Best Translation Agencies for 2024 – Ranked & Reviewed

If you’re working with international clients, you need to hire the best translation agencies to ensure your work documents are properly translated into multiple languages.

However, there are hundreds of translation companies out there, all covering a variety of different languages, specializing in different fields, and offering different rates. 

So, how do you choose?

To help, we’ve researched the best translation agencies in the world to provide you with a list of the 10 best translation companies, so you can find the one that’s best for your business. 

The Top 10 Translation Agencies for 2024

Here are our top 10 picks for the best translation agencies in 2024: 

1. RWS — Overall the Best Translation Agency in 2024
2. TransPerfect — Best for Multilingual Videos and Multilingual Staffing
3. LanguageLine Solutions — Best Translation Agency for Healthcare Organizations
4. STAR Group — In-Country Reviews to Ensure Translation Accuracy
5. Keywords Studios — Best for Video Game Developers and Publishers
6. Iyuno-SDI Group — Best For Film, TV Shows, and Animated Series
7. LionBridge — Best For Software and Technology Companies
8. Semantix — Translation & Digital Marketing Services in Over 170 Languages
9. Welocalize — Heavily Specialized in Banking & Finance, Legal, and Life Sciences
10. VSI — Best For Video Localization, Subtitling, Dubbing, and Voice-Over

Key Takeaways: Choosing the Best Translation Agency

1. Identify Specific Needs: Understand your business’s unique translation requirements, including language pairs, specialized fields, and service types (e.g., document translation, localization).
2. Industry Specialization: Look for agencies with proven expertise in your industry to ensure accurate translations of technical terminology and compliance with industry standards.
3. Service Range: Consider agencies that offer a comprehensive suite of services, including document translation, localization, interpreting, and multimedia services like dubbing and subtitling.
4. Translation Quality: Prioritize agencies that employ native speakers and subject matter experts. Quality assurance processes, such as in-country reviews and double-checking by a second linguist, are indicators of high-quality translations.
5. Technology and Innovation: Agencies that leverage AI and machine translation with human oversight can provide efficient and scalable solutions for managing large volumes of multilingual content.
6. Client Portfolio and Reputation: Research potential agencies’ client lists and reviews. A strong portfolio with reputable clients and positive feedback is a good indicator of reliability and quality.
7. Customization and Flexibility: The best agencies offer customized solutions tailored to your specific project needs, including flexibility in project size, turnaround times, and specific language variants.
8. Cost-Effectiveness: While price should not be the sole factor, compare rates and services to ensure you’re getting value for money. Transparent pricing and the option for package deals or discounts for large projects can be advantageous.
9. Customer Support and Communication: Effective communication and responsive customer support are crucial for managing translation projects. Look for agencies that provide dedicated project managers and support across multiple time zones.
10. Future-Proofing: Choose an agency that can scale with your business and adapt to evolving translation needs, ensuring a long-term partnership that supports your global expansion efforts.

The Top Translation Companies Reviewed

The best translation services companies hire dozens, if not hundreds, of professional translators that specialize in a variety of different languages.

Here are our in-depth reviews of the best interpreting and translation companies, so you can compare their services, rates, and areas of specialization in order to make an informed decision.

1. RWS — Overall the Best Translation Agency in 2024

RWS is one of the world’s most renowned translation agencies, and works with 90 of the top 100 global brands.

The agency allows you to translate your online content into virtually any language. RWS works with both in-house linguists and qualified freelance translators to create premium quality translations for all your business needs.

The agency’s localization service involves translating content to maximize local impact with the help of native linguists, end-to-end translation project management, and in-depth quality checks.

RWS can also help with website, app, and software localization, ensuring that your business and services are accurately adapted to dozens of different languages. 

The agency also leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses process large volumes of multilingual content. This makes RWS one of the best legal translation agencies since the AI helps you manage multilingual data in any format, translate all manner of legal documents, and adapt them to a specific language and the relevant jurisdiction.

As well as translation services, RWS acts as a content marketing agency.

The agency’s experienced editorial team can perform detailed content audits, conduct in-depth market research, and create, manage, and maintain your online content.

The content can of course also be translated into multiple languages to help you reach global audiences and grow your business. 

2. TransPerfect — Best for Multilingual Videos and Multilingual Staffing

TransPerfect is one of the best online translation agencies, offering everything from translation and web & app localization to content creation and voice-over.

When it comes to the translation itself, TransPerfect offers document translation, interpretation, and AI & machine translation. 

What makes TransPerfect stand out from other certified translation agencies is the fact that it also provides language training and assessments, as well as multilingual staffing.

If you want to hire a linguist that specializes in a particular language, TransPerfect can test their skills, assess their knowledge of the language, and help onboard them into your team. 

If you’re a SaaS agency, TransPerfect can assist you with software and mobile app localization, international SEO & SEM, and QA testing and accessibility. The agency can even create how-tos and explainer videos in dozens of different languages, helping you connect with an international audience.

On top of video production, TransPerfect’s services include dubbing, subtitling, and transcription.

The agency also offers global brand management and content creation, including translation management, training and e-learning, and content authoring.

If you want to reach global audiences, TransPerfect is one of the best professional translation agencies for the job.

3. LanguageLine Solutions — Best Translation Agency for Healthcare Organizations

LanguageLine Solutions specializes in translation and interpretation for healthcare organizations, government organizations, and multinational enterprises. 

Though its specialization field is rather narrow, there’s no doubt that LanguageLine Solutions is one of the best medical translation agencies.

As well as having vast knowledge of specific medical terminology, the professionals at LanguageLine Solutions are also familiar with healthcare processes and understand complex healthcare compliance and HIPAA rules. 

The agency even offers on-site, on-demand, and personal interpreters. On-site interpreters are invaluable to healthcare practices where time is of the essence and you need to understand the patient and speak to them in their own language to be able to provide the required treatment.

On-site interpretation is supported in 48 U.S. states, and the agency numbers over 8,500 certified interpreters with decades of experience. 

As well as healthcare-related translation and interpretation services, LanguageLine Solutions also offers document translation, localization, and quality assurance.

Their proprietary translation portal allows you to streamline multilingual project management, so you can get the translations you need within project deadlines. 

Finally, the company offers testing and training to ensure your bilingual staff is fully proficient in both languages, understands the industry terminology, and is specialized in your professional area. 

4. STAR Group — In-Country Reviews to Ensure Translation Accuracy

With subsidiaries in over 30 countries, STAR Group is one of the leading marketing translation agencies. The company offers content development, content delivery, and a variety of language services. 

When it comes to translation services, STAR Group supports over 80 different languages and language variants and has thousands of translators that specialize in over a dozen different industries. 

STAR Group offers both manual and machine translation, but it stands out from other translation agencies by offering in-country reviews of its translations.

This process involves in-depth reviews by native experts to ensure your messages are accurately translated to different languages and strike a chord with your audience. 

In addition to translations, STAR Group offers interpreting services as well as software and multimedia localization. The latter also involves language dubbing, making sure your tutorials, how-to videos, and explainer videos are perfectly adapted to different audiences. 

5. Keywords Studios — Best for Video Game Developers and Publishers

No, it’s not an SEO agency. Keywords Studios’ services actually revolve around video games. The company offers everything from art services and game development to functionality QA and game/app localization.

So, if you want to reach a global player base, you can rely on Keywords Studio to deliver superb localization engineering services, impeccable translation and adaptation, as well as transcreation and creative writing.

The agency also offers editing and proofreading in 11 different languages, ensuring that your game’s interface is perfectly translated to the languages your players understand. 

On top of translation services, Keywords Studio handles graphic design, concept development, 2D & 3D character art, level art, animation & visual effects, project management, and localization content management. 

The best part about Keywords Studio is the fact that the agency also offers player support, community management, moderation, and social media management.

This allows you to fully outsource customer support and ensure your players get professional support in the language they prefer. 

6. Iyuno-SDI Group — Best For Film, TV Shows, and Animated Series

While not a translation agency in the traditional sense, Iyuno-SDI Group is a leading provider of localization services for film, TV shows, interactive media, and games. The company focuses on subtitling, dubbing, and speech recognition. 

With over 200,000 linguists specializing in over 100 languages, Iyuno-SDI Group is an excellent choice for subtitling broadcasts, videos, streaming services, and VOD platforms.

The company also offers voice-over by renowned voice actors to help you bring your digital content to global audiences. 

Iyuno-SDI Group has also partnered with leading technology companies to enable speech recognition and text-to-speech automation in over 50 languages. 

As well as localization services, Iyuno-SDI Group offers creative post-production as a way to fine-tune your content and make it more engaging to your target audiences. 

7. LionBridge — Best For Software and Technology Companies

LionBridge helps businesses bridge the language barrier between their brand and consumers by providing world-class translation and localization services.

With over 25 years in the industry, the professionals at LionBridge can help you translate your message into over 70 languages and reach global customers in their language. 

LionBridge truly shines when it comes to online translation, providing full website localization, multimedia localization, document translation, and transcreation.

With a dedicated terminology team to ensure industry-specific terms and phrases are accurately converted into the target language, LionBridge stands out as one of the best technical translation agencies. 

The agency also offers multilingual SEO and digital marketing services, as well as content creation, technical writing, training & e-learning, and a variety of testing services.

This makes LionBridge an ideal partner for SaaS companies that want to make their applications more accessible to audiences in countries all over the world. 

8. Semantix — Translation & Digital Marketing Services in Over 170 Languages

Semantix is a Sweden-based translation and content services agency with over 2,000 translators fluent in 170 languages.

The translations are performed by industry specialists, ensuring all the technical terms, industry jargon, and profession-specific phrases are accurately translated. 

Semantix offers full website translations, multilingual copywriting, editing & proofreading, and multimedia translation services.

You can also hire the agency for voice-over and subtitling projects if you want to translate your video marketing assets into different languages. 

What stood out during our research is the fact that Semantix offers two different translation packages — standard and premium.

The standard package includes a translation by a linguist that specializes in your field, and the premium one involves an extra step where the translation is checked by a different linguist to ensure maximum accuracy. 

On top of translation services, Semantix also offers interpreting and multilingual digital marketing. 

9. Welocalize — Heavily Specialized in Banking & Finance, Legal, and Life Sciences

Welocalize is one of the best translation and localization companies for the financial & banking, life sciences, and legal industries.

Thanks to this narrow specialization, linguists at Welocalize are experts in their respective fields and know how to navigate the translation of complex technical and legal documents. 

The company provides translation and localization services in over 525 different language combinations and offers machine translation based on natural language processing (NLP) technology, which is perfect for efficiently translating large volumes of content. 

Apart from document translation, Welocalize offers multimedia localization and e-learning translation services. This involves localizing video, audio, animations, graphics, and all kinds of interactive content. 

Welocalize also offers a proprietary platform that allows you to easily manage all multilingual projects, optimize workflows, and streamline communication between your diverse, multilingual workforce. 

10. VSI — Best For Video Localization, Subtitling, Dubbing, and Voice-Over

VSI is a London-based translation and localization agency with professional-grade studios in over 25 cities around the world.

With over 33 years of experience, VSI prides itself on being able to weave cultural nuances and local spirit into its translations, making every piece sound as though it were originally written in that language. 

The company’s expert linguists are fluent in over 160 different languages and are skilled at translation, subtitling, voice-over, media processing, and post-production.

In other words, VSI offers a full suite of services to help ensure that your content is not only translated but fully adapted to global audiences. 

This makes VSI an ideal choice for online streaming service providers, entertainment agencies, game developers and publishers, and any other business that leverages video marketing to reach millions of people worldwide. 

Best Translation Agencies Compared

What Services Do Translation Companies Offer?

Most international translation agencies offer a wide variety of services related to converting source material from one language to another.

Most commonly, this is written material like technical documentation, articles, website copy, in-app text, etc. Some language translation companies also offer video translation services, which typically include subtitling, dubbing, and voice-over. 

However, it’s not uncommon for translation agencies to also offer multilingual content creation, as well as interpretation services. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the most common services the best translation agencies offer.

Document Translations

Translating documents typically involves understanding the context, industry-specific terminology, and cultural nuances of both languages to accurately convey the message in the target language. 

The best translation agencies have experienced linguists who specialize in particular fields, such as healthcare, finance, and legal.

This ensures accurate translations that heavily rely on context to ensure that the translation sounds native without changing the meaning or intent behind industry-specific and technical terms. 

Localization

Localization is the process of translating entire platforms, websites, or applications into a variety of different languages.

This is typically used by international companies that want to make their services more accessible to a global audience by ensuring that the website/app navigation and content are adapted to the user’s native language. 

Editing & Proofreading

A lot of stuff can get lost in translation, including words, punctuation, context, and even the original meaning. The best translation agencies employ professional editors to double-check both the original text and the translation.

They ensure there are no typos and that both texts are factually and grammatically correct, as well as that the translation is properly adapted to the target language and accurately conveys the original message. 

Interpreting

Interpreting refers to translating speech in real-time.

This service is most commonly used by government organizations when meeting foreign dignitaries, as well as global businesses during international conferences.

Other uses for interpreting include everything from healthcare and legal proceedings to travel and event production. 

Dubbing, Voice-Over, and Subtitling

The best translation agencies have state-of-the-art studios with modern equipment that allows them to translate, dub, or subtitle videos.

This service is indispensable for the entertainment industry since it’s essential to make TV shows and movies accessible to a wider audience.

Professional voice actors can record lines in a variety of different languages, while another team of linguists can add subtitles and sync them with the video. 

Conclusion — What is the Best Translation Agency in 2024?

When choosing a translation agency, you have to consider the types of services different agencies offer, translation agency rates, and the industries they specialize in.

There’s a huge difference between traditional document translation companies and agencies that offer machine translation, on-site interpreting, and content creation. 

In other words, no translation agency is objectively the best. It all comes down to finding a translation agency that best aligns with the needs of your business. 

That said, our top overall pick is RWS. This translation agency has a hugely impressive client portfolio, and it offers everything from translation and interpreting to content creation and AI-powered multilingual content processing. 

FAQs