Ask for three sworn translation quotes and you usually end up with three figures you cannot compare. One charges per word, another per page, and the third gives a flat price per document. All three look like answers to the same question, and none answers the one that matters: what will I pay, for this thing in my hand?
The problem is not a lack of transparency. It is that the models measure different things, and one of them — the page model — uses a word that everyone defines their own way.
The two models, and what each one hides
Per word. This model comes from technical and publishing translation, where texts are long and uniform. Its logic is sound: you pay for actual volume. And it has one practical problem for a private client: you cannot work it out before you order. Nobody hand-counts the words on a certificate with stamps, marginal notes and an apostille on the back. You depend on someone telling you.
On top of that, with short documents a per-word price is almost never applied on its own: it comes with a per-document minimum which, in practice, is the price you end up paying.
Per page. This is the dominant model in sworn translation, and it is easier to anticipate. But it forces a question many people do not know they have to ask: what counts as a page?
Page means three different things
This is the part that actually costs money when nobody asks.
- Page as a sheet of paper. Three sheets, three pages. Simple, until a document arrives with two sheets and an enormous density of text.
- Page as an amount of text. A word count is fixed, and each block of those words is one billable page, regardless of how the original is laid out.
- Page as the combination of both. Physical sides and text are both counted, and whichever comes out higher is the one that applies.
All three are defensible. What is not defensible is failing to say which one applies. The same document can cost twice as much depending on the definition used by whoever prices it.
The rule we apply
We use the third model, and we publish it in full so you can work it out yourself: a billable page is one side carrying up to 400 words, and when the text on a side goes beyond that, the excess is charged at a reduced supplement, the same in all four turnaround tiers.
The reason for combining both measures instead of using one has to do with where the work sits. A side with four lines does not carry the translation work of a full side, but it carries exactly the same certification work: checking against the original, drafting the certification, signing and stamping. Counting words alone would penalise whoever brings a dense document; counting sheets alone would penalise whoever brings a short certificate.
One detail worth knowing, because it surprises people: a sheet printed on both sides is two pages. Sides carrying text are counted, not sheets of paper. That is the convention across the trade, not a surcharge of ours.
The actual figures for each turnaround are published as plain text on our pricing page, not hidden inside the calculator. If what you want is the exact amount for your document, the calculator counts it and fixes it before you pay.
What no model should charge you extra for
Three line items sometimes show up as extras which, in our view, are part of the job:
- The apostille. If it is on the document, it gets translated: a sworn translator is required to translate everything that appears, stamps and signatures included. Charging it as a separate document is a commercial decision, not a technical necessity. We cover it in whether the apostille is translated and charged separately.
- The certification and the stamp. They are what makes a translation sworn. They are not an add-on.
- The electronically signed PDF. If it is charged as an extra against paper, ask why, because for the administration it is just as valid.
Three questions before you order
If you are only going to ask three questions, make them these:
- What do you count as a page? Sheets, words, or whichever is higher. And if you count words, how many per page.
- Is that price final? With VAT, with the apostille included and with the delivery I actually need. VAT is where comparisons go wrong most often: we look at it in whether the price includes VAT.
- Who signs, and under what accreditation number? It does not affect the price, but it does affect whether the translation will work. You can check it yourself in the official register: how to verify a sworn translator.
With those three answers, any two quotes become comparable. Without them, you are comparing numbers that measure different things.
→ Work out the exact price of your document
Upload the document to the calculator: it counts the words, applies the rule and gives you the fixed amount and the delivery date before you pay.