Is it worth bidding on projects in online freelance work-sites for Indians?

For most people who live outside of the so-called “underdeveloped third-world developing nations” (mainly Asian, not all though) and who’s currency rates are far more above than these countries, the bidding process is a waste of time and the pay rates are peanuts for them to even consider the prospects. For those rates, they can outsource their projects and get the work done and then proofread and deliver to the client the transcript.

For someone who is living in these countries and whose currency exchange rates are far way below the average, for them it is like a little nugget, be it of gold or silver.

To put it into perspective and taking the example of US and India, 1 USD = 57 or 60 INR. If you want to take that in absolute terms think in the opposite, 1 INR = 57 USD. For 1 USD you are being paid 57 or 60 Indian Rupees. People here, in India, generally get roughly about 1,500 to 1,800 an hour. 

Putting it through currency conversion, it would be roughly $27.88 (1500 INR) or $33.46 (1800 INR), if you’re the lucky ones or big companies who have been able to get a direct client from US/UK/NZ or any other European or developed country. 

From a company’s perspective, if you generally employ about 10 people and on average they are able to produce 5 hours of work every day (Mon-Sat, generally speaking) and taking an average month to be 30 days. Now, deducting 5 Sundays, it would leave us with 25 days. So, the total production for the month would be 25 x 5 = 125 hours. 

Average income for various rates: 

1. 125 x $27.88 = $3,485/month x 53 INR = 1,84,705 INR/month 

2. 125 x $33.46 = $4,183/month x 53 INR = 2,21,699 INR/month 

The company would be generally paying around 1,25,000-1,50,000 per month to all the 10 employees combined altogether. 

It definitely varies with each country’s currency exchange rates as compared to India’s rates for that particular day. 

Now, if you were working somewhere and/or there was a middleman/vendor involved, you would be getting anything from 800 ($14.87) to 1,000 ($18.59) INR, this is for home-based employees, freelancers, and sub-contractors (all the bad/distorted audio goes to these people most of the time). 

When people go to these bidding sites and they try and bid for a project, they try to make the most of it. By bidding, on average, lesser than the next guy/gal in line and most probably it would not go less than $10-15 per hour. That’s why you see most of the clients putting up jobs for that range on there, though there will be people or clients who put/post jobs for less than this. 

The intermediary would be receiving it from the client anywhere from $15-33 per hour and would be subletting/subcontracting it out to other people for lower rates. 

It depends on the actual client also giving out jobs directly to people on these sites, but I have yet to see an actual client. I may have, but might not have recognized it with all these low rates and bidding going on there. 

For people in India or other countries where there is a huge currency rate gap, it provides an opportunity for people to just make it out and to try and get above all the job mongering going on.


It’s like the glitter of gold/silver from afar.


Just my two cents in this ever-growing pot of thoughts.

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