You probably never thought that speaking two languages or more can earn you money, but thanks to the virtual economy, online translation jobs are now in demand.
- Inbox Dollars - Get paid to check your email. $5 bonus just for signing up!
- Survey Junkie - The #1 survey site that doesn't suck. Short surveys, high payouts, simply the best.
- Nielsen - Download their app and get paid $50!
With the trend towards making information accessible to everyone, whatever language they speak, numerous companies are offering translations of various content forms.
Read on to the list of 25 companies hiring freelancers and employees to do online translation jobs.
25 Companies Offering Online Translation Jobs
It’s amazing how simple it is to get started working as a freelance translator. I was surprised at just how easy it is for anyone to sign up and instantly get their career off the ground through these websites.
I went through a long list of online translator websites (you would be amazed at just how many there are) and narrowed the list down to these 17 websites below.
They all have great reputations and good reviews from translators who have worked with them.
1. FlexJobs
Starting your search at FlexJobs pretty much guarantees scam-free job browsing.
Every single one of the companies and potential employers has been screened and vetted to make sure they only post legitimate job opportunities.
Signing up as a member has other benefits, such as career coaching, résumé reviews, and even mock interviews to help you land your dream job.
Check out all the online translation jobs available today.
2. Gengo
Gengo offers freelance translators the opportunity to translate texts between 15 different languages.
Upon signing up, a potential translator needs to take a test that will place them in either the “Standard,” “Pro,” or “Proofread” categories. These categories are based on skill and the payout is also different for each.
Translators are paid in USD per word/character in the source language via PayPal. Usually, the type of text Gengo offers up for translation is short form stuff like emails and social media posts.
Income varies depending on customer demand and job availability, but the potential earnings of a Gengo translator can be up to $417 monthly.
3. Unbabel
This site offers translation subscription services across 30 languages for their clients worldwide. What makes the subscription model great is that you will often receive work from the same clients, making it easier to understand their needs.
Unbabel is open to both new translators and veterans and will have you go through about two dozen short translating tasks to assess your skill level. Once that’s done, they will assign you an hourly rate and work based on your skill level.
The great thing about this system is that the more you improve your translation skills, the more you can earn. They pay via PayPal and Payoneer.
They’re not currently hiring new translators, but you can fill out a form to get on their waitlist.
4. Translate.com
Translate.com is a popular go-to site for translators. There’s a lot of work, but they work on a first-come, first-serve basis so you have to be quick if you want to get a steady income from them.
You get paid by the word (around $0.005 to $0.01) and will be working with text documents like emails and blog posts. They also pay via PayPal and you can cash out after you get paid at least $25.
5. Universal Translation Services
Unlike most of the other places on this list, Universal Translation Services are looking for translators with a bit more experience under their belt. I’ve added them here because you can always come back to them after you’ve gained some experience.
No joke. Here are the fastest ways to make easy money online. Click here to see how.
UTS is a great option because they are a solid brick-and-mortar company that focuses on offering quality work to attract freelancers to fill their online translations jobs.
They also have a free training program which will help you expand your skills even more.
6. lingy
lingy prides itself on providing professional translation services in 60 languages handled by 1,000 translators.
Aside from translation services, they also provide proofreading to make sure the translations are error-free. This is especially crucial in marketing materials as well as legal documents.
As a lingy translator, you’d get to work on a flexible schedule, have translation team leaders for support, and work with the latest tools and technologies to ensure you do your work easily and quickly.
To join, simply fill out a form, wait for them to contact you so you can take language assessment tests, and start doing your translation jobs.
7. Stepes
Stepes supports on-demand translation jobs for over 100 languages, though you won’t find the same amount of work for all of them.
As a Stepes translator or interpreter, you can work either on your computer or through the Stepes app on your smartphone.
This looks like a good option if you’re in the market for an opportunity to make some extra cash on the side.
8. ProZ
It’s free to register as a translator on ProZ, but there is a paid subscription option that allows you to get access to even more job opportunities.
You can browse the many jobs available on ProZ and bid on any you’re interested in. Note that not all of these are online translation jobs.
ProZ pays via PayPal.
9. Lingosaur
What makes Lingosaur great is that you can sign up and have tasks sent to you.
You aren’t obliged to accept any of them so you can still take on assignments that you like or that will fit around your schedule.
You will have to pass a test to be accepted as a freelance online translator on their site, but there’s no sign-up fee.
The site sometimes asks their translators to rate and review other translators’ work. This is entirely optional but you might receive less work if you refuse often.
10. PeoplePerHour
Peopleperhour isn’t a translation-specific job site but is a popular choice that has been operating since 2007; from what I saw they offer a long list of online translation jobs. So they might be a great option for someone just starting out in translation.
There are both paid by the hour and fixed-price jobs available on the site and sign-up is free.
You can make money from home and it doesn't have to be challenging. Click here to see how.
The company is based in Europe and payments are set in pounds, but anyone regardless of their location can sign up.
11. Lengoo
It takes a bit more effort to get started on Lengoo than some of the other websites on this list, but it’s well worth it to give them a try.
You’ll have to fill in a detailed application with some supporting documents, like examples of past work, which will then be reviewed by their team. After that, they will assign you a test as well.
Lengoo might be a better option for someone who has some experience with other online translation jobs and is now looking for a more solid opportunity.
After setting up your profile on the site, you will be sent job requests which you can accept or decline at your own pace.
12. Day Translations, Inc.
Day Translations, Inc. is continually looking for remote translators to fill crucial roles in translation projects.
You can be assigned to jobs like book translation, corporate documents, signage, medical reports, employee manuals, websites, emails, and more.
They also offer positions for phone interpretation, subtitle positions, and a few other work-at-home jobs outside the scope of translation.
Their Glassdoor profile reads exceptionally well with little to no complaints against them.
13. Tomedes
Tomedes is constantly in need of translators that speak two or more languages and with at least three years of translation experience
They do require professional experience in the legal, technical, IT, medical, financial, or marketing fields.
Payments are made via PayPal. There is no indication of salary and translators are considered freelance positions.
14. TransPerfect
A top language service provider, TransPerfect offers various online translation jobs for independent contractors.
Currently, they have openings for bilingual over-the-phone interpreters (OPIs), customer service representatives, and quality monitors for those fluent in English and such languages as Navajo, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin, and many other languages.
The good thing about TransPerfect is that many of the positions, while remote, are regular positions; that is, you’ll be an employee of TransPerfect and thus eligible for such benefits as medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k, paid time off, and other competitive benefits.
15. LanguageLine Solutions
Global business process outsourcing (BPO) company Teleperformance acquired Language Line Solutions and is now a part of their Specialized Services. Currently, they are among the biggest language service providers in the US and in the UK.
They have openings for remote phone and video interpreters for Asian languages such as Sylheti, Khmer, Rohingya, Laotian, and many others.
16. RWS
RWS offers professional translation services supported by more than 17,000 native-speaking translators.
RWS is currently looking for freelance translators specializing in such industries as life sciences, financial services, legal, travel, marketing, and automotive fields.
Start your application by choosing among the opportunities on the page: freelance translator for RWS Life Sciences, RWS Moravia (IT, consumer electronics, retail, media, entertainment industries), SDL Limited, or be an intellectual property and patent translator.
17. Aberdeen Broadcast Services
This company started out providing captioning services to clients from the broadcast industry but has since branched out to language services, custom video transcoding, and digital file distribution.
The main languages they offer include English, French, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish, though they’ve completed projects in over 70 different languages.
They are continually opening positions for remote translators who have a bachelor’s degree and more than 5 years of translation experience. Check their Careers page so you can apply once a position is open.
18. Acclaro
Working in over 100 languages, Acclaro is a global translation agency providing a broad range of professional localization and translation services.
To view openings for online translators, look under Linguist Opportunities or email your CV to hr[at]acclaro[dot]com.
19. American High-Tech Transcription & Reporting
This is a smaller company than the others on this list, but they have extensive experience in translating in 16 languages and have worked with various government agencies and companies.
They’re constantly looking for online translators who will work as independent contractors. To apply, cut and paste your résumé into an email and send it to frontoffice[at]htsteno[dot]com.
20. GlobaLink Translations
GlobaLink primarily works with pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations, health care organizations, and private researchers to translate documents where accuracy and quality are of the utmost importance.
To apply as a translator, email them at translators[at]GlobaLinkTranslations[dot]com expressing your interest, and they’ll send you information on their requirements, application process, and a Translator Information form.
21. Linguistic Systems
This company provides translation services in as many as 120 languages to various industries, including business, legal, life sciences, medical, and many others.
They pride themselves on only hiring the best translators, so they’re looking for translators who have extensive experience in at least one industry, familiarity with not only the secondary language you want to work in but the culture, dialect, and business expressions, and at least two years of translation or interpretation experience.
If that sounds like you, send an email with your résumé at vendor[at]linguist[dot]com.
22. GMR Transcription
Despite the name, GMR Transcription also offers professional translation services for audio, video, and text files, supporting over 1000 languages and dialects.
They’re constantly looking for certified or trained translators to work with them. Qualified and hired translators can set their own rates and pick and choose which assignments to take.
23. Speechpad
Speechpad maintains a network of crowd-sourced workforce to provide transcription, translation, and captioning services to their international customer base.
They’re continually offering online translation jobs to independent contractors.
Speechpad translators typically earn between $2 to $5 per audio minute.
24. Mars Translation
Mars Translation offers professional translation services for various industries, including legal, retail, manufacturing, financial, and marketing documents. They also translate websites, specially e-commerce and e-learning websites.
To apply for an online translation job, you’ll need to register first at their website, take an evaluation test, and once you pass it, you can immediately start working.
25. Voxtab
Voxtab is a top provider of transcription, captioning, translation, and subtitling services for international clients.
To apply, fill out the form on the page and under “Position Applying For,” choose “Direct Translator” from the dropdown menu.
How much do online translators make?
Translators, on average, make around $55,527 per year, or around $21.09 per hour according to Indeed.
The complexity of the work, the languages being translated, and the turnaround speed will determine how much you make.
One unfortunate drawback is that a lot of companies are hiring contractors or freelancers. This means most jobs won’t come with the typical benefits you could expect from a full-time job.
This does give you more freedom to set your own schedules and work remotely though.
The Bottom Line
If you’re fluent in more than one language, then you can try these online translator jobs and make a successful career out of working from home.
Other Work From Home Jobs To Consider
If an online translation job doesn’t feel like a good fit for you, here are other work from home jobs you can try:
Or if you’re really at a loss, here are 95 work from home jobs to choose from.
