Game Localization Cost Calculator
Game localization costs about $0.07 to $0.20 per source word for each target language on the figures game localization vendors publish, for translation plus a second linguist's review. As of 2 November 2026, Allcorrect Games lists €0.09–€0.17 a word for most languages (about $0.10–$0.19), and Innovecs Games, from vendor quotes on its own projects, gives $0.10–$0.14 for French and $0.14–$0.20 for Japanese and the Nordic languages. French, Italian, German and Spanish run $0.10–$0.16 a word, so 50,000 words into those four languages costs about $20,500–$31,400 before testing. Linguistic QA is billed on top by the hour, at $30–$60 per tester hour in Transphere's guide.
These are third-party market figures that localization vendors publish, not measurements by this directory and not quotes from studios listed here.
Target languages
$20,500–$31,400
50,000 words into 4 languages, translation and review only
- Translation + review
- $20,500–$31,400
| Language | Per word | Total |
|---|---|---|
| French | $0.10–$0.16 | $5,000–$7,850 |
| Italian | $0.10–$0.16 | $5,000–$7,850 |
| German | $0.11–$0.16 | $5,500–$7,850 |
| Spanish (Spain) | $0.10–$0.16 | $5,000–$7,850 |
Low end: the lower of Allcorrect Games' price list and Innovecs Games' published figures; high end: the higher. Languages marked Allcorrect only have one source. Excludes voice-over, localization engineering, minimum fees and repetition discounts. Not a quote, and not measured by this directory; see how it is built below.
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How the estimate is built
For each language the calculator takes the lowest and highest per-word figure from two sources. Allcorrect Games' price list covers translation and a second linguist's check. Innovecs Games publishes per-language figures from vendor quotes on its own projects, with editing included. Those aren't a price list, and Innovecs calls them a ballpark rather than a rate card. A language is offered only if Allcorrect prices it. Innovecs has no figure for Portuguese (Portugal), Hungarian, Romanian, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi and Malay, so those show Allcorrect's own band and are marked as one source. Allcorrect's euro prices are converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 1.1216 dollars per euro (2026-11-02).
Words times the per-word range gives the translation cost for each language. If you include LQA, the tester hours you enter are multiplied by an hourly range that runs from Transphere's $30–$60 band, widened where Allcorrect's rate for that language falls outside it. As a cross-check, Transphere's guide puts typical game translation at $0.12–$0.18 per word, which overlaps every range below except Russian.
Left out on purpose, because no source prices them in a way that can be multiplied:
- Voice-over, which is priced per recorded line or minute plus studio, direction and editing, not per word. Transphere says actor fees often start around $15 per line, and Innovecs Games publishes $3 to $20 per finished line.
- Localization engineering: externalizing strings, fonts, and UI that has room for longer text.
- Minimum order fees and discounts for repeated strings. Allcorrect translates repetitions free, so a count without repetitions is closer to what you pay.
- Transcreation of marketing copy, which vendors quote case by case.
Per-language rates
As published, in each source's currency, with the range the calculator uses. The Alconost column is an all-content average for comparison and is not used in the range.
| Language | Allcorrect (EUR) | Innovecs, vendor quotes (USD) | Range used (USD) | LQA / hour (USD) | Alconost avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIGS (French, Italian, German, Spanish) | |||||
| French | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.10–$0.14 | $0.10–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.10 |
| Italian | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.10–$0.14 | $0.10–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.08 |
| German | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.11–$0.15 | $0.11–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.11 |
| Spanish (Spain) | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.10–$0.13 | $0.10–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.08 |
| Latin American Spanish and Portuguese | |||||
| Spanish (Latin America) | €0.09–€0.14 | $0.08–$0.12 | $0.08–$0.16 | $30–$60 | — |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | €0.09–€0.14 | $0.08–$0.13 | $0.08–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.08 |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | €0.10–€0.14 | Not published | $0.11–$0.16, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) | |||||
| Japanese | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.14–$0.20 | $0.11–$0.20 | $30–$60 | $0.14 |
| Korean | €0.09–€0.14 | $0.13–$0.18 | $0.10–$0.18 | $30–$60 | $0.10 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | €0.09–€0.12 | $0.11–$0.15 | $0.10–$0.15 | $30–$60 | $0.10 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | €0.09–€0.14 | $0.12–$0.16 | $0.10–$0.16 | $30–$60 | — |
| Nordic and Dutch | |||||
| Dutch | €0.10–€0.17 | $0.11–$0.15 | $0.11–$0.19 | $30–$60 | $0.11 |
| Swedish | €0.10–€0.17 | $0.14–$0.20 | $0.11–$0.20 | $30–$60 | $0.12 |
| Danish | €0.10–€0.17 | $0.14–$0.20 | $0.11–$0.20 | $30–$60 | $0.14 |
| Finnish | €0.10–€0.17 | $0.14–$0.20 | $0.11–$0.20 | $30–$60 | $0.14 |
| Norwegian | €0.10–€0.17 | $0.14–$0.20 | $0.11–$0.20 | $30–$60 | — |
| Central and Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey | |||||
| Russian | €0.06–€0.09 | $0.07–$0.11 | $0.07–$0.11 | $30–$60 | $0.07 |
| Polish | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.08–$0.12 | $0.08–$0.16 | $30–$60 | $0.08 |
| Czech | €0.10–€0.14 | $0.08–$0.12 | $0.08–$0.16 | $30–$60 | — |
| Hungarian | €0.10–€0.14 | Not published | $0.11–$0.16, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| Romanian | €0.10–€0.14 | Not published | $0.11–$0.16, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| Greek | €0.10–€0.14 | Not published | $0.11–$0.16, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| Turkish | €0.09–€0.12 | $0.08–$0.12 | $0.08–$0.13 | $30–$60 | $0.09 |
| Middle East, South and Southeast Asia | |||||
| Arabic | €0.09–€0.12, €0.14–€0.16 | $0.12–$0.18 | $0.10–$0.18 | $30–$60 | $0.09 |
| Hebrew | €0.10–€0.17 | Not published | $0.11–$0.19, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| Hindi | €0.12–€0.13 | Not published | $0.13–$0.15, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
| Indonesian | €0.09–€0.12 | $0.07–$0.11 | $0.07–$0.13 | $30–$60 | — |
| Vietnamese | €0.09–€0.12 | $0.08–$0.12 | $0.08–$0.13 | $30–$60 | $0.09 |
| Malay | €0.12–€0.13 | Not published | $0.13–$0.15, Allcorrect only | $30–$60 | — |
Sources
Third-party market figures, each read on the date shown. They are what vendors publish, not what any buyer was measured paying, and nothing on this page comes from a studio listed in this directory.
- Allcorrect GamesUsed in the ranges
Published per-word rates from English by language group and hourly LQA rates by language, in euros; the page describes translation by a native speaker followed by quality control by a second linguist. Read 2026-11-02. A vendor list price in EUR, converted to USD here at the ECB reference rate. Allcorrect says repetitions are translated free and that exact quotes depend on the text. Its US site has a separate dollar list that does not match this one line by line.
- Innovecs GamesUsed in the ranges
Per-word figures by language from English, game text with editing included, which Innovecs Games publishes from vendor quotes on projects it staffed in 2023 to 2026. Published 2026-10-20. Read 2026-11-02. Not a price list. These are quotes from one company’s own projects, and it calls them a ballpark rather than a rate card. It has no figure for Portuguese (Portugal), Hungarian, Romanian, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi or Malay, so those seven show Allcorrect alone.
Average per-word rates for professional human translation across 3,200+ projects Alconost delivered between 2020 and 2026, 18 languages. Published 2026-04-17. Read 2026-11-02. Averages over every content type Alconost translates (software, marketing, games and more), described by Alconost as rough averages. Shown for comparison only; not used in the calculator ranges.
- TransphereUsed in the ranges
Game localization cost guide: translation "typically $0.12–$0.18" per word and LQA "around $30–$60 per hour for professional testers". Published 2026-01-20. Read 2026-11-02. A vendor guide giving one band for all languages rather than a per-language price list. Used here only for the LQA hourly band; its per-word band is quoted as a cross-check.
- European Central BankCurrency conversion
Euro foreign exchange reference rate, US dollar, 2 November 2026. Read 2026-11-02. Used only to convert Allcorrect’s euro prices to dollars. Exchange rates move daily.
Find a localization studio
Localization vendors quote from your actual strings, so send the word count, the languages and a sample of the text to two or three of them. The game localization companies list shows the companies in this directory that offer translation, LQA and voice recording, and the game localization services page explains how to prepare a build before you send it. For budgeting beyond the words, the game localization cost guide works a full project through, and the rate benchmark covers the other disciplines.
Opens with Localization ticked. Nothing is sent to a studio until you confirm.
Frequently asked questions
On the figures game localization vendors publish, French, Italian, German and Spanish each cost $0.10–$0.16 per source word with a second linguist's review, so 50,000 words into all four comes to about $20,500–$31,400 (Allcorrect Games' price list and Innovecs Games' published figures, read 2 November 2026). LQA, voice-over and localization engineering are extra.
On the figures used here, Japanese, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian reach $0.20 a word on Innovecs Games' figures, and Allcorrect prices Dutch, the Nordic languages and Hebrew up to €0.17. Russian is the cheapest at $0.07–$0.11 a word. Alconost, averaging all content types over 3,200+ projects, reports the same pattern: Nordic and CJK languages "tend to be at the higher end", while Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Turkish "are more affordable".
No. Voice-over is priced per recorded line or per minute of audio plus studio time, direction and editing, not per word. Transphere's guide says actor fees often start around $15 per line, and Innovecs Games publishes $3 to $20 per finished line depending on recording type and union terms. The game localization cost guide shows voice as its own line, and a quote will replace it.
Suggested citation
Game Dev Outsourcing, “Game Localization Cost Calculator”, https://www.gamedevoutsourcing.com/tools/localization-cost-calculator.
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