Translation Rates. Part 2

Pre-Bastille day we outlined what we thought were some reasons why translation rates might not be where we, as translation professionals, might like or expect them to be.

Now here are some facts on what professional translators actually do charge for their services in a market that we can identify in-house.

The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO – in Canada’s most populous province and home to the Capital) conducted a survey of independent (freelance) translators in 2005, and another of salaried translators in 2007.

Seeing as Canada has 2 official languages (French and English), we’ll only look at those freelancers who self-identified as working in ‘foreign’ languages as that seems more likely to reflect a general translation-market trend.

[The rates we are identifying here are all in $CDN; while it’s worth less than $U.S. (althoug barely right about now) or the €, it is relative – by that I mean that while Canadian translators are charging $CDN they are also spending them, and not a currency that goes further in the global market. The rates are therefore easily comparable to the United States or to the € zone. If you’re making €, £, or $U.S. while living somewhere they are worth many times the local currency then…well…maybe you don’t care either way.]

Here is some of the information gleaned:

49% of respondents stated translation as their full-time employment; 47% said it was a part-time occupation.

The respondents identified ‘individuals’ as their largest client base, followed by translation agencies, companies and finally government.

Rates:

60% of respondents charge between 15¢ and 20¢ per word, 13% said they charge more than that rate and 17% said less. These figures are consistent with prior ATIO surveys conducted in 1996 and in 2000.

67% of respondents said they charge more for rush jobs, which they generally results in a percentage premium. While the percentages varied as widely as 5% to 62%, the most common premiums fell between 10% and 20%.

Flat Fees:

59% of respondents said they had a flat fee for documents such as certificates and diplomas.
79% of respondents had a minimum fee for small jobs, fairly evenly split between 15$, 20$, 25$ and 35$.

Revision:

62% of respondents said they had a revision rate, although they were split between charging per word or per hour.
Per word rates varied greatly, although 4 or 5 cents were the most common.
Per hour the rates varied from 25$ to 55$ per hour with 40$ being the most commonly charged.