Translation Cost Estimator
What translating your book will cost per language
Translation opens new markets, but the cost scales with your word count and the language pair. This tool gives a realistic range for professional human translation and for the far cheaper AI-assisted route, so you can decide which languages are worth entering first.
How much does it cost to translate a book?
Professional literary translation typically runs $0.08 to $0.15 per source word, so an 80,000-word novel costs roughly $6,400 to $12,000 per language. AI-assisted translation followed by a human review costs a fraction of that, which is why many indie authors now enter foreign markets that were previously out of reach.
Is machine translation good enough for a book?
For literary fiction, raw machine output is not enough on its own, because tone, idiom and voice matter. But modern AI translation followed by a native-speaker review has become viable for many genres, delivering readable results at a small fraction of full human cost. Non-fiction tolerates it better than poetry or literary prose.
Which languages should I translate into first?
Follow the market size and the genre fit. German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese have large ebook-buying audiences, and some genres travel better than others. Start with one language where your genre already sells well rather than spreading a budget thin across many.
Frequently asked questions
How much does book translation cost?
Human literary translation is about $0.08 to $0.15 per word, so an 80,000-word book is roughly $6,400 to $12,000 per language. AI-assisted translation costs far less.
Can I use AI to translate my book?
AI translation with a native-speaker review is viable for many genres and dramatically cheaper. Literary prose and poetry still benefit most from human translators.
Which language should I translate into first?
Pick one large market where your genre already sells, such as German or Spanish, rather than spreading a budget across many.
Is this estimate exact?
No, it is a market-rate range. Actual cost varies by language pair, genre and translator.