Free Italian to English Translation Guide: Italian English Translator Prices

The Free Italian to English Translation Guide to Italian English translator prices offers a general picture of how translation pricing works, along with some sample prices for Italian translations. (Looking for a free Italian to English translation online?)

Calculating a translation price

Normally, translation pricing is based on a per word rate, which is multiplied by the total word count.

Typically, the "source words" (words in the original language) are used for this calculation; however, in some cases, the "target words" (words in the final language of the translation) will be used instead. If a translator quotes you a per word rate rather than a total project price for your Italian translation, it is important clarify whether the rate will be applied to source words or target words, since this can have a major impact on the price. In a translation from English to Italian, the number of target words may be significantly higher than the number of source words.

Rates of freelance translators versus agencies

A translation agency will generally charge higher rates than a freelance Italian English translator. Very few agencies actually do their translation work in-house -- it is more common for them to subcontract most translations to freelancers. Agencies therefore have to charge enough to cover the freelancer fees as well as overhead costs such as office infrastructure, employee salaries, and so on.

In fact, for this reason, we recommend being highly suspicious of any agency which does not charge more than the average freelancer. When an agency offers too low a price, this tells you that they are paying their translators below market rates, and the quality is likely to be low.

When should you hire a freelance Italian English translator, and when is it worth paying more for a good agency? Click here for a detailed discussion from the Free Italian to English Translation Guide.

Typical freelance translator rates

To give you a general idea of typical Italian English translator rates, we have assembled the advertised rates of twenty freelance Italian translators, all of them U.S.-based. Keep in mind that market rates vary from country to country, and these rates might not be representative of translators living in Italy or other parts of the world.

English to Italian translator 1: rate - $0.08-$0.12

English to Italian translator 2: rate - $0.10-$0.15

English to Italian translator 3: rate - $0.12-$0.16

English to Italian translator 4: rate - $0.08-$0.09

English to Italian translator 5: rate - $0.04-$0.10

English to Italian translator 6: rate - $0.07-$0.14

English to Italian translator 7: rate - $0.07-$0.12

English to Italian translator 8: rate - $0.12

English to Italian translator 9: rate - $0.12-$0.14

English to Italian translator 10: rate - $0.06-$0.08

Per word rates in U.S. dollars of ten Italian to English translators

Italian to English translator 1: rate - $0.10-$0.15

Italian to English translator 2: rate - $0.10

Italian to English translator 3: rate - $0.08-$0.15

Italian to English translator 4: rate - $0.12

Italian to English translator 5: rate - $0.12

Italian to English translator 6: rate - $0.08-$0.12

Italian to English translator 7: rate - $0.10

Italian to English translator 8: rate - $0.15

Italian to English translator 9: rate - $0.05

Italian to English translator 10: rate - $0.07

Factors affecting translation rates

Looking at the lists of rates above, you may have noticed that there is a huge variation in the prices charged by different translators. For example, one Italian English translator is charging only $0.05 per word, while another is charging up to $0.15 per word.

We would not assume that the translator charging $0.15 is the best of the group. However, we would be very cautious about hiring the Italian English translator who charges $0.05, since this is clearly below market level. One possibility is that this translator is desperate for work. He or she may be a new translator who has not yet built up a client portfolio. Another possibility is that this translator is making up for the low rate with a high volume. After all, the translator needs to earn enough to live on. If the translator is churning out a lot of translations very quickly, the quality of each translation is likely to be lower.

When running a translation agency, we screened translators with competitive translation tests, and we found a strong correlation between price and quality. The best performers on the tests almost universally charged middle-to-high translation rates.

You might also notice that many of the translators above quote a price range rather than a single rate. For example, one Italian English translator advertises rates between $0.08 and $0.15 per word. Translation rates can depend on a number of factors, including:

• Negotiation.
• Volume. Translators and agencies may offer discounts for large projects (and often charge a minimum price for small projects).
• How difficult or technical the text is.
• Hard-to-manage file formats.
• The services offered. For example, there may be a surcharge for rush timing or for special formatting work. (Looking at the prices above, we suspect that the translator who advertises rates between $0.04 and $0.10 may apply the $0.04 rate for proofreading jobs, rather than translation jobs).
• Repetitions in the text. (These can be tracked and managed easily by translators who are using a software such as Trados).

Get advice on lowering translation costs from the Free Italian to English Translation Guide

Free Italian to English Translation Guide - More Resources

How to save money on your translation

How to choose a freelance Italian English translator

How to choose a translation agency

See all topics in the Free Italian to English Translation Guide




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