French (European) translation services

French translation is priced per word for text and per minute for audiovisual work, and the exact rate depends on subject matter, volume and turnaround. A technical eLearning module costs differently to a short marketing clip, and the tu/vous decision has no effect on price. Send us your files and we'll come back with a free, itemised quote, backed by our Price Match Promise.

Yes. Every project is translated by a native French linguist based in France, matched to your subject matter, and checked by a second native reviewer before delivery. That second pair of eyes catches anything that reads slightly off — wrong register, an awkward turn of phrase, or a term that doesn't fit your industry — before it ever reaches you.

Yes — French translation, subtitling and voice over come from one team, so the register you agree at the brief carries through captions and audio alike. We deliver spotted SRT/VTT subtitle files and timed two-column voice-over scripts, plus a translated document when that's what the project needs, all from the same linguists.

We decide it with you at the brief stage, before translation starts, based on your brand and audience. Corporate, institutional and B2B content almost always takes vous; a youth brand, a game or an informal social campaign often calls for tu. Once agreed, that register is applied consistently across subtitles, voice-over script and any related document, so nothing you deliver contradicts anything else.

It shouldn't, and that's the point — French doesn't tolerate a script that opens formal and drifts informal, or the other way round. We fix the register before translation starts precisely so nobody has to catch the inconsistency later. If your brand genuinely needs both — a formal corporate film and a casual social clip — we treat them as two separate briefs, each with its own register from line one.

Yes, and this page is for European French specifically — the variety spoken in France, Belgium and Switzerland. Canadian French has its own vocabulary, pronunciation and, in Quebec, a distinct informal register from European usage. If your audience is in Quebec or elsewhere in Canada, ask us about a Canadian French translation instead, so the terminology and tone match that market rather than France's.

Expect roughly 15% to 20% more characters, though it varies by content — short strings and single words tend to expand the most, sometimes doubling in length. For subtitles and voice-over, we condense to fit reading speed and timing rather than translate literally and cut later. Where text has to fit a fixed space, such as a button or on-screen label, tell us at the brief and we'll write within that limit from the start.

Yes. Audiovisual is our specialisation, not our limit — we translate corporate documents, articles, marketing material, technical content and eLearning courses just as often as scripts and subtitles. The same native French linguists and the same tu/vous discipline apply, whatever the format, so your website copy and your video voice-over never sound like they came from two different translators.

Most short documents are delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Word count, subject complexity and turnaround all move the date, and your project manager will confirm the timeline at the start.

Less than people expect: the document, script or subtitle file, its word count, what the text is actually for, and the date you need it by. A draft is fine — we would rather quote on what exists than wait for a final version that eats your deadline. A named project manager comes back with an itemised quote, normally within four working hours.

More than half of enquiries get a reply within thirty minutes during office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm UK time), and the itemised quote normally follows within four working hours. After that you have one dedicated project manager who owns the job from brief to final file — not a ticket queue, and not a different name on every email. If it is easier, call +44 207 095 5730 and ask for them by name.

Yes, and it is one of the commonest reasons people get in touch. Tell us it is for a pitch and you get a figure you can put in front of your own client, itemised so it stands up to being picked apart, with no obligation and no follow-up sales calls if the pitch goes elsewhere. If it lands, the quote still holds and we already know the project.