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Updated on 14th Feb 2019.
Introduction: Complete overview and review of Leapforce by a Leapforce agent.
I’ve worked worked with Leapforce for almost two years now and I am in a position to talk with expertise and authority on the subject. Leapforce has been a life-saver to me in many ways and it probably has been for a lot of people. Since there is no authoritative review on it, I am gonna dissect Leapforce and give you an inside info about it. This is gonna be long. Hang in there.
Company location & CEO :
Leapforce is a US based MNC located in Pleasanton, California. Here is their complete corporate address –
5050 Hopyard Road
Suite #425
Pleasanton, CA 94588
Phone: (925) 730-0073
Fax: (925) 730-0074
The current CEO of Leapforce is former Google employee, Daren Jackson. They only have about 21 full-time employee despite having generated almost $58 million in revenue in 2017 alone.
Number of Raters Worldwide:
All the workers of Leapforce, myself included, are known as independent contractors or simply (Google) raters. We are not employees, meaning we do not get any benefits and we are liable for our own taxes. At the time of writing this, there were over 10,000+ raters all over the world.
Countries and Languages Leapforce hires for :
- Australia – English.
- Belarus – Russian.
- Belgium – Dutch
- Brazil – Portuguese
- Canada – Chinese Simplified Language, English, French.
- China – Chinese Simplified Language.
- Denmark – Danish.
- Egypt – Arabic Language.
- France – French.
- Finland – Finnish.
- Greece – Greek.
- Germany – German.
- Hong Kong – Chinese Traditional Language.
- Hungary – Hungarian.
- India – English, Hindi.
- Indonesia – Indonesian
- Ireland – English
- Israel – Hebrew.
- Italy – Italian.
- Japan – Japanese.
- Kazakhstan – Russian.
- Mexico – Spanish.
- Netherlands – Dutch.
- Norway – Norwegian
- Philippines – English.
- Portugal – Portuguese.
- Russia – Russian.
- Singapore – English.
- South Korea- Korean.
- Spain – Spanish.
- Sweden – Swedish.
- Switzerland – German.
- Taiwan – Chinese Traditional Language.
- Thailand – Thai
- Turkey – Turkish.
- Ukraine – Russian.
- United kingdom – English.
- United States – English, Persian, Spanish.
- Vietnam – Vietnamese.
Application Processing Time :
The frequent question that I always get from my readers is – When will Leapforce get back to me? They always say that it has been months since I applied but I am yet to hear back from them. Here is my answer to that –
Leapforce takes anywhere from few days to six months to get back to you. In my time, it was quick as few people knew about it back then. Now that they are famous (thanks to me), they get thousands of applications every day and it is hard for them to process all of it at once. They are only like two dozen of them working full-time. Moreover, it depends on what type of candidate it’s client (Google or Facebook) is looking for.
If you don’t hear back from them in six months, you can re-apply again with the same gmail.
To ensure that your application is not rejected, read this first.
Pay Rates :
Pay rates differ from continent to continent. Raters from developed countries are paid more for obvious reasons.
- US and Other Americas – $13.5 per hour.
- UK and some European countries – $14 per hour.
- India and most Asian countries – $7 per hour.
In India, they pay through Western Union while in America they pay through direct deposit. In Brazil, they used to pay with PayPal and too bad for them, they used to get ripped off by PayPal ( they got massive transaction charges). Now they are fortunately getting better rates. I think Leapfore has negotiated with PayPal for less transaction charges.
They payment cycle is NET 30 days, meaning they will pay you within 30 days after your invoice has been approved. Indians normally gets paid by the third or the last week of every month, without fail. Americans get paid even faster.
Qualification Test and Exam Patterns:
The qualification test for Leapforce (or Lionbridge) is one of the toughest exam that I have ever written. Trust me, I’ve appeared for a lot of them.
Leapforce makes it amply clear, right in the application page, that it is not an easy exam. Hundreds of people appear for it every week and a very few people get through. It is required to make the exam tough to weed out the incompetent ones, so that only the best and the brightest ones gets through.
The qualification test consists of three parts :
- Theoretical Part : This is a MCQ based on the General Guidelines.
- Practical Part I : A Practical exam based on the first part of the General Guidelines that requires a PC, Mac or a Chromebook.
- Practical Part II : A practical exam based on the second part of the General Guidelines that requires a smartphone ( Android or iOS) and a PC, Mac or a Chomebook.
Here is an in-depth guide on how to crack Leapforce exam.
PROS OF LEAPFORCE :
I tend to be a little biased towards Leapforce as I work here, but I will try to be as objective as I can. Here are the pros of working with Leapforce –
1) Competitive Pay Rates :
The pay rates of Leapforce is one of the best in the industry. If we compare its competitors from the perspective of an Indian search engine evaluator, Leapforce’s pay rates is the best. Let me illustrate my point :
Appen pay rate : $3.5/hr.
Lionbridge pay rate : $6.81/hr (English).
Lionbridge pay rate : approx. $8/hr (Hindi).
Leapforce pay rate : $7/hr (English & Hindi).
The situation is roughly similar for search engine evaluators of other countries as well.
This is how their pay rates looks like –
US and Canadian raters – $13.5 / hr
UK and few select Europeans – $14/hr
Brazil – $10.5/hr.
Mexico – $8/hr.
Japan – $14/hr.
Indonesia – $6/hr.
Russia – $8/hr.
Leapforce has reduced the pay rate to $3 per hour for Indians after its acquisition by Appen.
2) Always Pays On Time :
Leapforce pays the payment in NET 30 days. In other words, they clear the invoices on or before 30 days after the invoice has been approved.
They say it to be NET 30 days, but in reality it is like NET 12 days. Because our invoices of the previous month gets approved by the early second week of the current month and we are paid by the late third week or the last week of the current month. And may I add – Without Fail.
3) Support System :
The support system of Leapforce is awesome. You got a problem with quality, shoot an email to quaity. You got an issue with finances, shoot an email to finance team. You want to go on a tour and not work for few days or weeks, no problem. Just shoot them an email.
You wil get a response within a maximum of three days.
Moreover Leapforce has its own Social Forum inside where people can introduce themselves, post questions, or anything that may or may not be related to the work that we do.
Leapforce also got a chat system where we can chat with fellow evaluators from the same country or from other countries around the world.
4) Environment :
Politics Free !
Aren’t we all tired of all the shitty political posts that we see in our Facebook wall already? Haven’t we had enough of hatred, fake news, half-truths, post-truths, propagandas, gaalis, etc in our Facebook wall?
We have had enough, right !
Thank goodness, we don’t have to or want to discuss politics inside Leapforce. An occasional post veering towards controversial topics likely to incite and excite people makes its way to the social posts, but they are quickly inundated by good, relevant and well-intentioned posts of the community members.
No swearing, no bashing of people because of their religion, race, caste, creed,etc takes place inside. There are moderators to ensure that the highest form of civility is maintained.
All in all, I really like being a part of this community.
5) No Fixed Weekly Hours :
Unlike in Lionbrige, where evauators have to work for a minimum of 10 hours per week, you don’t have any set weekly hours in Leapforce.
You don’t want to work this week, don’t. You wanna work for 60 hours next week, you can ( as long as there is task available).
You only have to complete a set number of tasks in 30 days period, which by the way is very easy to complete.
6) Location Independence :
Work from anywhere, anytime.
This, in my opinion, is the best feature of Leapforce.
You are on a tour and wants to work from your hotel room, you can do that ( as long as you are inside the room).
The beauty of working with Leapforce or working online is that our life doesn’t revolve around our work.
Its our work that revolves around our life.
CONS OF WORKING WITH LEAPFORCE :
While working with Leapforce has many benefits, it also comes with some cons. I’ve outlined some of the common issues that people face while working for Leapforce.
1) Not An Employee:
You aren’t an employee of Leapforce meaning you don’t have any benefits. You are an independent contractor responsible for your own taxes.
Your contract is only for the period of 6 months. Its renewal depends on the quality of your work. So there is a constant fear of your contract not being renewed.
That being said, I know many people who has been working with Leapforce for like 8 years now.
2) Quality Checks:
Of all the competitors, Leapforce has the most stringent and consistent quality checks.
People literally live in constant and mortal fear of monthly quality reviews.
There is a monthly quality check which would determine how many hours you can work in a month.
There is also weekly quality checks by bots which can restrict one’s hours depending on how serious the mistake or errors committed by the rater is. Again there is quaity checks by the seasoned raters of Leapforce. It doesn’t affect the working hours though.
One has to maintain a consistent quality level to get his/her contract renewed for another six months.
Leapforce is lenient during the first 6 months though.
3) Task Availability :
The task availability varies according to countries, time of the day, or month of the year.
There were some months, where I had had to literally run and grab the tasks before they were gone.
There were some months when I felt so inundated by massive task volume that I had to literally walk away from my desk. It is not that I have to finish all of them,it was just a feeling of being drowned on it.
Weekends and US holidays are normally dry days, meaning less or no tasks flow.
4) Split, Acquisition :
In June 2017, an exclusive Leapforce like company or website was created only for American raters of Leapforce ( and Lionbridge).
It is called Raterlabs. If you check its landing page, you will see that it looks exactly like Leapforce.
The split of Leapforce led to migration of most of the US raters of Leapforce ( and Lionbridge) to Raterlabs. It caused the support staff of Leapforce to be spread thin and wide, as they had to look out for both Leapforce and Raterlabs. As a result, the weekly Live Chats that we previously had in Leapforce, stopped.
The most shocking news was the acquisition of Leapforce by Appen. We came to know about it through an email sent to us by the CEO of Leapforce Daren Jackson.
There was and there still is a lot of apprehensions about the acquisition. Many (Indians)fear that our pay rates might be reduced to $3.5/hr. It is yet to happen though.
On the flip side, others are optimistic and point to the fact that we may get more projects, now that Appen has acquired it.
Conclusion:
While there are some cons of working for Leapforce, I think it has far more benefits. While it is scary if we think of its 6 months’ contract, I have been working with them since June, 2016. It is a proof that it is possible to maintain quality work and get your contract renewed.
And also I can’t think of any other better paying work-at-home opportunity than this.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Search Engine Evaluator Course qualification is a tough tough one. Hardly 1 out of every 100 applicants gets through it. The minimum passing score required is 87%.
Since I have been working as a Search Engine Evaluator since June December 2016 ( you can read my earliest blog posts from December 2016 right here, if you don’t believe me.Check out the date the post was published), I have an authority and expertise at this field.
I have been working on a course for almost 2 months now. Its finally complete and I can guarantee that it is the best search engine evaluator training course our there.
I didn’t start a course, out of the blue claiming, that I have been working as an evaluator for over 2 years now. Everyone knows that I have been working as one since June 2016. As soon as you check the archives of my website, you would know what I mean.
You will be tremendously benefited by my experience. You would greatly benefit by getting a direct access to me.
So check out the course below and sign up today.
Appen/Leapforce, Lionbridge and Raterlabs are hiring now! Don’t miss this opportunity.
Has anybody worked as a Maps Quality Analyst for Lionbridge? What is the hourly pay rate for it? How many hours per month do you get for it? Is the qualification for it tough?
They don’t pay per hour for that project. It is pay per task. An average Indian can make around $6- $8/hr, but that will only come up practice and time. Qualification test is pretty tough and the Guideline has 200+ pages.
Hi Sam, does Appen hire pakistani nationals?
Hi Muneer I am not too sure about that. You will have to check out here – https://connect.appen.com/qrp/public/jobs?uref=6c2ff9f87034def5768bd6b5bb65d9df
HI Sam
I have been selected for Yukon-Appen from India, What is the current pay scale?
Those of us, who have been with them for over 2 years are paid $7 per hour.The new ones are paid $3/hr.
oh really… i am approaching to 2 years.. hurryyyy.. Thanks for ur response 🙂
Hi Sravani I think you misunderstood me. I don’t want to make you feel bad, but here is what I meant. Those of us who were with them for the last 2 years (in the context of the previous comment), meaning since 2016 when we were still Leapforce and Appen haven’t acquired us, we are paid $7/hr. We still are paid $7. Those Indian raters who were hired in late 2017 or after are paid $3/hr. And I don’t think they are going to raise the pay rates. Let us hope that they do, but I’m guessing they won’t unfortunately. I hope it is clear now. Stay Home Stay Safe!
Hello friend,
Awesome blog and awesome ,informative content .Thank you very much for sharing it.I have a few questions if you could help me please:
1- I’m working for Appen now as social media evaluator in Falcon URI project with 4$/hour rate . I think it\’s low relative to other 3rd world countries ,am I right or it\’s the same rate in India ? there are other projects like search engine evaluator and language related projects would their pay be better or what ?
2- I was thinking to work for Leapforece as search engine evaluator besides being social media evaluator at Appen. Do they allow this or it\’s against their rules? I read It\’s prohibited to work for the same client .So I think it wouldn\’t be a problem if I work for both companies with 2 different projects owned by 2 different clients what do you think ?
3-Is Leapforce hourly pay still 7 $ for 3rd world countries or it decreased after it got acquired by Appen? I would really appreciate it if you help me with these questions.
Best,
1. Pay rate for Appen would be same across all projects. The pay rate is low, but depends on person to person.
2. You can work as search engine evaluator in Appen as well, because now they are practically the same.
3. Leapfroce pay rate for new raters has been reduced to $3/hr. We, who are like 2 years old, are still paid $7/hr. I am anticipating rate cuts for us as well.
Hi Sam,
I failed in my Lionbridge exam part III can I apply again after six months.
You would get an email to retake the exam.
What is the pay per hour for online map quality analyst role in lionbridge (India)?
Map Analyst position is pay per task, not pay per hour. I have heard that one can make about $6-$7/hr. Have you applied for it or working at it?
How long does it take for leapforce to respond to your application? I applied a week and a half ago and have not had a response.
Anywhere from few days to 6 months. Hang in there.
It takes time to hear back from Leapforce,you can still re-apply after 6 months,but I can tell you that in this time there are several recruitments for several languages in Lionbridge. Go and apply if you are good fit for the requirements demanded by Lionbridge. Good luck!
Sam I need to discuss one more thing with you.Is there any chance that part time employees positions will also be given to the indian raters instead of independent contractor position?
No. As far as I know there won’t be.
Yes,per month I try to keep my quality above 90%
That’s awesome ! Don’t worry about renewals then. But try to work for 40 hours per month at least. Btw, how did you hear about Lionbridge or any other search engine evaluator companies?
Actually I was looking for work from home jobs in Youtube,suddenly I noticed a video title named “work from home,450 Rupees per hour”. I clicked the video and watched that,that video was on Lionbridge,I applied for Lionbridge,and then my application got selected.At that time I had no knowledge about this job,then I found some useful posts searching on google.In the first attempt I failed,but in the second attempt I didn’t repeat that mistake,and got selected on 29th August,2017.
Cool. Seems like I also got to make some YouTube videos.
Yes you can….
Hey sam, could you please confirm that an applying candidate should have a static IP address for getting selected to lionbridge or leapforce, I didn’t notice this info in any of your articles but saw it on other blogs and I have recently applied to assessor and map analyst positions at Lionbridge and was said unsuccessful by email. But i believe that was due to mismatch of info on resume as they clearly asked through email to specify what work did I do for a specific duration of year that I accidentally left out (they asked for 5years of data and I only gave them 3+1/2 year’s data). I also currently working as a social media evaluator for appen and is this the cause of application rejection or due to the Static IP issue..?
You can’t work for both Appen and Liondrige at the same time. There is no IP issue.
Sam, you didn’t answer about”Static IP” issue, I know that one cannot work for both and I’m talking about applying only, will Lionbridge be able to find out if I am working for appen and also My Internet connection has a “dynamic IP”
system. I think you have a Static IP Internet connection or else how can one work for Leapforce when they clearly state only one person is allowed to work from “one IP” address.
Lionbridge has a weird way of finding out whether you’ve worked for their competitors or not. I don’t know how they do it, but they somehow do it. I wouldn’t waste my time risking being caught and blacklisted.
With that being said, I’ve heard that one can work in Yukon, also called as search engine evaluator or web engine evaluator in Leapforce ( appen) and as an Online Map Analyst in Lionbridge. I am not 100% sure though.
Yeah I’ve applied at lionbridge and got rejected both times and I’m letting it go now, as i think they somehow they can figure out everyone’s whereabouts(its written in their privacy policy too). Anyway your site is very informative for all things “digital nomad” and I am a regular visitor and noticed you have changed styles and color which is good by the way but it’s too purplish/magenta in my opinion , may I suggest blue/light blue(facebook and similar sites used blue as color-as scientifically blue has a tendency to attract and make people spend more time at that site-I read this somewhere, hope it might get useful for you). Also keep up the good work and keep posting interesting #digitalnomad stuff.
Apply for positions in Leapforce or Appen.
And thanks for the color suggestion. I will look into that. Yes, I need to post more. I am a bit lazy and a perfectionist (which is bad).
Hi Joypid . I also work for Lionbridge. As far I checked my quality few times keeping me in hold that days and again I’m able to work normally. My question is how and where do I check my quality of tasks in my account. This can help me to track and improve myself. Thank you.
I think you guys get a monthly email from your quality head (who is an Indian) that tells you of your scores. I am not too sure about your weekly quality checks. Joydip will be the best person to answer that question.
Yes you are right,there is quality score of each month,not every week.
Go to the geoworkerz portal,then click on quality,then click on feedback simulator,you will get to know the quality score of each month,and also senior quality controller sends an email regarding the quality score.
I work in Lionbrodge as a search engine evaluator and I maintain quality work and it has been 5 months since I have joined,but in these 5 months,I do normally 35 hours per month,unfortunately I have never done 40 hours a month since now,is it a matter of tension?
Lionbridge says that you should work for 10-20 hours per week. Sometimes that send you email saying that this week there is a bonus of 10 hours or so.
But the minimum hours that they ask for is 10 hours per week for search engine evaluator position.
I think you should maintain the minimum hours. They may remove you from your project you know, and once removed it would be hard for you to get into Leapforce as well as we all work in the same evaluation platform.
To get the final word on it, I think you should email your support.
Sometime they send me extra hours of 25-30 hours.
Now this is making me to think about the 40 hours,I have emailed them,let’s see what they mail me. Is there any facility to fill up the hours for the past months I didn’t work.
I don’t think that there is a facility to make up for those hours, and I don’t think that you should be worried about it now. Because if they were very strict about it, they would have sent you a reminder email. But they didn’t right? Wait for the email and see what they say. I don’t think that they are so strict about it though, as is evident from your case.
They are saying that there may have been shortage of task in my locale and I need to target to work upto max 20 hours every week. And yes,they haven’t sent me any email regarding that.
I hope that my contract would renew for another on year after this contract,I just love my job.
As long as you maintain quality work, don’t worry about the renewals. 🙂 And the more you work, the more you earn. Enjoy rating.