Upwork User, Revenue, and Growth Statistics (2022)

In 2013, Elance and Odesk merged to form Upwork. That’s how the world’s largest freelancing platform came to be.

Boasting one of the most diverse freelancer-client nexuses you’ll ever see, Upwork is worth a try whether you are a newbie freelancer starting out or an experienced contractor casually browsing job platforms.

You’ll probably be surprised to see so much order in the presence of so much activity. You will also appreciate the fair playing field Upwork freelancers enjoy and how easy it is to stand out when you have what it takes.

I could wax lyrical about Upwork for another couple of minutes, but I promised to make this post about Upwork statistics and facts.

I will take you through some of the most interesting figures behind the platform’s reputation in the hope that you will find something helpful. Let’s dive straight in.

Key Upwork Statistics

1. Upwork had over 17 million registered users by 2020. 12 million of them were freelancers, while 5 million were clients. Its closest rival, Fiverr, had 7 million users at the time. (Source: Website Planet)
2. Upwork has handled over $15 billion worth of economic activity on its platform. In 2021 alone, the platform enabled $3.5 billion of gross services volume (GSV). (Source: Upwork)
3. The Upwork marketplace has more than 10,000 skills sprinkled across 90 categories, from sales and marketing all the way to data science & analytics and software development. (Source: Upwork)
4. Each skill had more than 500 projects posted in 2021. (Source: Business Wire)
5. Upwork is available in 180+ countries. Russia and Belarus are the two most recent countries to be denied access onto the platform following the former’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (Source: Upwork)
6. Over 30% of Fortune 100 companies have outsourced services from Upwork at least once. (Source: Upwork)
7. The United States is Upwork’s leading source of freelancers and also the largest contributor to the platform’s GSV. In 2021, 25% of the GSV came from Americans. India and the Philippines were the second and third largest talent geographies respectively. (Source: Upwork)
8. Approximately two-thirds of paid client activity on Upwork comes from US-based individuals and organizations. No other country contributed to the platform’s GSV by more than 10%. (Source: Upwork)
9. Upwork also outsources services from registered contractors on its marketplace. The company has approximately 650 employees. In 2021, they engaged more than 1,800 freelancers to provide internal services. (Source: Upwork)
10. Upwork freelancers earned over $2.5 billion on the platform in 2020. (Source: Business Wire)

Upwork Revenue Statistics

1. Upwork generates revenue from both freelancers and clients. Freelancers – through service fees, purchase of Connects, and premium offerings – generate the bulk of the platform’s revenue.
2. In 2021, Upwork generated total revenue of 502.8 million, a 35% increase from 2020. (Source: Upwork)
3. Upwork is not a profitable company. In 2020, it incurred net losses of $22.9 million. In 2021, it incurred net losses of $56.2 million. The company’s accumulated deficit so far is a whopping $251 million. (Source: Upwork)

Upwork Job and Category Statistics

1. Mathematics/computers, marketing, and art & design are the most popular categories on the Upwork marketplace. (Source: Upwork)
2. The most in-demand tech skills are web design, WordPress, Web Programming, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, PHP, API, Shopify, graphic design. (Source: Business Wire)
3. The most in-demand marketing skills include lead generation, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), Facebook, Instagram, B2B marketing, marketing research, social media management, and email marketing. (Source: Business Wire)
4. The most sought-after customer service skills include customer support, phone support, email communication, communication etiquette, online chat support, administrative support, data entry, and answering product questions. (Source: Business Wire)
5. Web programming, web design, and social media marketing experienced the highest year-over-year growth of 43%, 31%, and 25% respectively between 2020 and 2021. (Source: Business Wire)
6. Most jobs on Upwork have massive pay ranges. U.S commercial content moderators, for instance, get a median wage of $20 and mean wage of $26 per hour. The rate spectrum is incredibly wide, though, with moderators charging as low as $3 per hour and as high as $160 per hour. (Source: AAAI Organization)

Highest-Paying Jobs

The table below shows 15 of the highest-paying jobs on Upwork and their hourly rates:

(Source: Upwork)

Additional Upwork Statistics

1. Female freelancers on Upwork ask for less money when deciding bill rates for themselves. In the US, the median hourly rate for women is 74% that of men. The earnings are roughly the same, though, but women work longer hours. (Source: ACM Digital Library)
2. The median valuation of a 5-star review among designers and customer support workers on Upwork is $49. This means most freelancers would prefer a 5-star rating to a monetary reward if the reward was less than $49. 32% of freelancers rate a 5-star rating higher than a $175 cash reward. (Source: ACM Digital Library)
3. Most freelancers offering skilled services on Upwork are qualified for traditional job positions. 63.9% of developers, for instance, have a bachelor’s degree and work more than 20 hours a week just like their employed counterparts. (Source: Tufts University)

Conclusion

If you’re planning to launch your freelancing career on Upwork, this is the time to do it. As the numbers show, the platform is big enough to accommodate you and the hundreds of freelancers signing up daily.