As a successful UK company, you will naturally be looking to expand and make inroads in other markets, maybe ones that do not speak English.
Translation is, therefore, the next logical step, but the big question is, how much does it cost to translate a document?
There is no single answer to this as it will vary according to the industry, of course, but the good news is that are always high-quality translation services to meet your business’s budget.
Here are the things to consider.
Factors in the cost to translate a document
Factors affecting the cost to translate a document include:
- translation purpose
- language combinations
- word count
- turnaround time
- technical level
- file format
- frequency
Let’s examine each factor, so you know the translation services you need and where to build it into your budget.
Translation purpose
The questions you should ask yourself are: who is my audience? Is it internal or external? What level of understanding is needed?
The audience for your translation will affect the level of quality required and, consequently, the price.
Documents for public consumption should be very high quality, and the higher cost will include additional editing.
Internal documents, where understanding is more important than sounding perfectly natural, can be more cost-effective as they require less rigorous checking.
Post-edited Machine Translation is another option for keeping costs low.
Here, a human translator revises and edits machine translations for texts that are accurate and at a lower price.
Some language combinations are more suited to this than others, but it works very well for Western European languages.
Language combination
You will probably be wondering by now what the cost to translate a document into several languages at once is.
This also can vary, as some language combinations are cheaper than others. For instance, translation into Finnish costs more than into Spanish as, typically, there are more translators working into Spanish.
The price also reflects the expertise that the professional native-language translators in our network offer.
How much do translators charge per word?
Translation services are generally priced based on the number of words in the source text.
There can be discounts for repetitions within a text or matches from a previous translation.
BeTranslated can give a breakdown with your quote on request. You can also expect volume discounts for large projects.
If you are on a tighter budget, a better investment is to batch-translate to minimise costs over time.
How long does a translation take?
For quick translations, you can expect to pay more. But bear in mind that while quick translations can be convenient, quality and consistency could be affected.
A fast turnaround is more logistically demanding, so it pays to plan ahead and leave plenty of time for a translation that meets your exacting standards.
Our project managers can guide you through the standard translation process and the kind of time frame we work with.
We can customise the turnaround time in some situations, so please get in touch for more details. In addition, our network of freelance translators is worldwide, meaning one of our BeTranslated translators can meet your deadline, whatever the time zone.
Technical level
The more technical a document, for example, legal or medical texts, the higher the price point.
Here at BeTranslated, we understand that technical translations can be quite specific to the situation, so we work with our linguists to find the right terminology and involve experts from your company in the final word choice.
You can also provide a glossary to ensure consistency across texts.
What file formats can be translated?
Our CAT tools work with Word or Excel files, so any other file types will need to be converted, adding some extra time and cost to the process.
In addition, DTP tools like InDesign and Illustrator will need layout editing after language changes, which BeTranslated offers at an additional cost.
We also offer ICR (in-context review) of translated website content, which is billed by the hour.
How often do you need translations?
If you have frequent needs, BeTranslated can offer you some discounts and assistance with creating a translation memory (TM).
This is a tool that can help for regular projects as it is a database of your previous translations, so you can use the same vocabulary to ensure consistency and reduce costs.
It is particularly useful for content like product catalogues.
BeTranslated will create and host your translation memory for you and use it in every new translation.
Your perfect translation
Now that you have a better idea of the costs involved in translations, you can decide what is the right option for your business and your budget.
At BeTranslated, we can help you streamline costs so your translated content is perfectly suited for its purpose and audience.
For your leap into the international marketplace, BeTranslated is there to guide you through the process.
For more information or a free, no-obligation quote, contact us today.
