How Much Do Translation Services Cost?
Deciding on your budget for an upcoming translation project is never the easy feat you might be thinking.
With varying prices in the translation industry and the rapidly growing global inflation in the picture, it becomes even more necessary to calculate your steps carefully and educate yourself on how much translation services cost before making your next move.
In this blog, we will walk you through the multifaceted process of how translation rates and prices are set to help inform your future actions and ensure you get the most out of your experience.
Different Translation Service Types Lead to Different Results
Before we take the main course, there is integral appetizer-type information you should know about the translation service industry to help answer the question “How much do translation services cost?”; namely, the three most common types of translation services:
- Traditional Translation Services
As far back as the industry goes, traditional translations –non-automated, human-powered language-to-language information transfer- are the most common in the business.
This type, being a standard one at that, is all about delivering information from a source language (Arabic) to a target language (English) for an agreed-upon fee.
While it might not require a lot of hard labor, theoretically speaking, its rates are still dependent on a variety of factors that we will be discussing in detail in a minute.
- Localization Services
This is the real deal. Localization has been growing more popular as a translation service as of recently because it goes the extra mile.
It gives organizations an edge across global markets since it adapts their content or products to speak directly to their target audience, without the audience feeling they are being given a hand-me-down experience.
As the name may indicate, localization (coming from local/localize) is about the translator adjusting culture-related details (such as currencies or graphics on a business website) to help simplify the user’s interaction with what you are offering.
So, by default, localization will cost you more as a customer what with the other considerations and extra work that the translator has to go through.
- Machine Translation (MT) Services
This is yet another popular type for the several benefits it gives in exchange for lower translation rates.
Machine translations are simple in concept; a translator loads a certain amount of information into an MT engine and in a matter of seconds they get a fully translated text in another language.
Companies are increasingly relying on this type because it provides the most desirable formula in the business world: quantity, speed, and affordability.
Though it might not deliver the same quality as the previous two translation services, it certainly has its supporters.
To reduce their costs, some companies may provide language service providers (LSP) with machine-translated texts to post-edit rather than starting from scratch, which is known as machine translation post-editing.
Why Is There a Disparity in Translation Rates?
Now to tackle the main question: “How much do translation services cost?”
Besides the translation service type, there are a large number of factors that can influence translation rates.
In the following, we will give you the most common ones:
- Industry in demand:
Translation rates can be significantly different for each respective industry.
At Europe Localize, we can’t possibly charge the same price we would charge for a jargon-riddled legal contract while working on a simple social media post that doesn’t need the same level of dedication.
This is not to say that our company takes one content more lightly than another, it is to show how unfair it is to the customer to charge them more for something that takes less time and effort.
Thus, the industry in question plays a huge role in deciding how much a translation costs.
- Language Requested:
Some languages are more common than others.
If we take the English language, for example, it is considered the most commonly used language in global communication, regardless of the parties’ nationalities and first languages.
With over 1.46 billion people speaking English worldwide, it is more likely to find English language experts to provide you with what you need.
In contrast, languages such as Oromo are not as widely spoken.
Hence, finding someone who speaks the language may demand outsourcing the project to a freelancing translator in the company’s network.
Europe Localize’s solution to this slight inconvenience, however, is to ensure its in-house staff is comprised of native translators from different backgrounds to minimize the costs and resources.
- Urgency
Not just in the translation service industry but also in any given industry it is a well-known fact that expedited services cost more while standard services cost less.
Usually, when a customer requests accelerated results to meet a specific deadline in their business plan, a translation agency would take urgent measures to meet the customer’s expectation.
Whether these urgent measures include assigning more professionals to the task or using specialized tools, the translation rate can’t remain the same so to ensure the most optimal quality.
- Certification Requirement
Certified translations also contribute immensely to answering the question “How much do translation services cost?”
Why? As certified translation services provide the customer with a signed statement from the translation agency or a representative professional within its ranks.
This statement confirms that the translated text is accurate and adherent to domain-specific standards and terminology.
It delivers the best quality there is and takes hours of revisions and quality control sessions.
Companies usually need such a statement when doing business abroad to ensure that they are following a respective country’s regulations and laws.
- Location
You might be wondering “How can the location affect how much a translation costs?” which is a valid question.
Imagine living in a third-world country where day-to-day expenses are higher than those in a first-world country.
Such a detail can dramatically change the translation rate you can expect as a customer.
In some cases, however, language service providers may agree with a freelancer or a third-party provider on fixed compensation for their services to provide the customer with more value propositions.
How Many Pricing Models Are There?
There are approximately four common pricing models that most translation service providers use to decide how much a translation service costs.
- Per-word Translation Rates
Since translation is mostly about dealing with words, the majority of translation companies and freelancers use words as a pricing unit.
We have already established that a geographical location may affect the total price, but global organizations still refer to one unifying currency, which is the US dollar, to set an expectation for the client.
While a word’s exact worth may differ, translation rates usually start at $0.10 per word and may go as high as $0.40 per word.
- Per-page Translation Rates
Deciding which model to use can sometimes be a matter of necessity rather than preference.
There is no rule against providing an LSP with a non-editable document. Under such a circumstance, the translator may struggle with deciding the word count.
Consequently, charging a customer based on a per-word rate may be unavailable.
To counter this problem, LSPs may charge based on a per-page rate that may start from $15 per page, give or take, keeping the subject matter in mind as a major influential factor.
Legal and medical documents ideally fall on the far end of the pricing spectrum while low-maintenance documents should charge less.
- Per-hour Translation Rates
Thirdly, we have the per-hour rate which is more common in the case of interpretation services, but not too uncommon in traditional, text-based translations.
This model is another option for translation companies or freelancers to opt for when estimating an exact word count proves difficult.
Hourly translation rates are reliant on how competent a translator is. This has to do with their ability to handle documents quickly and deliver quality output.
An exemplary translation session should yield 250 translated words in an hour, depending on the complexity of the document in question.
- Flat (Per-project) Translation Rates
Some clients may request a one-off job from a translation service provider.
This one-off job, however, may be lengthy and very demanding in terms of resources.
It could also be a part of an ongoing partnership between the business and the provider.
Instead of charging per word, hour, or page, LSPs offer a per-project price, which usually entails discounts and several values that work in the customer’s favor.
Whether it is per word, per hour, per page, or per project, Europe Localize introduces you to a wide range of competitive prices to give you the highest return on your investment.
Conclusion
To sum things up, assessing a translation service’s worth takes a lot of details into consideration.
It is a process with interconnected factors, such as type, industry, and urgency with each one of them playing a role in how much a translation service costs.
However, finding the right language service provider whose methods work best for your needs should simplify this process and provide you with numerous advantages as a bonus.
Why Europe Localize Is the Perfect Solution to Your Translation Needs?
As a long-running veteran in the translation and localization field, Europe Localize is the choice for many global organizations.
Such organizations include well-known brands like Microsoft and Amazon among many others.
Our company isn’t simply chosen for its wallet-friendly translation rates and flexible pricing models that should quench your worrisome inquiries about “How much do translation services cost?”
We are also the company of choice for global leaders because we provide:
- Unmatched precision through high linguistic calibers and a culturally informed translation team.
- Timely deliveries that draw on cutting-edge technology and guarantee quality in every translated project.
- Confidentiality and security by utilizing high-end security tools and signing NDAs that are designed to keep your information safeguarded at all times.
- Multilingual expertise is delivered by over 16K translators who are well-versed in as many as 260 languages.
- Regulatory compliance that ensures your documents are in line with country-specific laws.
- 24/7 availability to answer all your urgent questions and ensure your demands are fulfilled.
