Free tool

Upwork proposal checker

Paste a proposal and the checker returns the exact lines that are weak, why each one is weak, and a stronger opening line built only from words you already wrote. Seven rules run first and decide what the AI is asked to look at, so it comments on your writing rather than inventing advice. It cannot tell you whether a client will reply.

Last reviewed September 23, 2026

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Check your proposal

Paste the proposal you were about to send. It goes to OpenAI to be read, and nothing is stored.

Your proposal

0 words0 / 6,000

Most proposals that get replies run 100 to 350 words.

What you get back

The exact lines that are weak, marked in your proposal, why each one is weak, and a stronger opening built from your own words.

Example

“I am a highly skilled developer with over 10 years of experience.”
The opening line is about you. The client has not been given a reason to read the next one.
Try: Lead with their problem, then say how you solved the same thing before.

A stronger opening line

Your checkout drops users at the payment step. I fixed the same issue for a Shopify store last year.

Built only from what you already wrote. Read it before you send it.

The seven rules behind it

Before anything is read by a model, these seven rules run on your proposal. They decide what the model is asked to look at, which is why it comments on your actual writing instead of offering generic advice. 6 or more passes reads as strong, 4 or 5 as decent, fewer as weak. A warning does not count as a pass.

Opener: Your first sentence must not open by referring to yourself. A greeting is skipped first, so Hi there and Dear Hiring Manager do not hide what follows them.
Client focus: Counts first person singular and plural against you and your. Warns at 2 times as many, fails at 3 times or when the client is never mentioned, and passes when you never refer to yourself at all.
Proof: Passes with 2 or more numbers, currency amounts, or percentages, warns on exactly one, fails with none.
Length: Passes from 100 to 350 words, warns from 80 and up to 400, fails outside that.
Readability: Warns above 30 words in a sentence, fails above 40, and fails separately when the average sentence passes 25 words. A line break ends a sentence, so bulleted proposals are measured per line.
Close: Passes when the last two sentences contain a question or a clear next step, warns when the only question sits earlier, fails when there is neither.
Filler and AI tells: Warns on one or two stock phrases, fails on three or more.

The phrases it flags

i hope this message finds you well, i hope you are doing well, i am excited to, i'm excited to, i am thrilled, delve into, leverage my expertise, perfect fit, hard worker, quick learner, i am confident that i, in today's fast-paced, attention to detail, go above and beyond, please feel free to.

What the rules find, worked through

A proposal that needs work

I hope this message finds you well. I am excited to apply for this role because I am a hard worker and a quick learner. I have extensive experience and I am confident that I am a perfect fit for your project. I have worked with many clients and I always go above and beyond for every one of them. I look forward to working with you.

Opener: Your first sentence starts with "I hope this message finds". The client is reading for themselves, not for you.
Client focus: You refer to yourself 9 times and the client 3 times.
Proof: No numbers anywhere in 67 words. Nothing here is checkable.
Length: 67 words is rarely enough to carry proof and a question.
Readability: Your longest sentence runs 18 words, which reads easily.
Close: Your proposal ends on a statement. There is nothing for the client to reply to.
Filler and AI tells: Found 7 phrases clients see in hundreds of proposals: "I hope this message finds you well", "I am excited to", "perfect fit", "hard worker", "quick learner", "I am confident that I", "go above and beyond".

A proposal that reads well

Your checkout drops users at the payment step, which is where most Shopify stores lose money. I rebuilt a checkout for a store doing $40k a month and cut abandonment 22 percent in 6 weeks. My plan is to audit the payment step, fix the 3 slowest scripts, then retest on mobile. That work took 4 weeks last time and I can start Monday. Which step in your funnel worries you most right now?

Opener: Your first sentence leads with the client, not with yourself.
Client focus: You refer to yourself 3 times and the client 3 times.
Proof: You include 5 numbers. Make sure they describe results, not just dates or rates.
Length: 74 words is rarely enough to carry proof and a question.
Readability: Your longest sentence runs 19 words, which reads easily.
Close: You end with something the client can answer.
Filler and AI tells: No stock phrases found. This reads like a person wrote it.

Both examples above are produced by running this page's own 7 rules, so they always match the rules the tool actually applies.

What this can and cannot tell you

What it does

Which exact lines are weak, quoted back to you from your own text
Why each one is weak, in plain language
A stronger opening line, built only from words you already wrote
What it could not judge, stated openly

What it does not do

Predict whether you will win the job
Judge whether your proposal fits one specific job post
Rate your skills, your profile, or your rate
Invent a result, a client, or a skill you did not already claim

Fix what it finds

Each failed check points at the guide that explains the fix.

Your opener does the work
The first two lines decide whether the third gets read. See what a strong opening does.
What a proposal is for
Structure, proof, and the job each paragraph has to do.
When nobody replies
Your proposal was read and ignored. That is a persuasion problem, not a visibility one.
Using AI without sounding like it
What Upwork allows, and which phrases give an unedited draft away.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Upwork proposal checker free?

Yes. There is no account and no card. There is a daily limit on how many proposals one person can check, because each check runs an AI model that costs money to run.

Does my proposal get sent anywhere?

Yes. Pressing Check sends your proposal to OpenAI to be read, which is how the tool works. It is not stored on this site, and it is not used to train anything by us. If your proposal contains something confidential, take that part out before you paste it.

Can it tell me whether I will win the job?

No. It reads how your proposal is written and tells you what is weak. Nobody can predict a client's reply, and any tool claiming a win percentage is guessing.

How long should an Upwork proposal be?

There is no single number. A short brief deserves about 100 to 150 words, a normal one 150 to 250, and a detailed spec up to about 350. The checker only flags the extremes because it cannot see the job post.

Will a client know my proposal was written with AI?

Not from the fact you used AI, but from the phrasing. The checker flags the stock openings and filler that unedited drafts tend to share.

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