Content is undeniably a valuable tool in digital marketing. What people see on your website and anything written about your business on other platforms reflects your brand. So, you should keep high standards for your content, even when it’s generated by users. This is also the reason why content moderation services keep on growing every year. With a CAGR of 12.2%, it is expected to reach a value of $26.3 billion by 2023.
At Wing Assistant, we provide companies with experienced and skilled content moderators. They will ensure that your brand and online reputation are protected effectively. Moreover, as a managed service provider, we’ll address any concern you might have. For instance, if you want to know the average content moderator salary, we’re here to give you all the information you need.
Today, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about content moderator rates. We’ll discuss how they vary across different countries in the world. Moreover, we’ll shed light on the factors that affect a content moderator’s salary.
What Is a Content Moderator?
Platforms that involve user-generated content often need moderators who will ensure their functionality and safety. A content moderator is responsible for reviewing visual, textual, and audio data. Moreover, they determine whether the data complies with predetermined guidelines and rules for a website’s safety.
When you hire a content moderator, you’ll have someone who’ll ensure that your Trust and Safety program is effectively implemented. They will focus on deleting harmful or inappropriate content to prevent it from reaching other users.
In general, the nature of the job justifies the average content moderator salary. After all, their work primarily involves protecting other users from being exposed to an extensive list of illegal and disturbing content. They will remove data containing crimes, terrorism, sexual exploitation, span, and drug abuse, among other offensive and harmful content.
The role of a content moderator
Indeed, the majority of a content moderator’s job consists of deleting posts. However, in reality, their work is a combination of complex tasks.
Content moderators screen images, text, audio, and video. They use targeted tools to determine whether pieces of content are offensive, inappropriate, harmful, or illegal. Moreover, they decide whether to take down user profiles entirely or just content. They base their decision according to a platform’s safety guidelines or rules.
Aside from removing inappropriate content, moderators also respond to user comments and questions. They can monitor blog, social media, and forum posts. Ultimately, they protect the brand and other users from harassment and abusive content.
Ultimately, content moderators are responsible for maintaining a business’ legal compliance and ethical standards. Moreover, they effectively protect a brand’s reputation by taking adequate and timely actions. In a way, they play a crucial role in creating vibrant and safe communities online.
Importance of content moderation
Are you still uncertain whether you should hire a content moderator? Well, here are some of the reasons why you should do so:
Uphold your reputation and brand integrity
User-generated content does not always comply with community guidelines and standards. Content moderators remove offensive and inappropriate content. Moreover, they maintain your online reputation by fostering positive engagement with your customers. They create a constructive atmosphere that encourages positive interactions. In a way, they are fostering a sense of community that is anchored on your brand.
Boost search engine rankings and website traffic
By improving and maintaining the quality of your site content, you can strengthen your online presence. With better user-generated content, you can also direct more people to your website.
Gain user insights – Content moderators can also review user-generated content to discover what people say about your services or products. They can gather data that will help you determine areas for improvement in your business.
Comply with regulatory and legal requirements
You also need to ensure that your content complies with applicable regulations and laws in your region. For example, if you’re running a gaming platform, you must make sure that its content adheres to legal obligations related to privacy, copyright, and child safety. So, if you want to avoid legal implications, you should hire a content moderator to identify and delete any content that violates these requirements.
Promote inclusivity and diversity
Creating welcoming spaces online is all the talk these days. With a content moderator, you can remove anything that marginalizes or discriminates against certain individuals and groups. They will ensure that your content does not contain hate speech against sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. Consequently, you can create an online environment that is more welcoming for all users. Moreover, they address any content that crosses the line into inappropriate or harmful territory.
Balance freedom of speech
Indeed, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, a fine thread exists between freedom of expression and hate speech. Moderators determine whether the content still lies within acceptable and safe speech bounds.
Content Moderator Salary: How Much Is It Around the World?
There is no standard content moderator salary across the world. The rates vary significantly, usually reflecting local labor regulations, socio-economic factors, and market dynamics. So, if you’re planning to hire a remote content moderator, knowing the average rates in different countries will help you come up with a budget. Here are the average content moderator salaries in various regions:
North America
In North America, the annual pay rates for content moderators can range from $30,000 to $43,000.
United States
As of this writing, the median content moderator salary in the United States is $36,370 per year. However, the rates can range from $31,273 to $41,390. Moreover, the salaries often vary, depending on the city. Here are the cities with the highest content moderator rates:
- San Jose, CA: $45,644
- Santa Clara, CA: $45,644
- Fremont, CA: $45,528
- San Francisco, CA: $45,463
- Daly City, CA: $45,463
- Oakland, CA: $44,371
- Berkley, CA: $44,371
- Hayward, CA: $44,284
The average content moderator salary can also vary depending on the niche or specialization of the individual. Social media content moderators usually charge higher. Meanwhile, expect lower fees if you’re planning to hire a forum or online moderator.
- Social Media Content Moderator: $46,929
- Community Moderator: $41,754
- General Moderator: $41,404
- Chat Moderator: $37,845
- Forum Moderator: $37,845
Canada
In Canada, the median content moderator salary is $35,685 per year. Moreover, the annual pay usually ranges from $30,000 to $43,000. The rates can also vary, depending on the location. For instance, in Ontario, content moderator salaries range from $15 to $24 per hour.
Europe
In Europe, the content moderator salaries range from €16,800 to €69,587.
United Kingdom
The average base pay for content moderators in the United Kingdom is £24,699. However, the rates can range from £21,000 to as high as £29,000. The annual salaries can also depend on the location. For instance, in London, the average content moderator salary is £25,121 per year. Moreover, the pay range is wider compared to the national rates. Annual base salaries start from £22,000.
Germany
In Germany, content moderators get additional pay besides their base salary. The average annual rate for a content moderator is €45,360. Moreover, they get around €21,600 in bonuses per year. So, in total, the annual content moderator salary in this country is €66,960. Meanwhile, expect a base pay of around €24,000 to €60,000 per year if you’re hiring a content moderator from Germany.
France
In France, the base pay for content moderators can range from €16,800 to €45,202 per year. However, the annual salary can still go as high as €69,587. For instance, in Paris, content moderators are paid around €33 per hour. Moreover, they get around €3,312 worth of bonuses.
Asia-Pacific
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region pay content moderators an annual salary of around $3,200 to $70,600.
India
The average base pay of content moderators in India is ₹239,160 per year. Their annual rates range from ₹156,000 to ₹360,000 per year. Moreover, they get an additional cash compensation of around ₹356,796 per year. This amount can be in the form of bonuses, commissions, tips, and profit sharing.
Philippines
In the Philippines, the average content moderator salary is ₱264,000 per year. However, their annual rates can range from ₱180,000 to ₱840,000. Expect to pay more when you’re hiring a bilingual content moderator. For instance, for someone who’s fluent in German, the monthly salary can be around ₱70,000. Despite that, hiring a content moderator from the Philippines is still relatively affordable.
Australia
The average annual content moderator salary in Australia is AU$ 94,039, with rates ranging from AU$ 91,987 to AU$ 95,546. However, the salaries can still go higher depending on the location. For instance, in Sydney, the average annual rate for content moderators is AU$ 105,945. Meanwhile, in Geelong, the annual salaries can range from AU$93,499 to AU$99,785.
Latin America
Latin American countries like Mexico and Brazil pay content moderators an annual salary of around $29,153 to $40,482.
Mexico
In Mexico, the average annual base pay of content moderators is MX$ 442,800. However, their monthly rates can range from MX$ 10,000 to MX$ 24,000. Moreover, they get an additional cash compensation of around MX$ 259,200 per year. So, per year, the average total pay of content moderators in Mexico is around MX$ 702,000.
Brazil
The average base pay of content moderators in Brazil is R$38,208 per year. Moreover, they get an additional cash compensation of around R$8,779 per month. So, their annual total pay can be around R$143,556. However, their base pay per month can range from R$2,000 to $5,000. Therefore, they can potentially earn as much as R$165,348 per year.
Factors Affecting Content Moderator Salary
As you may have noticed, content moderator salaries vary significantly in different regions. Several factors affect these rates, including local regulations and labor laws. Moreover, employers must adhere to the minimum wage standards that their governments mandate. They need to follow or even go beyond the baseline compensation for workers.
Overall salary structures can be affected by other remuneration factors, including overtime pay and benefits. Aside from those, the following are what influences the varying content moderator rates around the world:
Content Moderator Salary is Often Location-based
The content moderator’s physical location plays a significant role in their asking rate. After all, they need to consider country-specific factors like the labor market dynamics, cost of living, and prevailing wage rates. Moreover, their salaries can depend on the competition within their market. For example, if they live in a country with a high concentration of online communities, tech companies, or digital platforms, they may need to lower their rates to secure clients.
It Will Also Differ Based on the Moderator’s Experience
You can also expect to pay more for content moderators with specialized skills and more experience. Some of them ask for higher rates because they can effectively handle specific types of content, such as sensitive or graphic material. Moreover, because they can efficiently screen and review content, they are in high demand. After all, their years of experience also mean that they have a thorough understanding of content moderation policies, guidelines, and practices.
The Content Moderator’s Industry Also Matters
The industry or platform can also influence content moderator rates. After all, they have varying requirements and needs when it comes to content moderation. For instance, in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, you have to screen content for graphic violence, hate speech, and harassment. Meanwhile, on e-commerce sites, moderators focus more on verifying product listings. They have to detect counterfeit or fraudulent items while ensuring that the content complies with marketplace rules.
Workload Influences Content Moderator Salary
The average content moderator's salary can also be influenced by the complexity of the materials being reviewed. If the person focuses on moderating basic, text-based content, their rates may be lower. On the other hand, higher salaries usually coincide with reviewing complex media content like videos, images, and interactive materials.
Moreover, you need to consider whether the person is screening content in multiple languages or they’re handing niche or technical subjects. Of course, their rates can also be influenced by the required turnaround time and the content volume. If they’re working around tight deadlines and they may require extra resources to fulfill the job, their rates can go higher. For instance, a content moderation company may ask for higher fees if they need an entire team to work on shifts.
Factors Informing Content Moderator Salary
Prevailing market conditions generally influence the rates of content moderators. However, because it is such a specialized job, content moderation usually comes with higher fees compared to other administrative roles. Moreover, the following reasons justify the average content moderator salary:
High Demand for Content Moderators
The online landscape continuously and quickly evolves. Consequently, content moderation always encounters new challenges. For example, you’ll need specialized screening techniques for emerging technologies like live streaming, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Besides, there has been a growing demand for content moderators because of ongoing efforts to fight online extremism, misinformation, and hate speech.
Because of these factors, content moderation has become necessary in e-commerce sites, social media networks, and other online platforms. Any business that relies on digital, user-generated content will need someone to screen their content. As content consumption and creation grow, so does the demand for content moderators.
The Complexity of the Job
Companies eventually scale across different countries. When they do, they have to deal with various sets of safety abusers. Consequently, they would need content moderators with specialized skills.
For example, a gaming platform may employ a content moderator who’s an expert in screening for child safety. Now, if they are operating across different countries, they have to hire a person with this niche expertise in every language they cover. Moreover, someone with specialized skills and who can speak multiple languages would have even higher rates.
Psychological Impact of the Job
Several studies have been done about the psychological impact of prolonged exposure to harmful content. Besides, content moderators working under contractors usually have demanding accuracy and volume targets. Moreover, they are usually under restrictive schedules and unpleasant working conditions. On top of those, they see disturbing, harmful, and abusive content every day.
Consequently, they are at risk for various mental health conditions, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, and depression. Suffice it to say, their salaries should reflect what the job demands.
Hire Dedicated Content Moderators from Wing
Content moderator salaries can vary from country to country. Moreover, their rates can also depend on their specialized skills and experience. As you can see, the job is quite complex and even mentally demanding. For this reason, it can be difficult to hire and manage a content moderator or a team of moderators on your own.
When you turn to Wing Assistant, you’ll work with expert content moderators who will help you build a strong brand reputation. As a managed service provider, we’ll screen and interview the candidates, ensuring they have the mental and emotional capacity to handle the job. Moreover, we’ll train them and make sure they meet your content moderation goals.
If you want to know more about our content moderation services, schedule an appointment with our team today.
Eunice Samson’s interest in keeping up with the “bleeding edge” of technology has led her to a career in digital marketing. She’s currently writing SEO content for eCommerce, SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS companies. Aside from searching for opportunities to increase her online marketing knowledge, Eunice also scours the Internet for useful bonuses and coupon codes that she can use to fuel her love for photography. During her free time, she watches professional photo retouching tutorials between streaming her favorite TV shows. Fun fact: Eunice has never met a cupcake she didn’t like.
