Our freelance rates reflect the value of our work in a competitive market. We aim to be flexible, transparent, and professional in all our pricing models.
Flexible: We are open to a range of fee models to suit your needs, from euros per word to hourly rates or a lump sum.
Transparent: We are upfront about our prices. We want to give you all the information you need to make informed purchasing decisions.
Professional: Expect high standards in everything we do. Proposals and invoicing are GoBD-compliant and aligned with your inhouse accounting workflows.
We want you to make informed purchasing decisions.
Flexible, transparent pricing makes it possible.
Use this form to estimate the cost of your project before you request a formal price quote.
The price calculator generates non-binding offers. Once you’re satisfied with an estimate, you can submit the form for review. Our formal quote may differ from your online estimate, but that is usually to your advantage. Make sure to contact us for the best offer!
Instructions: Fill out the fields below in order of appearance. Additional fields appear dynamically based on your input. The grand total is shown at the bottom. When you’re done, you can submit your estimate for review by our team.
All prices are shown in euros net (excluding VAT). You will find a tax estimate on the net total at the end.
Enjoy reliable budgeting and transparent billing when you work with us. Each proposal clearly documents your costs, and you will receive an invoice once you are satisfied with the deliverables.
Our general formula for editorial work is fee × scope × difficulty. Prices are negotiable to accommodate different clients and projects. As a b2b company, GermanBureau advertises its prices in euros net. The final invoice may include value-added tax (VAT) as required.
To learn more about how we calculate our editorial fees, expand the headings on the right for details.
The fee is our basic freelance rate, or the cost of a freelancer’s effort per unit of work. Think of it as our most basic product: human talent. Different services have different base rates to reflect the expertise, time, and resources we bring into your project.
For editorial services such as translation or editing, we measure our freelance rates in euros (cents) per billable word. This model easily scales to standardized lines of text (Normzeilen) and other formats. To learn more about billable words, please read the sections below on “Scope” and “Difficulty.”
If none of these conventions appeal to you, we’re also open to billing by the hour, as a lump sum, or by some other agreement in line with your needs. Simply reach out to us to discuss the details.
The scope of a project is the number of words used for invoicing. It is usually lower than the raw word count.
We count the billable words in our preferred CAT application — that’s computer-assisted translation, a software tool for human translators. CAT technology offers a detailed text analysis that recognizes recurring segments. We then exclude or discount those words from the billable word count.
This approach benefits your bottom line by reducing the scope of actual translation work. What’s more: The longer you work with us, the more you benefit from the CAT system as our pre-translation database grows.
Our online price calculator is a simple tool that relies on the raw word count you give us. The system cannot detect existing translations or recognize recurring segments. As a result, our formal proposal is likely better for you than the online quote. Submit your estimate to get the best deal!
Sometimes a precise word count is not possible for technical reasons; for example, when all we have is a scanned image. In that case, we will estimate the total word count with any available tools such as Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, or our bare eyes and wit.
We assess the difficulty of your source text to account for labor-intensive language. Then we assign a price multiplier to reflect this in our pricing.
Difficulty is not a concern for jobs involving generic text with no price multiplier. For more specialized language, we currently have five categories corresponding to factors of 1.1 through 1.5.
Broadly speaking, we look at the following aspects of a text to assess its difficulty:
Imagine you want us to translate product descriptions for an online fashion retailer. Such marketing content requires no significant research on our part. For 10,000 words of text, a translator who normally charges 0.10 €/word would ask for 1,000€ net (no multiplier).
Now let’s assume you want us to localize this retailer’s work contracts for US employees. We’ll need to research the legal jargon to ensure total accuracy. Depending on your requirements, we might assess a difficulty factor of 1.5. For the same scope as above, our translator would now ask for 1,500€ net.
While machine learning has come a long way, technology alone cannot accurately evaluate a piece of writing. For best results, we still need a human to review the text.
But that doesn’t mean technology can’t make the process more reliable and efficient. Several linguistic models are used today to measure general readability. The most common ones in English are:
You can use a variety of online tools to see for yourself. Readability Formulas is a free resource that checks your English text against all seven models listed above. In the commercial realm, Readable.com offers a demo version of its comprehensive text analysis tool.
Similar models also exist for the German language:
For German text analysis, Psychometrica offers its LIX tool for free both online and offline. Wortliga is another popular service, and the website features a demo version of its text analysis tool.
We deliver the finished product to you in the same digital format as your source document, typically a PDF or Office file. We can share a secure download link to your deliverables, or you can give us access to your own upload space. Of course, we can always deliver your documents by email (encrypted on request).
In addition, we are familiar with several content management systems and can help you publish your new content online. This ensures that the text is properly formatted and appears as you intend.
There are no fees for digital delivery. We currently do not offer any printing or shipping services. Any additional fees are negotiable, such as for large data-entry jobs and other services beyond the regular scope of delivery.
As a Berlin-based company, our services are subject to value-added tax (VAT) under German and European law. The standard tax rate is generally 19% in Germany.
In the editorial field, certain published works may benefit from a reduced tax rate of 7%. Likewise, certain educational offerings may be tax-exempt depending on the nature of your institution. Please consult a tax advisor to find out if your project qualifies, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
The European VAT ID number for GermanBureau is DE277695519.
With GermanBureau as your partner, you will enjoy total price certainty with no hidden costs. Extra services like assessments or certificates are clearly documented at the outset.
Our quoted price covers the full scope of services. We can tailor the course curriculum to meet your learning goals and exceed your expectations. You control who runs the course based on our suggestions.
To learn more about how we calculate our teaching fees, expand the headings on the right for details.
The fee is our basic freelance rate, or the cost of an educator’s effort per unit of work. Think of it as our most basic product: human talent. Different services have different base rates to reflect the expertise, time, and resources we bring into your project.
In the world of teaching, we measure our rates in euros per unit. That’s typically 45 minutes of lesson time, although you can scale the unit to any amount of time.
If these conventions don’t appeal to you, we’re open to alternative billing models. Simply reach out to us to discuss the details.
The scope of a teaching project is the number of lesson units (LU) used for invoicing. It covers lesson prep, teaching, notes, and everything in between.
You may also want to book additional services such as assessments or certificates. Any extra costs are detailed in our proposal. Expand the “Extra Services” section below to learn more.
Different formats have different requirements. You might decide to run a weekly 90-minute course for six months (48 LU). Or perhaps you’re looking for a one-day seminar on a particular subject (8 LU). And for university programs, the scope follows your module workload, which may range from as low as 30 LU all the way up to 120 LU.
We work closely with our clients to find the ideal scope for their educational projects. Tell us your goals and we can recommend the most effective program for your learners. Of course, the final decision is all yours.
Our freelance rates cover the cost of a complete learning experience, including:
Some services exceed the scope of our basic fee, either because they rely on third-party products or because they require an investment from us. As part of a broader package, GermanBureau offers these add-on services at attractive rates:
Contact us anytime to discuss the details of your project. We look forward to hearing from you!
When you hire GermanBureau to serve your learning goals, you’re choosing to work directly with one or more freelance educators. The contract is between you and them.
Lessons take place in-house, online, or both depending on your needs. The freelancers in our network are committed to contractual guidelines that follow industry standards. GermanBureau offers favorable terms and conditions for canceled lessons and other policies.
Billing usually follows a monthly cycle for services rendered. We can also agree to settle the balance after a course is finished. In general, we are open to a range of payment options to suit your needs.
As a Berlin-based company, our services are subject to value-added tax (VAT) under German and European law. The standard tax rate is generally 19% in Germany.
In the educational field, certain offerings may be tax-exempt depending on the nature of your institution. Please consult a tax advisor to find out if your project qualifies, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
The European VAT ID number for GermanBureau is DE277695519.
If you still have unanswered questions, these links might be useful:
Otherwise, don’t hesitate to contact us. The chat button in the corner of this website is a good way to reach us, or you can send us an email or call the landline. A real human will respond as soon as someone is free. Thanks!
