Upwork Revenue and Client Stats

Upwork is a leading freelance marketplace.

Launched in 2015 following a merger between Elance and oDesk, the company surpassed $1 billion in annual gross services volume that same year.

Today, more than 851 thousand active clients fill freelance positions using Upwork, spending a combined total of over $4.14 billion per year.

So how big is Upwork? And who uses this freelance platform?

From revenue to headcount, here’s a summary of what you’ll find on this page:

• Key Upwork Stats
• Upwork Active Clients
• Upwork Gross Services Volume
• Upwork Revenue
• Upwork Revenue by Segment
• Upwork Revenue from Freelancers
• Upwork Revenue from Clients
• Upwork Marketplace Take Rate
• How Many Categories Are Available on Upwork?
• How Many People Work at Upwork?

Key Upwork Stats

• Upwork has 841 thousand active clients.
• Clients on Upwork spend a combined $4.14 billion annually.
• In 2023, Upwork reported revenue of $689.14 million.
• Upwork has 800 employees.

Upwork Active Clients

Upwork defines “active clients” as clients with any spending activity on the platform during the past 12 months.

Upwork had 851 thousand active clients in 2023. That’s a 4.55% increase from 814 thousand in 2022.

Since 2019, the active client base has grown by 57.59%. That’s a net increase of 311 thousand new clients.

Here’s a table showing the number of Upwork active clients since 2019:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Gross Services Volume

Gross services volume (GSV) is the total value of all payments made on Upwork, including the money paid to freelancers and the fees retained by the platform.

Upwork processed $4.14 billion in gross services volume in 2023.

Upwork’s GSV has increased by 1.64x since 2020.

We’ve charted Upwork’s gross services volume since 2016:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Revenue

Upwork brought in revenue of $689.14 million in 2023. That’s an increase of 11.45% since 2022.

Here’s a table with complete data on Upwork’s annual revenue since 2016:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Revenue by Segment

Upwork generates revenue from two sources: its marketplace and enterprise solutions.

Marketplace revenue includes talent service fees, client marketplace fees, and membership fees.

Enterprise revenue includes fees related to enterprise solutions and managed services.

Upwork’s marketplace generated $586.1 million in revenue in 2023, representing 85.05% of the company’s total revenue.

Revenue from the Upwork marketplace has grown by 37.11% since 2021.

Here’s a table showing revenue from Upwork’s marketplace since 2016:

Meanwhile, Upwork’s enterprise revenue reached $103.04 million in 2023. That’s an increase of 3% over the previous year.

Here’s a table showing Upwork’s enterprise revenue since 2021:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Revenue from Freelancers

Upwork generates revenue from fees paid by both freelancers and employers.

Upwork’s revenue from freelancers consists of service charges (a tiered percentage taken from each invoice), withdrawal fees, membership charges, and “connects” (virtual tokens required to apply for jobs).

Upwork’s revenue from freelancers totaled $369.93 million in 2023. That’s an increase of 10.54% compared to 2022.

Freelancers with a billing address in the United States contributed $95.83 million in 2023, a figure that has grown by 27.96% since 2021.

Here’s a table with Upwork’s revenue from US talent since 2016:

Upwork generated $49.49 million in revenue from freelancers in India in 2023, representing a 13.38% share of total freelancer revenue.

Here’s a table showing Upwork’s revenue from freelancers with a billing address in India:

Upwork brought in $45.91 million from Philippines-based freelancers. The company’s revenue from this country has grown by 14.92% over the previous year.

We’ve charted Upwork’s revenue from freelancers in the Philippines since 2016:

The US, India, and the Philippines are Upwork’s three core markets. Between them, these countries account for more than half (51.69%) of the company’s total freelancer revenue.

Freelancers with a billing address outside of the US, India or the Philippines contribute the remaining 48.3% of Upwork’s total freelancer revenue. In 2023, this amounted to $178.69 million.

Here’s a table showing Upwork’s revenue from freelancers outside of the US, India, and the Philippines since 2016:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Revenue from Clients

More than half of Upwork’s revenue comes from freelancers. But employers on the platform also incur charges.

Upwork’s revenue from employers consists of payment processing and administration fees, currency exchange charges, membership, and service costs.

Upwork clients with a billing address in the US contributed $236.74 million in annual revenue, representing 74.16% of Upwork’s total revenue from clients. US employer revenue has increased by 54.74% since 2021.

Here’s a table with Upwork’s revenue from clients in the US since 2016:

Upwork’s revenue from clients outside of the US reached $82.47 million in 2023, accounting for 25.84% of all client revenue.

Here’s a table with Upwork’s revenue from clients outside of the US since 2016:

Source: Upwork

Upwork Marketplace Take Rate

Upwork calculates its “take rate” by dividing marketplace revenue by total gross services volume. In other words, take rate measures the cut of marketplace transactions retained by Upwork.

In 2023, Upwork achieved a 15.4% marketplace take rate. That’s a slight increase from the 13.8% take rate registered in 2022.

Here’s a table showing Upwork’s marketplace take rate since 2016:

Source: Upwork

How Many Categories Are Available on Upwork?

Upwork has over 125 categories available on the marketplace.

Source: Upwork

How Many People Work at Upwork?

Upwork has 800 employees. The company’s employee count had decreased from 850 in 2022.

Here’s a table with the number of employees at Upwork since 2017:

Upwork regularly engages freelancers in the company’s internal projects. In 2023, approximately 2,500 freelancers worked on Upwork projects. That’s up from 1,950 independent contractors reported in 2022.

Here’s a table showing the number of freelancers engaged on Upwork projects since 2018:

Source: Upwork

Conclusion

That completes my list of Upwork stats.

Upwork claims to be the largest work marketplace, generating $4.14 billion per year in gross services volume.

Since the pandemic and remote work adoption, Upwork has continued to grow its revenue and client base.