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Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) offer new strategies for luminescence-based sensing. The potential of UCNPs to serve as donors in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) applications is intensely discussed, owing to their anti-Stokes shifted narrow emission bands, chemical inertness, photostability, and long luminescence lifetimes (> 100 μs). Since FRET is distance dependent, the diameter of the particles is expected to affect the FRET efficiency. In order to identify the ideal particle architecture for FRET-based applications, we performed a systematic spectroscopic study of the influence of the UCNP size on the energy transfer using the organic dyes rose bengal and sulforhodamine B acting as model FRET acceptors for the green upconversion emission. High-quality Yb,Er-doped UCNPs with precisely controlled diameters between 10 and 43 nm were prepared using a high temperature synthesis. The monodisperse, oleate-capped particles were directly modified with the organic dyes by a two-step ligand exchange procedure, resulting in the shortest possible donor-acceptor distance. Successful FRET was demonstrated through the simultaneous drastic reduction of the luminescence intensity and the lifetime of the respective upconversion emission. In contrast to intensity measurements, time-resolved studies on both donor and acceptor luminescence allowed for the elimination of dependencies on excitation power density and particle concentration and for the discrimination between inner filter effects and FRET. The maximum FRET efficiency was observed at a particle diameter around 21 nm, which was attributed to an increasing fraction of the total amount of Er3+ donors inside the UCNPs being within Förster distance. Smaller UCNP diameters did not further improve the FRET efficiency, demonstrating the growing contribution of opposing effects, like the competition of non-radiative surface deactivation, at larger surface-to-volume ratios. This comprehensive understanding of energy transfer processes at the surface of UCNPs is essential for the rational design of upconversion FRET platforms for applications in sensing, imaging, and theranostics with improved sensitivity, reliability and comparability. The energy transfer can also be utilized to shift the luminescence emission by the choice of the organic dye in order to explore applications that require specific emission wavelengths due to interfering substances, while still making use of the advantages of near-infrared excitation.