Can I book an interpreter for two hours?

Yes, but note that a minimum booking usually applies, because the interpreter reserves that time for you and turns down other work. A manager will give exact terms once the event format is clear.

Who pays for the equipment?

It depends on the arrangement. We can organise the equipment and include it in the estimate, or work with what the venue already has. The second is cheaper, so check the room first.

Does the interpreter have to be physically present?

Not for online events. For in-person ones it depends on the format: a hall with a booth needs them on site, while small negotiations can sometimes run over a phone or video link.

How do you match an interpreter to the subject?

By experience in that specific field. A medical congress, a construction forum and equipment supply negotiations need different people, which is why we ask about the subject.

What interpreting actually costs

The rates

Consecutive interpreting starts at 1,000 UAH per hour, or 6,000 UAH for a working day. Simultaneous interpreting starts at 1,500 UAH per hour, or 8,000 UAH for a working day.

That is the rate for one interpreter, a common language and an ordinary subject. Everything after that shifts the figure, and it is better to know about it before you set the budget.

Why simultaneous interpreters come in pairs

Simultaneous interpreting runs at the limit of cognitive load: the interpreter listens, understands, translates and speaks at the same time, without pauses. After 20–30 minutes quality starts to fall regardless of skill — that is physiology, not inexperience.

So for anything longer than about an hour and a half, the worldwide standard is two interpreters taking turns. An offer of 'one simultaneous interpreter for the whole day' means your guests will be hearing approximations after lunch.

Consecutive interpreting is not bound by this as strictly: it has natural pauses, and one interpreter can work longer.

What else is in the estimate

The interpreter's fee is usually half to two thirds of the total. The rest:

Equipment for simultaneous work: a booth, consoles, receivers for participants. Quoted separately and driven by audience size.
Travel and accommodation if the event is outside Kyiv. For a one-day trip this is often a visible share of the total.
Preparation. For a narrow subject the interpreter spends time on your material in advance — and that is not the line to economise on.
Rare languages. There are only a handful of simultaneous interpreters for, say, Japanese or Hebrew, and their rate is different.
Overtime. Events run long; agree the price of an extra hour before the event, not at nine in the evening.

How to spend less without losing anything

Send the programme and materials in advance. A prepared interpreter works faster and more accurately, and you are not paying for them to learn your terminology live.

Consider whether you really need simultaneous. For negotiations with six or eight people, consecutive interpreting is often more comfortable and noticeably cheaper — it only costs you the pauses.

For an online event no equipment is needed at all, and the interpreter can work from anywhere — that removes both hardware and travel from the estimate.

Plan ahead. Finding a simultaneous interpreter with the right language and subject the day before means either a refusal or a rush rate.

What interpreting actually costs

The rates

Why simultaneous interpreters come in pairs

What else is in the estimate

How to spend less without losing anything

Frequently asked questions

Related services

Simultaneous conference interpreting

Interpreting

Corporate translation accounts

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