Hourly work for clients

Introducing hourly work: Hire top freelance talent, on an hourly basis. As a Pro client, you can now collaborate with top freelancers on an hourly basis, alongside fixed-price, to gain more flexibility, and accommodate evolving projects and long-term needs.

• Keep your projects agile: Easily accommodate evolving project requirements, allowing for smoother adjustments and changes.
• Enjoy long-term commitment: Create flexible engagement for ongoing projects or those with an undefined scope.
• Easily track work progress: Get full visibility of the work progress so you can make sure you’re always on top of things. 
• Simplify payments: Pay on an hourly basis with an automatic weekly payment system, giving you full transparency of your budget.
  
  

Find a freelancer and request an hourly offer  

Search in the search bar for the service you need and then go to the Pro catalog. You can filter freelancers by “hourly rate” to compare different Pro freelancers giving you an idea of the various hourly rate options. 

How to receive an hourly custom offer

Discuss the project with your chosen freelancer and agree on the details. It’s recommended to agree on a weekly hour limit, so you will know what to expect from the freelancer each week.  You will receive the custom offer in your inbox.

It will include the service description, the weekly hour limit you've agreed on, and a time estimation for the whole project that the freelancer will give. You will be able to change the weekly limit at any time from the order page. 

You will have the option to accept or decline the offer or send a message to the freelancer.

Once you accept the custom offer, you will only need to pay an order initiation fee of $5 (tax not included), and the freelancer will start working on your project. 

Order page and weekly reports 

Freelancers are asked to log their weekly hours worked, by Sunday (23:59 UTC). For each session of hours added, they are asked to provide either a detailed description or a supporting file (or both), allowing you full visibility of their work.

You will be automatically charged for the previous week's report each Monday. You have 72 hours to review the weekly report and contact the freelancer with any issues. 

Within this timeframe, if the work described in the weekly report does not meet your expectations, you can contact the freelancer and request a refund through the Resolution Center. See more about the hourly order cancelation process. 

The previous week’s report will be at the bottom of the order page, and the new report from the current week will appear at the top. 

Keep in mind that you can change the weekly hour limit, pause, or end the order with 24 hours notice at any time from the order page. Just click the ellipsis button at the top right corner. If you choose to end or pause the order, the freelancer will have 24 hours to report the hours.

FAQs

1. How do I choose between a fixed-price project or an hourly-based one?
   Fixed-price projects are ideal for well-defined tasks with clear deliverables. Hourly work is suitable for projects of at least 8 hours of work, long-term hiring, ongoing projects with evolving scopes, or for projects whose scope is hard to define at the beginning.
   
   
2. Is hourly work’s pricing different from the fixed-price model?
   Yes, in the hourly model, you pay based on the actual hours worked, providing flexibility and fair billing according to the time and effort put into your project.
   
   
3. Are the working hours transparent to me?
   Yes, you receive detailed weekly reports from the freelancer, providing transparency into the hours worked and the progress made.
   
   
4. Can I set a limit to the amount of hours the freelancer can charge each week?
   Yes, when discussing your needs with the freelancer you can set a weekly hour limit as part of the custom offer. You can change or remove this limit at any time from the order page.
   
   
5. How does the freelancer report their weekly progress?
   Freelancers provide detailed descriptions and can add attachments of their work each week, ensuring you have visibility into their progress. The reporting always occurs before Sunday, 23:59 UTC each week, and you will be charged for the work the following Monday, before the time you need to pay for the work.
   
   
6. Can I pause or end a project when I no longer need the services?
   Yes, you can pause the project if the freelancer’s services are temporarily not required. Discuss this with your freelancer to ensure a smooth pause and resume process. You can also end the project at any time from your order page. Keep in mind that the freelancer will have an additional 24 hours from the moment you pause or end the contract to log hours.
   
   
7. What if the weekly report does not meet my expectations?
   If the weekly report is not what you expected, or you have any issues, you can dispute it within 72 hours. Learn more about the hourly cancelation process here.
   
   
8. Can I hire any freelancer on an hourly basis?
   Currently, hourly work is available to eligible freelancers and agencies who offer this option. Browse our Pro catalog and filter on “hourly rate” to find available freelancers.