Connects are the tokens Upwork sells to freelancers and agencies, spent to submit a proposal to a job post, with the number required for each job set by Upwork.
Every proposal costs Connects. Upwork prices each job post individually, so a small task may cost a handful and a large contract many more, and the Help Center says the price reflects the size and demand of the job. Connects are bought in bundles at a price Upwork sets, a monthly allowance comes with the Freelancer Plus subscription, and Upwork hands some out free in particular cases, such as the Rising Talent badge or an invitation that leads to a hire. Replying to an invitation costs nothing. An agency holds Connects in a shared pool that its owner and business managers draw on when bidding on members' behalf.
Beyond the basic proposal, Connects are also the currency for Boosted Proposals and the availability badge, which is where most of the spend goes for freelancers in crowded categories. Unused Connects expire after a period Upwork sets, and a refund comes only in the circumstances Upwork lists.
Connects are not a fee on earnings; the service fee is separate and flat at 10%. They are a cost of looking for work, paid whether or not a proposal wins, which is why experienced freelancers treat them as a marketing budget and bid selectively rather than widely. The money Upwork takes in from Connects is part of its revenue and therefore of its take rate.
How Upwork Insights uses it
This term describes Upwork's own rules or product rather than a figure the index measures; the pages that do carry live figures are the stats and rate pages.