Do Upwork Connects expire?
Short answer: Connects roll over, but they are not guaranteed to last forever. Upwork's help center answers the rollover question in one line: all of your Connects will roll over, unless they expire, and there is no limit on the amount of Connects you can hold. So unused Connects do not vanish at the end of your billing month, and there is no monthly cap on a freelancer balance.
The 'unless they expire' part is the bit people miss. The only page in Upwork's help center that puts a number on it is the Agency Plus article, which says Connects expire one year from the date of purchase. The freelancer membership pages confirm that expiry exists but do not repeat a window, so the honest reading is: Connects can expire, and a year from purchase is the rule Upwork states in writing.
Everything factual in this post comes from Upwork's own help center articles on understanding and using Connects, Connects rollover, Freelancer Plus, Agency Plus and ad credits, checked on the day this was written. Upwork changes these pages often, so if your Connects page shows something different, trust your account.
What rolls over and what does not
There are a few different things that all feel like 'Connects' in your account. They do not follow the same rules:
Connects, agency Connects and ad credits, per Upwork's help center
| What it is | Rolls over? | Expiry rule Upwork states |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer Connects (bought, membership or earned) | Yes, all of them, with no limit on how many you hold | Roll over 'unless they expire'; no separate window stated on the freelancer pages |
| Agency Connects (Agency Plus) | Up to 400 unused Connects each month | Expire one year from the date of purchase |
| Ad credits | No | Each credit has its own expiration date, usually something like 14 or 30 days |
| Returned Connects | Credited back to your balance | Returned for reuse, not refunded as cash |
Two details from the Agency Plus page are worth knowing even if you work solo. Connects cannot be shared between an agency account and a freelancer account, even if both are yours. And on an agency, every member draws from one shared balance, so a teammate can burn through Connects you were planning to use.
The old rollover cap you may have read about
A lot of older guides, including some of ours, describe a cap on how many unused Connects a freelancer can carry over, or say free monthly Connects disappear at the end of the month. That is not what Upwork's help center says today. The current Membership FAQ states that all of your Connects roll over and there is no limit on the amount you can hold.
The cap that does exist in writing today is the agency one: up to 400 unused Connects rolled over each month on Agency Plus.
Ad credits are not Connects, and they expire fast
Upwork sometimes gives freelancers ad credits that pay for ad products like boosts. They sit next to your Connects but play by different rules. Upwork says each ad credit has an expiration date, usually within a set timeframe like 14 or 30 days. You can see the date on your Ad credits page, and Upwork sends a reminder in your notifications before they expire.
- Unused ad credits stay in your balance until they expire. Once expired, Upwork says they cannot be refunded, reissued or rolled over.
- If you have more than one active credit, they stack, and Upwork applies the one that expires soonest first.
- If your ad credits do not cover the full cost, the rest comes out of your Connects or is charged to your payment method as usual.
In practice this means ad credits are the thing most likely to expire on you, not Connects. If you have some sitting there, use them on a boost for a job you were going to apply to anyway. How boosting works is in [are boosted proposals worth it on Upwork](/blog/are-boosted-proposals-worth-it-on-upwork).
How you get Connects, and when they land
Knowing where Connects come from helps you plan when you will have them. Upwork's help center lists these sources:
- Buying them. Connects cost $0.15 each and are sold in bundles. You need a verified billing method on your account to buy, even if you plan to pay from your earnings balance.
- Freelancer Plus. You get 100 Connects each month once you have been on the plan for a month (90-100 in your first month, depending on when you upgrade). They arrive at renewal and can take up to 12 hours to show up.
- Free monthly Connects. Upwork says some freelancers may receive 10 free Connects each month as part of offers it runs. You can check your eligibility in your Connects history, and support cannot add them manually.
- Talent badges. 30 Connects each for Rising Talent, Top Rated and Top Rated Plus, up to 90 in total.
- Activity rewards that Upwork is testing, like 12 Connects for submitting three or more proposals that spend at least 54 Connects in total, available twice a calendar month.
All of these land in one balance, and per the Membership FAQ they all roll over. The full list of free sources, and which ones are worth chasing, is in [how to get free Upwork Connects](/blog/how-to-get-free-upwork-connects).
What happens to your Connects if you cancel Freelancer Plus
Upwork's help center does not say your existing balance is wiped when you downgrade to Freelancer Basic. What it does say is about timing: you have to cancel before your renewal date, which starts at midnight UTC. If you wait until the renewal date, you are charged and the cancellation only takes effect the following cycle. Upwork's own advice is to cancel a day early to be safe.
What you lose by downgrading is the monthly top-up. Upwork describes Freelancer Plus as giving 90 more monthly Connects than Basic. Whether that is worth paying for depends on how many proposals you actually send, which is the whole subject of [is Upwork Freelancer Plus worth it](/blog/is-upwork-freelancer-plus-worth-it).
When Connects come back to you
Spent Connects are mostly gone for good, which matters more than expiry for most freelancers. Upwork returns them in a short list of cases:
- The client cancels the project before a contract is made (this does not apply to posts that simply expire).
- Upwork removes the post for violating its Terms of Service.
- You get an interview with an established client. Upwork says you may receive Connects back, but not for every interview, and the amount can vary.
They are not returned when the client rejects you, hires someone else, lets the job expire without a hire, or when you withdraw your own proposal. Returned Connects go back into your balance for reuse, not as cash. The details are in [Upwork Connects refund](/blog/upwork-connects-refund).
How to manage your Connects so none go to waste
This part is my opinion, not Upwork policy. Expiry is rarely the real reason freelancers lose Connects. Spending them on jobs they were never going to win is. A balance that rolls over with no cap removes any reason to rush, so the right move is to spend deliberately:
- Check your Connects history. Upwork shows your transactions for the past 7, 30 and 90 days on the Connects page, and your balance on the right of Find work. Know where your Connects came from and where they went.
- Spend ad credits first. They are the only part of your balance with a short, stated clock. Connects can wait.
- Do not buy a big bundle 'just in case'. If Connects can expire a year from purchase, buying far more than you will use in that window is money sitting idle. Buy roughly what your proposal pace needs.
- Vet before you apply. Upwork's own tips: read the post carefully, make sure you have time for a quality proposal, check whether the client has hired, read their history and feedback, and look at how many proposals and interviews are already active.
- Track Connects per job won, not Connects spent. That number tells you whether your targeting works. The math is in [how many Connects to win a job on Upwork](/blog/how-many-connects-to-win-a-job-on-upwork).
If your balance keeps growing month after month, you are under-applying, not saving. If it keeps hitting zero mid-month, the fix is usually tighter job selection, covered in [how to spend Upwork Connects without wasting them](/blog/how-to-spend-upwork-connects-without-wasting-them).
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Frequently asked questions
Do Upwork Connects expire?
They can. Upwork's help center says all of your Connects roll over unless they expire, and its Agency Plus page states that Connects expire one year from the date of purchase. Unused Connects do not disappear at the end of your billing month.
Is there a limit on how many Connects I can roll over?
Not on a freelancer account, according to Upwork's current Membership FAQ: all of your Connects roll over and there is no limit on the amount you can hold. Agencies on Agency Plus can roll over up to 400 unused Connects each month.
Do free monthly Connects roll over?
Upwork's Membership FAQ says all of your Connects roll over unless they expire, and it does not carve out free Connects as an exception. Upwork says some freelancers may receive 10 free Connects a month, and you can check eligibility in your Connects history.
Do Upwork ad credits expire?
Yes. Each ad credit has its own expiration date, usually within a set timeframe like 14 or 30 days. You can see it on your Ad credits page, and expired credits cannot be refunded, reissued or rolled over.
Can I get money back for unused Connects?
Upwork's help center describes returned Connects as credited back to your account for reuse, not a refund of their cash value. It does not describe a way to cash out unused Connects.
Can I move Connects between my agency and freelancer accounts?
No. Upwork says Connects cannot be shared between agency and freelancer accounts, even if both belong to you. Agency members all draw from one shared agency balance.
How do I check my Connects balance and history?
Your balance shows on the right side of Find work. Your Connects history, with transactions for the past 7, 30 and 90 days, is on the Connects page.
Last reviewed by David Iya on October 22, 2026
