From our June release: ProZ.com's online rates calculator

ProZ.com’s rates calculator - User guide
a) Use any currency you want. Results will be in the currency you use.

b) Enter business-related costs as a yearly total. This field should include hardware, software, Internet connection, office space, business insurance, memberships, taxes, training, seminars, etc.

c) Enter your desired personal income expressed as a yearly amount. This would cover your living expenses, savings, personal insurance, disposable income, etc., and would be a pre-tax figure.

d) Enter the amount of hours per week you plan to dedicate to your translation business.

e) Enter the percent of your working hours that you spend actually translating. Don't forget to take into consideration such non-translation activities as communications (email, phone calls, chat), quoting, layout, file and document preparation and handling, billing, accounting, marketing, errands, training, breaks, etc.

Note: If you spend 2 hours in an 8-hour working day on non-translation business activities, then the percent of time you spend translating would be 6/8 = 75%

f) Enter your average words translated per hour, after adjusting for CAT tool use and other factors.

You may use units other than words (such as lines, pages or characters); results should be considered to use the same unit of measure.

Consider your net productivity during an average hour dedicated just to translation, as all distractions were considered in the previous point.

g) Enter the number of weeks of holiday you take per year. This should include not only leisure time but also days away from work spent in congresses, seminars, conferences, etc.

h) Click "Submit" to get the number of words you would translate per year and the rate you would need to charge to achieve your desired level of income. You may want to adjust the rate for jobs which will take more or less time than your average speed.

i) Two links are provided below the results: the first one takes you to the rates you have entered in your profile, while the second one leads to the site-wide average rates. Rates are shown by language pair.

Susana Galilea wrote:

I haven't tried the tool yet, but this seems an excellent step in the direction of helping educate both newbie and seasoned translators on how to "think" about their business from an entrepreneurial perspective. Instead of starting from the always abstract issue of "reasonable rates", figuring out those rates based on a provider's specific needs and income goals.

Thank you very much to everyone involved in this initiative.

Gianfranco Manca wrote:

This is a simple tool, over-simplified I'd say, in particular as it doesn't include the tax...

Henry wrote:


No need to get that complicated with this thing, Gianfranco. What we've recommended is that people enter the amount they would like to earn, as a pre-tax amount. The rest is simple.

Enrique wrote:

g) Enter the number of weeks of holiday you take per year. This should include not only leisure time but also days away from work spent in congresses, seminars, conferences, etc.

Walter Landesman wrote:

I did all the "fill in the blanks" thing, and I ended up with about the same rate I am charging now. That`s a good thing, I think. It means I am on the right track.