SmartCat: Translation Site with SAAS

What is SmartCat?

SmartCat is a translation site that invites freelance translators to use its computer-assisted technology to find and serve clients needing documents translated into a wide variety of languages.

How it works

Freelance translators are encouraged to set up a profile on the site, saying what language pairs they work with (i.e. English/Spanish; Japanese/Dutch; French/Mandarin).

Signing up is free. You also set your own rates and say whether you have specialties, such as translating biology or accounting-related materials.

The site’s artificial intelligence system will match you with clients looking for translators with your skills. You can then bid on projects, or the client can simply pay your stated rate.

SmartCat review:

SmartCat offers some valuable free computer-assisted tools for translators, as well as job matching with clients who use the site’s marketplace. Fees charged to translators are also modest, ranging from 2% to 8% of the client’s payments, depending on the location and the volume.

Freelancers set their own rates — usually between 3 cents and 10 cents per word. And, they note on their profiles whether they have an expertise in any particular topic, such as medicine, architecture, science or literature, to better match to potential work.

Clients can come to you. Or you can search for available jobs posted on the site.

And, since the site works with roughly one-quarter of the Fortune 500, there appears to be plenty of work.

Scammers and payment issues

That said, freelance translators say the site also does little to discourage con artists, who get you to translate their materials and refuse to pay. And, SmartCat’s support does little to fix the problem or even respond to support requests.

Notably, the bulk of the complaints start in 2023. Prior to that point, translators appeared to be pleased with the site and satisfied with the work they found there. It’s unclear whether these are isolated incidents or if something has fundamentally changed. However, you may want to be more cautious when working through this site, given the recent problem reports.

Pay

Once the task is complete, it is presented to the client. Clients review and, sometimes, ask for revisions. If the work is accepted, the freelancer is paid after SmartCat collects. But payments are never made more than 60 days after the completion of a project.

Freelancers can be paid through ACH deposit, PayPal, Payoneer, international wire transfer or by check.

With some of these payment methods, freelancers will pay fees of up to 3%. Notably, the site pays as soon as you earn money, if you have selected a payment method. This could subject you to payment transfer fees on small amounts. So, don’t set up a payment method, until you have a decent amount of money to collect.

You’re generally paid in your home currency. However, because the site is international and the client might pay in a currency other than your own, there also is some risk of currency fluctuation that could impact the amount you receive.

Recommendations

There are a number of sites where you can find translation work. And, until recently, we thought this might be one of the best. However, we would recommend some caution now, given the recent reports about payment issues and scams. You can find SmartCat here. 

Other sites that can help you find translation work include ProZ and Fiverr. 

What their users say (from Capterra)

It’s perfect for my needs and the volume of translations I do. I know it’s not perfect but I like it and I keep mentioning it to all the translators I know and the agencies I work with. I like the fact that clients can pay through it, so I don ‘t have to chase invoice payments. It’s free and it’s heaven for those who cannot afford the expensive cost for the licence of other CAT tools. Moreover, it’s compatible with 99% of file formats and that means I can accept jobs from many translation agencies.

It is an integrated environment for the translators. No need to install anything to start working They can manage all the communication and delivery and reviews in the platform itself. Find a constant flow of quality gigs.

From Quora

There is a Marketplace where you can register as a freelancer and get jobs. It still needs some improvements but on the whole the system works pretty well.

The main drawback, of course, is that it is web-based. It requires a stable and fast internet connection at both ends. If given a choice, I will never, ever, use a web based tool, for this reason alone. I have been thrown out of the tool on several occasions when the server side has lost connection, which is a complete disaster since almost all translations are extremely time-critical. And my pet peeve is that I can’t even do a simple thing like adding my own words to the glossary, so the client’s name is always flagged as a spelling mistake. This means I sometimes overlook when there’s a real mistake in the same sentence as the client’s name.

One of the platform’s strengths is its ability to leverage a large network of freelancers, which allows businesses to find the right talent for specific projects quickly. Additionally, Smartcat offers a centralized environment for managing translation memories, glossaries, and other resources, which helps maintain language quality across projects.

From TrustPilot

It used to be a good and trustworthy platform, but over the past year there seems to be a major increase in scammers and also multiple cases of failure of payment (just sign up and visit the SmartCat Community pages where post after post is addressing this very issue). According to SmartCat it is supposedly ‘technical issues.” However those ‘technical issues’ seem to have lasted half a year or more. Not exactly impressive for a tech company! Freelancers are waiting for months on end, and sometimes in vain, to get paid. Some aren’t paid at all. Furthermore, SmartCat has been banned from posting jobs on ProZ which usually isn’t a good indicator.

Smartcat does not protect the translators from scammers. I have applied to translations when offers were available, but no answer directly through Smartcat. When I contacted the individual (who apparently represented an entity called Free writers) via chatwork.com then he answered and made an offer. I made the translation on time but, surprise, they told me they can’t pay me, although I gave them my bank details

*Updated 1/20/2025