How long does a translation take?

The time to complete and prepare a translation is often a critical factor when choosing a service provider. Translation agencies, freelancers, and in-house translators offer different timing for the same project.

How to avoid mistakes in estimation and choose a reliable service provider?
Will the translation be carried out on time and accurately?

To answer these questions, one must understand what constitutes a particular service provider’s time of translation. There are several hidden time costs that are often overlooked when estimating the timing. If a service provider conceals them, you’ll have to bear these costs, and therefore, there is a risk of not adhering to the approved budget and deadlines.

Our table will help you to quickly and accurately calculate the time needed to obtain the final result and will make it easier to compare us with other service providers:

Preparatory stages of a project
Stages of translation
Extra work


Types of work:	1. Selecting a translator or establishing a team of translators with the necessary level of language proficiency and the knowledge of the subject. 2. Selection of a translation editor or a group of editors. 3. Engaging a consultant who is an expert in the particular field of knowledge (for specific thematic translations).
ITREX	Written translation: 1 day. Our base contains over 2500 proven translators, permanent translation editors and consultants on specific themes and industries. Further information… Interpretation: 1 day or more. The timing depends on the number of translators, themes, languages, and need for additional testing. Further information… In many cases, we use established project teams to reduce the time needed to organize work and improve translation quality.
Other translation agencies(90% market share)	They claim a 1 to 3 day preparation period, but problems may arise: Breach of deadline — if the agency doesn’t have a base of proven translators and consultants; Poorer quality of translation — if the agency wasn’t able to select experts with the required qualification in the allocated time or to find translation editors and consultants. As a rule, there are very few or no permanent project teams due to high personnel turnover. The consequences: More time is needed to organize work; You will work with different translators every time. This will prolong delivery time and reduce the quality of translation.
Specialized translation agencies (5% market share)	A project preparation requires 1 day. These companies have a base of proven translators, translation editors and consultants on subjects of expertise. Permanent project teams often work with a client. This reduces the time required for the organization of work and provides the high quality of translation. The companies willing to pay extra for the speed and high quality of translation work with specialized translation agencies. The cost of their services is much higher than the average cost in the market.
Elite translation agencies (0,1% market share)	Project preparation requires 1 day. These companies always have a base of proven translators, translation editors and consultants on key industries. Permanent project teams often work with a particular client. This reduces time needed to organize work and provides a high quality of translation. The cost of the elite translation agencies’ service is several times above the market average.
Freelancers	Your time to find the right specialist/team of specialists: Written translation: 1 day to 1 week. Interpretation: 1-2 weeks. Timing includes testing of translators. You engage translation editors and consultants at your own risk and test them in the course of work.
In-house translators	Time spent is close to zero if the company has enough translators of the required qualification for a particular language pair. If there are no translation editors in the group of translators, you need to allocate extra time for the search and selection of a specialist with the required qualification.


Types of work:	1. The translation process itself. 2. Regular monitoring of progress status. Control and editing of intermediate results. 3. Engaging a consultant who is an expert in a particular field of knowledge (for specific thematic translations). 4. Control and editing of the finished translation.
ITREX	Standard and urgent translations Translation: 8-10 pages per working day. This is a translator’s standard output. The order is considered urgent if the required delivery date of a translation requires an engagement of a team of translators. Such an output standard is defined by an actual human translator’s capabilities, and guarantees high quality results. We assume an exceeded output only in emergency cases of extra urgent translations. The term of translation includes: regular monitoring of progress status, editing control of intermediate results and consultations with an expert. The control of the completed translation for integrity and purity, a check of proper nouns and numbers: 4-8 pages per hour. Spot check of each translator’s texts: 2-3 hours. When working with the first projects of new clients we allocate 10% of project time to editing. The complete control and editing of a translation (if required): 20 pages per working day. This is the standard output of a translation editor. In the case of large projects, several translation editors take part and work simultaneously. How do we carry out urgent orders? Extra urgent translations. Translation of 10-15 pages per working day per translator. In these cases, a team of translators works. The term of translation includes: regular monitoring of progress status and, when possible, editing control of the completed parts and a check for terminology compliance. Control of the completed translation for integrity and purity, a check of proper nouns and numbers: up to 40 pages per hour. Spot check of each translator’s texts: 2-3 hours. An extra urgent translation is an emergency schedule, when there is usually no time for a comprehensive check and editing. We always discuss this issue with clients before a project begins.
Other translation agencies (90% market share)	Most companies don’t have an “output standard” term for one translator or a translator editor. To minimize costs, translators receive 20 pages per day, or even more. For the same reason, intermediate control is often ignored. Review of the finished result eliminates only serious mistakes; there is no time for a proper control. If you agree to this approach, be prepared to receive a translation of a poor quality and, most likely, after the declared time. In this case, you need to allocate additional time to editing and proofreading of a translation, which is often equal to the time spent on a translation.
Specialized translation agencies (5% market share)	They perform all the standard types of work required to produce high quality results. The profile of such agencies involves complex, specialized translations that require a deep immersion in a subject and a detailed study of texts. That is why daily output standards for translation and editing are lower than in ordinary translation agencies. Project time increases by 1.5 times. Specialized translation agencies rarely accept urgent orders.
Elite translation agencies (0,1% market share)	They perform all the standard types of work required to produce high quality results. An exceptional quality of translations gives them the right to be named “elite”. To ensure a high level of performance in the absence of specialization, such agencies set reduced daily output standards for translation and editing. The project time is approximately 1.5 times longer than in conventional translation agencies. Elite translation agencies rarely accept urgent orders. Exceptions are made for regular customers.
Freelancers	They usually undertake increased obligations and promise to translate 20 pages per day and more. Now that you know the output standards, you will be able to distribute the assignment properly. However, if you do not engage a professional editor and do not have a knowledge of the language of translation to review the text yourself, you may risk quality. Additional time for editing and proofreading can be equal to or exceed the time spent on a translation.
In-house translators	Standards for a translation and editing may vary. Editing takes less time than in other cases as translators are masters of the subject and use themed corporate glossaries.