Common questions
Is Contra free to use?
Yes for freelancers on the free plan. Profile, job access, applications, contracts, invoicing and payments are not paywalled. Clients pay a platform fee on each payment, and card or bank processing adds its own charge. [1] [2]
Who pays Contra’s platform fee?
The client does by default, according to the client article of 22 October 2026. A paid-projects article of 5 October 2026 lets the freelancer choose who covers processing and platform fees, so check the project setting before you send an invoice. [3] [4]
What does a client pay on a $2,000 card payment?
On the free plan the client pays $2,087.30: the $2,000 price, a $29 platform fee and $58.30 of card processing. By ACH it costs $2,034, because the ACH fee is capped at $5. [2] [3] [17]
Is Pro worth $199 a year?
Only if you pay the platform fee yourself, and then about seven $500-plus payments a year cover it. Pro also adds visibility, but no source says how much that adds to your work. [5] [1] [18]
How long do payouts take?
Standard payouts wait a four-day clearance. The May 2026 help article adds one to three business days of bank processing and three to five more days after the hold, while the March 2026 table gives longer times, so plan for the longer one. [7] [6]
Why is my payout on hold, and for how long?
Contra can hold a payout for fraud review, missing tax or identity details, or a dispute. It aims to finish within 24 hours, but the Terms set no maximum, and Trustpilot reviews describe holds of weeks. [6] [8] [16]
Why does identity verification fail?
The stated causes are an ID issued in a different country from the one you selected, the wrong document type, blur or glare, or an expired document. No review time is published, so verify before you need a payout. [9] [10]
What happens in a dispute?
For projects created after 19 May 2026, Contra starts a 14-day assistance period after you submit a dispute. Disputed funds stay in escrow for three months, and Contra says it does not make the final decision. Older projects follow a route that names no period. [11] [12]
Can I get my money back?
A freelancer can refund a client from the wallet, an invoice or a project. Contra’s help pages say it cannot refund money you have already withdrawn, so confirm that with support in writing before you promise a refund on a withdrawn payment. [13] [12]
Will I get enough work?
Six sites describe a thin job board, and Contra publishes no listing count. Reviewers say it suits freelancers who already have clients, so plan to bring your own work. [18] [19] [20]
Is Contra well rated, and can I trust the ratings?
Trustpilot shows 1.9 out of 5 from 68 reviews. Contra’s own page shows 5.0 from 252 reviews, but Contra hosts it, so it is not independent evidence. [16] [14]
What data does Contra collect, and who gets it?
Identity checks run through Persona, and the privacy policy names Stripe, OpenRouter and several analytics vendors. It lists biometric information as sensitive but does not say what is collected, and it gives no fixed retention period. [15] [9]