Came back to Upwork after a couple years, proposals not even getting viewed, and it feels like a race to the bottom
Bit of a vent, also genuinely looking for advice.
I've been doing app dev (Flutter mostly) since 2020 and joined Upwork back in 2021. Had the Top Rated badge at one point. Then I got comfortable with a couple of long term clients and kind of drifted off the platform for a while. That eventually wrapped up, so now I'm back trying to build things up again.
And it feels like a completely different place this time. I've sent out a few proposals over the last few days, properly written, tailored to the job, not copy-paste, and 2-3 days later they haven't even been viewed. Not rejected, just nothing. Straight into a void.
On top of that, a lot of jobs now cost a stupid amount of Connects just to apply, so you're literally paying money to send proposals that never even get opened. And half the postings are "build me a full app for $100" type stuff, huge scope, tiny budget, race to the bottom. Between the Connects and the lowball budgets it feels rigged against actually making decent money.
Losing Top Rated stung and I know I'm starting from a weaker spot with no recent history. But watching Connects drain on proposals nobody opens, for jobs that pay peanuts anyway, is rough.
So, is this just how it is now, or am I doing something wrong? And honestly, what are the good alternatives to Upwork these days? Anyone moved to another platform (or off platforms entirely) and had better luck? Would love to hear what's actually working for people in 2026.