Connects can pay for different activities on Upwork. Before spending them, distinguish submitting a proposal, promoting visibility and obtaining an identity badge. They do not purchase a client response, and an identity badge does not change the location restrictions of a job.
What the official pages say
Checked 23 October 2026: Upwork's Connects page lists purchased Connects at USD 0.15 each. The proposal requirement varies by job and can change while a posting is open. Check the displayed amount at submission. Promotions and free-Connects offers can be account-specific; do not budget as though every user receives the same rewards.
The identity badge page describes spending 35 Connects and completing verification within seven days. It states the badge is valid for three years and that Connects are not refundable when verification cannot be completed. Follow the page and your account's notice for the applicable process.
Keep the costs in separate columns
| Activity | What you should record |
|---|---|
| Proposal submission | Required Connects shown for that job |
| Boosted proposal | Additional Connects bid and actual charge |
| Availability badge | Budget and usage shown for that feature |
| Identity badge | Cost, verification deadline and outcome |
| Contract work | The contract's service fee, separately from application cost |
A required account-verification request is different from choosing to purchase a visible badge. Open the genuine account settings and follow the specific request. Do not pay an outside “verification agent” or share identity documents in a public forum.
A small application-budget example
Suppose you choose a maximum of 80 purchased Connects for an experiment. At USD 0.15 each, their face cost is USD 12 before any applicable billing taxes or currency-conversion charges. If four fictional suitable jobs each require 12 Connects, submission uses 48 and leaves 32. This assumes no promotion, badge purchase or refund.
The numbers demonstrate a budget, not typical job charges. Record the actual charge for each application in the tracker. Include the time spent reading and responding, even when the cash charge is small.
Refunds are not a fallback business model
The official Connects guidance distinguishes a client cancelling before a contract, or Upwork removing a policy-violating posting, from a proposal being rejected, withdrawn, or left on an expired job. It does not promise a refund merely because you were not hired. Read the current conditions before relying on any return.
Budget for an unsuccessful application to cost both time and money. If you receive returned Connects, record them separately instead of assuming them in advance.
Location and badge eligibility
The badge guidance describes requirements for US-only and UK-only applications, while most other jobs remain available without purchasing the badge. That does not make a Pakistan-based freelancer eligible for a country-restricted listing. Check the job's actual location and qualification requirements before considering the badge cost.
Before the next application, confirm three things: the brief fits your evidence, the job is open to your actual circumstances, and the cost fits your limit. If those checks fail, buying more Connects does not resolve them. Use the proposal clinic and application review to improve the parts you can inspect.
Official references
Source pages checked on 23 October 2026. These references support platform facts; the practice scenarios and worksheets are our educational examples. Confirm account-specific conditions with the provider.
Practice work and illustrative amounts are labelled in the article. See how we prepare and correct guides and how the resource checks work. Report a specific error or broken step.