Rates for and Definition of the Transcription Thread poster: Vlad Kotenko
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Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 09:27
Ukrainian to English
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Can someone explain what should be the average rate for 1 hour of transcription? I am interested to know rates in the countries where you live, since rates differ.
Does transcription always include written translation of spoken speech, or is the term “transcription” also used for monolingual conversion of spoken speech into written form—without translation?
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 08:27
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Two different tasks | Oct 23, 2021 |
Hi Viad,
transcription is just what it says, you transcribe (write down) and time code all that is relevant to subtitle the video, e. g. identification of speakers, dialogues, general necessary descriptions (sounds, location where required) in the language of the video. Then the subtitles can be translate from an existing transcript.
To save money many outsourcers require you to translate everything while transcribing and time coding the video, perhaps knowing, perhaps ... See more Hi Viad,
transcription is just what it says, you transcribe (write down) and time code all that is relevant to subtitle the video, e. g. identification of speakers, dialogues, general necessary descriptions (sounds, location where required) in the language of the video. Then the subtitles can be translate from an existing transcript.
To save money many outsourcers require you to translate everything while transcribing and time coding the video, perhaps knowing, perhaps unaware of the fact that these are two different tasks and should therefore be paid separately. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
@Vlad Kotenko
It's better to charge per video/audio minute, as that's the most reliable method to calculate the volume of work you'd have to deliver.
Transcription jobs can include translations into another language, or simply left in the same language as the original audio. I have seen both.
@Thayenga
It's not only videos. In fact, that's not what transcription jobs are usually described as. Transcription jobs mainly deal with audio files, whe... See more @Vlad Kotenko
It's better to charge per video/audio minute, as that's the most reliable method to calculate the volume of work you'd have to deliver.
Transcription jobs can include translations into another language, or simply left in the same language as the original audio. I have seen both.
@Thayenga
It's not only videos. In fact, that's not what transcription jobs are usually described as. Transcription jobs mainly deal with audio files, whereas the term 'subtitling' would be used for video files. And while sometimes you also need to transcribe the spoken dialogues for videos without pre-made templates given, it's still generally considered as a subtitling job.
Another difference is that, the requested file delivery format for your transcriptions could be in DOCX or XLSX, while for subtitles it'd be in SRT, ASS, WebVTT, DFXP, etc.
At least that has been my experience.
[Edited at 2021-10-23 07:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 09:27
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for the clarification. It seems that there are two ways of paying for transcription: (1) Per one hour of source video or audio. (2) Per one hour of actual transcription work on the part of a professional.
Is the first way the most common? And what are the most common rates?
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| Transcription rates | Oct 25, 2021 |
The most common method of pricing is per audio minute. You have to estimate how long it would take you to transcribe. Audio quality and clarity will affect how quickly you can work but, generally, it takes three times as long to transcribe as the length of the recording. So, one hour of audio (monolingual) would take at least three hours to transcribe.
To come up with a rate, you need to estimate your acceptable hourly wage or minimum hourly wage, multiply by three (hours), then di... See more The most common method of pricing is per audio minute. You have to estimate how long it would take you to transcribe. Audio quality and clarity will affect how quickly you can work but, generally, it takes three times as long to transcribe as the length of the recording. So, one hour of audio (monolingual) would take at least three hours to transcribe.
To come up with a rate, you need to estimate your acceptable hourly wage or minimum hourly wage, multiply by three (hours), then divide that by 60 (minutes) to get your per-minute rate. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| Both seem common | Oct 25, 2021 |
Vlad Kotenko wrote:
Is the first way the most common? And what are the most common rates?
I've seen both quite a lot. But I always propose per video/audio minute rate. It's much easier to calculate your work volume, and less likely to get disputed down the line.
IMHO, per hour work rate is stupid. Agencies/clients could never tell if the translator is prolonging their work to get more money. Unless they work in a cloud system where the performance of said translator can be monitored. It only makes sense for in-house employees, and not freelancers.
But you do you. I just prefer to make things easier for both the agency/client and myself. Because I've got better things to do with my life. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
By the way, there are also agencies who would pay per project. It's not as common as the other two, but be aware that it exists. I never like any of those since I feel it can be abused by the agency/client easily. If you came across one, be sure to ask the total words or audio/video duration you'll have to translate. See if it ended up lower than your acceptable rate.
[Edited at 2021-10-25 06:13 GMT]
| | | | Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 09:27
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Rate Calculation | Oct 25, 2021 |
Novian Cahyadi wrote:
It's better to charge per video/audio minute, as that's the most reliable method to calculate the volume of work you'd have to deliver.
Transcription jobs can include translations into another language, or simply left in the same language as the original audio. I have seen both.
Thank you. For some reason, I did not see your reply yesterday before posting further questions.
Cidalia Martins wrote:
The most common method of pricing is per audio minute. You have to estimate how long it would take you to transcribe. Audio quality and clarity will affect how quickly you can work but, generally, it takes three times as long to transcribe as the length of the recording. So, one hour of audio (monolingual) would take at least three hours to transcribe.
To come up with a rate, you need to estimate your acceptable hourly wage or minimum hourly wage, multiply by three (hours), then divide that by 60 (minutes) to get your per-minute rate.
Novian Cahyadi wrote:
I've seen both quite a lot. But I always propose per video/audio minute rate. It's much easier to calculate your work volume, and less likely to get disputed down the line.
Yes, this is a good way to calculate one’s rates. I will keep in mind that the amount of one’s work is to be multiplied by a factor of about 3 when calculating the rate.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Cidalia Martins wrote:
The most common method of pricing is per audio minute. You have to estimate how long it would take you to transcribe.
Per audio minute rate has nothing to do with how fast you work. If the audio file is 20 minutes long, and you charge $4.80 per audio minute, you'll get $96. It doesn't matter if you finished it in 24 hours, 48 hours, or even 240 hours. It won't change the amount of your payment. Translation capacity per day is a whole different matter.
[Edited at 2021-10-25 13:05 GMT]
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