Translating website content into various languages is key for businesses to reach a global audience. However, professional translation costs can be very high, especially for large-scale websites. Therefore, business owners need to find ways to reduce translation budgets without sacrificing quality.
In this article, we will discuss various strategies that can help reduce website translation costs while still obtaining high-quality translations. By understanding the available options, you can find the most effective website translation solution for your budget while accurately conveying your message to a global audience.
What types of translation rate calculations?
When you want to translate a website into another language, there are several options you can use, namely, using a professional translator or machine translation.
These two options certainly have their tariff calculations. The following is a complete explanation of the types of calculations for each option.
Translation rates for professionals
Translation rate calculations involve various methods that can be customized according to users’ needs and preferences. For professional translation services, there are several common options used to determine costs:
- Rate per word translation: One of the most common methods is the rate per word. In this case, the translation cost is determined based on the number of words in the source text. This allows clients to have a clear idea of the costs they will incur, especially for projects with a predetermined word count. For example, the rate per word translation in Louisville, Kentucky, could reach $0.02 per word for perfect translation. However, for 94% to 95% accuracy, the rate could increase to $0.03 per word.
- Rate per hour translation: Some translators also offer hourly rate options. In this case, the translation cost is calculated based on the number of hours required to complete the project. This method is more suitable for complex projects or those requiring intensive technical adjustments. According to UpWork, translation rates for translators range from $10 to over $60 per hour.
- Rate per page translation: For documents or websites with standard formats and easily measurable page counts, there is the option of a rate per page. In this way, the translation cost is determined based on the number of pages in the source document. This can be a convenient option, especially for pages with uniform structures. For example, the rate per page in the United States in 2023 ranged from $30 to $100 per page depending on language pairs, subject matter, complexity, and file type (MS Word, PDF, InDesign, etc).
Machine translation rates
Machine translation rates are an alternative that is generally more affordable compared to human translation rates. In this case, translation costs are determined based on the use of the translation machine to translate the text, with costs usually calculated per character or word depending on the service provider.
Here are some machine translation rates on several platforms.
- Google Cloud Translation API: $0,000020 /character
- Amazon Translate: $0,000015 /character
- Microsoft Translator: $0,000010 /character
The use of machine translation allows the translation process to be faster and more efficient, as computers can complete the task at a much higher speed than humans.
In this context, machine translation can be very useful for quickly translating long texts or for understanding the general idea of a document.
However, for content that requires a high level of accuracy and thoroughness, human translation remains the superior choice.
8 Factors that influence translation rates
Translation rates are one of the crucial aspects to consider when selecting translation services. Many factors influence the determination of these rates, ranging from the type of content to be translated to the experience of the translators employed.
Below, we will discuss several factors that influence translation rates.
Content type
The type of content to be translated becomes a crucial factor in determining translation rates. Technical content or content rich in specialized terminology requires more time, effort, and expertise to translate compared to more general or non-technical texts.
For instance, documents or web pages containing a plethora of scientific or technical terms necessitate a deep understanding of the subject matter. In this case, the rates charged by translators would certainly differ.
Type of service
The decision regarding the type of translation service needed also affects the rates to be charged. Whether you require translation only, editing, or proofreading, each additional service adds complexity and time required, thereby increasing the total translation cost.
Language request
The demand for specific languages also affects translation rates. Popular languages like Spanish and French tend to have lower rates due to the availability of a larger pool of translators and high demand.
However, less common languages may have higher rates due to the limited number of qualified translators for that language.
Similarly, languages with higher difficulty levels will naturally have higher translation rates compared to languages with less challenging translation levels.
Language pairs
Uncommon or rarely used language pairs also affect translation rates. Language combinations with dialectal differences, structural sentence characteristics, or other complexities, such as Arabic to Mandarin, require a higher level of expertise.
This results in higher translation costs due to the time and effort required to address the challenges in interpretation and translation between two different languages.
Processing time
Projects with tight deadlines or that must be completed in a short time usually require additional costs. Conditions like this force translators to work faster or with higher intensity, which, of course, will incur additional costs to ensure quality is maintained.
Living cost
Translation rates are also influenced by the cost of living in the region where the translator operates. Translators working in areas with lower living costs tend to set lower rates compared to those operating in areas with higher living costs. This is due to differences in financial needs to meet daily living expenses.
Languages such as Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Finnish are examples of expensive languages due to the high cost of living in those countries.
Number of revisions
The number of revisions required in the translation process can also affect the rate. Each revision requested by the client typically requires additional time and effort from the translator. For example, if a client requests specific revisions or changes after the translation is completed, the translator must allocate time to make those revisions.
This can result in additional costs, especially if the revisions require substantial changes or necessitate retranslation from the beginning.
Translator experience
Translators with extensive experience who have worked in specific industries or with particular types of content typically set higher rates. This is because their experience instills confidence in handling more complex projects and requires a deeper understanding of specialized terminology within that industry. Conversely, novice translators or those with limited experience may set lower rates to reflect their lower level of experience.
However, it’s important to remember that experience only sometimes guarantees translation quality, and clients need to assess the portfolios they possess carefully.
After considering several factors, translating a website using professional human translation services can consume a significant portion of the budget. This is due to various factors discussed earlier, all of which contribute to higher rate determination.
Furthermore, the translator will only assist in translating the content of your web pages. This means that after providing the translations, it will be your responsibility to integrate them manually into your website.
So, how can we reduce these translation costs? We will discuss this further next.
What is the option to reduce the translation rates budget?
If translating a website is not effective using a professional translator and requires a lot of budget, you can use the following 3 options, which have a lower budget.
Translate manually
One way to reduce the translation budget is by translating manually. This can be done by internal team members who possess the necessary language skills. By translating internally, you can avoid additional costs typically charged by external translation service providers.
However, it’s important to note that if you have many web pages to be translated, translation work can be time-consuming and take away valuable time from other responsibilities.
Additionally, you still need to implement translations manually on your website, which may require some technical knowledge. Therefore, translating internally can save costs, but you also need to consider the time and resources required to complete the task.
Using free translation tools
There are many free translation tools available online, such as Google Translate, DeepL, or Bing Translator. Although more accurate than human translation, these tools can provide translations that are sufficient for a general understanding of the content.
Using free translation tools can help save costs, especially for projects with limited budgets. However, it’s important to remember that automated translations are often less precise and can lead to interpretation errors.
This can result in a poor user experience after the translations are implemented on your website – which also needs to be done manually. Therefore, while free translation tools can save costs, you should consider the quality and accuracy of the translations produced before implementing them on your website.
Using AI automatic translation
The third option is to use AI automatic translation. This can be the best choice for reducing the translation budget.
AI algorithms can process and translate text quickly, saving time and costs. One of the main advantages of this option is its ability to be directly integrated with your system or website.
Thus, you can have automatic translations directly on your website without the need for manual processes. Additionally, the costs of automatic translation services are more affordable and can be tailored to the specific needs of your website. However, it’s important to remember that despite the advancements in automatic translation, there are still risks of errors and loss of nuances.
Therefore, it’s advisable to evaluate whether automatic translation meets the needs and quality standards of your content before integrating it into your website.
The best solution to reduce the translation budget
To determine the best solution for reducing the translation budget, it is crucial to assess the specific needs of your website and the resources available.
From the various options outlined above, you can compare what the best solution is to save on translation rates.
If your website scale is still small, perhaps the option of translation per word or page may be viable. However, what if you have dozens to hundreds of pages that need to be translated? The costs associated with hiring a professional translator may be too expensive for many businesses.
In this case, businesses can consider using automatic website translation solutions as a more cost-effective and convenient alternative. This is because it offers several advantages.
- Quick and accurate translation: By leveraging machine learning, websites can be translated into large volumes of text quickly. This also includes translating various website elements, including menus and web page metadata.
- Cost efficiency: Translator and automatic translation rates certainly differ. Automatic translation offers monthly or annual subscription times with comprehensive additional features, unlike translators who only translate and edit.
- Many advanced features: website translation services offer advanced functionality such as search engine optimization for translated text and URL translation, which may not be available with human translators.
With these advantages, you can translate your website quickly and accurately, yet with affordable translation rates. After that, it is important to choose an automatic translation service that offers translation quality similar to a human translator so that your purchase is worthwhile.
Why use Linguise to reduce your budget & improve website quality translation?
After deciding that AI automatic translation is the best solution to reduce translation rates, you must now determine the translation service to be used.
Linguise translation service is one of the website translation options that can help reduce translation rates because it offers affordable prices and a free trial option for 30 days.
Not only that, Linguise is also integrated with more than 40 website builders. Additionally, here are some other offerings provided by Linguise to support reducing translation rates and improving quality, including.
- Most affordable prices – Linguise offers the most affordable prices compared to other automatic translation services. This means that users can benefit from high-quality translation services in a cost-effective manner. Apart from that, you can also use the free trial first before subscribing monthly starting from $15, or yearly starting from $165. Additionally, Linguise provides unlimited options for users with large websites to accommodate their needs.
- More than 80 languages and thousands of language pairs – Linguise is available in more than 80 languages and thousands of language pairs. From less commonly encountered traditional languages to the most spoken languages in the world, all are available in Linguise.
- Up to 97% perfect quality translation – not only providing many languages but also ensuring perfect translation quality results. Linguise is capable of producing translations up to 97% similar to human translation. Thus, even though translated by a machine, the quality is equal to a human translator.
- Translate all website elements – if manual translation by translators only translates the content, not supporting elements such as menus, buttons, or other elements. Unlike Linguise, it translates all elements on your website, and if your website is an online store, Linguise will translate even the checkout and payment pages.
- Possible to collaborate with professional translators – translating with a machine does not mean you cannot collaborate with a translator, as Linguise offers additional setup translators that can help you translate or edit translations manually. Thus, your translation results can be more in line with the cultural nuances of the target country.
- Edit translation with live editor – after translating with the translator, you can collaborate with them through the edit translation feature on the front end of the website. This feature allows you to edit machine-generated translations automatically, resulting in more accurate results.
- Provide SEO optimization – if translated by translators, they only translate the content, but not the optimization of the content or the website itself. This is different from Linguise, which also supports growing SEO optimization, such as applying hreflang codes, generating multilingual sitemaps, using canonical URLs, and translating URL slugs.
Now you know some of the advantages of Linguise. With its various advantages, Linguise can be the right solution for translating websites at an affordable price so that you can reduce your translation budget.
Reduce your translation budget & improve quality translations with Linguise!
When translating a website, it’s important to consider the translation rates you will incur. These rates depend on the translation option you choose, whether by professional translators or machine translation. Translations by professionals have various rates, such as per word, per page, or hour. However, for translating a website, this option is deemed less effective as it requires significant costs, especially for large-scale websites.
Therefore, AI automatic translation becomes the appropriate solution that can help reduce translation rates budget while still providing high-quality translations.
In this case, Linguise can be relied upon as a website translation option that offers affordable prices, high quality, and various other advanced features.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a free Linguise account and enjoy a 30-day trial by translating up to 600 thousand words!
