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Direct agreement or Upwork?

Set the monthly workload and the length of the engagement. Both sides recalculate with every cost included: commitment, extra hours, deposit and notice on the direct side, platform fees and currency on the Upwork side. All amounts exclude VAT.

Hours beyond the allocation, per month

Direct agreement

EUR · monthly commitment
Per month
Effective rate Net cost per hour delivered
Deposit at signing
Allocated hours
Extra hours
Notice month
Total paid, incl. deposit
Deposit returned at the end
Net cost
  • Lowest hourly rate. The allocation is billed at the committed rate.
  • Room to grow. Hours beyond the allocation are billed at the extra hours rate, only when used.
  • Commitment. One month refundable deposit and one month notice period.
  • Hours reported. The consultant reports the hours on a monthly timesheet with the invoice.

Through Upwork

USD · hourly contract
Per month
Effective rate Incl. client marketplace fee
DepositNot required
Tracked hours
Upwork client fees
Notice periodNone, the contract can end any week
Total cost
  • Every hour logged. Upwork's time tracker records each session in the Work Diary, with screenshots and activity levels, visible to you as it happens.
  • Reputable intermediary. Upwork bills weekly for tracked hours only and handles payments, records and dispute support.
  • No commitment. No minimum hours, no deposit, no notice period. A weekly hour limit keeps spend capped.
  • Higher cost per hour. The rate covers the platform's own service fee, and the client fee is added on top.
Hours delivered Same workload on both sides
Direct net cost
Upwork total cost No deposit, no notice
Difference

Cumulative cash out, month by month

Direct (deposit at signing, returned at the end) Upwork

Direct: the monthly allocation is billed whether or not all hours are used. Extra hours are billed at the extra hours rate. The deposit equals one month of the allocation and is returned, or set against the final invoice, when the agreement ends. EU business customers are invoiced with reverse charge.

Upwork: fees are based on Upwork's published 2026 client pricing (5% marketplace fee on the Basic plan, one-time contract initiation fee up to $14.99). Check upwork.com/pricing/client for current figures. Euro amounts use the exchange rate in the Upwork settings; your card or bank may convert at a slightly different rate.

The notice month: when the work continues during notice, both sides count those hours. When it does not, the direct side still pays the allocation for that month and the Upwork side pays nothing.

Direct rates and terms

€ / h
€ / h
h / month
month(s)
month(s)

Upwork rate and fees

$ / h
%
$ once
€1 = USD