Basic or Freelancer Plus?
On Connects alone, Freelancer Plus does not pay for itself at these prices: buy it for its other features, not to save on Connects.
Same bill, better proposals
What one hire costs you at other win rates.
| Win rate | Hires / mo | Cost per hire | Earned after Connects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | 0.6 | $87.50 | $218 |
| 5% · you | 1.5 | $35.00 | $623 |
| 10% | 3 | $17.50 | $1,298 |
| 15% | 4.5 | $11.67 | $1,973 |
| 20% | 6 | $8.75 | $2,648 |
Lower your cost per hire, not your proposal count
Proposio writes each proposal from the job post and your profile, and shows the fit before you spend Connects on it.
How the calculator counts
Three steps, all with your numbers.
Connects a month
proposals × Connects per proposal
+ boosts × Connects per boostEvery proposal costs the Connects shown on its job post; a boost adds the extra Connects you bid.
Your bill
(Connects − included), rounded up to 10
× price per Connect + planBasic and Freelancer Plus include some Connects every month; the rest is bought in bundles.
Cost per hire
bill ÷ (proposals × win rate)
break-even = bill ÷ (proposals × contract × (1 − fee))Your win rate turns the bill into the price of one client, and shows the rate at which the month pays for itself.
Upwork prices used by default
- One Connect
- $0.15
- Basic plan
- 10 free Connects a month
- Freelancer Plus
- $19.99 a month, 100 Connects
- Service fee
- 0–15 % per contract, shown before you apply
Checked 2026-11-02 on upwork.com. Upwork changes them; edit them in the calculator under “Upwork prices used here”.
Common questions
How much does one Upwork Connect cost?
$0.15 at the time of writing, bought in bundles. Upwork can change the price, so check the Buy Connects page in your account and edit it in the calculator if it differs.
How many Connects does a proposal cost?
Upwork sets the price per job and shows it on the job post next to “Apply now”. Look at a few posts in your niche and use their average in the calculator.
Do I get free Connects?
A Basic account gets 10 free Connects a month, and Freelancer Plus includes 100 a month. Check your Connects history in Upwork to see what your account actually receives.
Is Freelancer Plus worth it just for Connects?
Compare the two bars in the calculator. At $19.99 for 100 Connects, Plus costs more than buying the same 100 Connects at $0.15 ($15), so on Connects alone it rarely pays off. It can still be worth it for its other features.
What is a boosted proposal?
You bid extra Connects so your proposal shows higher in the client's list. Upwork may return boost Connects in some cases; the calculator counts them as spent, which is the worst case.
What win rate should I enter?
Your own: hires divided by proposals sent over the last few months. Win rates differ a lot between niches and profiles, so a number from someone else will mislead you.
How do I lower my cost per hire?
Send proposals only where you fit, answer what the client asked, and write to the post rather than a template. The table in the calculator shows how each point of win rate makes a hire cheaper for the same bill.
Need your hourly rate too?
The Upwork hourly rate calculator puts Connects, fees, taxes and time off into the rate you charge.
Open the hourly rate calculator →