Prices

To make things easier for you, I will give you a total project price based on the analysis of your texts.

Comparing different quotations on a translation project can be a real pain: Some translators give you a price per word, others count lines or working hours; some base their price on the source text, others on the translated text. And quite often the quotation doesn’t tell you the total cost of your project.

That’s why I will usually provide a total, all-inclusive project price.

You’d still like to know how the total price is calculated?

In Germany, translation prices are usually based on the number of lines in the translated (target) text. If the text is provided in a non-machine-readable format, this is really the only feasible option.

However, if the source document is machine-readable (that is, if it allows automated analysis), I prefer to base my price on the number of words in the source text, which I regard as a more transparent method. Words or lines are counted using the PractiCount and Invoice software.

If the calculation is based on words or lines, I take into account everything that increases or decreases the time expenditure: complexity and difficulty, availability of reference material, necessary research, document format, urgency, etc. My word rates currently range from 0.16 to 0.24 Euro.

Research, editing, translating advertisement copy and similar time-intensive projects cannot be calculated on a word or line basis. In these cases, I base the calcuation on the actual time needed to complete the job.

My rate per hour is always the same, whatever the task. At the moment, it is 65 Euro.

Will you get a CAT discount?

The short answer is: no.

The logic of ‘Trados = price reduction’ is flawed because it translates to ‘more work and better quality = lower price’.

Translation software helps the translator ensure consistency in large and distributed projects, but it can only do that if it is managed and maintained carefully. A lot of time and effort goes into keeping a translation system current and clean. Let’s be blunt: If you punish your translator for investing into the quality of your documents, you won’t get a good translator.