Upwork proposal reply-rate benchmarks by category
GigRadar's Q2 2026 data puts the market at 5.1%, with a fourfold spread between categories. Here's each line to compare against.
The short answer
- The average Upwork proposal reply rate was 5.1% in Q2 2026, down from 5.8% in Q1, according to GigRadar's Upwork Market Report Q2 2026.
- Upwork reply rates vary about fourfold by category in GigRadar's Q2 2026 data: Telemarketing 16.1%, Engineering 10.3%, Customer Service 9.6%, Writing 5.2% and Web Development 3.7%.
- GigRadar defines a reply as a chat thread opened, and it notes June 2026 figures are still biased low because chats keep opening 30 to 60 days after a proposal.
- The fair benchmark for an agency is its own category's line, not the 5.1% market average.
Why the market average misleads you
The 5.1% figure averages very different markets. GigRadar's report calls it an average of twelve of them. A Web Development agency at 4% is beating its category. An Engineering shop at 6% is well behind its own.
GigRadar's advice is simple, and it's the right one. Pull your last 90 days of proposals, group them by category, and compare each group against its own line. Beat your category and your funnel is fine, so the answer is more volume. Trail it, and rewriting the letter won't fix what is really a positioning problem.
Upwork reply rate by category, Q2 2026
Reply rate means a chat thread opened. From GigRadar's Upwork Market Report Q2 2026, all industries.
| Category | Reply rate | What else the report says |
|---|---|---|
| Telemarketing | 16.1% | Highest reply rate in the category chart |
| Engineering | 10.3% | Down from 12.0% in Q1; view rate 38.0% |
| Customer Service | 9.6% | First reply costs $18.20 in connects |
| Writing | 5.2% | Down from 9.4% in Q1; view rate fell 6.1 points to 25.6% |
| Web Development | 3.7% | Takes 57.4% of agency bidding; view rate 13.8% |
| Whole market | 5.1% | Q1 was 5.8%; view rate 17.7% |
Source: GigRadar, Upwork Market Report Q2 2026, gigradar.io/upwork/reports/2026/q2/all-industries, as of Q2 2026. Checked September 2026.
Crowding explains most of the gap
The categories with high reply rates are the quiet ones. In GigRadar's Q2 2026 data, Web Development absorbs 57.4% of all agency bidding and returns 3.7%. Engineering takes 0.6% and returns 10.3%. An average Engineering job drew 1.10 GigRadar bidders, against up to 30 on a Web Development job.
Don't read that as "move to Engineering". GigRadar retired its own March advice to do exactly that. The top five accounts carry 68% of Engineering bidding, and without them the remaining agencies reply at 6.17%. The lesson is to look one level down, at sub-categories where you can measure the crowding.
What a first reply costs in connects, Q2 2026
GigRadar's formula: connects charged by the job, times $0.15, divided by the reply rate.
| Category | Cost per first conversation |
|---|---|
| Web Development | $51.24 |
| Engineering | $18.40 |
| Customer Service | $18.20 |
Source: GigRadar, Upwork Market Report Q2 2026, as of Q2 2026. Checked September 2026. GigRadar notes connects cost $9 to $14 a job across categories.
How to track your own reply rate by category
You can only compare against a benchmark if you record every proposal with its category and outcome. SalesCrew's Upwork module does this on the Upwork API. Each proposal is recorded against the job and the profile that sent it. Outcomes are written back: interviewed, hired or no reply.
That makes win rate by category, and by profile, a query instead of a spreadsheet. The module sits on the Agency plan at $1,200 a month with unlimited seats, so every bidder gets a login. See the Upwork module and SalesCrew pricing.
Don't judge a June proposal in July
Questions
- What is a good reply rate on Upwork proposals?
- Anything above your category's line is good. GigRadar's Q2 2026 report puts the market at 5.1%, but categories range from 3.7% in Web Development to 16.1% in Telemarketing. A 5% rate is strong in Web Development and weak in Engineering.
- Why did Upwork reply rates drop in 2026?
- Supply fell faster than bidding. GigRadar counted 448,118 Upwork jobs in Q2 2026, down 14.2% on Q1 and the fourth quarterly fall in a row, while the reply rate slipped only from 5.8% to 5.1%. GigRadar's advice: a rate that held flat this quarter gained share.
- How much does a first reply cost on Upwork in connects?
- It depends on the category. GigRadar prices it as connects charged per job times $0.15, divided by the reply rate, and gets $51.24 per first conversation in Web Development against $18.40 in Engineering for Q2 2026. Connects cost $9 to $14 a job across categories, so the gap is mostly reply rate.
- Is Upwork view rate the same as reply rate?
- No. View rate is the share of proposals the client opened; reply rate is the share where a chat thread opened. GigRadar's Q2 2026 market figures were 17.7% viewed and 5.1% replied, so most unread proposals never had a chance.