Average Cost of Translation ΒιΆΉAPP The 13 most-requested business languages Β· 2026 U.S. market benchmarks Β· English β†’ target language PRICE PER WORD (USD) UNLESS NOTED Language Standard human translation + editing + proofreading ³§±θ±π³¦Ύ±²Ή±τΎ±³ϊ±π»ε⁴ legal Β· medical Β· technical AI + post-edit ²Ρ°Υ±Κ·‘⁡ Length vs English budget & layout impact 10,000-word project standard human TIER 1 Β· MOST ECONOMICAL Largest translator pools and shared Latin script keep these the lowest-cost business languages. Spanish Latin American / U.S. $0.10–$0.16 $0.16–$0.24 $0.05–$0.09 ↑ +20–25% $1,000–$1,600 Portuguese Brazilian $0.11–$0.17 $0.17–$0.25 $0.05–$0.10 ↑ +15–25% $1,100–$1,700 French European $0.12–$0.18 $0.18–$0.27 $0.06–$0.11 ↑ +15–25% $1,200–$1,800 Italian $0.12–$0.18 $0.18–$0.26 $0.06–$0.11 ↑ +15–25% $1,200–$1,800 TIER 2 Β· MODERATE Script or grammatical complexity (German compounds, CJK characters, Arabic RTL, Slavic cases) adds a modest premium. German1 $0.14–$0.21 $0.21–$0.31 $0.07–$0.13 ↑ +10–35% $1,400–$2,100 Chinese2 Simplified $0.12–$0.18 $0.18–$0.27 $0.06–$0.12 ↓ contracts $1,200–$1,800 Russian $0.12–$0.18 $0.18–$0.27 $0.06–$0.12 ↑ +10–15% $1,200–$1,800 Polish $0.13–$0.19 $0.19–$0.28 $0.06–$0.12 ↑ +20–30% $1,300–$1,900 Arabic3 Modern Standard $0.13–$0.20 $0.20–$0.30 $0.07–$0.13 ↑ +20–25% $1,300–$2,000 TIER 3 Β· PREMIUM Thinner translator pools and high cost-of-living markets put these at the top of the common-language range. Japanese2 $0.15–$0.24 $0.24–$0.36 $0.08–$0.15 ↓ contracts $1,500–$2,400 Korean2 $0.15–$0.23 $0.23–$0.33 $0.08–$0.14 ↓ βˆ’10 to βˆ’15% $1,500–$2,300 Dutch $0.16–$0.24 $0.24–$0.34 $0.09–$0.15 ↑ +20–35% $1,600–$2,400 Swedish Nordic Β· Nor/Dan similar $0.18–$0.28 $0.28–$0.40 $0.10–$0.16 ↑ +10–15% $1,800–$2,800 HOW TO USE THESE NUMBERS Standard human (TEP) covers general business content (reports, HR, internal docs, websites) with full translation, editing, and proofreading. Specialized applies to legal, medical, technical, and financial content; it is human-only and typically runs 40–80% above standard. AI + post-edit (MTPE) is a machine draft corrected by a linguist, usually 40–60% cheaper. Use it for higher-volume, lower-risk content; keep full human translation for legal, medical, marketing, and certified work. Length vs English affects page layout and desktop publishing, and it raises your total whenever you are billed on target words. Ask for source-word, fixed pricing to lock the budget before work begins. Additive to most quotes: rush +20–50%, minimum job fee $30–$75, volume / translation-memory discounts 15–25%+, and certified documents billed per page at $30–$55. 1 German takes up to ~35% more space but often uses fewer, longer words; plan layouts for expansion even when word count holds. 2 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean usually contract in length and are commonly billed per character ($0.03–$0.08) or per source word, not per target word. 3 Arabic is right-to-left, which adds layout and engineering effort for websites and apps. 4 Specialized = legal, medical, technical, financial and other expert content. 5 MTPE = machine translation post-editing. Read these as budgeting benchmarks, not quotes. Figures reflect 2026 U.S. market ranges triangulated across multiple industry sources. Your actual rate depends on volume, turnaround, file format, subject matter, and how much translation-memory reuse you have built up. For a fixed price on specific files, request a written quote. Average Cost of Translation ΒιΆΉAPP Β· 2026 Edition Researched and published by ΒιΆΉAPP Β· free to share with attribution Cite as: ΒιΆΉAPP (2026). β€œAverage Cost of Translation ΒιΆΉAPP: The 13 Most Common Languages.” thetranslationcompany.com