International businesses and individuals alike rely more and more on translation services for advertising campaigns, legal document translations, website localization, and more. But how is the price of a translation determined?
Translation Price: Rate per Word
The most obvious factor that determines translation cost is the length of the document to be translated. Most language service providers apply a fixed rate per word, or sometimes per page. This rate, however, can vary significantly according to the following elements:
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Language
Rare languages such as Norwegian or Finnish are more expensive to translate, as the supply of translators is very scarce, and the demand is high. On the other hand, common languages such as English and Arabic are usually much cheaper.
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Timing
Translators can usually translate around 2000 words per day. However, translation agencies can provide a faster turnaround for urgent project. This will increase the rate to cover the overtime work of the translator.
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Style
Certified legal translations, web copywriting, and technical translations all require very diverse skills. Usually translators specialize in one or few particular fields, and the type of translation that is required can increase or decrease the standard rate. Moreover, sometimes documents need to be formatted and prepared for the final client. This will also reflect on the project costs.
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Budget
According to the budget assigned to the project and its final use, Langpros offers three levels of translation:
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Economy: Machine Translation Post-editing + Professional revision
Our fastest and most inexpensive service, consisting of a professional revision of a machine translation. This option is perfect for documents for internal use.
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Standard: Professional Translation
Our most popular option, it involves two professional translators carrying out the translation and revision. The process is coordinated by one of our project managers. The result is an excellent piece of work, perfect for most occasions, at a very reasonable rate.
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Premium: High Quality
The premium service provides the ultimate solution in terms of style, accuracy, and quality control. Two of our translators work as a team to provide the best translation possible for the target audience. The end result is a high-quality text without any trace of the translation process left. This option is the best for advertising and marketing material or press releases.
Other factors
Volume of work is another important factor when considering the price of a translation. Agencies tend to apply discounts to businesses or organizations which send good amounts of work regularly, while they will apply the full rate for privates asking for a one-time translation of a document.
Technology can also influence the overall cost of a translation project. CAT Tools and Machine Translation can speed up the process of translating technical texts, with faster turnaround and lower prices.