How is the cost of a translation calculated?
In the United Arab Emirates, translations are normally charged for by the number of pages produced in the target language. The word “page” is not clearly defined; so it is not unusual to find an argument about font size, format margins, line spacing, ..etc. In the UAE, you should expect to pay anything between Dhs 60/- to Dhs 120/- per output A-4 page using font 15 and approximately 270 words per page. In the United States translations are normally charged for by the number of words in the target language. While this practice may vary somewhat between one service provider and another, final charges are usually based on the computer word count of the finished translation. If a firm quote is required prior to the start of the translation work, the target word count is estimated from the source word count using expansion or contraction factors based on the translation provider’s experience.
This may vary somewhat from one agency to another, whereas final charges are usually based on the computer word count. Our agency has a standardized pricing format, in which, we treat ‘English’ count as the final word count, irrespective of what translations are required. Either it is from English to Native or from Native to English, we treat the English count as the standard word count for billing purpose. This is because, in some of the languages like Chinese, Japanese, Thai, each character is treated as a separate word and if counted will become 2-3 times more than the English count. Hence, to standardize the pricing, we treat the English as the basic count for billing purpose. The per-word rate normally depends on the language combination, the degree of technical difficulty, formatting requirements, and deadlines. Documents that are translated for publication usually involve extra proofreading, which results in additional costs. A “minimum charge” applies to small jobs to cover adm
In Canada translations are normally charged for by the source word. This may vary somewhat from one agency to another, whereas final charges are usually based on the computer word count of the translation. The per-word rate normally depends on the language combination, the degree of technical difficulty, formatting requirements, and deadlines. Documents that are translated for publication usually involve extra proofreading, which results in additional costs. In Canada, expect to pay CAD $15.00 to CAD $45.00 or more per one hundred words of translation, depending on the above factors and the price structure of the individual translation agency. A “minimum charge” applies to small jobs to cover administrative expenses. Our agency falls in line with the above price range, whereas we apply substantial discounts to larger translations.
