Prices
Translations are usually (with a few exceptions) priced based on the amount of text translated in normal lines.
Normal lines of 55 keystrokes:
A normal line (also known as a standard line) consists of 55 keystrokes. Keystrokes are letters, numbers, commas and also spaces; basically almost every key on the keyboard. When comparing prices, please note that other translators and translation agencies often take a normal line to be 50 keystrokes.
Do normal lines in German match normal lines in French? Not quite. French, Italian and Spanish, for example, are Romance languages, making them more extravagant in their expression than German; therefore they require more space on the page. This means that French translations tend to require between 10 and 15 per cent more space than, for example, English or Dutch translations.
A translation is normally used as the basis for calculating the cost. However, exceptions to this rule include, for example, translations into Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Our price per line is not graded based on difficulty levels. This makes the process more transparent and avoids disputes. Our price per line is the same for almost all major European languages. Exceptions here are Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish. For our prices per line, please inquire by e-mail.
Almost all types of text are calculated and priced based on the price per line. However, when translating Microsoft Excel charts, PowerPoint presentations, HTML texts or DTP texts (we work with PageMaker or FrameMaker), we do things differently: we usually either create a package price or we calculate the cost based on time spent.
Package prices are normally used with larger translations or projects involving several different languages.
Minimum Order Value
We also have a minimum order value. Please consider that we have to send e-mails and write up invoices even for small translations. Our minimum order value for most European languages is 30 euro; for Scandinavian languages 40 euro; for Arabic 50 euro and for Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Hindi) 60 euro, all excluding VAT.
Price Agreements
A framework agreement with a reduced price per line can be agreed in cases involving a contractually defined translation volume.
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Updated November 2022
