Job guide
What buyers wantCompanies and individuals need documents, websites and product information translated, often with set language pairs, terminology and native-speaker review.
Four numbersLast 7 days · updated hourly · last update 10-04 11:04 (Beijing time)
Where AI fits: Machine translation drafts are now the norm and rates are falling. Consistent terminology, native review and checking every number are the parts left for people.
Market
7 sub-categories combined; a post that fits several counts once
Job posts per week (weeks start Monday, Beijing time), both markets
| Week | Total | Overseas | China | Days with data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| week of 2026-09-21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| week of 2026-09-28 | 140 | 134 | 6 | 7 |
Job posts per week, Monday to Sunday (Beijing time), both markets. Lighter bars are partial weeks (this week so far, or weeks with days missing). Hover a bar for the split by market.
By job posts in the last 7 days. Category pages are in Chinese for now.
Budgets are what the posts state: USD uses the upper end of fixed-price budgets (Freelancer uses brackets, so percentiles often land on $30, $250 or $750); CNY uses the stated budget. Neither is the final deal price. Last 4 weeks of posts; fewer than 3 posts means no percentiles; other currencies are counted, not converted.
| Metric | Overseas96% of last 7 days | China4% of last 7 days |
|---|---|---|
| Job posts, last 7 days | 134 posts | 6 posts |
| Job posts, since 09-27 | 137 posts | 6 posts |
| Median budget | $750USD · 57 posts | n/afewer than 3 posts with a budget in 4 weeks |
| Median bids per post | 6132 posts with bid counts | n/aonly Freelancer shows bid counts |
| New listings, last 7 days | 7 postsSince 09-27: 7 | 1 postsSince 09-27: 1 |
| Median listing price | $1518 Etsy / eBay service listings | n/anone in 30 days |
| Posts that mention AI | positive 3% · negative 0%143 posts, last 4 weeks | —6 posts in 4 weeks; we need 10 for a share |
Positive = the buyer wants AI output, names an AI tool or accepts AI; negative = says no AI (posts that say both count as negative). Job posts only. Listings = service listings first seen that day (Etsy / eBay service listings only); freelancers who sell privately don't show up here.
Tools
Three levels: get the essentials first, add the next level as work grows, use the optional ones when a client asks
Enough to start taking work
FreeWeb version: 50,000 characters a month; Individual €7.49/month billed yearly
From $12/monthPro, $144 billed yearly; $30 monthly; free plan available
Add when you have more work
From $17/monthBilled yearly; $20 monthly; free plan available
From $8/monthFree plan available; Plus $20/month, Pro from $100/month
Use when a client asks
From $10/monthCreator, $116 billed yearly; monthly price not verified
Prices and partner terms come from each vendor's official pricing pages (check dates on each card) and change over time. Prices may vary by region, and tax may be added at checkout; the official page is always the final word. “Price not verified” means we haven't checked the pricing page yet. Links go through our redirect page: “Affiliate” means we may earn a commission; “Has an affiliate program” means we don't have a link yet.
Where to find work
Posts for this job we collected in the last 28 days: Freelancer 132, Himalayas 7, Zhihu (知乎) 3, RedNote (小红书) 1, Jike (即刻) 1, Shixian (实现网) 1. We only count platforms we collect from; a missing platform doesn't mean there is no demand there.
| Name | What it is | Fees | Best for | Go |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upwork | One of the largest general freelance marketplaces — send proposals for fixed-price or hourly work | 0%–15%varies by contract, shown when you send a proposal | Good English · longer projects | Go → |
| Freelancer | Bid on projects with public budget ranges; many of the job posts we track come from here; 132 of these posts here in the last 28 days | 10% or $5, whichever is higherhourly projects 10% per payment | Good for first jobs | Go → |
| Fiverr | Package your service as fixed-price gigs; buyers order directly | 20%sellers keep 80%; withdraw 14 days after completion | Can package a service | Go → |
| PeoplePerHour | A UK-born freelance marketplace where you win projects by sending proposals | 20% / 7.5% / 3.5%Tiered by how much you've billed the same client | Good English · proposals | Go → |
Platform fees, payouts and getting your first order: see Platforms (in Chinese)
Get started
Four general steps: pick tools → make samples → list a service or bid → let AI draft, check by hand
A machine translation tool for first drafts and an AI model to help with hard sentences. Also prepare a glossary the client has approved.
Pick your strongest language pair and industry, and make a one-page sample with the original and your translation side by side.
Price by word count. State the language pair, the delivery format and whether native-speaker review is included. Only take language pairs involving your native language or a second language you know well.
After AI produces the first draft, read the whole text, spot-check hard sentences against the original, and check every number, unit and proper noun. Handle files with personal data only as the client allows, and delete them after delivery as agreed.
Updated 2026-10-04 11:04 (Beijing time) · data up to 10:48 · demand numbers aggregate public job posts, not completed deals; tool prices and partner terms follow the official pages.