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How do we calculate the number of pages for pricing?
The page count for certified translations is determined by the total word count of the document. Use this guide to understand how to accurately count words and calculate the number of pages.
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How We Calculate Pages for Certified Translations
Formula
When it comes to determining the cost of a certified translation, the key factor is not the physical number of pages in your document, but the total word count. The physical layout of your document, whether a single page packed with text or multiple pages with fewer words, doesn’t play a direct role in our pricing.
For example, a one-page birth certificate with 700 words would take significantly more time to translate than a four-page bank statement with just 100 words per page. If we charged by the physical page, the client with the simple bank statement would end up paying more despite requiring less translation work.
To ensure fair pricing, we calculate page counts based on the total word count in the original document. This means the same rate applies whether your 500 words are spread across multiple pages or all on a single page.
Industry standards define one page of certified translation as 250 words. For instance, a document containing 1,000 words would be calculated as four pages. Dividing the total word count by 250 gives us the page count. Any extra words beyond 1,000 and up to 1,250 would add one more page, and so on for every 250-word increment.
What Counts as a Word?
In certified translations, everything counts, including numbers. Both “5” and “732” are treated as one word each, regardless of their length. The number of digits doesn’t affect the word count—each numeric value is counted as one word.
If your document contains text already in the target language, it will still be included in the word count. Even if no translation is needed, formatting and integrating these words into the final document still require effort.
Additionally, certified translations must include all visible content, such as headings, footers, and instructions. Since certified translations are word-for-word, anything you don’t want translated should be removed before submitting.
This ensures our pricing remains clear and consistent, regardless of how your document is formatted.
Getting an Accurate Word Count
Certified translation source documents are often scanned or photographed, making it challenging to get an exact word count without specialized tools like optical character recognition (OCR) software. Without such software, manually counting the words can be a tedious task.
We use software whenever possible to ensure accurate word counts. However, documents with handwritten content may require manual counting. If you’re unsure of the word count in your document, feel free to request a quote. Our team will provide you with the word and page count, along with the total cost and estimated completion time.