UpNotify

Remember that day? That dark, dark day when Upwork decided to pull the plug on its RSS feeds? I do. I remember staring at my broken IFTTT applets and feeling a genuine sense of panic. For years, that simple RSS feed was the backbone of my job hunting strategy. It was my secret sauce, my early warning system. And then… poof. Gone.

It felt like trying to fish with your bare hands after having a high-tech sonar-equipped fishing rod snatched away. A lot of us in the freelance community were left scrambling, trying to duct-tape together a solution. It was a mess.

So, when I first heard about a tool called UpNotify, my first reaction was skepticism. Another tool promising the world? But the headline got me: “Never Miss an Opportunity.” It claims to restore Upwork RSS functionality but with… upgrades. Okay, color me intrigued. I’ve spent some time digging into what it is, what it does, and whether it's just another shiny object or a genuinely useful weapon in a freelancer’s arsenal.

First Off, What Is UpNotify Supposed to Be?

Let's get this straight. UpNotify isn't just a simple RSS feed generator. Calling it that would be like calling a smartphone a pocket calculator. It technically does that, but you’d be missing the whole point. At its core, UpNotify is an advanced search and notification platform built specifically for the Upwork ecosystem.

It takes the ghost of the old RSS system and brings it back to life, but as a faster, smarter, more capable version of its former self. Think of it as your personal, around-the-clock administrative assistant whose only job is to find you the perfect Upwork gigs before anyone else does.

Visit UpNotify

The Features That Made Me Sit Up and Pay Attention

I’m a features guy. I can be wooed by a slick landing page, but if the engine under the hood is weak, I’m out. Here’s what stood out to me from what UpNotify is offering.

Advanced Search That Puts Upwork’s Own to Shame

Let’s be honest, Upwork’s native search is… fine. It’s functional. But it’s also incredibly basic. Trying to layer multiple specific conditions is a pain. UpNotify seems to tackle this head-on. The images show you can create complex, multi-condition searches that are actually useful. We're talking about filtering by:

• Specific budget ranges (not just their vague $, $$, $$$)
• Client’s payment verification status and hire rate
• Required freelancer level and job type (fixed vs hourly)
• Category and sub-category combinations that are a nightmare to set up on Upwork itself.

This is huge. It’s the difference between blasting a wide net and hoping for a salmon, and using a precision-guided harpoon to snag exactly the fish you want. You save an incredible amount of time by not having to sift through dozens of irrelevant job postings.

Real-Time Alerts Mean Speed Is Your New Advantage

In the world of premium freelance gigs, speed is everything. The best jobs often get a flood of proposals within the first hour. If you’re checking your feed manually a few times a day, you’re already behind. UpNotify's promise of real-time notifications is probably its most powerful feature. The moment a job matching your hyper-specific criteria is posted, you get an alert. That means you can be one of the first, most relevant proposals a client sees. That’s an advantage that’s hard to put a price on.

Integration Flexibility for the Automation Nerds (Like Me)

This is where my inner geek gets excited. UpNotify doesn’t lock you into its own ecosystem. It plays nice with others. The mention of integration with platforms like Zapier and IFTTT is music to my ears. This means you can build a completely automated workflow. For instance:

A new job hits UpNotify → Zapier catches it → It gets sent to a specific Slack channel → A new card is created in Trello → You get a push notification on your phone.

All of that can happen in seconds, while you’re making a cup of coffee. That’s not just convenient; it’s a competitive edge.

A Dash of AI to Filter the Noise

I’ve seen a lot of tools slap an "AI-powered" sticker on themselves lately, and often it’s just marketing fluff. UpNotify’s approach seems a bit more practical. The AI-Enhanced Filtering is optional, which I appreciate. It’s designed to learn your preferences and help automatically filter out jobs that, while technically matching your search, probably aren’t a good fit. It’s meant to be the final layer of refinement, saving you that last bit of mental energy. The fact that you can turn it off is a big plus for those of us who like to maintain full control.

Okay, But What's the Catch? A Look at Pricing

Alright, this all sounds great, but it’s not free. Let's talk about the investment. UpNotify has a tiered pricing structure that seems pretty logical for its target audience.

Now, there's also a curious "Lite" plan listed at $14/month that says "Pay once, own it forever". This is… confusing. My gut tells me this is a typo on their site and it’s meant to be a one-time fee of $14, not a monthly charge. If it's a one-time payment, that's an absolute steal for a basic RSS feed. But if it's $14/month for just one feed, the Starter plan at $9 is a better deal. I'm hoping for the former. This kind of small imperfection on a pricing page is something I'd expect to be cleaned up as they move off the waitlist.

The Good, The Bad, and The Waitlist

No tool is perfect, especially one that's just getting started. From my analysis, it breaks down like this.

On the plus side, you get your beloved RSS functionality back, but on steroids. The advanced search, real-time alerts, and integration capabilities are genuinely powerful time-savers that could easily translate to more income. For any serious freelancer, the time saved alone could justify the cost.

On the other hand, the big one is that it's currently in a waitlist phase. You can sign up, but you can’t use it today, which is a bit of a bummer if you need a solution right now. I see this as a double-edged sword; it's annoying, but it also suggests they're trying to scale responsibly and not crash on day one. A good sign, I guess?

So, Should You Sign Up for UpNotify?

In my opinion? Yes. Especially if the disappearance of the old RSS feed left a hole in your workflow.

If you're a freelancer who earns a significant portion of your income from Upwork, a tool like this is an investment, not an expense. Think about it: If the Freelancer plan ($29/mo) helps you land just one extra small project you otherwise would have missed, it has paid for itself for several months. If it helps you snag a major client because you were the first quality proposal they saw, the ROI is astronomical.

This isn't for the person who logs into Upwork once a month to see what's out there. This is for the professional, the agency, the power user who understands that time is money and speed is an advantage. It’s for people who want to work smarter, not just harder.

My Final Verdict

UpNotify looks like a thoughtful, powerful solution to a problem that has frustrated thousands of freelancers. It’s more than just a replacement for a lost feature; it’s a fundamental upgrade to the entire Upwork job search process. It turns a passive, frustrating search into an active, automated, and dare I say, exciting hunt.

I've put my name on the waitlist. I'm genuinely excited to see if the delivered product lives up to the promise. For now, it looks like one of the most promising new tools for the Upwork community I’ve seen in a long time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does UpNotify's feed compare to Upwork's old RSS feed?

It's a huge step up. While it restores the basic function, it adds layers of advanced filtering, customization, and real-time alerts that the original Upwork feed never had. You can create much more specific and targeted feeds.

What makes UpNotify's search better than Upwork's search?

Flexibility. You can combine multiple search parameters—like client budget, hire history, and specific keywords—in a way that's clunky or impossible on Upwork's native interface. This lets you zero in on high-quality jobs much faster.

Can I use UpNotify without the AI features?

Yes, absolutely. The AI-enhanced filtering is an optional layer you can turn on or off. If you prefer to have 100% manual control over your search results, you can.

How many search profiles can I have?

It depends on your plan. The Starter plan gives you 3, the Freelancer plan offers 10, and the Agency plan comes with 30 saved searches. Each search acts as a unique, customized job feed.

Is my data safe with UpNotify?

While I haven't audited their security myself, they are a commercial platform that would be expected to follow industry-standard security practices for protecting user data and connection information. As with any third-party tool, it's always good practice to use unique passwords.

Is UpNotify an official Upwork partner?

It doesn't appear to be. UpNotify is a third-party tool created to enhance the Upwork experience, much like many other tools that exist for platforms like Twitter or Instagram. It uses publicly available information from Upwork to power its searches.

References and Sources

• Official Website: UpNotify (currently waitlist)

• Automation Platform: Zapier

• Automation Platform: IFTTT