Translation Service Prices

An explanation of translation pricing criteria

Prices for translation vary from project to project greatly. This is due to several factors. Below is a guideline for the translation pricing models that we use for our clients.

Timeline

The first point to take into consideration is the urgency of the job. Generally, for most language pairs, an expected 2-business-day turnaround is to be expected for small texts (up to 3,000 words). If the translation must be completed over weekends, or public holidays, and if higher volumes than 3,000 per day are involved then a premium for urgent (or rush) translation may be applied. It is critically important to state the timeline required at the time of requesting a quotation.

Language Pair(s)

The language pair, or pairs involved in the translation will also have a dramatic impact on the overall cost of the translation. This is relatively easily understood by taking the example of a Spanish to English translation versus that of an Chinese to Estonian translation. At AOD, as with any professional translation company, translations must be performed by an individual who's mother tongue is that of the target language (essentially, the language that the translation is going in to). Additionally, the individual must be qualified and thoroughly experienced in the source language. World-wide there are far more English translators that have studied to a high level in translation in Spanish. The same cannot be said for Estonians that have studied high levels in translation in Chinese. For this reason, supply and demand has an impact on the price. In the event that multiple languages are being translated, discounts can apply.

Subject Matter

Whether the text is simple or complex has a dramatic impact on the price of the translation as well. It is for this reason that most translation companies will request at minimum, a piece of sample text prior to quoting on any translation project. Technical, Legal, Medical, Technological, and many other types of specialised texts carry with them surcharges as specialist translators need to be used.

Legalising

An additional step, provided by registered translators by various governing bodies. These specialist translators complete the translations and then affix a stamp, seal, and or a signature to each page of the translation "certifying" their accuracy. In many instances, pricing for certified (or sworn, legal, legalised) translations are done on a per-page basis, rather than on a cost-per-word basis.

Format

Depending on how the text is transmitted, varying surcharges can be applied. Standard translation is always quoted in plain text format. Microsoft Word, and other word processor files are also accepted as plain text, even if they may have some simple formatting such as bold and underline throughout. Any documents that are provided in image format (e.g. most .PDFs, .JPGs, .PNGs are images) will generally have an additional mark-up. Depending on the language pair, what is often the case is that the cost is then based on the target-word-count.

Some example prices of recent projects

15-page legalised translation of certificates	£350
5,000 word Spanish to English translation of standard text	£250
2,000 word Spanish to English standard translation	£120
750 word English to Russian marketing brochure translation	£45
2,500 word website from EN to FR, DE, ES, IT	£600