Freelance vs Agency Translation

How to choose the right provider for a language or translation service for you or your business? There are two options: freelance and agency, both with their pros and cons.

It depends on your specific needs, your budget, how fast you need it, etc. This comparison pretends to be a guide for our customers, since at Specialized Language & Translation we are a hybrid (a group of freelancers that turned into a small company), we share a lot of the high points from both approaches.

	FREELANCER vs	AGENCY
Cost	Cheaper (from $0.10 to $0.15 per word)	More expensive (usually from $0.18 to $0.35 per word)
Time	Freelance translators can handle a limited amount of work every day.	Agencies work with many freelance translators, so they can work faster since there might be more than one person working on the same project.
Large-scale projects	One translator performs all the work. + Same quality, same terminology used. - More time needed. You need to plan ahead of time for larger projects.	Several translators work on your project. + Less time needed, fast delivery. - Dividing amount of work into pieces for different translators might result on having a loss of quality (different terminology, style, poor communication and management, etc.)
Quality	Depending on the freelance professional you hire! + Many of the best translators do NOT work for agencies. - Amateur translators deliver amateur translations!	Depending on the management of the agency! - Who is working on your project? - Does the agency have a project manager or reviewer? Advice: Many of them just work as a middle man! Make sure you work with an agency with a good reputation.
Communication	+ Personalized. - Depends on the professionalism of the freelancer.	+ Easy to establish. The agency finds the translators for you. - Not personalized. You talk to a manager or customer representative, normally not knowing who is working on your material.

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