How Much Do Translation Agencies Charge?

We want to help you achieve your goals and to grow with you. For urgent translation services, we won’t charge any hidden fees and will accommodate our efforts to deliver your localization within 24-48 hours, depending on the size of the project. You are welcome to check our urgent translation rates here.

With freelance marketplaces, like UpWork, Fiver, or ProZ, most companies wonder why translation agencies even exist and what their actual benefits are. The truth is, though, that those marketplaces created a run to the bottom, pushing translation rates down and, concurrently, the quality. It creates a challenging task for you as a client to find the right translator who is:

– reliable
– qualified and specialized in game translation
– available
– who can handle the actual workload

Additionally, you need to make sure he or she actually delivers high-quality work. Due to the aforementioned run to the bottom, most translators omit detailed proofreading procedures or don’t offer localization quality assurance – a crucial step to verify if the translation is contextually valid in-game.

Hiring an independent proofreader (not a localization quality assurance tester) appears to be the most reasonable solution. However, due to the fierce competition across the translation industry or simply due to the low quality of the actual translation, typically, proofreaders will provide you with a devastating verdict offering you to rework the entire translation work.

And back to step one – just for one language.

Too Hands-Off

There are also those translators or even companies that localize your game – and then disappear once the task is done. Those translators that aren’t concerned about confirming their work actually worked, monitoring your progress, or giving you any sort of long-term support, creating uncertainty and quality fluctuations. Those companies that can’t be partners because they won’t stick around after the job’s done. They’re those translators that can’t be held accountable for poor (or no) results, and those companies that are only interested in getting paid – fast. Once you point out issues, they simply disappear, and you will never hear from them again.

Too Unqualified

And then some translators promise they can get you the comprehensive, in-depth localization you need. But only in their local region. That leaves you hustling to find local localization services in every other region you’re trying to expand into – and we don’t need to tell you how extraordinarily time-consuming, costly, and frustrating that is.

Too Simple

By the way, most companies you see offering localization? They’re really offering translation. Quick, easy – and ineffective. Translation doesn’t account for the nuances in language. It doesn’t solve the problem of translating common proverbs and slang in a way that makes sense, and it doesn’t signify to the players that your game was made for them. They also don’t offer you in-depth quality assurance through proofreaders and localization quality assurance testers or aren’t able to keep up with your plans to scale up.

Too Expensive

And then there are the companies that promise to avoid all of those traps – that guarantee you the top-notch, scalable, and reliable localization services that you need – for a price. A hefty one. An unreasonable one. These companies capitalize on their unique skill-set. If they really do have what it takes to provide impeccable worldwide localization, then they’ll only take offers from the highest bidders. The big names, who can afford the daunting asking price.

We might convinced you that it’s a good idea to reconsider teaming up with individual translators or to be a tad more skeptical towards translation agencies, right? What makes us, SandVox, so special, then, you might ask?

Efficiency First

Armed with an international team of localization experts and tried-and-true processes for achieving the best possible results, our services are reliable, effective, and fast. Our team members are located around the world (in their native regions), so we’re able to work around the clock, taking advantage of time zone differences to get you your completed tasks quicker. But heightened productivity never means the quality of work is threatened; with rigorous quality control checks, our Localization QA Experts confirm that industry standards are met – and surpassed. At SandVox, we know that time is money. That’s why we’re committed to getting you top-tier results faster – so you can see your profitability soar.

Ready For Anything

In the context of the current geopolitical turmoil (including the “decoupling” between the US and China), it’s natural to think about all the possible risks when considering international expansion. At SandVox, we do our best to minimize those risks – setting your game up for stress-free success on the global level. We’ve prioritized risk prevention by establishing a global network of personnel, including headquarters in the US and Hong Kong so that your growth plans can’t be negatively affected by geopolitics. With communications occurring via best-practice tools (like DingTalk, WeChat, & Slack) and all major currencies accepted as payment, we are ready for any expansion project, anywhere in the world.

Always Scalable

Whether you’re seeking a partner to help you grow from 0-to-1 or from 0-to-1-million, SandVox is here for you. Our localization services are tailored around your needs, which means that as your expansion plans to scale, so too can our services. Our diverse, large, and expertly equipped team is ready to jump to action whenever you need them. All you have to do is say the word. And then there are the details outside of localization: in addition to our primary service, we also offer scalable capabilities in Customer Service, Community Management, Games Marketing, AI Data Analysis, and Project Management. Whatever you need, SandVox is prepared to make it happen.

The bottom line is, SandVox does things differently.