Interpreter cost guide · Calculator

Interpreter cost per hour and per day,
compared with AI interpretation

Published rates for human interpreters in the US, Japan, Korea and China, each with its source. Then enter your own numbers and see what a month of meetings costs with an interpreter and with Deeptrue.

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The short answer

A professional interpreter usually costs $382–$617 a day in US federal courts, ¥50,000–¥130,000 a day in Japan, ₩800,000–₩1,000,000 for up to six hours in Seoul, and CN¥4,000–CN¥8,000 a day for consecutive interpreting in China. That is per interpreter, before tax and travel, and simultaneous interpreting needs at least two. Deeptrue’s AI interpretation starts free; paid plans are $29 or $49 per member a month.

Published rates

What a human interpreter costs

Rates published by interpreting centres, agencies, a translators’ association and the US federal courts. Every figure is per interpreter, before tax, travel and equipment.

United States

USD

Source: US Courts (Administrative Office)

Federally certified interpreter
Half day (up to 4 h)
$349
Full day (up to 8 h)
$617
Each extra hour
$87
Professionally qualified interpreter
Half day (up to 4 h)
$305
Full day (up to 8 h)
$540
Each extra hour
$76
Language-skilled interpreter
Half day (up to 4 h)
$207
Full day (up to 8 h)
$382
Each extra hour
$48

What the US federal courts pay contract court interpreters from 1 October 2026: half day up to 4 hours, full day up to 8 hours. Business and conference interpreters set their own prices.

Japan

JPY

Source: Simul International

Consecutive or simultaneous, by interpreter grade
Half day (up to 3 h)
¥34,000–¥88,000
Full day
¥50,000–¥130,000
Each extra hour
¥8,000–¥21,000

Source: NOVA interpreting services

Business meetings and training, consecutive
Half day (up to 4 h)
from ¥50,000
Full day (up to 8 h)
from ¥70,000
Simultaneous, standard grade
Half day (up to 4 h)
from ¥75,000
Full day (up to 8 h)
from ¥105,000

Consumption tax excluded. Both agencies send two interpreters for simultaneous meetings of up to 3 hours and three or four for longer ones; consecutive meetings over half a day usually get two.

Korea

KRW

Source: HUFS Center for Interpreting and Translation

English, consecutive or simultaneous
Up to 1 hour
₩600,000–₩700,000
Up to 6 hours
₩900,000–₩1,000,000
Each extra hour
₩200,000
Chinese or Japanese, consecutive or simultaneous
Up to 1 hour
₩600,000–₩700,000
Up to 6 hours
₩800,000–₩900,000
Each extra hour
₩150,000

Source: Ewha Interpretation & Translation Research Institute

English
Up to 6 hours
₩1,000,000
Each extra hour
₩200,000
Chinese or Japanese
Up to 6 hours
₩900,000
Each extra hour
₩150,000

Seoul rates, VAT excluded. The same rate applies to consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, but simultaneous always needs at least two interpreters. The lower HUFS figure is for interpreters within two years of graduating.

China

CNY

Source: Xiamen Translators Association

Chinese–English, consecutive (conference)
Half day (up to 4 h)
CN¥3,000–CN¥5,000
Full day (up to 8 h)
CN¥4,000–CN¥6,000
Chinese–English, simultaneous
Half day (up to 4 h)
CN¥4,000–CN¥6,000
Full day (up to 8 h)
CN¥5,000–CN¥8,000
Chinese–Japanese or Chinese–Korean, simultaneous
Half day (up to 4 h)
CN¥6,500–CN¥8,000
Full day (up to 8 h)
CN¥7,500–CN¥10,000

Source: NetEase Youdao human translation

English, consecutive
Full day
CN¥6,000–CN¥8,000
English, simultaneous
Full day
CN¥7,000–CN¥12,000

The Xiamen Translators Association publishes guide prices for clients and interpreters to negotiate from; travel is extra and overtime is charged at 150%. Youdao’s prices are per interpreter per day.

Simultaneous interpreters work in pairs or teams, so multiply the rate by the number of interpreters.
Usually not included: tax, travel and travel time, preparation meetings, recording fees, cancellation fees and interpreting equipment.
An actual quote depends on the language, the subject, the date and the interpreter.

Figures as published by each source, checked on November 10, 2026. Prices change; follow the links for the current ones.

Calculator

Your monthly cost: interpreter vs. Deeptrue

Enter your meeting hours and your interpreter’s rate. Deeptrue is priced in US dollars; to compare in one currency, add today’s exchange rate.

Market and currency

Meeting hours per month

Interpreter’s rate

USD

Pre-filled with about the midpoint of the published full-day range for United States. Replace it with your own quote.

Hours one booked day covers

Interpreting type

Deeptrue plan

Estimated monthly cost

Human interpreter

$1,000/ month

2 booked day(s) × $500 × 1 interpreter(s)

Deeptrue Pro

$65/ month

$29 + 300 extra min × $0.12

Deeptrue costs about $935 less a month.

All Deeptrue plans for 10 h a month

FreeNot enough minutes
Pro$65
Business$49

The interpreter cost assumes your hours are grouped into full booked days. Separate short meetings are usually billed at a half-day or one-hour minimum each, so the real cost is often higher.
Tax, travel, preparation and equipment are not included.
Deeptrue prices are per member per month and assume one person runs Deeptrue. Free allows up to 30 min per meeting and Pro up to 100 min; Business has no per-meeting limit.

Compare all plans

Human or AI

When a human interpreter is the right choice

AI interpretation does not replace every interpreter. Here is an honest split.

Book a professional interpreter for

Contracts and signings
When every clause matters and the wording may be checked later, you want a person who is accountable for accuracy and can stop to clarify.
Legal and medical settings
Court hearings, depositions, police interviews, diagnoses and consent need qualified interpreters, often certified ones.
High-stakes negotiations
Acquisitions, pricing deals and disputes, where tone, pauses and cultural cues are part of the message.
Events and the press
Conferences, keynotes, press conferences and broadcasts, with booths and an audience listening in.

Use AI interpretation for

Everyday meetings
Regular calls with customers, suppliers and partners abroad, without booking anyone in advance.
Frequent, short calls
A half-day minimum for a 30-minute call adds up quickly. A monthly plan with included minutes does not.
Internal meetings
Team meetings with colleagues in other countries, where you mainly need to follow along and answer.
Preparation
Rehearse with Practice Mode and set up your glossary before an important meeting, then book an interpreter for the signing itself.

Interpreter Mode

Speak your language. They hear theirs.

With Interpreter Mode, Deeptrue translates what you say and the other side hears it as AI speech through a virtual microphone. You read their words as live translated captions. It is included in the Free plan.

Included in the Free plan (60 minutes)
31 languages, in any direction
Works next to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Tencent Meeting, WeChat, DingTalk and Lark
No bot joins the call, and the other side installs nothing

How Interpreter Mode works

Interpreter

You said · English

We can ship the first batch by March 15.

Translating to Japanese and speaking it for you

They hear · Japanese

初回分は3月15日までに出荷できます。

Keep reading

FAQ

Questions about interpreter costs
Anything else, write to support@deeptrue.org.

Few interpreters bill by the single hour. Agencies charge a minimum block, such as the first hour or a half day, and then a day rate. Published examples, per interpreter: $207–$349 for a half day in US federal courts, ¥34,000–¥88,000 for a half day of up to 3 hours in Japan, and ₩600,000–₩700,000 for up to one hour in Seoul. With many short meetings, these minimums make the real hourly cost much higher than a day rate suggests.

Simultaneous interpreting is priced per interpreter, and you need at least two who take turns, sometimes three or four for a full day. Published day rates run CN¥5,000–CN¥12,000 per interpreter for Chinese–English in China and ¥50,000–¥130,000 per interpreter in Japan, depending on grade. Booths and receivers for an event are charged on top.

In Seoul, the HUFS and Ewha interpreting centres list ₩800,000–₩900,000 per interpreter for up to six hours of Chinese or Japanese. In China, Chinese–English consecutive interpreting runs CN¥4,000–CN¥8,000 a day per interpreter, and simultaneous CN¥5,000–CN¥12,000.

For everyday meetings, frequent calls and internal meetings, often yes, and at a fraction of the cost. For contracts, legal or medical matters, high-stakes negotiations and events, book a professional interpreter. Many teams use both: Deeptrue for the regular calls and an interpreter for the signing.

Yes. Interpreter Mode is included in the Free plan, which has 60 minutes, up to 30 minutes per meeting. Pro is $29 per member a month with 300 minutes, then $0.12 per extra minute. Business is $49 per member a month with 800 minutes, then $0.08 per extra minute.

No. Only you run Deeptrue, on macOS 13+ or Windows 10+. It works next to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Tencent Meeting, WeChat, DingTalk and Lark, and no bot joins the call.

Meeting audio is transcribed live and discarded, never recorded. Meeting data is never used to train AI models, by Deeptrue or by its processors, and all traffic is encrypted. You can switch off transcript saving at any time.

Exchange rates change every day, so the calculator shows each cost in its own currency: the interpreter in your market’s currency and Deeptrue in US dollars. Enter today’s rate from your bank to see both in one currency.

Interpreter cost per hour and per day, compared with AI interpretation