Freelance escrow
Getting paid for freelance work means trusting a client you may never have met — or, as a client, paying upfront for work you haven't seen. Vaultion locks the payment in a smart contract before the work starts: the freelancer can see the money is committed, and the client releases it once the work is delivered. If it goes wrong, a dispute ruling decides — Kleros jurors or a Vaultion reviewer on Ethereum, a Vaultion reviewer elsewhere.
Start an escrowLess trust, both ways
Money committed up front
The client funds the escrow before work begins, so the freelancer can start knowing the payment is already locked on-chain — not sitting in an account that might go quiet.
Release on delivery
When the work is delivered and accepted, the client releases the funds in one on-chain transaction. No invoice to chase, no payment processor to wait on.
A fallback if it sours
If the two sides disagree about whether the work met the brief, either can open a dispute. Who decides depends on the network: independent Kleros jurors or a Vaultion reviewer on Ethereum, or a Vaultion reviewer on every other network. Either way the contract enforces the ruling.
Set the deal up so acceptance is clear
Most freelance disputes come down to what “done” meant. Nailing scope, revisions and delivery in the escrow terms before work starts is what makes a release — or a dispute — clean.
Milestone payments
Split a big project into separate escrows, one per phase. Fund and release each as that stage is delivered, so neither side ever carries the whole balance at once.
Revision & acceptance criteria
Agree up front what counts as finished — rounds of revisions, file formats, a sign-off deadline — and put it in the terms. It is the reference if a dispute is opened.
Source-file delivery
Decide what actually ships on release: working files, licences, repo or deployment access. Release when the client confirms they have all of it, not just a preview.
Scope-creep disputes
If the brief keeps growing, a fixed escrow protects both sides — extra work becomes a new escrow, not an argument. Evidence is judged against the brief you agreed.
Check the contract before you commit
Vaultion runs on a published, open-source contract that holds the funds — not Vaultion. You can read it and the locked balance on the block explorer before you send anything.
Frequently asked
How does escrow protect a freelancer?
The client locks the agreed amount in the contract before work starts, so the payment is committed and visible on-chain. Instead of chasing an invoice, the freelancer is released the funds once the work is accepted — and if there is a dispute, it is decided by independent Kleros jurors or a Vaultion reviewer on Ethereum or by a Vaultion reviewer on every other network, rather than the client simply walking away.
What if the client refuses to release after I deliver?
Either party can open a dispute. Both submit evidence — the brief, the delivered work, the messages — and the ruling comes from independent Kleros jurors or a Vaultion reviewer on Ethereum, or from a Vaultion reviewer on every other network. The contract enforces whichever it is. The contract also has timeouts, so funds cannot be frozen indefinitely.
Do milestone payments work?
Yes. You can set up a separate escrow for each milestone, funding and releasing each as that phase is delivered. Every escrow is independent and verifiable on its own.
What does it cost?
A tiered platform fee — 4% on smaller deals down to 2% on larger ones — is paid once when the escrow is created. What a dispute costs depends on the network. On Ethereum you choose at creation: Kleros charges a fee, paid in ETH by the party that raises the dispute, while a Vaultion reviewer costs nothing. On every other network a Vaultion reviewer handles it and there is no charge. Either way, no dispute means nothing extra to pay.
Lock a freelance payment
Set up an escrow in a few steps. Funds stay locked in the contract until the deal is done or arbitration decides.
Create an escrow