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There are many platforms to find clients if you are a translator and they are the favourite means of freelancers to get projects. Large percentage of self-employed people claim to have found work through an online platform as it is the most effective way.

In this article, I describe the 11 platforms to find clients if you are a translator that are used the most by freelancers worldwide. Also, at the end of the article, I will give you some guidelines if you are a beginner in this world and want to avoid problems from the beginning.

1. Upwork

The first is undoubtedly Upwork, whose second niche with the most job offers is translation. It has many offers, but also many professionals who offer their services. That means a lot of competition.

You can sign up for free, although at first you must pay up to 20% commission for each payment you receive.

We talk about how to bill if you work through Upwork in this article. You can see the example of charges and extract from the table to get an idea of ​​the process and the commissions.

The platform is competitive, but inexperienced freelancers can still find work.

There are two ways to get clients: offer yourself for a project and have a company notice you. Because on Upwork, clients can also contact you on their own, so if you make sure you create a good profile, they may write to you with a proposal.

Fill in all the fields of the profile and include your work and academic experience. Explain your translation skills and add any references you have in comments.

2. Gengo

Another of the great translation platforms where you can choose your working hours and which offers a wide variety of languages. Signing up is free. It is a platform that has been on the market for many years, which is why most consider it very reliable.

You must take an exam to access the best paid and interesting premium jobs. In addition, the term for you to receive the payment varies between 10 and 25 days after the beginning of the month.

Once you register on the platform, you see you will have a lot of work that you can choose whether to accept. It is not mandatory to do everything. You’ll mainly be dealing with short texts, and they won’t be too complex.

3. Tomedes

Tomedes is a translation platform that respects your price range and that not only works with written translations but also with interpreters. You have at your disposal over 950 language combinations.

The downside is that translators usually have to wait until the platform has something for them. And first, the platform must approve you so that you can start working.

This platform serves international companies, academic institutes, government entities, franchises, and small businesses. That’s why the projects you will contribute to will be very stimulating.

To help you price your services, Tomedes offers you a comparative table of the rates charged by most translators.

4. Fiverr

We already talked about Fiverr and how to invoice if you work through Fiverr. On this platform, it is up to you to publish your services and promote them by creating a gig. You can offer any translation service and create several offers for the different languages ​​you speak.

Here you can offer your translation services at the starting price of $5 (hence the name five-rr) and charge additional extras. For example, charge extra words or additional changes if you specify it in the package’s information you sell.

It is important to offer excellent service regardless of the price you are going to charge initially. This way, you will level up. And the higher level you are, the more you can charge for what you do. Furthermore, commissions can be quite high if your services are low-cost.

5. One Hour Translation

Another platform to be a translator and get fabulous clients. Here you will find offers from companies such as CNN, IBM, Fortune, The Washington Post, BBC, Wall Street Journal among others. There are translation offers for over 120 languages ​​and you can choose between 12 market niches.

The platform will evaluate your work for its quality and must approve you through a level test. Once you take the test, they will provide you with a certificate, which will give you access to the different projects.

Another essential point is that you can translate only into your mother tongue. Even so, it is still a very interesting option for the higher price it offers.

6. Translated

Translated is a company that has been providing freelance translation in 195 languages ​​and 40 areas of expertise for 20 years. This year they are already at 300 thousand customers.

Translated is specially designed and intended for translators. It includes various features that help you be a better translator and not waste time copying and pasting texts. Use artificial intelligence to help you make translations faster.

With Translated, you choose the jobs and your rates on a variety of exciting projects. In addition, the platform offers free training programs.

As an inconvenience, I would highlight that they charge you at the end of the month as an employee. Keep in mind that a project manager assesses you at all times and reviews your work, although it also helps you improve your quality of work.

7. Guru

You can quickly start using Guru, just like many other employment platforms, once you sign up. There are many offers for translators and you can contact clients directly.

There are also many registered users, over 90 thousand, so the competition is huge. If you focus on a particular area, you won’t have any trouble getting clients quickly.

Get used to the idea that the free plan charges you a 9% fee for each payment you receive. So, you can use the platform for free, but you will also have to pay a subscription if you want to access many special features.

There are four types of membership, but if you are a beginner, choose the basic plan that costs $11.95, which allows you to see and access up to 10 offers per month.

8. BabelCube

BabelCube focuses strongly on translating books. Along with the writer, you will be the owner of the book because you will receive royalties until the book continues to sell in the language into which you have translated it.

You can choose the content you want to translate and you can even work with another freelance translator like you. Of course, the more you are, the more pieces the cake is divided into and less for you.

BabelCube is a great opportunity because the income you will receive from the copyright of a book is much higher than what you will receive by translating small texts. However, the downside is that this can take a long time and you also run the risk of translating the entire book and not making sales.

9. Textmaster

Bilingual or polyglot translators and writers who can speak any of the 50 languages found on the Textmaster platform can use their language abilities.

It offers translation, writing and copywriting services in different languages, and everything is business-oriented. Technical, marketing, legal, and financial translation are all available.

There are plenty of high-paying and attractive offers. And you don’t have to be an expert to access it, they also look for beginners.

The downside is that the platform has to approve you and the lowest amount you can take out is $50.

10. ProZ.com

ProZ is an online workspace for translators and one of the largest translator communities in the world. You’re not only able to look for employment, but you also have the encouragement of others in the same field.

When someone searches for translators, it will be easier to find you on Google because the ProZ website has a higher Google ranking than other platforms.

ProZ has a terminology query section where one can not only search for terms but also ask questions and help in answering the queries of other users. Your answers will be rewarded with points that will help you get ahead in the community and show your experience.

11. TranslatorsBase

Notoriously famous and trustworthy. Different jobs are available in various languages, with English providing the highest salary.

The cost per word varies depending on the language, but you need to pay a subscription to gain access to the offers. They have special plans for freelancers and another for agencies.

Clients can post their offers for free, ensuring many available vacancies. The price per word varies based on the languages you translate.

–> Keep this in mind when choosing a platform

Can you trust?

Any freelancer, but especially those with less experience, should be careful even with the most popular platforms. You can always come across unwanted customers who don’t have good intentions.

Some platforms don’t filter who can post jobs. That means that so-called potential clients may try to scam freelancers.

Fee

Each platform has different payment methods and fees. Typically, if you don’t pay for a subscription, you’ll most likely be charged a percentage of the payments you receive upon completion of the projects.

Make sure what percentage they keep of the final payment and if there is any way to reduce it. If the rates are too high, this can put you off because you may end up with much less money than you expected.

Customer Support

The platform should protect you as a freelancer. Do they guarantee you’ll get paid or protect you from fraud? Make sure you know the fine print in the terms of service.

If you’re not sure how this part of your job works through the platform, ask before you start! If you run into difficulties in the future, it will be hard to get your money back if you can’t identify who is responsible.

The platform you pick to gain clients will have a large effect on how well you do in your translation career. Therefore, it is important that you spend time checking out your options well.

Issue your invoices

Don’t forget that when you receive the money in your account, you must bill legally and quarterly pay taxes as a self-employed person.

At Selfemployed Spain we are experts in taxation for translators, and have many clients in the same field, so you can count on us to help you with this.

Start your free trial with us to access all the features.

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