Survey: translation prices and how much certified translation costs (infographic)
Universal Translation Services is a pioneer in translation services and we love to help our clients gain the best translation experience. In this regard, we have recently completed a survey that is focused on general practices of major providers and their translation prices.
Survey on translation prices
Our survey was general in nature and we have focused on general statistics in order to carve out general patterns that will help our clients understand the general translation prices. The main focus of our study has been the rush rates, standard prices, and rates for certified translation.
We have focused on these three services because they are the most popular services of our clients and we think that they have the right to know the most they can about the prices for the three services that major translation agencies are charging.
Rush Rates
Rush rates are important because when clients need to have their content translated in a hurry, they have no time to look around and compare the prices different companies are charging. So we have put together this data to show you how translation prices for rush jobs are spread through the general market.
How much you need to pay for a rush translation job
The rush rates range from thirty to forty dollars to a whopping one hundred dollars for the exact same content to be translated. Ten translation agencies ask for twenty-five dollars for the content under discussion. Most of the rates are more than fifty dollars with a few charging below twenty-five dollars. One of the translation agencies was charging only ten dollars. The highest translation prices for rush jobs we could find was $102.
Prices For Certified Translation
We have requested a quote for a document of 2 pages, having 447 words, for which we needed a certified translation. Here the data is much more interesting. Twenty-eight agencies asked for seventy to eighty dollars and nineteen agencies asked for sixty dollars. Sixteen agencies asked for a hundred dollars and fifteen agencies asked for ninety dollars.
Translation prices, in general, weigh heavily on the number of words and the target language but this is a good indicator of how translation agencies generally charge their clients for translation assignments. Since the same target document has been used, the number of words for each quote was the same. To conclude, agencies are charging whatever they want per word, or as expensive as a client might be willing to pay.
Response time and delivery
One hundred and six translation agencies said that they will translate the content of two pages with a certificate of accuracy in about one day, with the others needing 2 days or more to have the translation done.
Here we also focused on response time for the translation agencies that we have contacted. The same one hundred and six agencies responded in the same day. Six more agencies responded the second day, and thirteen agencies responded in the third day. Fifty-four agencies responded anywhere between four days and one week.
To conclude
Of course these are just preliminary findings and we have detailed our research chart for further review. There is some interesting data in the infographic we have created for this survey for you to look at if you like.
We have conducted this survey to make sure that our clients do not feel that they do not have enough information about translation agencies in order to make an informed decision on which service to take and how much they could be paying without looking around first.
Universal Translation Services is here to help you out and explain to you how the rates are distributed across the translation industry. If you need further details, get in touch and we will provide you with more information.
If you were looking for our translation prices, here you are:
- general translation, from English into any language, or the other way around, only $0.10 per word. See our cheap translation services for more info
- certified translation is $20 per page if the page has up to 200 words. If there are more words on the page, we charge $0.12 per word instead. See our cheap certified translation page for more details.
- rush rates: there are no extra rush rates here. The price will be the same even if you need your translation in a rush, or it needs to be done over the weekend.
- delivery: for certified translation, we ensure delivery by email in 24 hours or less. For general translation, get in touch as it largely depends on the word count.
People had to face a lot of problems in the past due to a lack of facilities. If treatment for an illness was too expensive in their area, that was it for them because they didn’t have other options. They couldn’t buy things from other countries and get them delivered to their doorstep. But things have changed, and people have a lot of options today. In fact, some might say that the options are too many today, and it is difficult for them to choose things at times. However, no one can deny that life has become a lot easier. People can easily travel to different countries for cheaper treatments; they can get products delivered to them from overseas and save their money.
Prices in Different Industries:
Sometimes, two similar products can have different prices, but it rarely happens as companies want to attract as many customers as they can. However, in service industries, the situation is not the same. Some companies charge high rates for simple services simply for being well known in their field. This is why people have started thinking that high rates always translate to good services, which isn’t true. Sometimes, a firm can change highly for something and still fail to deliver quality work to its clients. This is something that people need to understand before they decide to hire someone for their services.
The Translation Industry:
With every passing day, the clients of this industry keep increasing. It has become an absolutely necessary service for many individuals and companies. A person cannot get through the immigration process without the help of a language expert. Companies cannot expand their business without the assistance of a translation agency. They would not be able to connect with their target audience if they didn’t have advertising content in the native language. No agreement between international companies can be signed without an accurate translation of the document.
Like other industries, the prices vary in the world of translation too. The rates not only vary from country to country but also from one agency to the next. It can easily confuse a client who is in search of a reliable agency. You cannot always be certain about the reason behind these changes. But there are a few things that can help you look beyond the rates and figure out which company to turn to get professional translation services.
How to Choose an Agency?
Whenever you need the assistance of a service provider, you must do proper research to find the right candidate. You wouldn’t want to give your money to someone unreliable, even if they are asking for a small amount. If you have to get linguistic help again because their service was poor, you will have to spend double the amount the second time around.
Being a member of the American Translators Association is a must for an agency. If they have the certification from ATA, you can rest assured they will provide you with quality work. This will take away your worry about quality. Then you can focus on other things like whether or not they can offer the exact service you require. Knowing about the type of translation you require can help you greatly. When you know about types of translation, the linguist will not try to trick you into paying more than the fair amount. It will also make their job easier if you give them all the information related to the task.
Another thing to check in an agency is the type of translators they hire. If they know enough about languages, they will have only native translators on their job. A native expert who has been speaking a language since their childhood will be the right choice to translate a language. They will know their language deeply and won’t make mistakes that a non-native can. You can get in touch with an agency to ask about their team, but a lot of companies have this information displayed on their website. If you can find such details on the website, it will make your job of choosing an agency a lot easier. Whether you need their help for business documents or personal papers, making the right choice in choosing an agency is very important.
The way a company treats its clients and potential customers also tell a lot about them. There are a few things that can help you figure out their relationship with their clients. You can read reviews left by their previous clients to learn about them. You can also get in touch with their customer services representative to get answers to your translation-related questions. If a company is offering 24/7 assistance, it means they don’t want their customers to wait in line. You can also check whether or not they are offering a free quote. This service can highly benefit you if you have no idea about translation prices and are getting in touch with a company for the first time.
Keep in mind that quality assistance and affordable rates are not mutually exclusive things. You just need to find an agency that values its relationship with its clients and doesn’t drive them away by setting high rates for its services. Make a checklist if you have to before choosing a service provider. It will help you to make sure you pick a reliable name that will not put a dent on your budget when you request a simple linguistic service.
