Do you ask for a 100% upfront payment on your freelance gigs?

I was doing that for some years, but in 2025 I stopped. I wanted to get closer to the default payment expectations for contract work, which is 50%-50%, and with that, not to give a first impression that I don‘t trust the clients. But it was a mistake, and I realised a few things.

When I was asking for a 50%-50%, or God-forbid, payment after project completion, those projects never got completed. The clients, by not financially committing to the project with an upfront payment, most of them didn‘t have the appetite to push til the end. Business runs too fast, their priorities shifted, and I was left with incomplete projects, never to be shown in my portfolio.