dispute mediation.
Talent lists. Save freelancers to lists for future roles and invite them directly to new jobs.
Direct contracts. Business Plus clients can bring outside freelancers onto Upwork contracts and payments.
AI features
| What the AI does | Plan |
|---|---|
| Uma drafts job posts and rates their strength with tips to fill them faster | All plans |
| AI-curated shortlists of top-matching freelancers and proposals for a job | All plans |
| AI summaries, transcripts and action items after Upwork video meetings | All plans |
Only features named in the vendor's own documentation. Anything sold separately is marked as an add-on.
MCP server
https://mcp.upwork.com/mcp
First-party MCP at mcp.upwork.com. Official Upwork-hosted server with OAuth 2.1 sign-in, free with any Upwork account. Clients can search talent, draft and publish job posts, invite freelancers, review proposals, manage milestones and read messages, timesheets and transactions. Every write is a draft you confirm, and offers, contract acceptance and payments complete on upwork.com. Revoke access under Account Settings, Connected Apps.
Setup steps and live status MCP Directory Check your stack in the MCP readiness checker
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 5% fee | 3% for eligible US bank payments, plus contract initiation fee |
| Business Plus | 10% fee | 8% by bank, premium support and pre-vetted talent |
| Enterprise | Custom | Through sales |
Upwork is free to join with no subscription. On the Basic plan, clients pay a 5% marketplace fee on payments to freelancers, or 3% for eligible US clients paying by bank account, plus a small contract initiation fee on new contracts. Business Plus raises the fee to 8% (bank) or 10% and adds premium support, reporting and pre-vetted talent. Enterprise is custom priced. Freelancers pay a separate service fee and buy Connects to submit proposals. The MCP server itself is free. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 20 Oct 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
Is Upwork expensive?
Upwork does not publish a price. It is one of 58 quote-based tools among the 159 sourcing tools in our directory. 30 have a free tier, and those with a public price typically start around $99 a month.
- 58 quote-based
- 30 free tier
- 83 public price
Worked out automatically from every sourcing listing, so it updates as the directory changes.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free to join, fee only when you pay talent
- Official hosted MCP server, free
- Huge talent pool across every skill
Cons
- Variable talent quality needs screening
- Fees stack on both sides
- MCP grants full account scopes
Integrations
Claude ChatGPT Cursor Codex
What's new at Upwork
No updates logged yet. Follow Upwork and we will email you when it announces something new or its starting price changes.
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How Upwork compares
See all Upwork alternatives, with what each one does differently and a head to head for every pairing.
| Tool | Free tier | From | MCP | API | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | – | 5% fee | ✓ | ✓ | |
| | – | $79/mo | – | – | Compare |
| | – | 15% fee | – | – | Compare |
| | – | $15/hr | – | – | Compare |
$79/mo
Toptal only offers pre-vetted talent with a monthly platform fee and quoted rates, instead of an open marketplace with a percentage fee.
15% fee
Braintrust charges a published 15% client fee on vetted talent and adds an AI voice interviewer, but has no MCP server.
$15/hr
Arc.dev focuses only on remote developers, while Upwork covers every freelance skill.
Your next step
Shortlisting Upwork?
Still deciding? Ask an AI assistant about Upwork.
ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)Claude (opens in a new tab)Grok (opens in a new tab)