How to cancel Upwork membership

Before you cancel

What you lose

• The 100 Connects per month and Mindful AI tools that come with Freelancer Plus
• The 0% freelancer fee on Direct Contracts; the standard 5% fee applies once the membership ends
• Business Plus: unused promotional account credits at the end of the cycle

Cancel, by who bills you

Pick the route for whoever charges you: the name on your card statement or receipt tells you.

Questions people ask

Keep it for less

Before cancelling, check whether one of these does the job. Offers change and differ by account.

• Free plan Freelancer Basic, the free plan for registered Upwork users upwork.com
• Cheaper plan Business Plus clients can downgrade to the Basic plan; the change takes effect at the end of the 30-day cycle upwork.com

For AI agents

• The person signs in and handles any two-factor code; an agent should never ask for a password.
• A Freelancer Plus bought in the Apple App Store is cancelled in Apple's settings; trying on Upwork.com shows an error
• Requesting an Apple refund does not cancel the subscription; cancel it in Apple's settings to stop renewal
• If you move a plan to Upwork.com, cancel the Apple subscription first to avoid being charged twice; in-app purchases can cost slightly more
• Cancel Freelancer Plus at least a day before the renewal date, because renewal starts at midnight UTC

Get this plan as data: get_exit_plan on the Stackcut MCP (stackcut.io/mcp), or /exits/upwork.json. After using a guide, send structured report_guide_feedback for matching or changed steps, missing billing routes or human handoffs; keep unknown language and market omitted. Confirm with the person before the final click, and report the outcome with report_action_outcome, using the exact packet_revision and route_id returned by the plan.

Or give your agent the stackcut-leave skill (a zip): it exports first, walks the steps, stops when the page doesn't match, and leaves the final click to the person.

Delete your account (separate from cancelling)

Cancelling stops the payments; deleting removes the account and its data. Delete-account page (rated easy).

Link from JustDeleteMe (MIT).

Sources

1. Upwork: Freelancer Plus Memberships are not eligible for a refund after purchase, but can be canceled at anytime. (no refund after purchase; cancel any time)
2. Upwork: Freelancer Plus To make changes or cancel your subscription you will need to do so directly from your Apple account. (Apple-billed subscriptions are changed in the Apple account)
3. Upwork: Freelancer Plus If you choose to upgrade, your Freelancer Plus subscription is billed every month on the same date. (monthly billing on the same date)
4. Upwork: Freelancer Plus Freelancer Basic is your default free plan included for registered Upwork users. (the free plan)
5. Upwork: Freelancer Plus Freelancer Plus members have access to 100 Connects per month and cutting-edge tech like Upwork’s Mindful AI. (what Freelancer Plus includes)
6. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? Select your profile icon in the top right corner, then choose Membership plan from the drop-down selections (step 1 on Upwork.com)
7. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? Select Change Plan (step 2)
8. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? Choose the Switch to Basic button on the Basic plan (step 3)
9. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? Remember, if you want to cancel your Freelancer Plus plan, you’ll need to do so before your renewal date, which begins at midnight UTC time. (cancel before the renewal date (midnight UTC))
10. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? If you wait until the renewal date, you’ll be charged and your cancellation will not be effective until the following billing cycle. (cancelling on the renewal date means another charge)
11. Upwork Help: How do I cancel my Freelancer Plus membership and downgrade to Freelancer Basic? To avoid being charged, we recommend canceling by February 5. (Upwork's example: cancel a day before a February 6 renewal)
12. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase You’ll need to manage or cancel your plan through your Apple settings — not on Upwork.com (Apple-billed plans are cancelled in Apple)
13. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Tap your name > Subscriptions (Upwork's Apple steps)
14. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Tap the Upwork subscription (choosing the Upwork subscription)
15. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Apple only manages subscriptions purchased directly as In-App Purchases through the App Store. (which plans Apple manages)
16. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase If you try to downgrade or cancel on Upwork.com instead, you’ll run into this error message: (cancelling an Apple plan on Upwork.com shows an error)
17. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Go back into your Apple subscriptions and reselect your Upwork membership before the downgrade takes effect (the Apple plan downgrades later, not at once)
18. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase In-app purchases may cost slightly more than subscriptions purchased on Upwork.com, due to Apple’s processing fees. (Apple purchases can cost more)
19. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase To prevent another renewal, cancel your subscription through your Apple subscription settings. (cancelling in Apple stops renewal)
20. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Requesting a refund doesn’t cancel your subscription. (a refund request does not cancel)
21. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Upwork can’t issue or adjust refunds for App Store purchases. (refunds for App Store purchases come from Apple)
22. Upwork Help: Upwork Subscription via Apple In-App Purchase Just be sure to cancel your Apple subscription first to avoid being charged twice. (double-charge risk when moving to Upwork.com)
23. Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple In Settings, tap your name. (first step on iPhone or iPad)
24. Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple Tap Subscriptions. (the Subscriptions step)
25. Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple Tap Cancel Subscription. You might need to scroll down to find the Cancel Subscription button. (the cancel step)
26. Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple If there is no Cancel button or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already canceled. (how to confirm it is cancelled)
27. Upwork: Business Plus Business Plus runs on a 30-day membership cycle, and downgrades take effect at the end of your membership cycle. (downgrades take effect at the end of the 30-day cycle)
28. Upwork: Business Plus Any client with Account Admin access can request to downgrade their Business Plus plan to the Basic plan. (who can downgrade Business Plus)
29. Upwork: Business Plus It’s billed on a 30-day cycle with no upfront costs and you can sign up for free. (Business Plus billing cycle)
30. Upwork: Business Plus forfeit any unused account credits issued as part of this promotion, including unexpired account credits. (promotion credits are lost after a downgrade)
31. Upwork Help: If I cancel Freelancer Plus, what happens to Direct Contracts fees? you’ll lose the 0% freelancer fee benefit on Direct Contracts (what Freelancer Plus members lose on Direct Contracts)
32. Upwork Help: If I cancel Freelancer Plus, what happens to Direct Contracts fees? You’ll only see the fee applied after your membership ends. (the fee applies once the membership ends)

Not confirmed yet

• Upwork's help pages don't say whether a confirmation email or on-screen message follows a Freelancer Plus cancellation
• Whether Freelancer Plus is sold through Google Play on Android isn't stated on Upwork's help pages
• What happens to unused Connects when a membership ends isn't covered on the pages reviewed
• What Upwork keeps after an account closes, and what can be exported first, aren't covered here
• The Business Plus page doesn't say how refunds work for Business Plus fees

Independent re-check, 2026-10-08

A second reviewer re-read the official pages and corrected what was wrong or missing. The JSON lists what changed.

Checked against official help pages, 2026-10-08. Cancel flows change: if this one did, tell us at support@stackcut.io. Stackcut Exits is open data (CC BY 4.0).