Zenfl alternative: where to move your Upwork Telegram alerts now that Zenfl has closed

Zenfl shut down on September 16, 2026. Telegram bots that replace its Upwork job alerts, what each costs, and how to move your keywords in five minutes.

By Omar Jayed, Software Developer

Published November 6, 2026

Data: each tool's own pages, Nov 6, 2026; job statistics from Upwork X-Ray

Short answer: Zenfl closed on September 16, 2026. If you used it for Upwork job alerts in Telegram, Upwork X-Ray (ours) does that for free, and adds client filters such as minimum client spend and payment verified only. If you also used Zenfl's proposal drafts, OutBid is the closest match: a Telegram bot with AI drafts on its $9.99 plan. The steps to move your keywords over are below.

Two products in this post are ours: Upwork X-Ray and OLL.E. Facts about other tools come from their own pages, checked November 6, 2026.

What happened to Zenfl

The founder's notice, as quoted on Vibeworker's blog (a competing alert tool, so read it with that in mind), was short: “Hi! Zenfl is closing today. Job alerts, proposal generation, auto-apply and webhooks have stopped.” The same page says the product had been listed for sale on September 11 and closed five days later without a buyer, because the founder could not run it alongside a full-time job.

Refunds: payments went through PayPro Global, not Zenfl. Per that notice, you can cancel the renewal and ask for unused time and credits back at PayPro Global's customer support.

What Zenfl did, and who covers each part now

Each tool's own pages, November 6, 2026. Zenfl's feature list as described on Vibeworker's page.

Zenfl alternatives that send to Telegram

Upwork X-Ray (ours): free, with client filters

We already read thousands of new Upwork jobs a day for our statistics, so sending you the matches costs little and we don't charge for it. Each alert takes up to 10 keywords and these filters: minimum hourly rate, minimum fixed budget, client countries (with quick picks for the UK, Canada, Australia and Europe), minimum client spend ($1k, $10k or $50k) and payment verified only. An AI check reads each match before it is sent, so a job that names your keyword once in passing doesn't ping you. What it doesn't do: write proposals, auto-apply or send webhooks.

OutBid: Telegram plus AI drafts

OutBid says it checks for new jobs every 60 seconds and sends each to Telegram with a draft proposal. The free tier has unlimited alerts but blurred drafts, 3 lifetime reveal credits and no direct job links; Pro is $9.99 a month and Elite $19.99. Closest to how Zenfl worked.

TrackGigs: Telegram, Discord or Slack, with webhooks

TrackGigs takes up to 10 keywords and can post to Telegram, Discord or Slack, or a webhook for Zapier and Make. It offers a 7-day trial with no card; its home page sends you to the pricing page for prices.

Upspy: WhatsApp as well as Telegram

Upspy sends to WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, webhooks and push, with filters for budget, client spend and hire rate, and AI drafts. Basic is $5 a month and Pro $13, both billed yearly; the trial is 7 days with no card.

OLL.E (ours): a call instead of a message

If the problem with Zenfl was alerts you saw an hour late, a phone call is the fix. OLL.E watches Upwork and calls or sounds an alarm when a job that fits arrives, and drafts the bid letter. Android and iOS, 7 days free, no card.

Move your Zenfl keywords in five minutes

1. Copy the keywords and budget limits you used in Zenfl. Your chat history with the bot is the quickest place to find them.
2. Open Job alerts and sign in with Google.
3. Add up to 10 keywords, then set a minimum hourly rate, minimum fixed budget, client countries, minimum client spend and payment verified only.
4. Press the Telegram button and tap Start in the chat that opens.
5. Compare the first day of matches with what Zenfl sent, then tighten or loosen the filters. Send /stop to pause.

Picking keywords that match the right jobs is most of the work, so we wrote it up separately in how to choose keywords for Upwork job alerts.

Which one to pick

Most former Zenfl users fall into one of three groups. If you only read the alerts and wrote every proposal yourself, a free alert with client filters does the whole job: that is Upwork X-Ray, or OutBid's free tier if you want drafts later. If you relied on the drafts, OutBid Pro or Upspy are the cheapest paid options that keep you in Telegram. If you used auto-apply, you need a bidder such as UpHunt or Vollna, and those cost more than Zenfl's alerts did. Nothing stops you from running two of these for a week and keeping the one that sends better jobs.

What to look for in a Zenfl replacement

Zenfl's closing is a reminder that a small alert bot can disappear with a few days' notice. Before you pick the next one, check four things.

• Who runs it, and how it pays for itself. A paid bot needs subscribers to survive. A free one needs a reason to stay free. Ours is free because we read every job for our public statistics anyway, and the alerts introduce people to OLL.E. Ask the same question of any tool you move to.
• How you pay. Monthly is easier to walk away from than yearly or lifetime if the tool closes.
• Client filters as well as keywords. Keywords decide which jobs you see. Client filters decide whether they are worth Connects: payment verified, money spent, country.
• Whether you can leave easily. Keep your keyword list somewhere outside the bot. Then the next move, if there is one, takes five minutes again.

If you also used Zenfl's auto-apply, compare the monthly auto-bidders on price per proposal in Upwork auto bidders, compared before you commit to one.

Use the switch to fix what Zenfl let through

A new alert is a chance to drop jobs that were never going to hire. Across 988,656 jobs in our data, 36% came from clients who had never hired anyone, and 36% from clients with no verified payment method. Turning on payment verified only and a $1k minimum client spend removes much of that. Speed still matters: 21% of jobs already had invites out minutes after posting, which is why the alert should arrive the minute a job posts, not in a digest. More in should you apply when a job already has invites and the best Upwork job alert tools, compared.

Zenfl's closure: founder notice as quoted by Vibeworker, a competing tool, read November 6, 2026. Other tools: their own pages, checked November 6, 2026. Job statistics: Upwork X-Ray, 2026-10-29, last 12 months. We make Upwork X-Ray and OLL.E and are not affiliated with Upwork or the other tools.

Questions people ask

Did Zenfl shut down?

Yes. According to a founder notice quoted on Vibeworker's blog, Zenfl closed on September 16, 2026, and its job alerts, proposal generation, auto-apply and webhooks stopped that day.

How do I get a refund from Zenfl?

The same notice says payments went through PayPro Global, not Zenfl itself, and that users can cancel renewals and ask for refunds of unused time and credits through PayPro Global's customer support page.

What is the best free Zenfl alternative?

If you used Zenfl for Upwork job alerts on Telegram, Upwork X-Ray sends them for free, with up to 10 keywords and filters for rate, client country, client spend and payment verified. OutBid also has a free Telegram tier, with proposal drafts blurred until you pay.

Which Zenfl alternative writes proposals?

OutBid attaches an AI draft to each alert on its paid plans ($9.99 and $19.99 a month). Upspy drafts cover letters from $5 a month billed yearly. Upwork X-Ray does not write proposals; OLL.E, our phone app, can draft one.

Is Upwork's MCP server a replacement for Zenfl?

The Zenfl notice says it is not a replacement for job alerts. We have not tested that claim ourselves, so treat it as the founder's view.