"Delayed Payment!"

I requested my payment on the 3rd of January, 2025 and received a date that my payment would be sent out by the 25th of January, 2025 after missing the deadline of January 10th.

It should be $100 paid out to me today. My paypal is this same email address on my account. Nothing has changed.

"Unacceptable Payout Delays and Disrespect for Teams Working on High-Profile Projects"

I am the leader of a technical team composed of highly skilled professionals, including engineers and technicians, who work on demanding projects for high-profile clients like Meta. Despite our expertise and contributions, Gengo’s handling of payouts has been deeply disappointing.
1. Payout Delays and Poor Scheduling:
Gengo promises payouts on the 10th and 25th of each month. Today is December 22nd, and I was assured my payout would be processed on the 25th. However, I have now been told I won’t receive payment until January 10th—even during the Christmas period, when timely payouts are critical for many of us. This is unacceptable, especially when Meta and other clients Gengo contracts us for are known for paying on time.
2. Lack of Flexibility and Communication:
Gengo’s support team has repeatedly ignored the urgency of the situation, despite me explaining that I need these funds to pay my team. They refuse to escalate my request to a senior finance manager and instead stick to generic, unhelpful responses. This demonstrates a lack of care for the people who keep their projects running smoothly.
3. Hidden Fees and Transparency Issues:
Our earnings are already reduced significantly due to Gengo’s platform fees, PayPal fees, and poor exchange rates. These deductions are not clearly communicated upfront. For a company that expects the highest level of professionalism from its freelancers and teams, this lack of transparency is both frustrating and unfair.
4. Disrespect for High-Level Professionals:
We are not just individual translators; we are a team of engineers and technicians who deliver technical expertise to Gengo’s clients. For a company working with globally respected brands like Meta, their failure to meet basic financial obligations reflects poorly on their operations.

While the projects we’ve worked on through Gengo are rewarding, the payout system and lack of respect for freelancers and their teams overshadow any benefits. Other platforms, even those handling similar high-profile clients, are far more transparent, timely, and professional.

If this issue is not resolved, I will be left with no choice but to escalate the matter. I will inform my entire team to share their complaints on all relevant platforms, including Trustpilot, Glassdoor, and professional forums. Additionally, I will notify our clients directly about these issues, as their reputations are tied to Gengo’s performance.

I urge Gengo to reconsider its payout policies, especially during critical times like the holiday season, and treat its technical teams with the respect they deserve.

"Bad quality translation"

Bad quality translation. They use Google translate.

"Machine translations at human prices"

This company is selling machine translation at human translation prices.
If you actually speak the language natively you'll understand this when you see translations for words like "Sign up" directly converted into phonetic foreign borrow words like サインアップする instead of the natural and correct translation of 登録する.
I rejected the translations stating this, but Gengo staff said my rejection wasn't valid and that these were "quality translations."
AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

"Google can provide the same…"

Google can provide the same translations for 0.00 cents. It's a much better deal, and no, it doesn't matter if you pay for their "higher quality" service, Google can still do the exact same job... why pay for it?

"This is what you need to do to get a high quality translation"

I have been translating for Gengo for a couple of months now and have had a read through the reviews with many clients complaining about issues with their translation. I basically only ever work on jobs at the Pro level rate of $0.09 because only this rate allows for enough time to produce a quality translation.

In regards to the bad reviews: I believe this is a matter of you get what you paid for. If you submit your translation as a standard translation the translator gets paid a measly $0.03 to $0.035 per word which is way below industry standards (at least a third lower than what a professional translator usually charges). Generally speaking, a translator translates around 300 words per hour. This means a translator makes around $9.00 per hour at these rates. In most countries this would be below minimum wage and without any of the perks that come with being employed (annual leave, sick leave, paid public holidays. So, in order to make some money a translator will need to churn out at least 600 words per hour if not more. Hence, the quality of this translation will never be as good as a translation done for the Pro rate of $0.09. Put simply if you want a high quality translation please submit your job as a Pro job and a professional translator will work on your translation. You simply cannot expect a high quality translation at the standard rate. For even higher quality translations, provide as much context as possible and a glossary if needed. Also, if you submit your translation through their system it gets split across different translators. This means that your final translation will be inconsistent in style and terminology. In order to avoid this simply submit your translation in a word document or excel spreadsheet. A professional translator will then ensure style and terminology are consistent across your whole document.

I hope this is helpful.

Thanks,

Your Master educated Professional Gengo Translator

"I dont wana give them even a single…"

I dont wana give them even a single star as well.
They are hiring translators worldwide, they take tests, and then they say "oh we dont have much colections ye ye ye...then they say install rss feed....thats always empty....then their support says umm we hv preffered translators...ye ye ye.... I am a pro translator and didntget job since months... I think there are indians behind it making people fool, as the girl talking me on the behalf of their support looks indian hindu....

"Just don't bother, they are a joke"

Their big headline on the website says "Professional translation within hours" which is a complete lie and any translation you order will take at least a week before corrections.

The home page also says "Ready to get started? Translate instantly using our order form." - Yeah right.

I rejected my translation because it did not meet our needs and there were errors on every email (11 emails / 5500 words) and explained that I only used them because of speed, so what did they do. Gave it to someone else to translate so now it's going to be another week or more.

Complete and utter discrace - will never use again and I will be publishing this review over social media.

"Pre-tests are falsified..."

Just took the MCQ test to be approved as Translator (French to English). I have been reading, writing and speaking both languages for 35 yrs. And been doing professional technical translations for the past 10 years. I got only a 1 out of 5 correct... either i am completely inept or their tests are biased/ wrong.

"The test is absurd"

The test is absurd, because i know English well enough to pass. They refuse to communicate about the results, which i also find very unreliable.