Rev.com Review – Is This Typing Work for You? (Full Details)

You know when you watch those YouTube videos and you click CC to see the captions? Or when you browse through your Facebook then see videos with captions?

Well, doing captioning like those is now one of the work-at-home jobs you can do to earn some extra income.

Caption and transcription work appeal to many since it doesn’t require a high level of skill unlike graphic designing and web development. But since there is a lot of online work offered these days, you have to be careful to choose legit jobs that can really give you an income.

Caption work, together with transcription and translation, are the services offered by Rev.com

But is Rev.com legit or is it a scam you should avoid?

Upfront I would say that Rev.com have been existing for almost ten years and have gotten an A+ rating at Better Business Bureau so it’s a legit company offering speech-to-text service.

But this does not necessarily mean it will be the right option for you to earn.

This Rev.com review will show you all the details and what you need to consider before signing up so you know what to expect and if it is right for you or not.

What is Rev.com?

Rev.com, formerly FoxTranscribe, was founded back in 2010 by Jason Chicola and Josh Breinlinger.

In their own words, they founded it to “break the barriers around the physical workplace”.

How they do this is by providing speech-to-text services to their clients through a pool of freelancers.

The company promises to its clients a high quality and exceptional accuracy on their output but at a reasonable price.

One way you can see Rev.com is a legit company is their list of clients.

They have provided their services to companies such as Comcast, Amazon, UCLA, Marriott, Tony Robbins, and the Department of Justice. These companies would do their research before trusting their files. In fact, the company even became an Editor’s Choice at PCMag.com for its transcription services.

To make this happen, they need freelancers to do the work for their clients and this is where you can come in and earn money while working at home.

If you’re interested in becoming a freelancer on their website, you can either apply as a transcriptionist, a captioner, or a translator.

What’s the difference?

A transcriptionist converts the spoken audio file into an electronic document. They offer verbatim transcription so you would need to include the silent breaks, the laughs, and the “uhm” in between sentences.

If you’re applying as a captioner, you will be given a video file to transcribe and then add the transcribed text to the video. These are the ones you would see on YouTube and other video sites.

If you are at least bilingual, then you can earn by being a translator. You will be watching videos or listening to audio to transcribe and then translate.

Some translations are also used as video subtitles. So when you find a foreign video and read those English subtitles, then you know someone on this kind of platform did it.

All of the freelance work offered by Rev.com require you to have high-speed internet, a good set of headphones, and a personal computer.

So if this sounds interesting to you, let’s go a bit more into what you need to do to apply for work there.

Recommended: See My Top Recommended Way to Make an Income Online

How do you become part of Rev.com?

You can apply for Rev.com anywhere you are in the world and it’s free to sign up as a freelancer.

It takes less than an hour for you to finish your application on their side and complete all the steps in your application.

The first step requires you to provide your name, email address, and choice of work (either a captioner or a transcriber).

Once you’re provided the details, you are directed to a grammar test.

It covers basic verb form, word choice, and sentence structure. There are seven multiple-choice questions to complete for each section before moving on to the next step of your application.

The grammar test is very basic so you will likely know the answers even if English is not your native language as long as you have basic knowledge of the language.

The next step ion your application is the caption test. If you selected transcriber on upon signing-up, then you are to answer the transcription test instead.

There is a short video you will watch to guide you on what to do next in the test.

The style guide covers breaking captions, speaker labeling, atmospherics (music and sound), pre-existing on-screen text, accuracy, and syncing.

By taking this test, you get a good idea about the work you will be doing once you are accepted.

If you don’t pass as a captioner, then the good news is you can apply as a transcriptionist instead.

However, in my opinion, doing captioning work is easier than transcribing, as transcribing requires more knowledge about a very specific way of transforming speech to text.

For the transcription test, you have to take a typing exam and transcribe a video using Rev.com’s editor program. Take your time when transcribing as there is no time limit and your output will be part of your application’s assessment.

You will get a result of your application within 48 hours. This is a faster response than most transcription companies I have reviewed in the past such as Tigerfish. and it is great not having to wait longer to find out if you will be accepted or not.

If you’re accepted, you can start getting tasks and start typing to earn.

How much can you earn?

Most transcription and caption work is paid by the project rather than by the hour. As for Rev, your pay will depend on whether you are working as a transcriptionist, a captioner, or a translator.

Normally, transcriptionists are paid per hour of transcription. However, here you will be paid on the length of an audio file rather than the time it took you to finish your work.

If you’re a transcriptionist, the rate ranges from $0.24 to $0.90 per audio or video minute.
Captioners are paid between $0.45 to $0.75 per audio or video minute.

According to Rev, their average captioner earns around $240 per month so it will not make you rich as you can see.

Fluency in other languages increases your rate as a transcriptionist or captioner. You are paid $0.05 to $0.06 per word as a translator.

You have to remember that your income will really depend on the hours you put in and the length of the files you are working on.

Increasing your rate is done through ranks. There are three ranks on Rev.com you can get while working.

The first rank is the rookie. As a rookie, you are a new member and can only transcribe files that are less than 30 minutes in length. You will also receive detailed feedback for the first 45 minutes of work that you submit.

Feedback for me is important so you will know how you can improve your work and what are your common mistakes. Take this rank as your learning period on a new job. They also have transcription practice jobs you can do as part of your training.

For you to be promoted to the next rank as Revver, you must maintain an accuracy rating of 4.5, a formatting rating of 4.5, an on-time percentage of 75%, and a commitment ratio of 8.

You have a transcription guide you can follow to achieve these stats for promotion. It will take you around 120 minutes of work to be promoted to the next rank.

When you are a Revver, you can now work on any transcription project you see on the website. You can also make 25% more for your work. Feedback is still given for your work.

The top rank you can get is the Revver+. You will get the first claim on the new transcription projects giving you more income potential.

When a project is posted, Revver++ transcriptionists have 90 minutes to claim before it appears for rookies or Revvers.

You can also take the grading test to be able to rate the work of Revvers and rookies. This is an additional way for you to earn on the site.

You will receive your payment via PayPal every Monday. Whatever you’ve worked on between Sunday through Saturday will be computed to be paid out on the following Monday.

This is an advantage for you since you will be receiving your pay for a week’s worth immediately. I suggest you count the hours you will work per week to see if you can earn the income that you want through the website.

Since this is project-based work, you cannot expect you will have the same workload all the time.

If you’re at the rookie rank, then you have limited choices on your workload so make sure you work your way to Revver at least to increase your potential earnings.

Is it worth the time and effort?

Freelance jobs are still jobs. You have to put in the time and effort to build your income even though you skip the commute and the office setup.

You still have to develop a certain skill. Speech-to-text work such as captioning and transcribing appeals to many since you can start with basic typing skills.

However, you cannot expect a full-time income for a work that pays around $200 per month.

Looking at glassdoor.com, there are mixed reviews from freelancers on Rev.com. Many agree that the work is good for some extra cash. They also love the option to work at any hour anywhere.

However, some commented on the inconsistent grading system for ranks. This can be a bit tricky since you need to be graded in order to get a higher rank. And higher ranks give you access to a variety of projects you can work on.

Therefore, if there is a problem with the grading system your income will not really grow as you would expect.

Some even mention their account being terminated because of poor grading.

It’s not really clear what you should do to avoid being terminated except the grading system on their transcription guide.

Since Revver+ can grade other freelancers’ work, it can get a bit competitive. So the best you can do is to just follow the guidelines.

Overall, it definitely is possible to earn some extra cash in a flexible way on Rev.com but there is no doubt it will not be a full-time income and it will not be easy money, so you need to do it with the right expectations.

Final Verdict

Rev.com is a bit different from other transcription job platforms as it also offers translation and caption services.

This gives you more options to earn. However, this is still a typing job that will not really give you a full-time income but rather some extra cash per week.

Rev.com is definitely legit but it is not for everyone. Whether it is for you or not really depends on your income goals and expectations.

So let’s finish this review by summing up the pros and cons so you can get a better overview before deciding whether you should join or not.

Pros:

• You can choose between doing transcription, translation, or caption work
• Weekly Payout
• Ranking system allows you to earn more
• Clear transcription style guide

Cons:

• Average pay
• Workload may not be consistent weekly

You can actually go through the application process to check if it’s something you would want to do and you get a response within 48 hours and you get to experience the work itself just by applying.

I see this kind of work for someone with extra hours along the day and looking for ways to add cash on their income. You get your pay weekly and you get to work at the hours that you want. Just don’t expect you can leave your current job through this.

While the website claims their top earners get around $1,200 per month, that is still not a promise that you will earn the same. You will still have to start as a rookie then work your way up.

If you’re looking for a way to build your income to have more options or to move from working at an office to your home, then I recommend other online opportunities you can check out.

But if you are just looking for some extra cash and love typing and are fast at it, then Rev.com might be the right option for you.

How I make a living online

If you want to spend your hours building an income online, then luckily you have many options today.

Personally, I have been able to create a full-time online income that now allows me to work completely on my own terms.

It takes some effort but it is totally worth it.

If you want to follow my footsteps and create your own online income, then check out my FREE guide where I explain how this is possible step-by-step. Don’t worry, you can start as a complete beginner!

 

If you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with Rev.com as a transcriptionist or a captioner yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.