Rates English-Swedish & German-Swedish for a new translator Thread poster: Nina Hiltunen
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Hi there!
I am new in this business and the hardest thing so far is to set my rates. Would you say that the list found here on proz is a good guiding principle worth following? That the minimum rate for Eng-Swe is 0.1 USD and Ger-Swe 0.09 USD. Is there anyone who could advise me as to which rates to set in the beginning? It is very hard when you have no idea about possible incomes compared to the costs of the business either, so it is hard to calculate what would be a good balance.
... See more Hi there!
I am new in this business and the hardest thing so far is to set my rates. Would you say that the list found here on proz is a good guiding principle worth following? That the minimum rate for Eng-Swe is 0.1 USD and Ger-Swe 0.09 USD. Is there anyone who could advise me as to which rates to set in the beginning? It is very hard when you have no idea about possible incomes compared to the costs of the business either, so it is hard to calculate what would be a good balance.
Thank you for your help, I appreciate it!
Kindly,
Nina ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jorge Payan 
Colombia
Local time: 21:19
Member (2002)
German to Spanish
+ ...
| Agneta Pallinder
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:19
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
| No beginner's rate | Feb 5, 2020 |
Hello Nina,
I also have Swedish in my language pairs and charge €0.10 per word for translation.
I know of others who charge less, and some who charge more. It is not easy.
But, what I really wanted to stress is that you should not charge less per word because you are a beginner. You will still have to produce quality output - but for you as a beginner it will take longer, so your hourly output will be less.
Looking back I can see that I achieved on ... See more Hello Nina,
I also have Swedish in my language pairs and charge €0.10 per word for translation.
I know of others who charge less, and some who charge more. It is not easy.
But, what I really wanted to stress is that you should not charge less per word because you are a beginner. You will still have to produce quality output - but for you as a beginner it will take longer, so your hourly output will be less.
Looking back I can see that I achieved on average 250 wph five years ago; now it is more like 350 wph. Average, of course - I can still be caught out by a short text full of pitfalls and achieve less than 200 wph - my mistake, my cost.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 03:19
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| There are only averages, I.e. guides | Feb 5, 2020 |
Nina Hiltunen wrote:
Would you say that the list found here on proz is a good guiding principle worth following? That the minimum rate for Eng-Swe is 0.1 USD and Ger-Swe 0.09 USD.
What that's saying is that, among the translators registered here, most say they expect around €x but will sometimes accept as low as €y. There will be translators who demand far more, and others who accept far less - those are just averages, derived statistically. So use them as a guide, not a rule book. They work for me in my pair.
It is very hard when you have no idea about possible incomes compared to the costs of the business either, so it is hard to calculate what would be a good balance.
The bottom line has to be the amount you earn per hour. Our time (while using our expertise) is what we're really selling. So it's essential to figure out how many words you can handle in an hour - from first read through to delivery). Once you know how much you, personally, need/want to earn per hour, you can calculate your rate per word. Bear in mind two things:
1. Few clients will be happy for you to raise your per word rate, even after a year or so, so that has to be done starting with new clients and leaving the best till last.
2. The client should receive an accurate and polished text from a beginner. It follows that they should pay the "correct" rate from day one. The inexperienced translator will need to spend extra time on research and checks, so your hourly rate will start low and rise as you gain experience and speed, without any per-word rate rise.
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Nina Hiltunen
Sweden
Local time: 04:19
English to Swedish
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TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for your answers, it is really helpful!
Regarding other tasks like proofreading and editing for example, many companies ask for an hourly rate. What would be a reasonable hourly rate for those kinds of tasks? Does it depend on the language or is it more or less the same regardless of your language? I've read that proofreading is cheaper than editing, is that true? According to my google findings, around 30 USD/hour seem to be an average rate, but I don't know. What would you ... See more Thanks for your answers, it is really helpful!
Regarding other tasks like proofreading and editing for example, many companies ask for an hourly rate. What would be a reasonable hourly rate for those kinds of tasks? Does it depend on the language or is it more or less the same regardless of your language? I've read that proofreading is cheaper than editing, is that true? According to my google findings, around 30 USD/hour seem to be an average rate, but I don't know. What would you experts say?
/Nina ▲ Collapse
| | | | | How did it go? | Sep 25, 2023 |
Hello Nina,
I’m just starting out as a freelance translator, dealing with exactly the same issues as you describe. And I’m curious to know, how did it turn out? Did you find a way to set reasonable rates!
Kram Karin.
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