Who should you turn to for your next Swedish translation project? Often companies think agencies are the safe bet to handle their translation needs. Or they may use machine translation for ultra-cheap outputs. 

But there’s a difference between getting the job done and getting it done right. 

As you prepare to launch your brand in Sweden, you’ll need top translation that meets your quality standards, timeline and budget. Get to know the ups and downs of your options with our ultimate guide to choosing the right Swedish translation providers for your next project.

#1 Translation Agencies

Translation agencies can give you peace of mind as you prepare content for Swedish users. While agencies offer the reliability of a pool of professional translators, they may not be the best Swedish translation providers for all projects.

Advantages

• Many available languages: With a group of linguists, agencies are better able to handle translations to numerous target languages. If your business is localizing to multiple target markets, an agency can help facilitate this large-scale work.
• High volumes with fast turnarounds: Since agencies rely on a team of linguists, they often have the manpower to complete high volumes of translations. They may even assign several translators to the same project in order to achieve a rapid deadline. 
• A range of specializations: The larger the agency, the greater the chances of having translators with diverse specializations. Businesses who require expertise in a variety of fields can get access to these linguists through the same agency.

Warnings

• Agencies may inflate costs: You may face higher expenses for work, as agency fees include administration and general overhead costs. What’s more, you don’t usually get transparency into how these rates are determined. 
• The quality level may not be great or consistent: You may notice a lack of consistency with agency work, especially if it’s assigned to multiple translators. It’s common for agencies to hand off work to the first available professionals, which reduces uniformity and quality. Not all agencies provide final-round editing or QA, either. 
• Agencies may oversell translators: Unethical agencies may “sell” you a star translator team and then use more junior professionals to complete the work. This “bait and switch” can be frustrating for businesses seeking the best talent. 
• You may need to check data confidentiality: Sign NDAs with the agency and always ask how your data and IP will be protected. Documents tend to get passed around at agencies, so make sure they’ll be safeguarded.
• Agencies may utilize machine translation without your knowledge. To achieve fast turnarounds, agencies may use machine translation and then have a translator clean it up through post-editing. You should ask if and how machine translation will be used in combination with linguists.

#2 Professional Translators

If you have a high-stakes project or want to really speak to Swedish buyers, hiring a professional translator may be the right choice for your Swedish translation provider. Unlike agencies, individual translators offer high-quality, personalized work at a more cost-effective rate. 

Advantages

• Quality over quantity: Professional translators do business by achieving the very best quality level. Often this means they can’t handle large-scale translation projects with tight deadlines. The upside is that you can be certain of the caliber and consistency.
• Direct communication for brand alignment: With an individual professional, you get a direct line to discuss areas of the translation (which isn’t usually the case with an agency). This guarantees that you can specify key information, such as target audience, brand voice, etc.
• Known background and culture: You can choose a professional translator based on their linguistic and cultural background. You’ll have full understanding of their profile to ensure it aligns with your project.
• Great cost-efficiency: Professional translator rates don’t include the bloat of overhead costs. With individuals, you can get a reasonable rate for a much higher quality of work.
• More personal relationship: If your needs are ongoing, you can build a relationship with an individual translator that you trust. 

Warnings

• It’s vital to find the right freelancer: Take your time to look into the translator’s past portfolio, client references and more. You may even pay for a translation sample to get a sense of their skills and fit with your working style. 
• Individuals aren’t as quick as teams: Don’t expect your translator to work magic with your timeline. You’ll need to account for a longer turnover time for an individual compared to an agency. 

#3 Machine Translation

Finally, there’s a lot of hype about AI and machine translation (MT) today. While MT may be useful in select circumstances, you should fully understand the downsides of using MT as your Swedish translation provider. 

Advantages

• Quick turnaround for large volumes: Typically, you can translate any content within minutes, as long as your language pair is available. This lets you easily take care of huge content volumes for your business. 
• Very low budget: Machine translation is fairly cheap, as you’ll pay only for the use of the tool and not for human expertise.
• Potential to combine with professional translators. Linguists can speed up their work by leveraging MT and then post-editing it for a seamless end product. While you’ll still need a professional to curate the results, MT can be a useful tool to trim your costs and timeline.

Warnings

• Very poor quality levels: MT is extremely limited in terms of quality. This tool can’t parse nuance, such as idioms, slang, abbreviations, etc. It also doesn’t recognize regional or specialized vocabulary. And if your language pair is rare, the tool may be rudimentary at best. 
• Inability to customize translation register: MT is also “one size fits all,” which means you can’t customize the register or tone of the translation. This leads to outputs that are too informal/formal, use awkward phrasing or don’t meet the requirements of the translation’s context.
• Uncertain data protections: AI tools are notoriously bad at protecting your data confidentiality and IP. You’ll want to check the fine print to find out how your content will be used by the algorithm and whether you still own the content rights after MT processing.

Best Use Cases for Swedish Translation Providers

Translation Agencies	Pro Translators	Machine Translation
You have a high volume of content to complete on a tight timeline.  You are fine with having multiple translators or even machine translation used on your content.  You need translation services for a wide range of languages.	Quality is a top priority (such as marketing or legal language). Content includes creative or culturally nuanced phrasing. You require a rare language pair. You want a direct communication line with your translator. You want the best price-quality ratio available.	You need a quick-and-dirty translation that’s low stakes (i.e. it’s internal and/or won’t be seen by many people). You have a very limited budget. You’re not concerned about your content IP. You’re interested in using MT in combination with a pro translator.

As you launch your next project, be sure to select the Swedish translation providers that match your needs. Get to know the advantages and disadvantages of each type above, so you have full vision into your options. 

Ultimately, you can’t go wrong by choosing a professional translator to achieve high-quality work. Get in touch with Swedish Translation Services to learn more about my track record in crafting excellent Swedish translations that get results for clients. 

 

Check Also:

• A Case of David and Goliath: Freelance Translation vs. Translation Agencies
• When to Choose Machine Translation vs. a Professional Translator
• 7 Reasons You Need a Professional For Your English to Swedish Translations
• Swedish Translation vs. Transcreation: Which Is Right for You?
• Localization Best Practices for the Swedish Market