UK Prices for Translation Services
Many people search the Internet for knowledge on translation services rates of UK because they want to see how much a translation project may cost before asking for a translation quote. Though, they very rarely find actual translation prices listed online. Price is always a primary concern when comparing translation rates for different translation companies UK based.
Prices of translation companies in the UK depend on the following six things:
There are several reasons why translation agencies, as well as freelance translators, are unwilling to publish their translation prices. Most importantly, translation rates are so fickle because there are several factors that companies must take into .
Some of the factors affecting UK rates for translation services are quite obvious, such as text length and language pair. At the same time, traditional European languages like French, German, Italian and Spanish are usually within the same price scale within one nation. Though, unique languages like the Scandinavian languages, Mandarin, Arabic or Thai usually charge higher prices.
1) Language pair (e.g., French into English or German into Italian, English into Spanish etc.) – more special languages cost higher, translations into English cost more than translations from English.
2) The number of words – for brief translations they have a minimum charge of $60. For more substantial translations (above 5,000 words) discounts are automatically made into the prices.
3) Translation complexity – Some very complex documents such as legal agreements and highly technical papers may draw a , but this is very short.
4) Timescale – the longer you can give to do your translation, the lower the costs. Instant translations are costlier as it means translators often have to rearrange the work plans of the translators.
5) Type of language – common translations are the cheapest while legal, technical and bookish translations cost more as only particular translators can do them.
6) Proofreading – if you need a second qualified, native-speaker translator to double-check the output, companies add 50% to our prices. They strongly suggest this for most legal documents and anything which is going to be published.
What are the translation prices per word for any language pair?
Per word translation rates. These rates are only symbolic of the cost and do not practice to UK certified translations for immigration purposes which are generally priced at a flat price per page. The currency for translation pricing is in GBP per word; though, translation companies in the UK can quote you in any currency.
Per word translation prices in the UK vary depending on various factors, some companies offer two types of translation rates – per word translation rates and also can also cost out per hour translation rates. Projects under 10,000 words are usually provided at a per word rate. For projects over 10,000 words offer both rates depending on the content type and timeframe and then offer you the best price for your particular project, so that the savings costs are ed on to you.
Why do translation companies in the UK charge per word?
In the UK, nearly all companies charge translation on the number of words to be translated, as this is the best way to determine prices. The more text there is to translate, the more it requires.
So why do per-word prices differ between languages?
There are many reasons why any language combinations charge higher prices than others. Two main factors are:
- Supply and demand
When the supply of translators exceeds the demand for translation, prices are kept below.
For instance: In China, there are a large number of translators, so the supply is higher than the need for translation. Translators compete with each other and lower prices.
When the demand is enormous, and the supply of translators is below, translation prices rise.
For instance: The number of translators in Norway is pretty low, but as a country with a great economy and the import/export business, the demand for Norwegian translation is comparatively high. This raises translation prices.
- Economic circumstances in the country of the translator
If the expense of living in a country is weak, translators in that country will keep their prices lower too.
For instance: The expense of living in China is less than the expense of living in the West, so they keep their translation prices lower too.
But when the expense of living is high, the translation price is higher.
For instance: The expense of living in Norway is high (day-to-day living is more than 25% higher than in the UK), so in-country Norwegian translators require higher prices.
This is why translation into Chinese is lowest of all translation languages, while Norwegian is one of the costliest.
But translation quotes often differ between companies even when they are pricing for the same language combination.
