Translation Guides 5 min read
How to Request Translation Quotes Online: A Brief You Can Copy
Most price confusion in translation comes from an incomplete request. Eight facts make quotes comparable — and this is the brief that contains them.
By Translation Centers editorial team
Ask five translation companies for a price on the same document with a one-line e-mail and you will get five numbers that cannot be compared: different units, different scope, different assumptions about what you need. The price is not the problem — the request is.
A good request takes five minutes to write and makes every quote you receive comparable. Here is what it has to contain.
The eight facts every provider needs
- The language pair and the direction. "Arabic and English" is not a pair. Arabic→English and English→Arabic are priced and staffed differently.
- The document type. Contract, birth certificate, medical report, user manual, website content, financial statement. This decides who works on it.
- The volume. Word count if you have it, page count otherwise — and say which. For scans, say how many pages and whether the text is typed or handwritten.
- The file format. Editable Word or Excel, PDF, scanned images, InDesign, a website export. A non-editable file adds preparation work.
- Who receives the translation and what they require. The receiving authority's rules decide whether you need certified translation at all, and what kind of certification. See certified vs. legal vs. standard translation.
- The deadline. A real one. "As soon as possible" invites a rush surcharge you may not need.
- The output you expect. A Word file, a PDF matching the original layout, printed and stamped copies, a translation certificate, delivery by courier.
- Anything that affects terminology. A glossary, previous translations, a style guide, or the spelling of names as they appear in official documents.
Add one more line that saves everybody time: what is in scope and what is not. For example, "no DTP needed, plain Word is fine", or "the final file must match the original layout page for page".
Read also: How Much Does Translation Cost in 2026? Complete Pricing Guide
A brief you can copy
Request: English→Arabic translation of a supply contract
- Document: supply agreement, 14 pages, editable Word, about 6,200 words
- Pair and direction: English → Arabic
- Purpose: signature by both parties; a certified copy will be submitted to a government tender office in Egypt
- Certification: required — please state what your certification includes
- Deadline: Thursday 20 November, end of day
- Deliverables: Word file plus two printed and stamped copies
- Terminology: glossary of 40 terms attached; company names to be kept in English
- Please quote: unit price, total, VAT if applicable, delivery date, whether a second linguist reviews the translation, and how many revision rounds are included
That request can be answered with a firm price. The same document described as "please send me your price for translating a contract" cannot.
Read also: Expanding Into Arabic Markets: A Language and Document Checklist
Where to send it
To specific providers. Shortlist two or three from the directory — filter by service, language or country and city — and use the contact form on each page. Finding a translation company in the directory shows how to shortlist properly.
Or post it once. Post a translation request, and providers quote per language. You see the quotes side by side with delivery times and ratings, and you can award all languages to one provider or each language to a different one. Posting and receiving quotes are free for clients; what happens after you award is explained in ordering translation online.
How to read the quotes
Line the quotes up and compare the same five things:
| What to compare | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Unit and total | Per word, per page or per project — a per-page price means nothing without the words-per-page assumption |
| What is included | Review by a second linguist, formatting, certification, printed copies |
| Revisions | How many rounds, and what counts as a revision rather than a new job |
| Delivery date | A date, not "3–5 days" |
| Who does the work | In-house staff, a regular freelancer, or an unnamed subcontractor |
A quote far below the others is not automatically a bargain: it usually means a single pass with no review, or machine translation with a light edit. That can be perfectly adequate for internal understanding and quite wrong for a contract or a published text — see machine translation and post-editing.
Questions worth asking before you award
- Who will translate it, and what is their background in this field?
- Is the translation reviewed by a second linguist before delivery?
- How do you handle terminology and keep it consistent across my documents?
- What exactly does your certification include, and is it accepted by the authority I named?
- How is my file stored and who can see it?
- What happens if the receiving authority rejects the translation?
Most of those answers tell you more about the provider than the price does. Our guide on choosing the right translation company goes through them in depth.
Mistakes that make quotes useless
- Not naming the receiving authority. Half of certification questions come from this gap.
- Asking for a price on a draft. Translate the final text, or budget for the changes.
- Hiding the deadline. Providers price urgency; they cannot price an unknown.
- Comparing a per-page price to a per-word price. Convert both to the same unit first — per page versus per word shows how.
- Choosing on price alone. The cost of a rejected or re-done translation is always higher than the difference between two quotes.
Write the brief once and keep it as a template. Every future translation request is then a two-minute edit — and the prices you get back are comparable from the first reply.
Frequently asked questions
Is asking for a quote free?
Yes. Requesting quotes from companies and translators here is free for clients, and so is posting a request on the marketplace. Providers are charged a commission only on completed, paid work.
How many providers should I ask?
Three is the sweet spot. One quote tells you nothing about the market; more than four or five creates work you will not read carefully.
Do I have to upload the document to get a price?
For an accurate price, almost always. A page count alone hides scanned pages, tables, drawings and handwriting. If the file is confidential, send a representative sample and the exact page or word count.
Why do quotes for the same document differ so much?
Because they are not quoting the same service. Review by a second linguist, formatting, certification, printed copies and revision rounds may be included or excluded. Ask every provider to list what the price includes.
What is a reasonable turnaround to ask for?
A professional translator handles roughly 2,000–2,500 words a day, plus time for review. Anything faster usually means splitting the document between translators, which is possible but needs a reviewer to keep the terminology consistent.
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