Upwork Connects ROI Calculator
Find out what you're really spending to land each client — connects, fees, and time included.
Invites don't cost connects
Cost per Client
$25.80
172 connects per win
Your Real Rate
$34.45/hr
vs $50.00/hr listed
Monthly Connects
$51.60
344 connects used
Annual Connects
$619.20
per year on connects alone
Proposal Win Rate
4.7%
2 wins from 43 proposals
Unbilled Proposal Time
10.8 hrs/mo
$537.50 of your time
Total Upwork Fees
12.6%
service fee + connects
Connects per Win
172
at $0.15 each
What your numbers mean
Every proposal-sourced client costs you $25.80 in connects before you earn a dollar. On top of that, Upwork takes ~10% of your earnings.
You're spending ~10.8 hours per month writing proposals — that's $537.50 worth of billable time you're not getting paid for.
Your listed rate is $50.00/hr, but after connects, fees, and proposal time, you're effectively earning $34.45/hr.
At 4.7% win rate, improving to 7.0% by applying faster would save you roughly $206.40/year in connects.
Proposals submitted in the first 15 minutes of a job posting are significantly more likely to result in a hire. Speed is the single biggest lever you have to reduce your cost per client.
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