First 200 Mississippi businesses are Founding Merchants
Selling on Upwork?
Upwork's fees are lower now. The question is which clients you want.
Upwork's freelancer fee dropped to a variable ~10-13% in 2025, so this is an honest comparison, not a 'you'll earn far more' pitch. On Good Circles your per-job cash is comparable, but your client is local (not a global low-bid race), your customer saves ~10% instead of paying Upwork's client-side markup, a local nonprofit is funded, and the platform takes 1% of profit. No ad spend, no merchant card cost.
A $100.00 sale, side by side
A $100.00 sale that costs you $15.00, at a 25% tax rate. Full accounting, all the way to after-tax profit and the total local value of the sale.
| Per $100.00 sale | Good Circles | Upwork |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays | $90.00 (saves $10.00) | $100.00 + client fee |
| Platform fee · ads · card | $0.75 · $0 · $0 | $12.00 · $0 · in fee |
| Donation to a local nonprofit (deductible) | $7.50 | — |
| Pre-tax profit | $66.75 | $73.00 |
| After-tax profit (25%) | $50.06 | $54.75 |
| Customer saves / community funded | $10.00 / $7.50 | $0 / $0 |
| Total local value created | $67.56 | $54.75 |
On this example your after-tax cash is comparable ($50.06 on Good Circles vs $54.75), but Good Circles creates about $12.81 more total local value — the equivalent margin goes to your customer and a local nonprofit instead of the platform, and it lowers your taxable income.
Upwork terms verified 2026-06-22 (support.upwork.com (Freelancer Service Fee)); The freelancer service fee became variable (0–15% per contract) in May 2025, with a reported blended rate around 10–13%; clients also pay a marketplace fee (~5% on Basic) plus a one-time contract-initiation fee. Good Circles takes a 1% fee on profit, with no ad spend and no merchant card cost (the customer pays credit card processing if they use a card). Illustration, not tax advice.
Calculator
Run your own numbers
Your price, cost, tax rate, and current ad spend. This uses your numbers — not a sales pitch — to show your after-tax profit on each platform and the total local value of every sale.
Your platform
$0.00
after-tax profit / sale
Good Circles
$0.00
after-tax profit / sale
Total local value created per sale
$0.00 on Good Circles vs $0.00 on your platform
your after-tax profit + your customer's savings + community funding
Line-by-line, per sale
| Per sale | Platform | Good Circles |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (list price) | ||
| Less: customer savings (10%) | ||
| Less: COGS | ||
| Less: platform fee | ||
| Less: ad / marketing | ||
| Less: card processing | ||
| Less: donation (deductible) | ||
| Taxable / pre-tax profit | ||
| Less: income tax | ||
| After-tax profit | ||
| Memo: customer saves | ||
| Memo: community funded | ||
| Memo: your after-tax cost to deliver that value | — |
Illustration only — not tax advice. Deductibility depends on your entity, income, and how the arrangement is characterized; confirm with your CPA. Competitor "fee" is the typical published all-in rate (verified 2026-06-22); set the fee and your ad spend to your real numbers.
The honest version
We won't pretend Upwork is expensive anymore - since 2025 the freelancer fee is a variable 0-15% (reported blended ~10-13%), lower than Fiverr's flat 20%. On a high-margin service, that fee plus the ~10% Good Circles passes to your customer means your per-job cash can be a little higher on Upwork.
The difference is the clients and the model: Upwork is a global low-bid marketplace where the client also pays a markup, while Good Circles brings you LOCAL clients who save ~10% (no client-side fee), funds a local nonprofit, and lowers your taxable income through the co-venture. You create far more total local value per job. Run your real numbers in the calculator below.
Questions
Upwork vs Good Circles — FAQ
How much does Upwork take from freelancers?
Since May 2025 Upwork's freelancer service fee is variable (0-15% per contract), with a reported blended rate around 10-13%. Clients also pay a marketplace fee (~5% on the Basic plan) plus a one-time contract-initiation fee. Good Circles charges a 1% fee on profit, with no ad spend and no merchant card cost.
Will I keep more on Good Circles than Upwork?
On a high-margin service it can be close, and Upwork's lower fee may leave slightly more per job on raw cash - because Good Circles passes ~10% to your customer. The difference is that on Good Circles your client is local and saves money (instead of paying Upwork's client markup), a local nonprofit is funded, and you create far more total local value. Run your numbers in the calculator.
Can I use both Upwork and Good Circles?
Yes. Keep Upwork for global, remote contracts and use Good Circles to win and serve local clients at better economics - with customer savings, community funding, and no global price race. Good Circles is free to join with a 1% fee on profit.
Keep more of what you earn
Free to join. A 1% fee on profit only when you sell. The first 200 Mississippi businesses are Founding Merchants.