Guides
Voice over guides
Practical, no-jargon answers to the questions buyers ask most — on pricing, languages and accents — so you can brief and cast the right voice with confidence.
AI vs human voice over
Where synthetic voices work, where they fall short, and how to choose the right approach for your project.
Read the guide →AIAI vs human subtitling
Where automatic captions work, where they fail — accents, timing, translation, accessibility — and how to choose.
Read the guide →AIAI vs human transcription
Where speech-to-text works, where it fails — accents, multiple speakers, jargon, confidentiality — and how to choose.
Read the guide →AccentsArabic dialects explained
Modern Standard Arabic vs Egyptian, Gulf, Levantine, Maghrebi, Iraqi and Sudanese dialects.
Read the guide →LanguageCastilian vs Latin American Spanish
The real differences between the two main Spanish varieties, and how to pick the right one for your audience.
Read the guide →LocalisationDubbing vs subtitling
Cost, immersion, speed and audience preference compared — and when to do both for a global release.
Read the guide →LanguageEuropean vs Brazilian Portuguese
How European and Brazilian Portuguese differ, and which to choose for your market.
Read the guide →AccentsFrench accents explained
European, Belgian, Swiss, Canadian and African French — which voice fits which market.
Read the guide →PricingHow much does a voice over cost?
What really drives voice over pricing — production fees vs usage/licensing — and how to get an accurate quote.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideHow to write a voice over brief
Exactly what to include — audience, tone, references, usage and delivery — with a copy-ready checklist.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideIn-house vs outsourced localisation
Build an internal localisation team or outsource to an agency? Cost, control, language breadth and speed compared — and how to decide.
Read the guide →LocalisationLocalisation vs translation
Translation moves the words; localisation adapts the whole experience. What each means and when you need which.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideQuestions to ask a voice over agency
Ten questions before you book — whose studio, who directs, what the buyout covers, and what happens when the read comes back wrong.
Read the guide →AccentsSpanish accents explained
A buyer's guide to Castilian, neutral Latin American and the main national Spanish accents.
Read the guide →LocalisationSubtitles vs captions vs SDH
What subtitles, closed captions and SDH each are, and when to use which for reach and compliance.
Read the guide →LanguageUK vs US English voice over
British vs American English — accent, tone and audience — and how to choose for your brand.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideChoosing a voice over agency in London
Four different kinds of company answer to the name, and they do different jobs. Who pays each one, what you get back, and which fits your brief.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideVoice over agency vs marketplace
Self-serve marketplaces look cheaper; an agency handles casting, direction, studios, rights and multi-language consistency. When each one wins.
Read the guide →ProductionVoice over file formats & delivery specs
WAV vs MP3, sample rates, bit depth and LUFS loudness — the delivery specs that get you broadcast-ready files.
Read the guide →LocalisationHow to localise a video
The full process — transcription, translation, subtitles vs voice over vs dubbing, on-screen text and QC — step by step.
Read the guide →ProductionWhat is ADR?
Automated dialogue replacement explained — why it's used, how a session works, and how it differs from dubbing.
Read the guide →TranscriptionVerbatim vs clean-read transcription
Which transcription style you need, when to use each, and how it affects cost and turnaround.
Read the guide →Buyer's guideHow to choose a subtitling company
Ten questions that separate suppliers — reading speed, platform specs, per-language conventions and what the per-minute price really covers.
Read the guide →SubtitlingHow to add subtitles to a video
From transcript to SRT to on-screen captions — open vs closed captions, reading speed, and when to do it professionally.
Read the guide →TranslationWhat is transcreation?
Creative translation for taglines and campaigns — what it is, how it differs from translation, and when you need it.
Read the guide →PricingHow much does video localisation cost?
Subtitles, voice over, dubbing, translation and transcription — real starting rates and the factors that drive the price.
Read the guide →PricingHow much does dubbing cost?
UN-style, lip-sync and full-cast dubbing — real per-minute starting rates and the factors that drive the price.
Read the guide →PricingHow much does subtitling cost?
Captions, translated subtitles, SDH and burn-in — real per-minute starting rates and what moves the figure.
Read the guide →PricingHow much does translation cost?
Per-word rates by language pair, plus proofreading and transcreation — and how to get an exact quote.
Read the guide →Frequently asked questions
Who are these voice over guides for?
Anyone briefing or buying a voice over — marketers, producers, agencies and business owners. They translate the jargon into plain-English decisions on pricing, languages and accents so you can commission with confidence.
Are the guides free to read?
Yes, every guide is free and needs no sign-up. They're written by our team from real day-to-day voice over and localisation projects.
How do I choose the right voice for my project?
Start with your audience and where the audio will run, then pick the language, accent and tone to match. The language and accent guides walk through this; if you'd rather we recommend, send us your brief and we'll shortlist voices for free.
Do the guides cover how much a voice over costs?
Yes — the pricing guide explains what really drives cost (production vs usage/licensing) and how to get an accurate quote, and links to our rates and usage-fee calculator.
Which guide should I read first?
If budget is your first question, start with the cost guide. If you're weighing a language or accent, jump to the relevant language or accents guide. If you're new to it all, the 'what is voice over' angle in the language guides is a gentle way in.
Do you actually provide voice overs in the languages the guides cover?
Yes. We're a voice over and localisation agency — everything the guides discuss, we deliver, with native talent in 100+ languages recorded in our own Central-London studios.
Can I get a quote based on what I've read here?
Absolutely. Send us your script (or word count), the language and accent, and where the audio will run, and we'll come back with a fast, itemised, no-obligation quote — usually within a few hours.
Do you cover subtitling and translation too, or just voice over?
Both. Alongside voice over we handle subtitling, closed captions, SDH and translation, so you can localise a whole video end to end with one team.