Third world countries Vs. first world countries in freelancing

PinkTurtle Level 1

August 2, 2017, 5:26 pm

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Third world countries Vs. first world countries in freelancing

Hello guys!, I hope you are having a terrific day.As we allknow the cost of life is lower or higher in some countries. Comparing third
world countries vs First world countries, you can deduct that third world
countries are less expensive than the others. Thereforethe online dollar making activity is really profitable and you can actually
offer your online skills for less than those who are in USA, Canada or UK for
example…. As a personthat lives in a Latin-American country with a really high inflation and a disastrous economy, gaining in
dollars and not in my local coin has bring me a lot of benefits. But how is
this for the other half? How do First world’s countries compete with our lower
prices? Do you benefit from this or no?
Please share your experiences!

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

In my main area of freelancing, which is video and photography, I really only compete with other local businesses who offer the same services as me. So in that regard, I don't have to compete with pricing from third world countries. However, the sites I have used in the past for freelance work online made it so everyone was generally on a level playing field. For instance, on Fiverr, most people started their freelance packages out at $10, as the name of the site suggests, and build their pricing from there. The idea is that the pricing should be reasonable, so I felt like I didn't necessarily have to compete price-wise on Fiverr, but rather quality of product-wise instead.

7 years ago

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clara1993

clara1993

Hallo Theart, I like your answer Dear;
I don't think pricing in first or third countries is what really matters In my opinion Everyone should look for what is in the store for him plus the competitions of those who offers the same services and try to be unique and use strategies like offering lower pricing and quality servicesand good marketing to attract more traffics.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I am from India. The only reason I offer less price is because I lack experience. Also I have to work on different day shift to clear the projects. If I were to be in US or Canada. With this skill set I'd never offer the low price. Most of the low priced freelancers often not reliable be it from Asia or US and Canada. The low priced trojan hunting is bad for the freelance industry. This way many sellers are getting exploited by the buyers. Take a look at the fiverr. Lot of people suffering by working on low cost projects. Not good for the freelancing industry overall.

Also there is a misconception that asia is cheaper than US and Canada. Those days were in 2010. Now in 2017, that does not apply anymore. Now a days, things are expensive. And you can't things cheaply to feed youself on 1$ - 4$ projects you do from freelancer and other sites.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I think the low price for freelancer services is not exactly related to the country of origin. It is more about the law of supply and demand. Right now there are so many freelancers trying to compete with the few jobs that are available. What if we will reverse the trend to have more jobs than the freelancers can handle? It is a certainty that prices for services will increase because the clients will be competing for the services of the freelancers.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

The issue is people in first world country assume that since one city in third world country has cheap food and accomodation, rest of the country would be the same. So they tend to have lower price for the people who are working on things. I have learned from the experience that one needs to increase the rates to avoid being taken for granted.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I did not know you were from India.
I am from Nepal and the reason why I charge less than my American or British counterparts is because I want to survive the competition. I want to give a reason to hire me. I want the client to believe that if I can save $10 by hiring this guy from Nepal why should I hire Michale from the US.
If I am charging as much as my American counterparts, no one will hire me. They generally believe that people from developing countries can work for less.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes I am from India. And I get to be the burden of low rate. And in reality the rate in city is not that cheap. But american buyers makes me want to work on low cost. I guess it depends on finding the right client. And in some cases it works out if we find it one or so times.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

Yes, it depends on clients. I have worked with people from the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Some clients did pay me poorly. However, it was my choice to work on that rate. However, I also did find clients who paid me well. I have worked on ebook for $15 as well as $450. It all depends on the kind of clients you find.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Agree finding the right client is what we need. I have learned that in order to find the right client. We have to also avoid accepting the low cost ones. And instead find the clients based on their bidding if it is more in such case. I have stopped bidding on low cost gigs.

6 years ago

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hermessantos

hermessantos

I'm from Brazil and around here the freelancer area is more focused on design, translation, software development and writing.

I've tried to take the risk in the design market, but I'm currently 3 years in the writing business.

7 years ago

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TsuyoyRival

TsuyoyRival

I'm from Portugal, and some of the areas more invested are software development and video editing.

7 years ago

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kgord

kgord

I would imagine those in the West generally command higher prices than those in third world countries but I don't really know I am just guessing. The cost of living is less there so the prices paid for goods and services must be less as well.

7 years ago

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augusta

augusta

Nigeria as a third world country is not helping us the freelancers at all and the economy is quite bad. the cost of making money online is quite high.

Alot of money goes into providing energy (electricity)to deliver jobs on time and of course, our internet service providers are not helping with the high price of data and absolute bad network.

7 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

I'm in the first world country and I can't say that I have to compete with the third world countries in any way. Perhaps because of where my main income comes from? I have no idea but I believe that certain areas of freelancing don't involve many members of the third world countries. We use Euro as our currency so it's a bit lower than USD but the living costs are high.

Also, I don't think that every person that comes from a third world country offers their services cheaper... that's just based on your knowledge and experience.

7 years ago

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kgord

kgord

Yes, I think it varies. People from third world countries may have a bit of trouble getting clients, and possibly getting paid, but it can still work out for them honestly. I think it is fine for others.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I come from developing country (you are calling it third world country), I can write 500 words for $10 just because $10 is a lot of money when converted to local currency. I can buy a dinner for two with this money. I am not selling for cheap price, I charge what the work demands. My pricing depends on the time I have to spend on the work and the effort I have to apply. I can write a 500 word article in an hour therefore, I only charge $10. However, if I have to do a SEO content I will charge twice or more.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think the price 500 words for $10 is a bit old now. And there seems to be need for revision of the rate. Though 5$ is a bit cheap these days. But not sure if the countries are always should deny such work. Some countries have that rate good enough even after conversion. So as long as it works, it can be a good enough.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

True indeed. However, how much you charge depends on whether your client is willing to pay or not. Not just people like us, even the Americans are working for a low payment. I have worked with an American writer. She edited an entire book just for $40. Another American writer wrote me one article (300 words) for $3

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes after recession even they are working low. And they seem to be doing many low cost projects to compete with other countries. I have stopped working on low cost though. The reason being that is always game of going down instead of scaling up. That price game we never win with low cost.

6 years ago

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SimplyD

SimplyD

I am from a third world country, the Philippines.
Actually, when it comes to online earnings, we don't have to choose much as long as our skill is more or less match to that job offer. That's because US$3 is equivalent to 49 pesos, the prevailing exchange rate of the us$. Whatever we earn when converted to peso, will be multiplied by 49 pesos and that will become a big amount to us already.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

Thank you for your answers! I agree that experience and knowledge can be an important point when it comes to pricing but we also adapt our prices to "the cost of life" in our country, so that has to make a difference in cost of labor of each person in this or that country.

7 years ago

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explorerx7

explorerx7

I don't believe that it may boil down to the location that the person may be from. In a process that is open to many countries, it's the experience, ability, and effectiveness which will determine the bid amount. If someone, no matter where there are from, has confidence in their effectiveness, they will be more than likely be seeking to obtain the best rate that may be obtainable.

7 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I am originally from the United States, but recently moved to what can't really be considered a third world country, but it isn't exactly first world standards of living either. I can say without a doubt that freelancing here is hundreds of times easier than it would be in America, especially since I work with clients from back in the states. The cost of living here is immensely lower than it is in the U.S, especially since I'm from New York City, one of the places with an absolutely ridiculous cost of living. Because it takes so very little to get by here, I can cut the costs for a lot of services while still maintaining my quality, which obviously leads to more customers. Being a native English speaker works to my advantage though, as I'd imagine it would be far more difficult for someone living here to pick up the work as easily.

7 years ago

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PinkTurtle

PinkTurtle

That's great for you! Yes, New York is one of the most expensives places in the world but it's also one of the most interesting places. I guess you did a nice change for your pocket though.

7 years ago

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Fuzyon

Fuzyon

I live in a second-world country (Romania) and I can definitely say being a freelancer that works for foreign companies is extremely advantageous. Compared to how much money you need in this country freelancing pays off masively.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I am from Nepal, where English is a second language. If you are not using english as a first language, it is really hard to convince a client that are you are good with the language. Furthermore, it is really hard to compete with people who are using English as the first language. If you are not from first world you end up getting only lowly paid jobs.
However, there is also an advantage. Based on forex rates, you tend to earn fairly well if you are based in africa or asia. Five dollars for an article is a low payment, however, it translates to f500 rupees in my country. I can buy a quality T shirt with this money.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I have to agree. Just because we are from asia. We are being taken advantage of. And we are forced to accept the low rates. And that is something I prefer to avoid myself. Not all the time first world countries understand that third world countries have their own set of issues of their own. So it's not that easy doing the freelancing on low rates anymore. It's not 2000 anymore, we are in 2019 in few weeks.

6 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

Based on the exchange rate, we the people in the developing world might be earning fairly well, however, we have to admit that we are being under paid. We are not from the first world countries does not mean we do not have skills and knowledge. We might not be as good as an American
when it comes to speak English, however, we are as good as Americans when it comes to writing English because we have studied English in college and university. However, it is not easy to convince the client.

6 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

The cost of living is quite high in my country and when I convert the US $ to the local currency it is not really worth that much. This is the reason why I was previously discouraged to earn online. However over time I learnt how to make money online but however I don't have the requires skills at times and have to accept the low prices.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I also find cost of living very high in my country, however, the USD converts to a lot of money. For instance, the current exchange rate for USD against local currency is 103 NPR. Someone from the US may not be able to buy a breakfast from $3, however, in my country, I can get a good breakfast for 103 NPR. I just need $750 in a month to pay my bills and buy supplies. If I am able to make more than $750, I can save it in my bank account. Currently, I am working on an ebook, it will pay me $320. This is not a great money in the US, however, here I can use that money to pay gas, phone and internet bills.

7 years ago

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Joteque

Joteque

I suppose it adds up once you have the necessary skill set to be in a developing country while actively engaging in effective freelance work. I somehow suspect though that for developing countries there is more exposure to online opportunities as some companies will not accept applicants from certain parts of the world. This essentially creates a niche market for first world countries. Even if there is saturation in the diverse markets, the markets that are still closed to certain parts of the world will counter this effect and give a substantial edge to first world countries. There are still alot of opportunities available now as opposed to several years ago which translates to a more diverse playing field with some level of opportunities existing for just about anyone who is willing to explore the various avenues that open up on an ongoing basis.

7 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

First world countries has greater privilege to leverage their work to third world countries because of the value of their money. They could hire someone from the third world countries to do their projects with lesser cost. For example in the Philippines, US$3 is equivalent to Php50.00 and has the possibility of getting higher. That's why there are people from US that outsourced their works to Philippines instead of doing it by themselves or people from their country because they could save a lot of money by doing it. But this gives opportunities to people in the Philippines to work from home and earn decent income.

7 years ago

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ColdFlameChris

ColdFlameChris

It's hard to compete with those people in the first world countries in freelancing as they get a great offer and more options for a bigger price than those like us in the third world country. Hope that all the clients will provide an equal opportunity and rate since we can give them the same service as what the first world country can offer.

7 years ago

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jaymish2

jaymish2

I think working from a first world country as a freelancer is much easier. They are so many opportunities and the pay is double or triple what you earn when you work in a third world country. Personally, I don't find this funny and I don't buy the argument that paying people from third world countries a lower wage is okay because the cost of living is cheaper. In my opinion, this is a question of the value you put on that person. The last time I checked a person from a third world country still has to produce high-quality work. They have to invest in their skills.They use the same if not more energy. I don't accept this discrepancy in wage and think it's very unfair.

7 years ago

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coolavender

coolavender

I think it's a given that the freelancers in first world countries have the advantage in terms of opportunities and rates. Freelancers from the third world countries have limited access to many writing and other earnings sites and are not in the position to dictate their rates. It takes a lot more effort and time for a third world freelancer to build a reputation as preference is usually given to those who are native speakers of English. The law of supply and demand has a lot to do with pricing of services and rates can go down even on sites that are exclusive to first world freelancers because of the number of people who want to dip their fingers on the freelancing pie.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

The exchange rate of our peso is 50 for 1 usd. That means the US dollar is big money to us. A family of 4 can live well with $15 a day. For a freelancer who earns more than that, he can be wealthy if he would handle his finances properly. That's the advantage of residents of a 3rd world country, the freelancing income is good enough to be considered a decent livelihood.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

That's true. However, the question is whether are receiving equal pay in comparison to the freelancer from the first world country who has similar level of skills and experience. Another important question that needs to be answered is where can be be paid less just because USD has high exchange rate in our home country? Based on the exchange rate, we might be earning good, however, we are also being exploited just because we don't belong to first world country.

6 years ago

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