# How much should I charge for freelance translation work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644 "2005-07-22T14:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/1 "2005-07-22T14:42:14Z")
Okay, I just had a telephone interview with a French company that is looking for someone to translate fact sheets for them out of French and into English, as well as to write some teaser lines for ads. The man who interviewed me sent me some copy to translate, and some other copy to write teasers for. I think I’ll have no trouble doing this, and I think I’ll enjoy the work. However, he also asked me how much I would charge for it, and I have no idea what to ask for! I never thought I’d want to do this for free, but I was hoping I’d get some kind of guidance as to what they’ll usually pay someone to do this. I honestly have no idea what to ask for. I don’t want to ask for too much and scare him off, and I don’t want to ask for too little and rip myself off. I was upfront about having no experience at this, but I don’t want to come off as a total rube. Does anyone out there have any advice? Does anyone else do this kind of thing? Please help! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/2 "2005-07-22T17:11:00Z")
Find out what others are charging (use the phone book) and charge somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/3 "2005-07-22T17:20:35Z")
our translator charges us $0.25/word (canadian) for english -\> french. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/4 "2005-07-22T17:59:10Z")
Paging **matt\_mcl** to this thread. Paging **matt\_mcl**. The Doper in question lives in Montreal and does French-English tranlsation for a living. He discusses it in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=317851), where he says: > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > The cheapest rate I’ve ever offered anyone is $0,10/word, and that was because she was my mom’s neighbour and she was paying out of her medical research budget. > > \ > > …which at my usual rates ($0,16-0,18/word, for a rush job) would be more than $100. And for a professional translator in this city, those are VERY good rates. I’m assuming that those rates are in Canadian money. Maybe you can try sending him an email asking for some advice. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/5 "2005-07-22T18:18:17Z")
Our legal translator charges $0.24/word (US) in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Ainak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Ainak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ainak)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/6 "2005-07-22T18:40:32Z")
$50. per hour. Per word works only if you charge for the FRENCH version, which is usually about 20% longer, in word count, than English. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-translation-work/313644/7 "2005-07-22T19:27:56Z")
Thanks for the tips. I found a [site of a company that does professional translation](http://www.betranslated.com/translation-rates.html) and their prices seem to be comparable. I’ve got an idea as to what I can charge for the translation. I can do French into English, but English into French is out of my grasp, I’m afraid. I mean, I _could_ do it, but I couldn’t do it and not sound like the non-native speaker that I am. All that remains is to figure out what to charge for coming up with the punchy teaser lines. I’d probably work something else out on a per-word basis… but if someone has any ideas, I’d appreciate what input you can give on that. I’ll be freelancing for a video game company, if that helps clear up what I’m doing. I might drop **matt mcl** a line and see what he has to say about the profession, once my phone line at home is fixed and I’m able to send and receive email again. Again, thanks for all your help.