For Upwork freelancers Numbers, not a pitch.
Upwork charges you to bid. Then it takes a cut when you win.
Every proposal costs Connects at $0.15 each, spent whether or not you get the job, and the service fee runs from 0% to 15% per contract. On Brindl, sending a price on a Board job is free, and the cut is 10% plus $0.30.
Same order, side by side
Your numbers, not ours.
Type what you actually charge. Both statements recalculate as you go, and nothing you type leaves this page.
Each Connect is $0.15 and a proposal takes several, spent whether or not you are hired. Only you know what it takes to land one job.
Where the money goes
Upwork and Brindl, line by line.
| What | Upwork | Brindl |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to bid | Connects at $0.15 each, spent whether or not you are hired | Nothing. Send a price on any Board job for free |
| Cut of the sale | 0% to 15%, set per contract | 10% + $0.30 |
| What your client pays on top | 3% to 5% on the Basic plan, 8% to 10% on Business Plus, plus a contract initiation fee | Nothing |
| Membership | Freelancer Plus is $19.99 a month for more Connects and a 0% fee on direct contracts | No subscription needed to sell. Brindl Pro is optional |
Why freelancers cross-list here
Your price is the price.
No service fee tacked on at checkout, no fee to bid, and your cut on its way in days.
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Your buyer pays what you chargeAn $80 job costs the client $80. Nothing is added at checkout, so your price never looks inflated next to the competition.
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Jobs come to youOn the Board, people post what they need and what they would pay. You send a price for free. If they accept, they pay through Brindl.
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Released in 3 daysYour cut releases 3 days after the sale and goes to your bank through Stripe, with nothing charged to withdraw.
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Your terms on every listingSet the delivery time and the refund policy yourself, per listing.
The honest part
Upwork is the better choice for long contracts and hourly work. Its time tracking, milestone escrow and contract paperwork are built for engagements that run for months, and Brindl has none of that: a job here is a quote, an agreement and a payment. For a retainer or an hourly role with a client you have not worked with before, Upwork's structure is protecting you, and the fee is what that costs. Switching outright would be bad advice. What makes sense is cross-listing: offer the same service in both places and keep more of it when it sells here. Listing costs nothing, so a listing that does not sell has not cost you anything either.
Ready when you are
Posting takes a couple of minutes. You will need payouts set up before money can reach you, which is a one-time Stripe step.
Post a service Create an account See Brindl's pricing See how it worksWhere these numbers come from
Every Upwork figure on this page was checked against Upwork's own published fee pages in September 2026. Brindl's figures come from the same constants checkout uses. Fees change; if one of these is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.