AI Cost Calculators
AI Translation and Localization Cost Calculator
Estimate the complete cost of translating and localizing websites, documents, product content, support material, and app text using AI plus human review.
Enter Your Localization Workload
Model translation, terminology lookup, QA, post-editing, and setup.
Monthly Content and Languages
Translation Model Tokens and Prices
Terminology and Translation Memory
Automated Quality Review
Human Post-Editing, Platform, and Setup
Human Baseline and Budget
Estimated monthly localization workload
Source words: 700,000
Localized items: 10,000
Processed items after retries: 10,500
Successful localized items: 9,700
Translation input tokens: 5,512,500
Translation output tokens: 5,659,500
QA-checked items: 2,625
Human-reviewed words: 1,050,000
Localization Cost and Savings
The result separates translation, lookup, QA, post-editing, platform, and amortised setup costs.
Monthly localization planning cost
Per source item
—
Per 1,000 source words
—
Per successful localized item
—
Translation-model input
5,512,500 input tokens
—
Translation-model output
5,659,500 output tokens including language expansion
—
Terminology and translation-memory lookup
10,500 lookup calls
—
Automated QA input
1,837,500 QA-model input tokens across 2,625 items
—
Automated QA output
315,000 QA-model output tokens
—
Human post-editing
1,050,000 reviewed words · 1,166.67 hours
—
Fixed monthly localization platform
Workflow, translation memory, storage, monitoring, or platform
—
Amortised implementation
$0.00 spread across 12 months
—
Monthly operating cost: —
Average cost per target language: —
Human-only monthly baseline: Enter the human translation rate
Monthly operating comparison: Enter the human translation rate
Monthly planning comparison: Enter the human translation rate
First-year comparison: Enter the human translation rate
Approximate break-even volume: Enter the human translation rate
Implementation payback: Enter the human translation rate
Price inputs entered: 0 of 9
Budget status: Add a budget to compare
* Important: This calculator stores no translation-model, QA-model, retrieval, labour, or platform price. Enter the current effective rates for the exact services and language workflow being considered. Blank optional price fields are treated as zero. Language pairs, output expansion, terminology density, formatting, legal review, taxes, and transcreation can change the final cost.
AI localization is not only a translation-model call. A practical workflow can include terminology lookup, translation-memory retrieval, quality checks, retries, human editing, and fixed platform costs. This calculator combines those layers.
Calculating Multilingual Content Cost
Enter monthly source content, average words per item, target languages, token usage per source word, and the current model prices.
The calculator estimates translation-model input and output tokens across every language. It can also include repeated processing caused by invalid output, formatting errors, terminology corrections, or failed quality checks.
Results include cost per source item, per target language, per 1,000 source words, per successful localized item, monthly cost, and first-year cost.
Including Terminology and Translation Memory
Many localization workflows retrieve approved terminology, product names, style rules, or earlier translations before generating text.
Enter the average lookup calls per localized item and the effective price per 1,000 calls. This can represent a vector database, translation-memory service, glossary API, or internal database.
Adding Automated QA and Human Editing
A separate model may check meaning, terminology, format, tone, placeholders, or language quality. Enter the percentage of localized items checked, average QA tokens, and the current QA-model rates.
Human editing is calculated from the share of translated words reviewed, reviewer productivity, and hourly rate. This supports light post-editing, full review, or selective review of high-risk content.
Comparing AI Localization With Human Translation
Enter the manual translation rate per source word. The calculator creates a human-only baseline across all target languages and compares it with the AI-assisted workflow.
Results include monthly operating savings, planning savings, first-year savings, implementation payback, and approximate break-even source-word volume.
Practical Decisions This Tool Supports
- Estimate multilingual website and product-content cost.
- Plan document, help-centre, and app localization.
- Include terminology and translation-memory retrieval.
- Measure the cost of QA calls and repeat processing.
- Budget selective or full human post-editing.
- Compare AI-assisted and human-only translation.
- Calculate cost per language and per 1,000 words.
- Find implementation payback and break-even volume.
Costs and Quality Risks Outside the Estimate
The result does not automatically include desktop publishing, subtitle timing, legal review, cultural adaptation, transcreation, taxes, storage, data transfer, or the business cost of incorrect translations.
Language pairs, terminology density, formatting, script, context, and quality expectations can materially change output length and review effort. Test representative content before using one average for every language.
Frequently Asked Questions
What costs should an AI localization estimate include?
A complete estimate can include translation-model tokens, terminology or translation-memory lookup, quality-check calls, retries, human editing, fixed platform fees, setup, and ongoing maintenance.
Why does the calculator use both words and tokens?
Human translation is often priced per source word, while language models are billed by tokens. The calculator lets you enter average input and output tokens per source word for the exact language pair and prompt structure.
What is the language expansion factor?
Translated text can be shorter or longer than the source. The factor adjusts output-token volume for average expansion or contraction across the target languages.
Why are all provider prices blank?
Translation workflows can use different models, platforms, regions, and private agreements. Blank fields prevent example rates from appearing as current official prices. Enter the live rates for the exact services being considered.
How is the human-only baseline calculated?
The calculator multiplies monthly source words by target languages and the entered human translation price per source word.
What is the break-even monthly source-word volume?
It is the approximate source-word volume needed for per-word automation savings to cover recurring platform costs and the amortised share of implementation cost.