There is no single price for conference interpretation. A quote for human interpreters is built from several separate lines, and almost all of them grow with the number of languages, the number of rooms and the length of the event. This guide goes through each line so you can read a quote with confidence, then sets out what an AI service costs, with public prices.
We deliberately give no market rates for interpreters. They vary by country, language pair, specialism and season, and a figure quoted without context would mislead more than it helps. The reliable way to get a number is to ask several providers for a quote on your actual programme. What follows will help you compare those quotes line by line.
What makes up the cost of human interpretation
The interpreters themselves. Simultaneous interpretation demands constant concentration, so interpreters usually work in pairs and take turns. For each language you need, you are generally paying for two people, not one, for the whole working day. Rare language pairs and specialist subjects such as medicine, law or finance tend to cost more, because fewer interpreters can cover them.
The booth. Interpreters work in a soundproofed booth with a view of the stage, either built into the venue or rented and assembled for the event. A booth takes space in the room, has to be installed before the event and taken down after it. If the venue does not have one, it is a separate rental.
The headsets and receivers. Every attendee who wants to listen to the interpretation needs a receiver and headphones, plus a transmission system in the room. They have to be handed out at the entrance, tracked and collected at the end. Lost or unreturned units are usually charged.
The technician. An audio technician sets up the booth, connects it to the room's sound and supervises the transmission throughout the day. This is a role in its own right, often supplied by the AV company that rents the equipment.
Travel and accommodation. If the interpreters you need are not based near the venue, their travel, hotel and sometimes daily allowances are added to the quote. This is common for less widely spoken languages and for events outside major cities.
Preparation and advance booking. Good interpreters prepare. They read the programme, the slides and the speakers' background, and that time may be billed. Booking often happens weeks in advance, and cancellation terms can apply if your plans change. Late requests are harder to fill.
Multiplication by language. This is the line that changes everything. Each additional language means another pair of interpreters, and often another booth and another channel on the receivers. Covering three languages means three teams, not one team working harder. The same goes for parallel sessions: two rooms running at the same time need two separate setups.
Why quotes vary so much
Put those lines together and two events of the same length can produce very different bills. The number of languages, the number of rooms running in parallel, the length of the day, the location, the specialism and the notice you give all move the total. A one-day, one-room event in a single widely spoken language pair sits at one end of the range. A multi-day summit with several rooms and several languages sits at the other.
When you compare quotes, check that each one includes the same things. Ask whether the price covers two interpreters per language, the booth, receivers for your whole audience, the technician for the full day, setup and takedown, travel and preparation. A low headline rate can hide equipment or travel billed separately.
What AI interpretation costs with Glot
An AI service removes most of those lines. There are no interpreters to book, no booth, no receivers to rent and collect. Participants scan a QR code and follow in the browser of their own phone, without installing an app or creating an account. The sound comes from the room's mixing desk, a wireless lapel microphone or a USB table microphone, and setup takes a few minutes.
Glot's public prices are set per room, for up to 300 participants, with more than 60 languages included. Adding a language does not change the bill.
Captions gives every participant live subtitles in their own language on their phone. It costs 235 € per day or 40 € per hour, per room.
Voice gives participants a natural translated voice to listen to with earphones, and they can switch back to the original sound at any time. It costs 590 € per day or 99 € per hour, per room.
The service also shows captions on the room screen, indicates who is speaking and produces a written summary at the end of the session. The translation reaches participants about two seconds after the words are spoken. For regular events, hour credits are available at decreasing rates and stay valid for 12 months. Above 300 participants in a room, pricing is on quote. All the details are on our pricing page.
The way the cost grows is therefore different. With interpreters, the bill rises with each language and each room. With an AI service priced per room, it rises with each room and each day or hour, and stays the same whether the audience needs two languages or twenty.
When the human cost is worth paying
Price is not the only criterion. A human interpreter brings judgment that software does not: understanding intent, handling humour and irony, adapting to a delicate moment. For diplomatic meetings, legal proceedings, sensitive negotiations or medical settings, that judgment is what you are paying for, and it is worth it.
AI interpretation has conditions of its own. It depends heavily on sound quality, it can stumble on rare names and specialist jargon, and it runs a couple of seconds behind the speaker. For most conferences, launches, company meetings and training days, those limits are acceptable and the budget difference is significant. Some organisers combine the two, with interpreters in one critical session and AI in every other room.
How to build your budget
Start from your programme, not from a rate. Count the rooms, the days or hours per room, the languages your audience actually needs and the number of attendees per room. For human interpretation, send that to several providers and ask for an itemised quote covering every line above. For AI interpretation, multiply the rooms by the days or hours at the public rate. Then weigh the two totals against what the event really requires: diplomatic precision on every word, or making sure everyone in the room understands what is said on stage.
One price per room, every language included.
See Glot pricing