What should be optional in a translation proposal?

In this template: Glossary and style sheet ($300.00 USD), Monthly updates ($350.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

How much to charge for translation

Updated September 19, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the translation proposal template.

Short answer: Price translation as one fixed line (translation at $220.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,060.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (glossary and style sheet, monthly updates) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

A worked example for translators: the pricing lines from our translation proposal, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to present it so the total gets accepted rather than negotiated.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
TranslationPer thousand words, translated and reviewed	$220.00 USD per thousand words	IncludedClient picks 1 to 60
Glossary and style sheetYour terms and tone, written down for every future translation	$300.00 USD	Optional, on by default
Monthly updatesUp to two thousand words of changed pages a month	$350.00 USD per month	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $2,060.00 USD, before the client chooses among 2 optional lines, with 1 quantity the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

Advisory and back-office work is bought for peace of mind, so the proposal should read like a plan: what you look at first, what the client receives, and how often. A monthly or yearly figure with a named deliverable beats an hourly rate.

Fix the recurring core and make the rest optional: director returns by the number, extra hours, a training day. The core is easy to say yes to; the options let the client size the engagement without a second call.

Say what you need from the client and by when. Missing receipts and late answers are where these engagements go wrong, and a proposal that says so is a proposal that gets respected.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for translation?: Price translation as one fixed line (translation at $220.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,060.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (glossary and style sheet, monthly updates) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a translation proposal?: In this template: Glossary and style sheet ($300.00 USD), Monthly updates ($350.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present translation pricing so it gets accepted?: Advisory and back-office work is bought for peace of mind, so the proposal should read like a plan: what you look at first, what the client receives, and how often. A monthly or yearly figure with a named deliverable beats an hourly rate.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Translation is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Glossary and style sheet, Monthly updates sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real proposal, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on their phone, adjusts the options, and accepts with one tap. Both of you get the signed PDF.

Try it in the editor, no account See the translation proposal template