Blixwerk

Freelance Translator Rate Calculator: Per Word to Hourly

A new client offers 0.08 per word for a 4,000-word job. It sounds fine until you picture the evening: the file prep, the terminology questions, the final read-through, the invoice. Per-word pricing hides your hours. This calculator turns any word rate into the hourly rate you actually earn, including the unbilled time around the translation, and shows the word rate you would need to reach your own target. Ten seconds, no sign-up.


For example 0.12 for 12 cents per word.

Only used for display.

Pure working speed, including your own revision pass.

Emails, client queries, file prep, invoicing, as a share of translation time.


What one hour of your time should earn.

Effective hourly rate (all project time)

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Hourly rate while actually translating

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Per-word rate needed for your target hourly rate

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This project

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These figures are estimates. This is a planning aid and does not replace a tax professional or accountant.

Want a calm way to track every translation project, invoice and payment in one place? Take a look at the tools built for freelancers like you.

Get Paid On Time – Freelance Invoice, Hours & Client Tracker (Excel)

FAQ

How do I convert a per-word rate to an hourly rate?

Multiply your rate per word by the number of words you translate in an hour. At 0.12 per word and 450 words per hour, that is 54.00 per hour while you translate. Then account for the unbilled time around the job, which this calculator does with the extra-time percentage.

How many words per hour should I enter?

Use your own number. Time a few real jobs from first sentence to finished self-revision and divide words by hours. Speed varies a lot with text type, so a technical text and a marketing text may need different entries.

What is the extra unbilled time for?

It covers work nobody pays for directly: emails, quotes, client queries, file conversion, reference research, invoicing. Enter it as a percentage of your translation time. 20 means a 10-hour translation costs you 12 hours in total. Track a few projects to find your own figure.

Does this work for interpreters and subtitlers?

Yes, if you bill by the word or can estimate words per hour. Subtitlers can use subtitle lines or minutes converted to words. Interpreters billing by the hour or day do not need a conversion, but can use the target field to compare offers.

What should I do if my effective rate is below my target?

You have three levers: raise your per-word rate, work faster on suitable texts, or reduce unbilled time, for example with clearer quotes and fewer back-and-forth emails. The result shows the per-word rate that would reach your target, which is a useful starting point for a quote.

Is the result exact?

No. It is an estimate based on your inputs. Taxes, software costs, repetitions and fuzzy-match discounts in CAT tools, and quiet weeks are not included. Use it as a planning aid and talk to a tax professional or accountant about your own numbers.

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