Translation Cost Calculator
This translation cost calculator shows what your text costs with a professional translator, with AI plus a human editor, and with AI alone. Type a word count and pick the language.
- Rates from published price lists, with sources
- Live PageTranslate prices
- No sign-up, no email
Professional translator
$200 – $325
$0.08–$0.13 a word · about 1–2 working days
AI + human editor
$100 – $227
30–50% below a translator · faster, still reviewed by a person
AI translation (PageTranslate)
Live price, no account · exact quote after upload
2,500 words. Translator rates are published price lists, checked October 19, 2026; sources below.
Get an exact quote for your fileHow translation is priced
Almost every translator and agency uses the same sum: number of words × price per word, plus extras. The word count is taken from the original text, not the translation.
- Language. Common pairs such as English to Spanish cost less than English to Japanese or to the Nordic languages.
- Subject. Legal, medical, technical and marketing text costs 20% to 50% more, because it needs a specialist.
- Deadline. Rush jobs add 25% to 50%. One translator does 2,000 to 3,500 words a day, so a long text simply takes weeks.
- Certification. Certified translations for immigration or courts are usually priced by the page, about $20 to $60 a page.
- Minimum fee. Most translators charge a minimum even for a one-page letter, says the American Translators Association.
A "page" in quotes almost always means 250 words. That is why the calculator turns pages into words at 250 a page.
Translation rates per word in 2026, by language
These are the prices translation companies publish for professional human translation out of English. The calculator uses the same ranges. Most companies add the extras above on top.
| Into | Per word | Per 1,000 words | From these price lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | $0.08 – $0.13 | $80 – $130 | GTS $0.09 (Latin America), Stepes $0.13, TheWordPoint $0.08–$0.12 |
| French | $0.08 – $0.16 | $80 – $160 | GTS $0.14–$0.16, Stepes $0.16, TheWordPoint $0.08–$0.12 |
| German | $0.10 – $0.16 | $100 – $160 | GTS $0.14–$0.16, Stepes $0.16, TheWordPoint $0.10–$0.15 |
| Italian | $0.07 – $0.16 | $70 – $160 | GTS $0.14–$0.16, Stepes $0.14, TheWordPoint $0.07–$0.11 |
| Portuguese | $0.09 – $0.13 | $90 – $130 | GTS $0.09–$0.10 (Brazil), Stepes $0.13 (Brazil) |
| Chinese | $0.09 – $0.15 | $90 – $150 | GTS $0.09–$0.10, Stepes $0.09, TheWordPoint $0.10–$0.15 |
| Japanese | $0.12 – $0.18 | $120 – $180 | GTS $0.12–$0.18, Stepes $0.17, TheWordPoint $0.12–$0.18 |
| Korean | $0.11 – $0.18 | $110 – $180 | GTS $0.12–$0.18, TheWordPoint $0.11–$0.17 |
| Arabic | $0.08 – $0.13 | $80 – $130 | Stepes $0.13, TheWordPoint $0.08–$0.12 |
| Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Finnish | $0.19 – $0.25 | $190 – $250 | GTS $0.19–$0.25 |
| English (from French, German or Spanish) | $0.14 | $140 | GTS $0.14 |
| Another language | $0.10 – $0.30 | $100 – $300 | Accurate Language Services $0.10–$0.30, Smartling $0.15–$0.30 |
How much does it cost to translate a 300-page book?
A 300-page book is about 75,000 words. Translated by a professional at $0.10 to $0.30 a word, that is $7,500 to $22,500, and one translator needs about 22 to 38 working days before any editing.
Literary translators earn less than agencies charge. The Authors Guild's survey (as reported by Publishers Weekly) found an average of 13 cents a word, which puts the same book at about $9,750. An AI translation with PageTranslate costs $101.74 today as a one-time guest order.
- Translator or agency, $0.10–$0.30 a word$7,500 – $22,500
The usual range for US professional translation (Accurate Language Services, Smartling).
- Literary translator, 13¢ a word$9,750
The average rate in the Authors Guild's 2022 survey of literary translators.
- AI + human editor, 30–50% less$3,750 – $15,750
Machine translation corrected by a professional (TheWordPoint's price list).
- AI translation with PageTranslate$102
Today's guest price from our live price list, layout kept.
Translating a novel? Our book translation cost guide breaks the price down by plan.
Translator, AI plus editor, or AI alone?
The cheapest option is not always the right one. A plain way to choose:
| You need | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A certified translation for a visa, court or university | A certified human translator | Only a signed, certified translation is accepted. AI output isn't. |
| A book or brochure you will publish | AI plus a fluent editor, or a translator | A person must read every line before readers do. Editing a draft is cheaper than starting from zero. |
| To read, review or understand a document | AI translation | You get the whole text in your language for a small fraction of the price, with the layout kept. |
| A legal contract you will sign | A translator who knows the law | Small wording changes can change obligations. |
"AI plus editor" is what the industry calls machine translation post-editing. TheWordPoint prices it 30–50% below their human rate, and the analysts at Nimdzi report discounts of up to 35–40%.
What translators earn per hour
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay of interpreters and translators at $28.93 an hour ($60,170 a year, May 2025). That is what employees take home, not what a client pays.
Smartling quotes $15 to $30 an hour for general work and $75 or more for specialists in fields like healthcare and law. In France, the translators' society SFT found a median of €50 an hour and €0.14 a word in its 2026 survey.
If you are a translator setting your own rate, the ProZ rate calculator works backwards from your costs and the income you want. This short video explains pricing from the buyer's side:
FAQ
Translation cost questions
How much should a translation cost?
For professional human translation, expect $0.08 to $0.30 a word depending on the language and subject, or about $80 to $300 per 1,000 words. AI translation costs a small fraction of that, and AI plus a human editor sits in between.
What are the expected translation rates per word in 2026?
Published price lists we checked in October 2026 put English to Spanish at $0.08–$0.13, French $0.08–$0.16, German $0.10–$0.16, Japanese $0.12–$0.18 and the Nordic languages $0.19–$0.25 a word. The table on this page has every language and source.
How much does it cost to translate a 300 page book?
About 75,000 words, so $7,500 to $22,500 with a professional translator at $0.10–$0.30 a word, or about $9,750 at the 13-cent average literary translators reported to the Authors Guild. AI translation costs far less; the calculator shows today's price.
What is a good hourly rate for a translator?
Employed translators in the US earn a median $28.93 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Freelancers charge clients more: Smartling cites $15–$30 for general work and $75 or more for specialists. Most translators quote per word rather than per hour.
How much should I pay a translator?
Ask for a per-word quote based on your real word count, and compare at least two. For a common language pair and general text, $0.08–$0.16 a word is typical; legal, medical or rush work costs 20–50% more.
How much should I charge for a translation?
Start from your costs and target income with a tool like the ProZ rate calculator, then compare with the market: the French translators' society SFT reports a median of €0.14 a word with direct clients and €0.09 through agencies.
Is there a free translation service?
Google Translate and DeepL are free for short texts and small files. For a whole book or a long PDF that keeps its layout, PageTranslate gives a free account 3,000 words to try.
How much does it cost for Google Translate?
The Google Translate website and app are free. Businesses using Google's translation API pay per character; Smartling puts machine translation at about $10 to $20 per million characters.
Related
- How Much Does It Cost to Translate a BookBook translation cost by word count, with a calculator that uses the live price list.
- French Word CounterCounts French words the French way, plus signes, feuillets and reading time.
- Translate a BookUpload a whole PDF, EPUB or DOCX book and get the translated file back in the same format.
- Document Translation SoftwareSelf-service translation for PDF, Word and EPUB files, with an exact quote before you pay.
Get the exact price for your file
The calculator estimates. Upload the document or book and we count the real words and show the exact price before you pay. No account needed.
Drop your book
PDF, EPUB or DOCX up to 100 MB. See the price before you pay.
Drop your file here
or click to browse your computer