The short version, honestly told.
How jobs get posted, priced, paid, and protected — no fine print you'll actually need to hunt for.
Four steps. Same app, either side.
Post a job
Describe what you need and set a budget. It's free to post.
Workers bid
Local workers on Mula send their own price. Workers nearby get notified as soon as you post.
Pick who you want
Compare price, rating, and reliability. You choose — nobody's assigned to you.
Money releases when it's done
Your payment is held securely by Stripe until you confirm the job's done. Then it releases.
Browse local jobs
See what's posted near you, filtered by category and distance.
Bid your own price
You set the number. Mula shows a fair range as a guide — never a floor or a ceiling.
Do the work
Show up when you said you would. Message the employer right in the app.
Get paid
Mark it done and your payout releases from escrow — no invoicing, no chasing.
The rules.
Short, and the same for everyone.
Workers set their own prices. Mula only suggests a fair range — never a minimum, never a maximum.
Your payment is held securely by our payment processor, Stripe, until the job's confirmed done.
No personal contact info in public job posts — that protects both sides.
Both sides review each other after every job. Reviews stay hidden until both are in, so nobody's rating is shaped by seeing the other's first.
Mula is for people 18 and older.
Show up when you say you will. It's tracked separately from your star rating, as your reliability score.
Escrow, disputes, and Mula's protections only cover work booked and paid for on Mula.
When something goes wrong.
Most jobs don't need any of this. Here's what happens on the ones that do.
No-shows are caught automatically
If either side doesn't check in within 20 minutes of the scheduled start, the job settles on its own — refund or show-up fee, and it's reflected in that person's reliability score.
Disputes keep your payment held
Open one any time before confirming the job. Most settle when both sides propose a resolution directly — release, refund, or a split, whichever fits.
AI suggests, humans and you decide
Stuck after 48 hours? An AI-generated suggestion appears based on what both sides submitted. It's advisory only — it can never move money by itself.
Report anything, any time
A job, a message, a person — report it directly from the app if something feels off.
Mula keeps score for you too.
Once you're signed in, your dashboard tracks your own jobs completed, what you've kept in your neighborhood, and milestones as you hit them.
Workers see facts, not incentives — reliability score, star rating, and jobs completed. No streaks, bonuses, or leaderboards on the worker side, on purpose.
Questions, answered.
The six things people ask most.
Escrow — where is my money?
What happens to my money when I hire someone?
When you accept a bid, your payment is charged and held securely by Stripe, our payment processor. The worker doesn't receive it yet — it's released after you confirm the job is done.
When does the worker get paid?
As soon as you confirm the job is complete. If you don't confirm and don't open a dispute, the payment releases automatically 72 hours later so workers aren't left waiting.
How long until the money lands in the worker's bank account?
Stripe typically transfers funds within 1–2 business days after release. First payouts can take longer while Stripe verifies a new account.
Why do you hold the money at all? Why not just pay cash?
So neither side has to trust a stranger. The customer knows the money is committed. The worker knows the money is really there before starting. If something goes wrong, there's a payment to resolve against instead of an argument.
No-shows and lateness
The worker didn't show up. What now?
You can flag it as a no-show from the job page once the scheduled start time has passed. There's a 20-minute grace window after the scheduled start — if the worker never checks in, you're refunded in full and it's recorded on their reliability score.
I'm the worker and the customer wasn't there.
You don't need to do anything — this direction is handled automatically. If the employer never checks in within the 20-minute grace window after the scheduled start, a show-up fee (25% of the held payment, capped at $50) releases to you automatically, the rest is refunded to the employer, and it's recorded on their reliability score.
What if they're just running late?
Message them through the app first — most lateness is traffic. The grace window exists for exactly this. Only flag a no-show after it closes.
What's a reliability score?
The percentage of a person's accepted jobs completed without a no-show or an at-fault cancellation — tracked separately for their worker side and employer side, and it only counts against the side actually responsible. It's separate from star ratings: ratings measure quality, reliability measures showing up.
Disputes and refunds
The job wasn't done right. Can I get my money back?
Open a dispute from the job page before confirming completion. The payment stays held while it's resolved — it doesn't go to the worker.
How does a dispute get resolved?
1. Both sides can propose a resolution directly — release to the worker, a refund to you, or a split, whichever fits what happened. 2. If there's no agreement after 48 hours, an AI-generated suggestion appears based on what both sides submitted. It's advisory only — it can never move money on its own; both sides (or a human reviewer) still have to act on it. 3. If it's still unresolved, it goes to human review.
What evidence should I submit?
Photos, messages, and anything showing what was agreed versus what happened. Before-and-after photos are the most useful thing you can provide.
Can I open a dispute after I've confirmed the job?
Confirming releases payment to the worker, so resolve concerns before confirming. If something serious surfaces afterward, contact support.
Does opening a dispute hurt me?
No — using it in good faith costs you nothing. Disputes a founder marks frivolous after review do affect your reliability score.
Changing or cancelling
How do I cancel a job I posted?
Cancel from the job page. You're always refunded in full, whether a bid's been accepted or not — cancelling never costs you money. What changes by stage is your reliability score: cancelling before a bid is accepted has no impact; cancelling after someone's been hired, especially close to or after the scheduled start, does.
I'm a worker and need to cancel a job I accepted.
Cancel as early as you can — the employer is refunded in full either way. Late cancellations affect your reliability score, because someone rearranged their day around you.
Can I change the job details after posting?
Yes, before you accept a bid. After acceptance, message the worker — a materially different job may need to be reposted so pricing is fair to both sides.
Can I reschedule instead of cancelling?
Message the other person and agree on a new time. As long as you both agree, no cancellation is recorded.
How bidding works
How do I get a price?
Post the job. Local workers send you their own price. You pick the one you want — cheapest, best-rated, soonest, whatever matters to you.
Who decides the price?
The worker does. Mula shows a suggested fair range based on similar local jobs, but workers set their own price and can bid above or below it.
How long do I wait for bids?
There's no fixed deadline — bidding stays open until you accept someone. Workers nearby get notified as soon as you post, and you can accept as soon as you see a bid you like, or wait for more.
What if nobody bids?
It usually means the job needs more detail, the timing is tight, or the description is unclear. Add photos and specifics and repost — photos are the single biggest factor in getting bids.
Does it cost anything to bid?
No. Workers never pay to bid on Mula.
Can I message before accepting?
Yes. Contact details are hidden until a bid is accepted — that protects both sides and keeps the conversation on the record if there's ever a dispute.
Payments and payouts
My card was declined.
Try another card. Common causes are insufficient funds, an expired card, or a bank fraud block — a quick call to your bank clears the last one.
I'm a worker. How do I get set up to receive money?
Connect a payout account through Stripe from your Settings. Stripe collects your bank details and tax information directly — Mula never sees your bank account numbers or tax ID, only whether Stripe has what it needs.
Why does Stripe need my tax information?
US tax rules require payment processors to collect tax details from people earning through platforms. Stripe handles this directly and issues any required tax forms — your first payout is held until it's on file.
What does Mula charge?
Workers keep 100% of their bid — Mula never takes a cut from the worker side. Employers pay a 10% platform fee on top of the accepted bid, shown up front before you accept. No surprise charges either way.
I was charged and something looks wrong.
Contact support with the job link. Every payment is logged on both sides and can be traced.