The rates charged for translations are agreed on at the beginning of a specified project. Depending on the client’s needs, the same rates can apply across many different projects. Should the scope of a project change, we will work with you to agree on new pricing rates that are more appropriate for the new project or scope. When you request a free, no-obligation quote, we will provide you with a detailed pricing quote broken down by document and language pair.
Translation Price per Source Word
The primary factor in determining pricing is the number of source words in the document. A source language refers to the document’s original language and the target language refers to the language into which the document will be translated. As a general rule and common industry standard, when translating to a Romance language (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) from English, the target word count will normally be about 20% higher than the source word count. Since we charge for the source words in these languages, you will have an accurate cost estimate at the beginning of each project, as opposed to if you were charged by target words.
Translation Fees per Source Word
The pricing for translation projects can be done on a flat fee basis, such as price per page or hourly rate. However, this is not an industry-standard nor is it recommended for many reasons. First, as every document is different, the number of words per page can vary significantly. Also, many countries use different sizes of paper. As for hourly rates, each translator has his or her own pace. More experienced translators tend to translate faster, while less experienced translators take longer. For the sake of transparency and budgeting, a price per word methodology is a much more reliable and predictable way to ensure fair and accurate pricing.
Translation Rate per Complexity of the Source
Translation pricing (price per word) also depends on the level of complexity of each document. For example, a general business letter (with non-technical terms) will be priced lower than a technical patent, medical text, complex legal contract, pharmaceuticals related document or software manual. A general letter will be priced at the lowest price per word while complex legal documents and highly technical text will be at a higher price.
Translation Prices per Language Combination
The language combinations or pairs will be a factor in calculating the price of a translation project. Western European languages tend to be less costly, while Asian languages are more expensive, due to the complexity involved with the characters and the limited number of quality linguistic resources.
Translation Regular Rates
Another key component of pricing is related to delivery time requirements. Perfect planning and, more importantly, enough time to line up resources let us deliver high volume outputs at the most competitive rates in the market. For a list of normal turnaround times with due notice and based on total word count, please fill out the form at the top of this page: Get an Instant Quote.
Translation Rush Rates
A translation project that needs to be delivered in a shorter time frame may carry up to a 50% charge above our regular rates. Despite this potential surcharge, we will always help you out by providing you with the staff and resources to accommodate your rush projects. The schedule is one of the first elements discussed prior to quoting your project. Language Buró will work with your team to structure a delivery schedule that will maximize quality and minimize rush costs. If need be, we will deliver projects on a rolling basis with the most important documents being delivered first.
Editing and Proofreading Prices
Editing and proofreading are related services and can be priced separately in specific cases. In particular, if you had a translation performed by another company or person, we can provide you with an editing and proofreading rate that is lower than the one for a full translation. Normally, the cost to edit and proofread is 50% less than fully translating the text.
Our normal per-word pricing for a fully translated text includes translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) by separate qualified linguists.
Desktop Publishing Fees
The rates for desktop publishing service projects are handled differently and are based on the number of target pages. Again, this is an industry-standard and the most efficient way to ensure a clear and predictable bid.
Website Localization Price
The rates for website localization projects requiring coding can be determined by target pages. However, this can make the project more expensive for the client because many pages are generated automatically from a database. In these cases, it is better to charge the development work on an hourly basis.
Software Localization Price
Localization of software or content management systems can be charged on an hourly basis or for a fixed price for the entire project.
Translation rates with the most competitive pricing
Our high-quality translations and competitive rates are a direct result of our highly trained on-staff translators. Most translation companies outsource your translation to other translation companies. We always prefer to deal directly with the translators to ensure that you get a first-rate product at the best rates.
At Language Buró, we strive to implement a pricing methodology that is clear and fair to the client. Hence, we always recommend a price per word methodology for translation services.
We stand by all of the translations performed by our translators. If you are not completely satisfied with one of our translations, we will work with you and/or your team until it meets your complete satisfaction.
