Websites

What a bilingual or multilingual website really costs

Why each extra language costs more than translation: adapted copy, hreflang, SEO per language, tools and upkeep, with a simple way to estimate your own budget.

October 21, 20265 min read

A bilingual or multilingual website costs more than a single-language one because each extra language is more than a translation job. You need copy adapted to that reader, a separate URL for every page in every language, hreflang tags so Google shows the right version, keyword research in each language, translated forms and automated emails, and a plan to keep every version current. Depending on the method, an extra language can cost a few dozen dollars a month (a machine-translation plugin) or a significant share of the project budget (professional adaptation plus SEO in each language). The right level depends on how much revenue that language represents.

Here is where the money goes and how to estimate your own number.

Translation is only the first line item

Copy

Word-for-word translation of sales copy usually reads stiffly. The better approach is adaptation: the same message, rewritten with the phrasing, examples and objections that matter to readers in that language and market. A Spanish-speaking buyer in Mexico and one in Spain don't use the same vocabulary; neither do French speakers in Quebec and in France.

Professional translators quote per word, per hour or per document. In Quebec, the professional order of translators (OTTIAQ) sets no rates and notes that prices depend on the language pair, complexity and deadline. Get quotes based on your real word count rather than relying on a rule of thumb.

Duplicate pages

Google recommends a separate URL for each language version of a page, such as /en/services/cleaning and /fr/services/entretien, rather than one address that switches language based on cookies or browser settings. A 10-page site in two languages is really a 20-page site: 20 titles, 20 meta descriptions, 20 pages to test. In three languages, 30.

Google also advises against automatically redirecting visitors to a different language version. Let people choose with a visible language link.

Hreflang

Hreflang tags tell Google which page is the equivalent in which language. Each version must list itself and all the others; if two pages don't point to each other, Google ignores the tags. You can add them in the page code, in HTTP headers or in the XML sitemap, and an x-default value covers visitors whose language doesn't match any version. Done right, they keep your English page out of French results and the other way round. It's modest technical work that is often done badly.

SEO in each language

A translated keyword isn't always what people type. Search volumes, competitors and phrasing differ by language and by country. Keyword research, page titles and descriptions need to be done per language, not translated from the original.

Be careful with mass machine translation. Google's spam policies target content generated at scale mainly to manipulate rankings, and list "automated transformations like synonymizing, translating" as an example when they provide little value to users. Machine translation that a person reviews and corrects is not the issue; hundreds of unreviewed translated pages can be.

Everything else that needs a second version

forms, error messages and thank-you pages;
automated emails and text messages;
privacy policy and cookie banner;
image alt text, PDFs, video subtitles;
your Google Business Profile description;
chatbot answers, if you use one.

Three approaches, three price levels

Approach	Typical cost	Quality	Good for
Machine-translation plugin (e.g. Weglot)	About US$17 to US$87 a month depending on words and languages	Acceptable to uneven without review	Small sites, a secondary language that isn't central to sales
Machine translation + professional review	Subscription plus review billed per word or hour	Good	Mid-size sites, tighter budgets
Professional adaptation + SEO per language	Highest: translation or copywriting, keyword research, integration	Best	Businesses that truly sell in each language

As an example of plugin pricing, Weglot's Starter plan (US$17 a month) covers 10,000 words and one extra language, Business (US$32) covers 50,000 words and three languages, and Pro (US$87) covers 200,000 words and five languages; the USD prices are estimates based on the euro rate. Word counts include every page and blog post, so the bill grows with the site.

How to estimate your cost

Count the words. A 10-page brochure site often has 4,000 to 8,000 words before any blog. Multiply by your translator's per-word rate, once per language.
Add the build work. Language switcher, URLs per language, hreflang, a sitemap per language, testing. On a well-structured site this is a few hours; on a site not built for it, much more.
Add SEO per language. Keyword research plus titles and descriptions for each market.
Add upkeep. Every new page, offer or article has to be produced once per language. Put translation into your monthly content budget.

Example: a 10-page, 6,000-word site going from one language to two. The translation line is 6,000 words at the quoted rate. Add the technical integration and SEO for the second language. Then add the ongoing work: if you publish 20 new pages or posts a year, each needs translating. Over three years, that ongoing line is often larger than the initial translation.

Going from two languages to three or more mostly repeats the per-language lines (translation, SEO, upkeep). The technical set-up is largely done once, which is why it pays to build the first version with languages in mind.

The rules in Quebec

If you do business in Quebec, French is not optional. The Office québécois de la langue française states that commercial documentation, including websites and social media, must be at least in French. Another language can be added as long as French is at least equivalent and the French version is accessible on terms at least as favourable. A full French version is the baseline, not an add-on.

Mistakes that cost the most

One URL for all languages, with a button that swaps text by JavaScript. Google often indexes only one version.
Automatic redirection by browser language. Visitors and search engines never see the other version.
Translated menus around untranslated content. Google calls this out specifically as confusing.
Unequal versions. One language gets the new pages and offers; the other falls months behind.
No owner for translation. Assign someone, or a supplier, to keep versions aligned.

When a second language can wait

If only a small share of your customers prefer another language and they're comfortable in yours, start with a translated home page, service summary and contact page. Commit to a full second language when it represents a market you actively want to win, or when the law requires it.

Where PNE fits

Our website design service builds bilingual sites from the start: one URL per language, hreflang, SEO in each language and a CMS that keeps both versions in step. For DC Maintenance we delivered 28 pages in French and English with proper hreflang so each market ranks on its own, and every page of the World Gym Québec site is built in both languages. The DC Maintenance case study shows the details.