Skill match — the heaviest weight for a reason
How closely the work maps onto what you actually do, at the level
you actually do it. A React project is not a match because it says
React; it is a match if the hard part of it is a thing you have
done before. This carries a quarter of the score because it is the
single best predictor of whether the estimate holds.
Reads forThe specific technologies, the depth implied by the requirements, and how they line up against the services and skill levels on your profile.
Budget fit — against your rates, in your currency
Whether the stated budget can support the work at the rates you
charge. A budget in euros, pounds or rupees is converted at the
day's European Central Bank reference rate before the comparison,
and the rate and date are recorded with the analysis so you can
see exactly what it compared.
Hard ruleA budget below your stated minimum is a deterministic penalty, not an opinion — the model cannot argue it away.
Profit potential — what you keep, not what you bill
The effective hourly rate once the estimated effort is taken into
account, including the parts nobody writes in the post: revision
rounds, coordination, the migration of content someone assumed was
already done. A $5,000 project at 90 hours is a worse job than a
$2,500 project at 18.
Reads forEstimated hours against the stated budget, your target rate, and the revision and scope-creep signals in the wording.
Win likelihood — is this worth a proposal at all
A perfect opportunity you have no realistic chance of winning is
still an hour you do not get back. This weighs how well you match
what they are asking for against how competitive the post looks —
so a strong score means both "worth doing" and "worth bidding on".
Reads forHow specific the requirements are, whether they name a stack you lead with, hiring signals, and how directly the post is addressed.
Scope quality — how much of this is actually written down
The difference between "redesign our checkout" and a post that
names the pages, the platform and what done looks like. Vague
scope is the mechanism behind almost every project that overruns,
and it is visible in the text before you accept anything.
Flags raised hereDeliverables not defined · Requirements contradict each other · Described as “simple” but the scope is not · Unlimited revisions implied
Client quality — how they wrote it tells you how they'll behave
Tone, clarity, what they chose to specify, and what they chose to
leave out. Dismissive wording, pressure to move off-platform
immediately, payment promised later rather than agreed now — these
are visible in the post and they predict the relationship.
Flags raised hereWording is dismissive or aggressive · Immediate pressure to move off-platform · Payment promised later rather than agreed now · Code or IP ownership unclear
Strategic fit — does this move you where you're going
A job can be well-paid, well-scoped and still the wrong job — more
of the work you are trying to do less of. Your stated goals,
preferred project types and exclusions all count here, which is
how a lucrative maintenance contract can score below a smaller
project in the direction you want.
Hard ruleAn industry on your exclusion list or a match with one of your own deal-breakers applies a penalty the model cannot override.