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Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?
Thread poster: Chiara Deaglio
Michal Fabian
Michal Fabian  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 06:39
Dutch to Slovak
+ ...
It's way too much... Sep 16, 2014

... for some of the translations I have seen produced by my fellow translators.

Your rates should reflect the value of your work. Charging some ridiculous fees such as 0.05 does send a very clear message. Then again, if your face and your work is interchangeable with thousands of other desperate freelancers, then the price is just right. You have to figure this out for yourself.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:39
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
The "offer" Sep 16, 2014

If it's the same company that has posted a call for translators here yesterday, then the fair prices offered are even less attractive. They charge their clients USD 0.06 per word. So I can imagine that we all how how "much" they pay their translators.

 
ianwrhodes
ianwrhodes
Germany
German to English
+ ...
Rip off Sep 16, 2014

Hi Chiara,

No it is NOT fair at all - it's a dumping price. I'd keep well away from it.


 
Andrea Halbritter
Andrea Halbritter  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 11:39
French to German
+ ...
My experience Sep 16, 2014

Hi!

My company supplies translations from French to about ten different European languages and I must say the cheapest language is Italian, then Spanish.

In Italian EXPERIENCED translators (living in France or Germany) who contact me ask for a tarif between 0,06 and 0,08 € per word only. So there seems to be quite a difference between Italian and other languages like German, English or Dutch where the fees double.

I do not think you should work for what
... See more
Hi!

My company supplies translations from French to about ten different European languages and I must say the cheapest language is Italian, then Spanish.

In Italian EXPERIENCED translators (living in France or Germany) who contact me ask for a tarif between 0,06 and 0,08 € per word only. So there seems to be quite a difference between Italian and other languages like German, English or Dutch where the fees double.

I do not think you should work for what this company offers though and am not at all a person who practices low cost translation. It's just to tell you what I experienced during the last years...

I have been contacted myself about a month ago by an agency who offered me 0,03 € for a translation from French to German. When I told them my minimum fee for a real BIG volume and an easy text is 0,09 €, they proposed me 0,06 €. I still refused but this shows that it is possible to negociate...
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Kate Tomkins
Kate Tomkins
Local time: 10:39
German to English
No, it is not a fair rate Sep 16, 2014

Agencies can tell you anything they like. Ideally, they would like you to work for free!

BUT as a freelancer it's up to you to know your worth and charge an appropriate amount for your skills.

Consider this example:

A plumber might be able to get lots of work by undercutting all of the other plumbers in the area by 40%. However, there are two major problems with this.

First of all he has to work all hours of the day and evening - including we
... See more
Agencies can tell you anything they like. Ideally, they would like you to work for free!

BUT as a freelancer it's up to you to know your worth and charge an appropriate amount for your skills.

Consider this example:

A plumber might be able to get lots of work by undercutting all of the other plumbers in the area by 40%. However, there are two major problems with this.

First of all he has to work all hours of the day and evening - including weekends - to earn the same amount as a plumber charging the "standard rate". He will become exhausted, make mistakes ... customers will start to wonder if they should have paid for the more expensive plumber instead to fix their sink.

Secondly, other local plumbers will be forced or tempted to reduce their rates so they can be competitive. Sooner or later, all of the plumbers will have to learn to live on 40% less. Their family life, health etc. will suffer. they might need to quit their profession as they are not earning enough. Customers will not be receiving a good service as all of the plumbers are tired, stressed and unmotivated. The whole plumbing market will fall apart.

So in conclusion: the original plumber should be confident and charge the standard market rate for their services. The same applies to translators.
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José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:39
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
They said it Sep 16, 2014

Chiara Deaglio wrote:

"if you find another translation agency that offers such a great deal to customers to help guarantee you work flow, while also paying you such a fair amount, please let us know".

Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?


The "great deal" they offer is "to guarantee you work flow", and it will probably live up to expectations.

Any translator who can deliver barely acceptable quality for 5¢/word will have enough demand to stay busy for some 15-20 hours per day, 7 days a week.

If their lifetime goal is to stay busy (and poor), that's a "guaranteed" way to achieve it.

Now and then I get hired to fix/salvage/redo translation work done at this price level, so I have seen what people get for 5¢/word in the EN-PT pair.

Quite honestly, Google Translate's overall quality is roughly the same, though the flaws differ in their nature. However GT is free! So what's the point in "wasting" 5¢ on every word?


 
Miroslav Jeftic
Miroslav Jeftic  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:39
Member (2009)
English to Serbian
+ ...
Hm Sep 23, 2014

I guess it all depends on the country and the typical rates. For Serbian, it's quite usual to see rates at around 0.017€/w or thereabouts inside Serbia i.e. working with locals or 0.03-0.06 working with foreign clients. Anything over that would be a rare case.

 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:39
English to German
+ ...
Let's be reasonable Sep 23, 2014

Miroslav Jeftic wrote:

I guess it all depends on the country and the typical rates. For Serbian, it's quite usual to see rates at around 0.017€/w or thereabouts inside Serbia i.e. working with locals or 0.03-0.06 working with foreign clients. Anything over that would be a rare case.


0.017€/w That can only qualify as a typo of the worst kind.

For your information:
http://search.proz.com/employers/rates

Average rates charged for translations
This page lists the average rates reported by ProZ.com's community of freelance translators and translation companies. Please be aware that this data does not necessarily reflect the average of rates actually charged and paid for real-world projects; it is only an aggregate view of the rates that users have entered into their ProZ.com profiles. (That said, because the rates entered are used to filter notifications, etc., they can be considered relatively representative of actual fees.) Furthermore, not all users have reported rate data; please take note of the sample size when evaluating this information.

These are general rates for typical projects, but it should be understood that actual rates often vary depending on details such as the type of service, expertise required, minimum fees, type of client, etc.

English to Serbian:

Avg. rates per word:
Standard: €0.08
Minimum: €0.06/wd

Avg. rates per hour
Standard: €29.73
Minimum: €20.98/hr

Sample size: 748

English to Serbo-Croat:

Avg. rates per word:
Standard: €0.09/wd
Minimum: €0.06/wd

Avg. rates per hour
Standard: €33.17
Minimum: €23.40/hr

Sample size: 293




From wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia

Serbia is a member of the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, and CEFTA. It is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union,[8] which is negotiating its EU accession,[9][10] acceding country to the WTO[11] and is a militarily neutral state,[12] with a second-highest GPI in the Western Balkans, behind Croatia.[13][14] Serbia has a high HDI and provides a universal health care system and free primary and secondary education. Among the region's highest-scored "free countries"[15] Serbia is an upper-middle income economy (WB, IMF) with the service sector dominating the country's economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture.

______________________________


Key to a translator's success is that one understands translating as a legitimate and highly sophisticated profession. That goes for clients as well as translators. Even the rates posted by Proz.com (see above) are generally on the lower end of the rate scale and I see the rates listed as "standard" rates as very low rates. Of course I am not an expert in the language pairs above but I am convinced it's possible to ask and get adequate rates and I am sure the numbers above are quite real.

Let's be reasonable!

[Edited at 2014-09-23 14:21 GMT]


 
Jacques DP
Jacques DP  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 11:39
English to French
My thoughts Sep 23, 2014

Hi Chiara,

What a company is willing to pay for translations in a given language pair is mostly, as far as I can see, a function of two things:

- In what measure it competes on quality or on price with other agencies
- How much translators in the language pair require for a given level of quality, which is itself mostly a function of living standards in the countries where the translators working in that pair live

You cannot change the second factor (
... See more
Hi Chiara,

What a company is willing to pay for translations in a given language pair is mostly, as far as I can see, a function of two things:

- In what measure it competes on quality or on price with other agencies
- How much translators in the language pair require for a given level of quality, which is itself mostly a function of living standards in the countries where the translators working in that pair live

You cannot change the second factor (nor your mother tongue). Therefore the only course if you want to be paid high rates is:

- Make sure you really provide high-quality work (if it's just your opinion, it may or may not be correct)
- Make sure quality-oriented agencies are able to find you easily and make it clear that you provide high quality; then hang on to your rates

On a more philosophical note: "fair" is relative to a community, namely a social system partly organized for supporting common goods among which the well-being of members. But the global translation market is no community in that sense. It's an economist's dream, with everyone seeking only their own interest and the whole thing organizing spontaneously based on that.

In bocca al lupo
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
No. Sep 23, 2014

QUESTION: Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?
ANSWER: No.


 
isaac anyimah
isaac anyimah  Identity Verified
Ghana
Local time: 10:39
English to French
+ ...
NOT IN THE THIRD WORLD OR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Sep 23, 2014

Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:

Maybe in the third world or developing countries.



Hi Lucasz,

It is difficult to imagine why you should think that such rates might be accepted in this part of the world. This part of the world abounds in talented translators who do not settle for mediocrity.

I think it will be proper to withdraw such a statement because what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.

Isaac


 
Miroslav Jeftic
Miroslav Jeftic  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:39
Member (2009)
English to Serbian
+ ...
Not quite Sep 23, 2014

Bernhard Sulzer wrote:

0.017€/w That can only qualify as a typo of the worst kind.



From wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia

Serbia is a member of the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, and CEFTA. It is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union,[8] which is negotiating its EU accession,[9][10] acceding country to the WTO[11] and is a militarily neutral state,[12] with a second-highest GPI in the Western Balkans, behind Croatia.[13][14] Serbia has a high HDI and provides a universal health care system and free primary and secondary education. Among the region's highest-scored "free countries"[15] Serbia is an upper-middle income economy (WB, IMF) with the service sector dominating the country's economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture.

______________________________


Key to a translator's success is that one understands translating as a legitimate and highly sophisticated profession. That goes for clients as well as translators. Even the rates posted by Proz.com (see above) are generally on the lower end of the rate scale and I see the rates listed as "standard" rates as very low rates. Of course I am not an expert in the language pairs above but I am convinced it's possible to ask and get adequate rates and I am sure the numbers above are quite real.


Believe me it's not a typo. €5 per page / 1800 characters is a very common price, if you're good then you could expect something like €7-8 per page, if you are sworn translator who can notarize documents, maybe €10 per page. Try asking much above that and simply nobody will do business with you.

Working with foreign clients is better though, €0,03 to 0,05/w or perhaps a bit more for people translating medical and such things. What Wikipedia says means nothing, looks good on paper, but far cry from reality.

I've mostly stopped trying to find work via Proz, but while I was a full member and had direct clients approach me, 0,03-0,05 was their usual offer, take it or leave it. Of course, I'm well aware the "rates search" will return much higher figures, but people can write whatever they want there, doesn't mean they actually work at that rate. Those same rates apply for people who work on official EU-Acquis translation project here, around €10 per page at best, but usually there is a bidding for participation in that project and the lowest bids go below that.


 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:39
English to German
+ ...
Hold on to reasonable rates Sep 24, 2014

Miroslav Jeftic wrote:


I've mostly stopped trying to find work via Proz, but while I was a full member and had direct clients approach me, 0,03-0,05 was their usual offer, take it or leave it.


Hi Miroslav!

I don't expect to "find" any jobs via the job board at Proz.com - if you scan the jobs and actually find one that is "fair", it's a very rare occasion. And I wouldn't suggest to accept any posted by an agency. Maybe one posted by a private client or business.

On the other hand, full membership combined with KudoZ points gives you visibility in Proz.com's directory. That's when you get contacted by more serious and direct clients. It happens in my language pair. But to build a good client base is a long process, which you probably know anyway.

Miroslav Jeftic wrote:
Of course, I'm well aware the "rates search" will return much higher figures, but people can write whatever they want there, doesn't mean they actually work at that rate.


All I can say is that no one should work at lower rates than those posted there. I am certain other experienced professionals will agree with me.

Miroslav Jeftic wrote:
Those same rates apply for people who work on official EU-Acquis translation project here, around €10 per page at best, but usually there is a bidding for participation in that project and the lowest bids go below that.


I cannot recommend working on such projects. All this would mean acquiescing to inadequate and unfair terms.

What I can recommend is to quote and charge adequate rates (which I do in my language pair - and my prices are never lower and most often much higher than the ones listed as "standard rates" per word and per hour on the Proz.com rates page for my language pair.) There is a quality market for the higher price range, and I would expect the same for your language pair and fields of (special) expertise.

To work for rock-bottom rates because many others seem to be doing the same thing never worked for me. It doesn't even pay the bills. It's exploitation. The answer is simply NO!

Kind regards,
Bernhard



[Edited at 2014-09-24 05:08 GMT]


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 11:39
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Bernhard Sep 24, 2014

Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
On the other hand, full membership combined with KudoZ points gives you visibility in Proz.com's directory. That's when you get contacted by more serious and direct clients. It happens in my language pair.


It only happens in your language pair, Bernhard.


All I can say is that no one should work at lower rates than those posted [on ProZ.com's rates search]. I am certain other experienced professionals will agree with me.


I think most professionals would use the ProZ.com rates as a benchmark when it suits them, and say "it's too high" or "it's too low" when it suits that argument.

The ProZ.com reported rates do not reflect what translators actually get paid for translation, but rather what they would like to be paid.

What I can recommend is to quote and charge adequate rates (which I do in my language pair - and my prices are never lower and most often much higher than the ones listed as "standard rates" per word and per hour on the Proz.com rates page for my language pair.)


Do you really think translators who work for such rates actually choose to work for such rates? The fact that you personally receive both high and low offers does not mean that everyone does. Some people only get both low and very low offers.

There is a quality market for the higher price range, and I would expect the same for your language pair and fields of (special) expertise.


Why would you automatically assume that since there is a "quality market" in your language pair, that there must be a similar market in other language pairs? And why must you assume that the price paid by the quality market in other pairs pays the same rate as in your pair? The fact is that price is determined by many factors, and even if quality is one of them, it is rarely the only one.

To work for rock-bottom rates because many others seem to be doing the same thing never worked for me. It doesn't even pay the bills.


What a strange thought... namely that people who work for rock-bottom rates do so because others do so. But you're advocating the same thing, actually -- you say that others must work for high rates simply because you do too.

Yes, low rates won't pay the bills, but high rates won't pay the bills either, if you don't get any work at those rates. And if you can't pay the bills, then you have too many bills and you're trying to live above your income.

You say "hold on to reasonable rates", and that is a fine idea for the privileged, but translation work is not about ideology -- it is about making a living and finding sufficient jobs to do so. Refusing all jobs that don't pay idealistic rates may grant one a high horse, but you can't eat that.


[Edited at 2014-09-24 06:53 GMT]


 
Miroslav Jeftic
Miroslav Jeftic  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:39
Member (2009)
English to Serbian
+ ...
Bang on Sep 24, 2014

Pretty much have nothing more to add to Samuel Murray said, couldn't agree more. Translators who work in a well-developed and fair market are lucky they have such a market, but not every market is like that.

Vedad Lihovac
 
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