Upwork advertising spend, FY2025
Upwork (UPWK) reported $51.9M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025. That is 6.6% of revenue of $788M. Down 9.1% from FY2024.
Key facts
- Ad spend is 1.0x its FY2020 level ($51.4M), slower than revenue (2.1x).
- The highest year on file is FY2022 at $121M; FY2025 is 57% below it.
- Largest increase +76.7% in FY2021; largest cut -31.4% in FY2024.
- Ad spend has fallen 3 years in a row.
- Ad spend is 6.6% of revenue, down from 13.8% in FY2020.
- Upwork spends more on advertising than 2% of the 458 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is 1.4x the median of 4.6%.
Ad spend by fiscal year
Ad spend as % of revenue
History
Download CSV| Fiscal year | Period end | Ad spend | YoY | Revenue | Ad / revenue | Tag | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Dec 31, 2025 | $51.9M | -9.1% | $788M | 6.6% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 13, 2026 |
| FY2024 | Dec 31, 2024 | $57.1M | -31.4% | $769M | 7.4% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 13, 2026 |
| FY2023 | Dec 31, 2023 | $83.2M | -31.4% | $689M | 12.1% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 13, 2026 |
| FY2022 | Dec 31, 2022 | $121M | +33.5% | $618M | 19.6% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 13, 2025 |
| FY2021 | Dec 31, 2021 | $90.8M | +76.7% | $503M | 18.1% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 15, 2024 |
| FY2020 | Dec 31, 2020 | $51.4M | +37.4% | $374M | 13.8% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 16, 2023 |
| FY2019 | Dec 31, 2019 | $37.4M | +58.5% | $301M | 12.4% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 15, 2022 |
| FY2018 | Dec 31, 2018 | $23.6M | +61.6% | $253M | 9.3% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Feb 24, 2021 |
| FY2017 | Dec 31, 2017 | $14.6M | +35.2% | $203M | 7.2% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Mar 2, 2020 |
| FY2016 | Dec 31, 2016 | $10.8M | n/a | $164M | 6.6% | AdvertisingExpense | 10-K Mar 7, 2019 |
What the figure is
Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).
Compared with similar spenders
The 6 companies closest to Upwork in latest-year ad spend.
| Rank | Company | Ad spend | Ad / revenue | YoY | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 446 | J.Jill | $52.4M | 8.8% | -0.5% | FY2026 |
| 447 | Upwork | $51.9M | 6.6% | -9.1% | FY2025 |
| 448 | Inuvo | $51.9M | 60.2% | -13.0% | FY2025 |
| 449 | Klaviyo | $51.8M | 4.2% | +12.9% | FY2025 |
| 450 | Exelixis | $51.7M | 2.2% | +18.9% | FY2026 |
| 451 | Lindblad Expeditions | $51.7M | 6.7% | +31.2% | FY2025 |
| 452 | ThredUp | $51.1M | 16.4% | +23.1% | FY2025 |
Questions
How much does Upwork spend on advertising?
Upwork spent $51.9M on advertising in fiscal 2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025, according to its 10-K filed Feb 13, 2026.
What percentage of revenue does Upwork spend on advertising?
6.6% of revenue in fiscal 2025 ($51.9M of $788M). The median across the 458 companies tracked is 4.6%.
Is Upwork spending more on advertising?
No. Ad spend fell 9.1% in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024. It has fallen 3 years in a row.
How does Upwork rank by advertising spend?
#447 of 458 US-listed companies with $50M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.
What does Upwork's advertising figure include?
Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).
Source
- Filing
- 10-K for FY2025, filed Feb 13, 2026
- Accession number
0001627475-26-000012- Company
- UPWORK, INC, CIK 1627475, SIC 7374 (Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation)
- Data
- SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
- Cite
- Upwork advertising spend, FY2016-FY2025. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Feb 13, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/upwork/advertising-spend/
- Download
- CSV, all years · CSV, all 458 companies