The 3 Most Popular Upwork-like Platforms for Hiring Japanese Freelancers

Is there any web service like Upwork in Japan, where we can hire Japanese freelancers for various types of tasks like translation, design, and digital marketing?

Yes, there are some existing skills to share and completely online Japanese platforms, just like Upwork.

I will introduce two most popular platforms like those in this article with a bit of background of Japanese freelance job markets.

The increasing number of Japanese freelancers

The number of freelancers in Japan has been gradually increasing. Between 2015 and 2018, the number of freelancers rose from 9.13 million to 11.19 million, rising by about 22%.

With that, the size of the freelance economy has also reached a massive $20 trillion. The U.S. economy is 154 trillion yen, so it’s not quite there by comparison, but it’s on the rise.

Besides, companies are allowing side hustles, and “work style reform” is gradually spreading.

Also, freelance work is diversifying, and there are many different types of freelancers, such as those who work on the side and those who make a living. It’s also very convenient to change the way you use, depending on your lifestyle.

Japanese freelancers are becoming more acceptable work style.

Freelancing is becoming more and more popular in Japan. According to the “Freelance White Paper 2018″ by the Japan Professional & Parallel Career Freelance Association, more than 10 million people in Japan are currently working as freelancers or about 1 in 10 people in Japan.

Freelancing is a way of working that has been on the rise every year due to the expansion of crowdsourcing and cloud services.

You can easily search for freelancers on the web and complete a job request, contract, and payment. You can compare bios and quotes, which makes it possible to commission work at a lower cost.

The three most famous Japanese freelancers crowdsourcing and freelance platforms

With that in mind, the following are the most prominent crowdsourcing platforms and their characteristics.

CrowdWorks

A well-established crowdsourcing platform.

The main freelancers are mostly writers, and the UI is very straightforward, making it easy to place orders if you are new to crowdsourcing.

The numbers of Japanese freelancers

According to an August 2018 press release, the number of members has surpassed 3 million and is expected to grow more in the future.

Any corporation or individual can sign up, and the age range is 18 years and up.

In CrowdWorks, you can only hire one person per job, and you cannot employ more than one person.

If you want to recruit more than one person, you will have to recruit again, or the client will have to request it directly.

Fee

May 2019, CrowdWorks charges 5-20% of the fee for using the system for order takers, depending on the compensation amount.

Specifically;

• Over 200,000 yen project: 5%
• 100,000 to 200,000 yen project: 15%
• Less than 100,000 yen project: 20%

The commission is 5-20% of the client’s total amount, and the client receives the rest of the money.

As a client of CrowdWorks, it’s free to use the service from the time you register a job to the time you sign up for it.

Only if you want to use paid options, such as sending a job request all at once, there is an additional fee. 

Lancers

Japan’s first crowdsourcing platform.

Many writers with expertise in owned media and content marketing are registered on this platform.

Launched in 2008, Lancers was the first crowdsourcing service in Japan.

Registration is open to both corporations and individuals, with the minimum age of 18 years old.

The numbers of Japanese freelancers

As of August 2017, the number of requests is said to be 1,629,883, and the total value of claims is said to be 176.2 billion.

The most prominent feature of Lancer is the sheer number of projects.

The most popular categories are “Design and Production,” “Writing and Naming,” “System Development and Operation,” and “Web Production and Web Design.”

Sites with many registered users like Lancers offer a wide range of options, giving you more freedom to place orders.

Fee

When you work through Lancers, you will be charged a fee, which varies depending on the amount of work you receive.

For example, for jobs over 200,000 yen, the fee is 5%, but for projects under 100,000 yen, a 20% fee will be deducted.

Specifically;

• More than 200,000 yen: 5%
• 100,000 to 200,000 yen project: 10%
• Less than 100,000 yen project: 20%

As far as fees are concerned, they are almost the same as the CrowdWorks above, but in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 yen, Lancers’ costs are about 5% cheaper.

As for the transfer of commissions, if you have more than 1,000 yen in your account, you can transfer them.

Coconala

Coconala is the platform where freelancers can package their works and display, so when you ask for a routine job, you can order it with transparent accounting.

Coconala is a “flea market where you can buy and sell your knowledge, skills, and experience.” Unlike other crowdsourcing services, Coconala allows you to sell your knowledge, skills, and experience.

You can work in a way that makes the most of your skills, such as fortune-telling, illustration, language skills, programming skills, etc.

Fee

The freelancers can set your selling price from 500 yen to 500,000 yen.

A commission of 10% to 25% will be charged on the total sales price (excluding tax), including the service’s cost and any tweaks (additional payments).

Now is the best time to hire Japanese freelancers.

After Convid-19 has shifted to an era of utilizing outside personnel

The Convid-19 shock is said to be the new standard era.

According to a May 2020 survey by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, more than 60% of companies have adopted mandatory telework during the Convid-19 restraint period.

As telework becomes more prevalent and the working environment changes, such as office downsizing, there will be more opportunities for outside talent to play an active role in projects.

It makes sense to use highly specialized, experienced freelancers and second-hand workers for more flexible and fast personnel assignments.

That doesn’t mean you’ll lose your long-term talent strategy, which is based on training.

How you leverage internal and external talent on a single project will be critical to your business’s success.

If you are having trouble searching or hiring quality Japanese freelancers, feel free to contact us. Edamame Japan is the boutique Japanese digital marketing agency helping mid to small business owners increase sales or leads from Japanese markets.