Video localisation is no longer optional for businesses with global ambitions. Whether you are distributing training content across 12 countries, launching an ad campaign into four new markets, or producing e-learning modules for a multilingual workforce, the decision is not whether to localise — it is how to budget for it intelligently.
The challenge is that video localisation costs are genuinely variable. A five-minute product video may cost £500 to localise into Spanish with subtitles, or it may cost £5,000 to localise into five languages with professional dubbing and full quality assurance. Understanding what drives that difference — and how to estimate costs accurately for your specific project — is what this guide delivers.
1. The Four Cost Components of Video Localisation
A complete video localisation project involves four distinct cost components, each of which is priced independently and adds up to the total project budget. Understanding each one allows you to make intelligent trade-offs between methods, quality levels, and scope.
The Four Cost Components
1. Script Translation — converting the source script into the target language
2. Audio Delivery — subtitling, voice-over, or professional dubbing (each a different cost tier)
3. Post-Production & Technical Work — audio mixing, video re-encoding, on-screen text localisation, DTP
4. Quality Assurance (QA) — linguistic review, lip-sync verification, technical QA, and in-market review
Each of these components carries its own pricing logic, and the method you choose for Component 2 (audio delivery) has a cascading effect on the cost and complexity of Components 3 and 4. We will examine all four in detail.
2. Component 1: Script Translation
Every video localisation project begins with translation of the source script. This is the foundation on which all subsequent work rests — which means errors or compromises here propagate through every subsequent stage at increasing cost.
How Script Translation Is Priced
Script translation for video is typically priced per word. Industry benchmarks for professional human translation — following a TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) quality process — range from £0.08 to £0.20 per word for common language pairs, and £0.15 to £0.30+ per word for specialist or technical content in less common language pairs.
A five-minute video script typically contains between 600 and 800 words depending on delivery pace. A ten-minute e-learning module may contain 1,200 to 1,500 words. These figures allow you to estimate translation cost directly from your word count before any other project variables are added.
Adaptation vs. Translation
Standard translation produces a linguistically accurate version of your script. For video localisation — particularly for voice-over and dubbing — the translated script also needs to be adapted for timing: adjusted so that the spoken duration of the translated text matches the original video length, and so that lip movements align where required. This script adaptation work adds time and cost beyond standard translation, typically 20 to 40% above the per-word translation rate.
For marketing content, brand campaigns, and taglines, transcreation may be required in place of translation — a creative adaptation process that prioritises the emotional and persuasive impact of the original rather than its literal meaning. Transcreation is priced per project or per hour rather than per word, and typically costs two to three times the equivalent translation rate.
| Translation Type | Typical Rate | Best For |
| Standard TEP translation | £0.08 – £0.20 / word | Subtitling scripts, corporate video, e-learning |
| Specialist / technical TEP | £0.15 – £0.30+ / word | Medical, legal, technical, financial content |
| Timing-adapted script (dubbing) | +20–40% on translation rate | Voice-over and dubbing scripts |
| Transcreation | £150 – £400+ / hour | Brand campaigns, taglines, marketing narratives |
3. Component 2: Audio Delivery — Subtitling, Voice-Over, or Dubbing
The choice between subtitling, voice-over, and professional dubbing is the single most significant cost decision in a video localisation project. Each method sits at a different price point and delivers a different viewer experience.
Option A: Subtitling
Subtitling adds translated on-screen text to the original video. The source audio is retained — only the text changes. Subtitling is the most cost-effective method and the fastest to produce. It preserves the original speaker’s voice and performance, making it well-suited for documentary content, corporate communications, educational video, and social media.
Subtitling costs include time-coding and synchronisation, translation of the subtitle script, linguistic quality review, and formatting into the required file format (SRT, VTT, STL, or others). Burned-in open captions for social media distribution add a video re-encoding step, typically adding £30 to £80 per language version depending on video length.
Option B: Voice-Over
Voice-over replaces the original audio track with a recording of the translated script by a professional voice actor in the target language. Unlike dubbing, voice-over does not require lip-sync matching — the translated speech is recorded to match the timing of the original where possible, but precise synchronisation to mouth movements is not attempted. This makes voice-over significantly faster and less expensive than full dubbing.
Option C: Professional Dubbing
Professional dubbing is the premium tier of video localisation. It replaces the original audio with a new performance by voice actors in the target language, with careful attention to lip-sync — matching the new dialogue to the visible mouth movements of the on-screen speaker. This involves script adaptation for timing, professional voice direction, studio recording sessions, audio engineering, and post-production mixing.
Dubbing is the appropriate choice for premium consumer-facing content where viewer immersion is paramount: advertising campaigns, entertainment content, branded video, and content intended for markets where audiences have strong expectations of localised audio (such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Brazil).
| Method | Indicative Cost / Min / Language | Typical Turnaround | Best Use Cases |
| Subtitling | £8 – £20 | 2–5 days | Corporate video, e-learning, social media, accessibility |
| Voice-Over | £30 – £120 | 5–10 days | Documentaries, training, product demos, e-learning |
| Professional Dubbing | £25 – £200+ | 1–4 weeks | Ad campaigns, entertainment, brand content, premium markets |
4. Component 3: Post-Production & Technical Work
Post-production localisation work is the component that surprises most clients who are new to video localisation budgeting — because it is easy to underestimate. For subtitling projects, post-production is minimal. For voice-over and dubbing projects, it is a significant cost line in its own right.
Audio Mixing and Mastering
When new voice-over or dubbed audio is recorded, it must be professionally mixed against the original video’s background audio — music, ambient sound, and effects that were part of the original production. Access to the original audio stems (separate audio tracks) makes this process significantly cleaner and less expensive than working from a mixed-down master. If original audio stems are not available, audio engineers must reconstruct or replace the background elements, which adds both time and cost. Professional audio mixing and mastering typically adds £150 to £600 per finished video, depending on complexity.
On-Screen Text and Graphics Localisation
Videos frequently contain text overlaid on the video image — titles, lower-thirds, call-to-action cards, annotation text, charts, and infographics. All of this visible text must be localised as part of a thorough localisation project. If editable source files (After Effects, Premiere Pro, or Motion project files) are available, text replacement is straightforward. If the text is embedded in a rendered video without source files, each text element must be manually removed and replaced — a DTP and graphics process that can add significant cost, particularly for complex animations. On-screen text localisation typically adds £100 to £500 per language version, depending on the volume and complexity of on-screen text elements.
Video Re-encoding and Delivery Formatting
The final localised video must be exported in the format(s) required for distribution — which may include multiple format and resolution variants for different platforms (broadcast master, social media crop, web streaming version, and others). Each additional format adds encoding time and cost, typically £20 to £80 per additional output format per language version. Providing clear technical delivery specifications upfront prevents costly reformatting later.
5. Component 4: Quality Assurance (QA)
Quality assurance is the component that is most frequently under-budgeted in video localisation projects — and the one whose omission is most consistently regretted. A localised video that reaches its audience with linguistic errors, synchronisation problems, or culturally inappropriate content damages brand credibility in that market far more than no localisation at all.
What QA Covers in Video Localisation
A thorough QA process for video localisation involves multiple review stages, each targeting a different category of potential issue.
- Linguistic QA: Review of the translated script and subtitle or dubbed audio against the source for accuracy, fluency, terminology consistency, and cultural appropriateness. Conducted by a native linguist with subject-matter expertise. This stage catches translation errors, awkward phrasing, and brand voice inconsistencies before they reach the audience.
- Lip-Sync QA (Dubbing projects): A frame-level review of the dubbed video to verify that voice performances align acceptably with on-screen mouth movements. Timing mismatches are flagged for re-recording. This stage is essential for dubbing projects and has no equivalent in subtitling workflows.
- Technical QA: Verification that subtitle timing is correct, audio levels are consistent, video encoding meets platform specifications, and all on-screen text elements have been correctly replaced and are legible on screen. Technical QA is increasingly supported by automated tools that flag synchronisation errors and encoding issues.
- In-Market Review: A final review by a native speaker who lives and works in the target market — checking that the localised content is not just linguistically accurate but culturally appropriate and brand-right for the specific audience. This stage is particularly important for marketing and consumer-facing content, and for markets with significant regional variation (Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese).
What QA Typically Costs
QA costs are typically calculated as a percentage of total production cost or as a per-hour rate for linguistic review. Linguistic QA typically adds 15 to 25% to the translation cost for a standard project. Technical QA and delivery verification typically add £50 to £200 per language version. In-market review, where required, typically adds one to two days of native reviewer time at standard professional rates.
As a rule of thumb for budgeting, allocating 20% of total production cost to QA is a reasonable starting estimate. For regulated content (healthcare, legal, financial), a higher QA allocation of 25 to 35% is appropriate.
The Hidden Cost of Skipping QA
A published translation error in a localised video does not just affect one viewer — it affects every viewer in that market until the error is corrected. Re-encoding and redistributing a corrected video version costs more than the QA that would have caught the error in the first place. For brand-critical content, QA is not an optional line item — it is insurance.
6. Cost Variables That Affect Every Budget Line
Beyond the component-level costs, several project variables affect every budget line simultaneously. Understanding these multipliers helps you anticipate how your specific project characteristics will push costs above or below the indicative benchmarks.
Language Pair
The most fundamental cost variable is the language pair. Common, well-resourced language pairs — English to Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch — benefit from large pools of qualified translators, voice talent, and QA reviewers, which exerts downward price pressure. Less common language pairs — English to Thai, Indonesian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Arabic dialects, or African languages — face smaller talent pools, which typically results in higher per-unit costs and longer lead times. For Asian dubbing markets (Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese), local dubbing conventions are exacting and production costs are typically higher than equivalent European language versions.
Content Complexity and Speaker Count
Content complexity affects translation cost directly (specialist content = higher per-word rate) and affects dubbing cost exponentially. A single-speaker corporate video requires one voice actor. A dramatised training scenario with five characters requires five voice actors — each with separate recording sessions, each with their own usage rights negotiation, and each adding to the audio mixing complexity. Multi-speaker content should always be flagged early in the project briefing process because it significantly affects voice-over and dubbing budgets.
Number of Languages
Each additional language adds a full set of component costs — translation, audio delivery, post-production, and QA. However, well-managed multi-language projects generate economies in project management overhead and, for ongoing programmes, in translation memory efficiency. The per-language cost of a ten-language simultaneous project managed through a single provider is typically lower than the sum of ten separately commissioned single-language projects.
Turnaround Time
Rush delivery adds cost at every stage: translators and voice talent available at short notice command premium rates, studio time on accelerated schedules costs more, and compressed QA timelines require additional resource allocation. For planned video localisation programmes, building adequate lead time into the production schedule — briefing your localisation provider at least two to three weeks before required delivery — eliminates rush premiums entirely.
Source Material Quality
The quality and format of source materials has a direct effect on localisation cost that is easy to overlook. Providing clean, separate audio stems (music and effects separate from dialogue) dramatically reduces audio mixing cost for voice-over and dubbing projects. Providing editable project files for graphics and on-screen text eliminates manual DTP reconstruction work. Providing a clean, proofread source script eliminates the additional cost of transcription and script correction before translation begins. Source material quality is the area where content producers have the most direct influence over their localisation budget.
7. Sample Budget Scenarios
The following scenarios illustrate how these cost components combine for typical business video localisation projects. All figures are indicative and based on industry standard rates for professional human-led services.
Scenario A: 10-Minute Corporate Training Video — Subtitling into 3 Languages
| Component | Estimate |
| Script translation (3 languages × 1,200 words × £0.12/word) | £432 |
| Subtitling production (10 min × 3 languages × £12/min) | £360 |
| Technical QA and delivery formatting (3 languages) | £180 |
| Linguistic QA review (3 languages) | £120 |
| Total (approx.) | £1,092 |
Scenario B: 5-Minute Brand Video — Voice-Over into 5 Languages
| Component | Estimate |
| Script translation + timing adaptation (5 languages × 700 words × £0.16/word) | £560 |
| Voice-over recording (5 min × 5 languages × £60/min) | £1,500 |
| Audio mixing and mastering (5 languages) | £1,000 |
| On-screen text localisation (5 languages) | £1,000 |
| Linguistic + technical QA (5 languages) | £600 |
| Total (approx.) | £4,660 |
Scenario C: 3-Minute Ad Campaign — Professional Dubbing into 4 Languages
| Component | Estimate |
| Script transcreation (4 languages) | £2,400 |
| Professional dubbing (3 min × 4 languages × £100/min) | £1,200 |
| Audio mixing and mastering (4 languages) | £1,600 |
| Lip-sync QA (4 languages) | £800 |
| Technical QA and delivery formatting (4 languages) | £600 |
| In-market review (4 languages) | £1,200 |
| Total (approx.) | £7,800 |
These scenarios illustrate the principle that method choice is the dominant budget variable. The same three-minute video costs approximately three to four times more to dub professionally than to subtitle — and seven times more to dub than to subtitle when in-market review and transcreation are included. The right choice depends on your audience, your markets, and your brand’s content quality standards in each context.
8. Five Strategies to Optimise Your Video Localisation Budget
1. Match the method to the content, not the preference
Subtitling and voice-over are not inferior to dubbing — they are appropriate for different content types and audience expectations. A product demo for a B2B audience does not require the same level of audio immersion as a consumer advertising campaign. Reserving professional dubbing for content where it genuinely earns its cost, and using subtitling or voice-over for the remainder, is the most effective way to optimise localisation spend.
2. Invest in source material quality
Every investment in source material quality (clean audio stems, editable graphics files, proofread scripts) generates cost savings downstream in localisation. Brands that build localisation-readiness into their video production process — clean scripts, appropriate pacing, clear on-screen real estate for subtitles, separate audio tracks — consistently achieve lower per-language localisation costs than brands that treat localisation as an afterthought.
3. Build translation memory from the start
Translation memory captures approved translations of phrases, product descriptions, brand terminology, and recurring content, and applies them automatically to future projects. For businesses with ongoing video localisation needs, translation memory generates compounding cost savings: the more content you localise, the lower the marginal cost of each new project. Ekitai Solutions builds and maintains translation memory for all ongoing client relationships.
4. Commission multi-language projects together
5. Front-load QA rather than back-loading corrections
The most expensive QA is the kind that happens after publication — when a correction requires re-recording, re-mixing, re-encoding, and redistributing a video across all distribution channels. Investing in thorough QA before delivery is always cheaper than correcting errors after the fact. Ekitai Solutions’ multi-stage QA process is designed to catch and resolve issues at the earliest possible stage of production, where correction costs are lowest.
9. Ekitai Solutions: Expert Video Localisation Across Every Budget
At Ekitai Solutions, we work with businesses across every budget scale — from single-language subtitling pilots to enterprise multi-language dubbing programmes. Our video localisation services cover the complete production pipeline: script translation, subtitling, voice-over, professional dubbing, post-production, and multi-stage QA — managed by a dedicated project management team available 24/7.
- Script translation and transcreation across 120+ language pairs
- Professional subtitling in all major file formats (SRT, VTT, STL, TTML, and more)
- Voice-over with native professional voice talent across 40+ languages
- Professional dubbing with lip-sync, multi-stage QA, and audio mastering
- On-screen text and graphics localisation with DTP support
- Linguistic, technical, and in-market QA at every production stage
- Translation memory and brand glossary management for ongoing programmes
- 24/7 project management with transparent, accurate cost estimates at briefing
→ Contact us: enquire@ekitaisolutions.com | +971 56 488 6486 | ekitaisolutions.com
Final Thoughts
Video localisation budgets are not guesswork — they are the product of clear component costs, known variables, and deliberate method choices. The businesses that budget most effectively for localisation are those that understand what each component costs, match the audio delivery method to the content type and audience expectation, invest in source material quality, and treat QA as a non-negotiable production stage rather than an optional extra.
With the right provider partnership and a clear project brief, a video localisation budget can be estimated accurately before production begins — and managed to that estimate throughout. That is the standard Ekitai Solutions brings to every project.
Authoritative Resources
For further reading on video localisation strategy, cost benchmarking, and ROI, we recommend the following:
- CSA Research — A Practical Guide to Building the ROI Case for Localisation — The industry’s leading independent framework for quantifying localisation ROI.
- CSA Research — Global Revenue Forecaster: Predicting the ROI of Localisation — Data-driven tools for language investment prioritisation.
- Translated.com — How Much Does It Cost to Translate a Business Video? — A detailed 2026 pricing guide covering subtitling, voice-over, and dubbing benchmarks.
- Advids — The Cost of Video Localisation: Budgeting Frameworks and ROI Analysis — Per-minute cost breakdowns and strategic decision matrices by localisation method.
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — Video Captions and Accessibility Standards — Official WCAG standards for captioned video, relevant to subtitling quality requirements.
Related Articles on Ekitai Solutions
Related Articles from Ekitai Solutions
| → How Global Brands Use Subtitling + Localization Together to Enter New Markets — Strategic guide to combining subtitling and localisation for successful market entry. |
| → Closed Captions vs. Open Captions: Which Does Your Video Content Actually Need? — A complete guide to caption formats, platform requirements, and legal compliance. |
| → Medical Conference Transcription + Multilingual Subtitling: A Complete Guide for Healthcare Orgs — How healthcare organisations maximise conference content reach through subtitling. |
| → Human Translation vs AI Translation: Which Should Businesses Choose? — A clear framework for matching translation approach to content type and risk. |
| → Translation Turnaround Times Explained — Benchmarks, variables, and planning guidance for translation project timelines. |
FAQ: Budgeting for Video Localisation
The questions below address the cost and budgeting questions we most frequently receive from marketing, content, and localisation teams planning video localisation projects. For a project-specific quote, contact us at enquire@ekitaisolutions.com — our team is available 24/7.
| Q1. How much does it cost to localise a video? |
| Video localisation cost varies widely depending on the method, length, number of languages, and content complexity. As indicative benchmarks:
• Subtitling: £8–£20 per finished minute per language • Voice-over: £30–£120 per finished minute per language • Professional dubbing: £25–£200+ per finished minute per language A 10-minute corporate video subtitled into 3 languages typically costs £800–£1,500 all-in. The same video with professional dubbing into 5 languages could cost £15,000–£30,000. Method choice is the dominant cost variable. Contact Ekitai Solutions for a specific estimate based on your project. |
| Q2. How is video localisation cost calculated — per minute or per word? |
| Both pricing models are used, depending on the component. Script translation is typically priced per word (£0.08–£0.30 per word depending on content type and language pair). Audio delivery components — subtitling, voice-over, and dubbing — are typically priced per finished minute of video, because this accounts for the technical complexity of synchronisation work that per-word pricing does not capture. Post-production and QA are typically priced per project or per hour. A comprehensive quote from Ekitai Solutions will itemise each component separately so you can see exactly what each element costs. |
| Q3. What is the most cost-effective method for multilingual video? |
| Subtitling is by far the most cost-effective method for multilingual video. It involves the lowest per-language cost, the fastest turnaround, and the simplest post-production requirements. For a business localising content into five or more languages simultaneously, subtitling allows meaningful multilingual reach at a fraction of the cost of voice-over or dubbing. The trade-off is viewer experience: subtitling requires the audience to read while watching, retains the original audio (which may be in an unfamiliar language), and creates a visible text layer that some audiences find less immersive. Whether this trade-off is acceptable depends on the content type, the target audience, and the market. |
| Q4. Are there hidden costs in video localisation that are commonly overlooked? |
| Yes — several cost components frequently surprise clients who are new to video localisation budgeting:
• Script adaptation for timing: Translating a dubbing script is not the same as translating a document — it must be adapted to match the timing of the original, which adds 20–40% to the translation cost. • On-screen text localisation: All text visible in the video — titles, lower-thirds, charts, infographics — must be translated and replaced, often requiring DTP or motion graphics work. • Audio stems: If original separate audio tracks are not available, audio engineers must reconstruct background audio for mixing, adding significant cost. • QA: Thorough quality assurance — linguistic review, lip-sync check, technical QA, and in-market review — typically adds 20–25% to total production cost but is frequently under-budgeted. • Usage rights: Professional voice actors charge usage fees based on how and where their recordings will be distributed. Broadcast and long-term digital usage rights cost more than internal use. |
| Q5. What is included in the cost of professional subtitling? |
| Professional subtitling for a video typically includes: transcription of the source audio into a clean script; translation of the script into the target language following a TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) quality process; time-coding and synchronisation of subtitles to the video; formatting and delivery of subtitle files in the required format (SRT, VTT, STL, or others); and a technical quality check to verify timing and readability. Open captions (burned-in subtitles for social media) require an additional video re-encoding step. Multilingual subtitle versions from a single master transcript are produced in parallel, which is why multi-language subtitling projects are cost-efficient to commission together. |
| Q6. What drives voice-over costs up or down? |
| Voice-over costs are determined by several key variables:
• Voice talent rate: Professional voice actors vary significantly in rate depending on experience, reputation, and market demand. Talent for specialised content (medical narration, financial commentary, character performance) commands higher rates than standard corporate narration. • Language pair: Common language pairs with deep talent pools (Spanish, French, German) are generally less expensive than rare language pairs where talent is scarcer. • Usage rights: The scope of distribution rights granted with the recording significantly affects the talent fee. Internal training use is less expensive than broadcast advertising. • Script length and complexity: Longer scripts and technically complex content require more studio time and preparation. • Source material availability: Clean audio stems provided by the client reduce audio mixing cost. Mixed-down source files increase it. |
| Q7. Why is professional dubbing so much more expensive than voice-over? |
| Professional dubbing is more expensive than voice-over for several cumulative reasons. First, the script must be adapted not just for meaning but for precise timing alignment with on-screen mouth movements — a more demanding and time-intensive process than standard translation. Second, voice actors in dubbing must match their performance to the emotional rhythm and pacing of the original, requiring professional direction and often multiple takes. Third, lip-sync QA requires a dedicated frame-level review pass that does not exist in voice-over workflows. Fourth, for content with multiple speaking characters, each character requires a separate voice actor — multiplying talent costs. Fifth, post-production mixing for dubbed content is more complex because the new audio must be precisely synchronised to the video frame-by-frame. All of these factors make dubbing the premium tier of video localisation — appropriate for content where viewer immersion is the priority. |
| Q8. When is dubbing worth the additional investment? |
| Dubbing earns its premium cost in specific contexts: markets where audiences have strong expectations of localised audio (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Brazil — where dubbing is the cultural norm for film and television); premium consumer-facing advertising where emotional impact and brand voice immersion are critical; content where on-screen speakers are the primary visual focus and subtitle text would distract from the visual narrative; and long-form content (feature-length productions, serialised video) where subtitle fatigue would meaningfully degrade the viewer experience. For internal training, corporate communications, and most B2B content, the additional cost of dubbing over voice-over is rarely justified by the incremental viewer experience improvement. |
| Q9. How much should I budget for QA on a video localisation project? |
| A standard budgeting rule is to allocate 20% of total production cost to QA — covering linguistic review, technical QA, and delivery verification. For regulated content (healthcare, pharmaceutical, legal, financial), a higher allocation of 25–35% is appropriate. For dubbing projects, an additional dedicated lip-sync QA pass should be budgeted explicitly. For marketing and consumer-facing content in new markets, an in-market review by a native reviewer based in the target market is strongly recommended and typically adds the equivalent of one to two professional reviewer days per language. |
| Q10. What is LQA (Linguistic Quality Assurance) in video localisation? |
| LQA — Linguistic Quality Assurance — is a structured review of the localised content against the source by a qualified native linguist with relevant subject-matter expertise. In video localisation, LQA covers the translated script and, for dubbed content, the performed audio against the script. LQA reviewers check for: accuracy of translation relative to source meaning; fluency and natural expression in the target language; terminology consistency across the video; brand voice alignment; cultural appropriateness; and compliance with any style guide or glossary requirements. LQA is distinct from technical QA (which checks synchronisation, encoding, and platform specifications) and in-market review (which checks cultural resonance with the specific target audience). |
| Q11. What is the cost of correcting errors after a localised video has been published? |
| Post-publication error correction in a localised video is significantly more expensive than catching errors during production. For subtitling, a correction requires updating the subtitle file and, if open captions were used, re-encoding the video. For voice-over and dubbing, a correction requires re-recording the affected audio, re-mixing against the original video, re-encoding, and redistributing the corrected version across all distribution channels. When you factor in the reputational cost of a brand error reaching its target audience — and the cost of redistributing corrected content across multiple platforms and markets — the investment in thorough QA before delivery almost always costs less than the alternative. |
| Q12. How do I build a video localisation budget for an annual content programme? |
| For an annual video localisation programme, the most effective approach is to build a tiered budget model that matches the localisation method to each content tier:
• Tier 1 (Brand hero films, campaign advertising, premium consumer content): Professional dubbing budget per language, with in-market QA. • Tier 2 (Product demos, training videos, documentary-style content): Voice-over budget per language, with linguistic and technical QA. • Tier 3 (Social media content, corporate communications, e-learning): Subtitling budget per language, with technical QA. Estimate your annual volume of content in each tier, apply per-minute benchmarks, multiply by the number of target languages, add 20–25% for QA, and adjust upward for any specialist content or rare language pairs. Sharing this programme plan with Ekitai Solutions at the start of the year allows us to pre-allocate resources, negotiate programme rates, and establish workflows that reduce per-project overhead throughout the year. |
| Q13. What information do I need to provide to get an accurate video localisation quote? |
| To receive an accurate quote for a video localisation project, provide the following:
• Source video file(s) or a clear description of the content (length, number of speakers, content type) • Target language(s) and any regional variant requirements • Required localisation method (subtitling, voice-over, or dubbing — or ask for recommendation) • Distribution platform(s) and required delivery format(s) • Availability of source materials: script, audio stems, editable graphics files • Any compliance, certification, or regulatory requirements • Required delivery date • Any existing glossaries, brand style guides, or translation memory files The more detail provided upfront, the more accurately Ekitai Solutions can scope the project and identify the most cost-effective workflow. |
| Q14. How can I reduce my video localisation costs without compromising on quality? |
| The most effective cost-reduction strategies that do not compromise quality are:
• Match method to content: Use subtitling where voice-over or dubbing is not genuinely necessary for the audience and content type. • Provide clean source materials: Audio stems, editable graphics files, and proofread scripts all reduce production cost. • Build translation memory: Recurring terminology and phrases translated once are applied automatically to future projects, reducing per-word translation cost over time. • Commission languages together: Parallel multi-language production is always more efficient than sequential single-language commissioning. • Plan ahead: Removing rush premiums from your project budget by briefing your provider with adequate lead time is one of the easiest cost savings available. • Establish an ongoing programme: Programme-level relationships with a single provider generate workflow efficiencies and rate optimisation that ad-hoc commissioning cannot match. |
| Q15. How do I get started with Ekitai Solutions for a video localisation project? |
| Getting started is straightforward:
• Step 1: Contact us at enquire@ekitaisolutions.com or call +971 56 488 6486 • Step 2: Share your project brief — content type, target languages, required method, timeline, and any source materials • Step 3: Receive a free consultation and itemised quote covering all four cost components • Step 4: Agree workflow, QA process, delivery formats, and timeline • Step 5: We manage the complete production pipeline from script translation to final delivery We work with clients at every scale — from a single-language subtitling project to a 20-language annual dubbing programme. Whatever your scope, we bring the same quality standard and budget transparency to every project. |
Ready to budget your next video localisation project? Get a free, itemised quote from our team.
→ enquire@ekitaisolutions.com | ekitaisolutions.com
