A cheaper alternative to a translation agency — and when the agency is still right.
Skiwo has run a translation service for years. This page is written by people who know exactly which words you should still be paying a human for.
The short answer
An agency charges per word, and it charges again every time the source changes. That is the right trade for a contract, a medical leaflet or a campaign whose wording is the product — words that are written once and carry liability or brand weight. It is the wrong trade for a website, because a website is never finished: every edit to the English creates work in every language you sell in, and paying per word for that is paying for the same page repeatedly. Software exists for the second case. It drafts inside your glossary and tone rules, keeps the translations current as the source moves, and leaves the words in your own build.
What each one costs.
| What you are buying | A translation agency | BeMyWords |
|---|---|---|
| The first pass | Per word, per language. For a European language pair, expect roughly 0,80 kr–1,50 kr a word. | Included in the plan, whatever the volume inside your tier |
| The page you edited on Tuesday | Quoted and paid again, per language | Picked up by itself. The changed sentence is re-translated, the rest is untouched |
| Consistency across pages | A glossary you maintain and send with each job | A glossary, a do-not-translate list and a memory that apply on every run |
| Turnaround | Days, and a queue | Minutes, and no queue |
| Someone accountable for the wording | Yes. A named translator, and a warranty | No. A model inside your rules, and your own review where it matters |
Per-word figures are the range this product itself uses to estimate human cost, blended from ProZ community rate data and mid-tier agency rate cards (2024–2025). Real quotes move with subject matter, turnaround and whether a second reviewer is included.
Some words should cost more.
We are not neutral about this. Skiwo sells human translation too, so this is the split we would give a customer on the phone.
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01
Anything with liability attached
Contracts, terms, medical and safety copy, anything a regulator or a court might read. Use a certified translator and keep a model away from it.
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02
Copy where the wording is the product
A campaign line, a brand story, anything that needs to be re-invented in the new language rather than carried across. That is transcreation, and it is a writing job, not a translation job.
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03
A small site that will not change
Ten pages, one market, no roadmap. Pay once, publish, and buy no software at all. Subscriptions are for sites that move.
What does BeMyWords cost?
Free to start: 5,000 words stored, 1 site, no card. Paid tiers start at 199 kr a month, or 1 990 kr for a year. They count the words you store, the original plus each translation of it, and never people, pageviews or a cap on how many languages you run. Bring your own AI key and it is 199 kr a month flat with no word limit.
Which tier that is depends on how many words your site holds. Paste your address and we read it and tell you.
Every tier, and what it holds Size your siteKeep the agency for the words that need one.
Free to start, no card. Put the site through this and see what is left worth quoting.
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