Direct clients rates vs. agency rates Thread poster: Anna A. K.
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Anna A. K. 
Germany
Local time: 16:13
Member (2020)
English to German
Dear fellow translators,
are your rates any different when you propose them to direct clients compared to rates you propose to agencies? If so, to what extent do they differ?
| | | | Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 16:13
German to Swedish
+ ...
Direct client minimum = typical rate to agency + typical agency markup.
With physical direct clients my rates tend to be not very different from what they would pay an agency (it's also mostly the same type of job: wills, certificates etc). Perhaps a bit higher, but many direct physical clients choose supplier by price (not having a lot of experience of the market) and are quite price sensitive.
With most corporate direct clients rates can be substantially higher. They... See more Direct client minimum = typical rate to agency + typical agency markup.
With physical direct clients my rates tend to be not very different from what they would pay an agency (it's also mostly the same type of job: wills, certificates etc). Perhaps a bit higher, but many direct physical clients choose supplier by price (not having a lot of experience of the market) and are quite price sensitive.
With most corporate direct clients rates can be substantially higher. They'll hand pick a subject expert whose work they like (the alternative of using agencies each time tends to yield hit-and-miss results). Also more is at stake for the customer (in legal work, for example) and the translation cost is a much smaller proportion of total project cost. ▲ Collapse
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My rates to direct clients are, of course, higher than to agencies, how much higher depends entirely on several factors - what the potential new client requires: only translation (that’s rare)? translation + edition + proofing (more common) + on the project’s subject matter. Over the years, the work I have done to direct clients tend to be very large projects (over 100,000 words). So, it can go from 25% more to double my usual rate. Yet, I have been working with a regular long-standing direc... See more My rates to direct clients are, of course, higher than to agencies, how much higher depends entirely on several factors - what the potential new client requires: only translation (that’s rare)? translation + edition + proofing (more common) + on the project’s subject matter. Over the years, the work I have done to direct clients tend to be very large projects (over 100,000 words). So, it can go from 25% more to double my usual rate. Yet, I have been working with a regular long-standing direct client for agency rates or about.
P.S. I should have pointed out that I have two different types of direct clients: individuals and corporate. I used to work a lot with individual direct clients as a sworn translator in Belgium (there are no sworn translators in Portugal). Individual direct clients were charged at agencies rates (occasionally even less). Corporate direct clients require a lot more and are charged accordingly.
[Edited at 2023-02-04 11:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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In theory, I charge everyone the same price as they are all paying for the same thing.
In practice, I charge some agencies up to 20% less because they can't/won't pay my full price (which still makes sense for me because they're mostly there to plug gaps in my schedule).
I used to think of it as charging direct clients extra but now I prefer to look at it the other way around, i.e. giving agencies a discount.
I'm not convinced by the argument that we should... See more In theory, I charge everyone the same price as they are all paying for the same thing.
In practice, I charge some agencies up to 20% less because they can't/won't pay my full price (which still makes sense for me because they're mostly there to plug gaps in my schedule).
I used to think of it as charging direct clients extra but now I prefer to look at it the other way around, i.e. giving agencies a discount.
I'm not convinced by the argument that we should price our services based on value to the customer ("I saved you millions in damages") rather than time ("it took me an hour"). It feels like there's something fundamentally immoral/unethical there. ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 10:13
German to English
| Direct clients pay better ... | Feb 3, 2023 |
... but they often demand more, such as research or desktop publishing. Having access to a university library, I can offer the former, but have to outsource DTP.
Many companies prefer to use agencies due to the seamless provision of services. Good agencies usually have the resources to apply a team to large or involved projects, while you as a freelancer have to rely on your own personal network for support – and backup if you are unable to meet a deadline in the event of illness ... See more ... but they often demand more, such as research or desktop publishing. Having access to a university library, I can offer the former, but have to outsource DTP.
Many companies prefer to use agencies due to the seamless provision of services. Good agencies usually have the resources to apply a team to large or involved projects, while you as a freelancer have to rely on your own personal network for support – and backup if you are unable to meet a deadline in the event of illness or a family emergency.
Another issue is dealing with potential clients who have no idea of what is involved in the translation process. I have often been approached (generally by US-based companies) to have a document "typed" or "converted" into English with an unrealistic deadline. In such cases, client education is involved.
That said, the trick is to price your work competitively so that you offer an attractive alternative to using an agency without putting yourself in an impossible position with respect to services you can provide.
Many freelancers try to achieve a balance between agency work and projects for direct clients. Having a good relationship with a few agencies can assure a relatively steady flow of work, with the possibility of turning down jobs if better-paying engagements are available. In my experience, turning down a direct client more than once can result the loss of a relationship. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:13
Member
English to Turkish
| Direct clients | Feb 4, 2023 |
I've always fancied going for direct clients if I were translating from German, Dutch, Spanish or French into English (or perhaps the other way around) as the direct clients paying in local currency where I live ain't worth the hassle (they pay about as much as or slightly better than the best rate agencies in Asia).
But then I remember reading a Dutch translator's post here many years ago, explaining why he preferred agencies over direct clients, he said with agencies you could get paid m... See more I've always fancied going for direct clients if I were translating from German, Dutch, Spanish or French into English (or perhaps the other way around) as the direct clients paying in local currency where I live ain't worth the hassle (they pay about as much as or slightly better than the best rate agencies in Asia).
But then I remember reading a Dutch translator's post here many years ago, explaining why he preferred agencies over direct clients, he said with agencies you could get paid more easily by sending them reminders, writing a BB entry on Proz, contacting a debt collection agency etc. Direct clients can swindle you and you can't do much about it if you're in another country. So, there's that risk involved.
I came (or I thought I came) close to acquiring a direct client from Germany about two years ago, but my hopes were dashed by the direct client's Turkish partner... Though, the more I think about it, it was no go from the start. I got a job from a European agency one Friday evening (it was about 3500 words, the deadline was Tuesday morning I think). This agency lets you ask their clients questions through their website (and I think those communications with clients are not monitored by them, though I'm not entirely sure), anyways I asked a term that caught my eye (can't remember what it was). In less than half an hour the agency's client replied by saying "could you give me your phone number?". I did and he called me right away. He said this was a tender paper, he and his partner in Turkey should go through it over the weekend and asked me if I could deliver the translation next day (Saturday). He said they already had the document Google translated, it wasn't that good, but they got the gist of it. He said there was more where this came from, and asked me if I would consider working with them directly? I said "f*ck yes!" (or something to that effect). So I did my best to translate that terrible tender document, which was either translated very badly from German to English or written very badly by a German speaker in English. I spent the best part of Saturday rendering that rubbish as smoothly readable in Turkish as possible. He (the German guy) told me to send the translation to his email address by adding his partner's email (Turkish guy) in the CC as well, which I did. Later in the evening I got emails from them both, and saw their communications with each other. My heart sank when I read the Turkish guy's email where he said "Hi ...., I already had the document translated by my daughter, who is a notary translator here, but let's see how Baran's translation will look like". That SOB... If there was any translation work to be done, it was already destined to his daughter, and they made me translate that shit in less than 24 hours and screwed my weekend in the process, all the while giving me false hopes... Serves me right I guess. No more direct clients for me. ▲ Collapse
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Baran Keki wrote:...He (the German guy) told me to send the translation to his email address by adding his partner's email (Turkish guy) in the CC as well, which I did. Later in the evening I got emails from them both, and saw their communications with each other. My heart sank when I read the Turkish guy's email where he said "Hi ...., I already had the document translated by my daughter, who is a notary translator here, but let's see how Baran's translation will look like". That SOB... If there was any translation work to be done, it was already destined to his daughter, and they made me translate that shit in less than 24 hours and screwed my weekend in the process, all the while giving me false hopes... Serves me right I guess. No more direct clients for me.
... but did they finally pay you at the end (most important!), and perhaps the translation done by the daughter was a draft only but containing the essential points they needed? Maybe then your translation was a good help anyway on their way to the assignment they wanted.
Anyway, I understand what you mean by preferring agencies above direct clients for the reasons you mentioned: One day I thought I had a big fish on the hook with one of the major German companies in process engineering. After I submitted the first tender documents my contact wanted me to take care of all the business communication which means translating emails from German into Dutch. He mistook me for a foreign language correspondence freelancer and after I politely declined he was looking further. On top of that the company was in economic difficulties and I had to send numerous reminders. To pay a translator wasn't that important for them in those days, I assume.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:13
French to English
I charge about 50% more to direct clients. They are more demanding. The agency prepares the file for me, and has already negotiated a decent deadline, and they rarely ask questions about my translation. My direct clients send pdfs, and sometimes ask for unrealistic deadlines, and often ask questions about my translation. They often ask extra questions about unrelated texts, and sometimes ask if I can recommend translators working into other languages.
I also manage to produce much b... See more I charge about 50% more to direct clients. They are more demanding. The agency prepares the file for me, and has already negotiated a decent deadline, and they rarely ask questions about my translation. My direct clients send pdfs, and sometimes ask for unrealistic deadlines, and often ask questions about my translation. They often ask extra questions about unrelated texts, and sometimes ask if I can recommend translators working into other languages.
I also manage to produce much better work for them, simply because I get to discuss their work, their reasons for translating documents, issues with the text. If I have to ask questions, I get much more detailed answers than when I go through an agency.
And they never make me use a CAT tool either.
So there's more work involved, and they get a better result, so I believe the price is more than justified. ▲ Collapse
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:13
Japanese to English
+ ...
| direct vs. agency rates | Feb 7, 2023 |
A generalization but with agencies, they control you; but with direct clients, you more of less control them.
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Michael Newton wrote:
A generalization but with agencies, they control you; but with direct clients, you more of less control them.
If anything, it’s the other way around. It’s way easier to say no to an agency.
But nobody controls me, baby. Except maybe the moderators here 😂
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:13
French to English
Michael Newton wrote:
A generalization but with agencies, they control you; but with direct clients, you more of less control them.
I wouldn't say that in the least. Some agencies try to control translators, but I wouldn't work with someone who treats me like that. I'm a FREElancer.
And I wouldn't ever see my relationship with direct clients in terms of "control" either. They ask me to perform a task and I do so in return for payment. I may have more control over terminology, because there are no TMs to be complied with, and I'm sometimes in a position of "English-language authority" because nobody else can speak English well enough to make terminology decisions in the company. I do not consider that to be control in any way.
Pretty weird way of looking at a business relationship if you ask me.
| | | | Arianne Farah
Canada
Local time: 10:13
Member (2008)
English to French
| Same price; different product | Feb 7, 2023 |
My price for translation is the same for agencies and direct clients... but a translation is *not * a finished product - it requires a round of editing, perhaps two, and could require other tweaks depending on its purpose.
So I break down the price - you want something for in-house purposes? Translation. You want to publish something on your Website on a page several layers away from your landing page? Translation + Editing. You want to publish something on your Web site's landing p... See more My price for translation is the same for agencies and direct clients... but a translation is *not * a finished product - it requires a round of editing, perhaps two, and could require other tweaks depending on its purpose.
So I break down the price - you want something for in-house purposes? Translation. You want to publish something on your Website on a page several layers away from your landing page? Translation + Editing. You want to publish something on your Web site's landing page? Translation + Editing + in-context proof. You want to publish a glossy brochure you're going to mail to your biggest clients? Translation + Editing + Transcreation for the titles & tag lines + post-layout, pre-print proof (and repeat until it's perfect - don't assume changes requested have been correctly applied).
When I work with agencies, usually I'm doing one of those steps and we agree on the quality metrics. When I work with direct clients, it helps to spell it out that way (it also precludes them asking for round after round of unpaid revisions to the original translation), so that we have a very clear understanding on what exactly they're buying and what it will cost them. Some clients just want a simple translation and after that it'll be handed over to the legal or marketing team where it'll be reworked - they don't need the whole shebang, they just don't have an in-house translator and need a starting point. Other clients want a turnkey solution. ▲ Collapse
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Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 16:13
Member (2016)
English to German
Anna1307 wrote:
are your rates any different when you propose them to direct clients compared to rates you propose to agencies? If so, to what extent do they differ?
I charge agencies about 2/3 of what I charge direct clients, because I value the contribution of ---good--- agencies, which enable me to do my work somewhat hassle-free.
In the fields I work in (games and subtitles for entertainment formats), there are not that many direct clients, since most projects get translated into numerous languages, and clients generally prefer dealing with one agency rather than with numerous individual translators.
-- edited to fix the math  --
[Edited at 2023-02-08 08:43 GMT]
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:13
Japanese to English
+ ...
With the law firms and the brokerages I deal with, I have much more control over my rates: USD 0.12 to USD 0.16/word. Given the quality and experience I provide with my work, these clients are much more likely to cross my palm with silver. Agencies, however, care naught about a translator's quality and experience. (Several agencies have even told me they thought I had "too much experience"). They pay 4 or 5 cents a word (if that) and if you don't like it, you can b..... off. Direct clients such ... See more With the law firms and the brokerages I deal with, I have much more control over my rates: USD 0.12 to USD 0.16/word. Given the quality and experience I provide with my work, these clients are much more likely to cross my palm with silver. Agencies, however, care naught about a translator's quality and experience. (Several agencies have even told me they thought I had "too much experience"). They pay 4 or 5 cents a word (if that) and if you don't like it, you can b..... off. Direct clients such as law firms and brokerages can exercise some control over a translator in certain aspects. They may insist that all the documentation involved in a case be shredded. And in one case, that the shreddings be returned to the firm. Shreddings, after all, can be pieced together by the diligent. This was the case when I was part of the legal team that worked on the Nissan/Renault Carlos Ghosn brief (pre- and post-Hegira). Some of them want you to come in to their office just to size you up before they take you on as a translator. If the law firm is on the other side of the continent, you will have to shell out a few bucks. If you are lucky, they may even take you to lunch. These are the corporate rules of the game, however, but the rewards are well worth it.
A word to the wise: ditch the agencies. They are not worth it. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 16:13
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Jan Truper wrote:
I charge agencies about 2/3 of what I charge direct clients, because I value the contribution of ---good--- agencies, which enable me to do my work somewhat hassle-free.
I couldn't have put it better: good agencies allow you to do your work more or less hassle-free. They know the translation business, they know how the translation process works and they will only intervene if you really screw up (which is a very good thing, because good translators virtually never screw up). With direct clients you risk to encounter people who know nothing about translation, read your work and just decide they don't like it without further explanation. It's fatiguing and might be stressful if they would refuse to pay.
On the other hand they pay (much) better since there are no intermediaries involved, but that can't convince me to start to focus on them. I hate risks and stress caused by things you don't control. And in all those years of translation I found my way to have a good life working for agencies.
[Edited at 2023-02-08 07:43 GMT]
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