How much does on-site interpretation cost?

On-site interpretation typically costs $84 to $180 per hour, depending on the language, with a 3-hour minimum booking for in-person sessions. Common languages like Spanish, French, and Chinese fall toward the lower end of that range, from $96 per hour for Spanish. Rarer languages cost more. Tomedes provides certified on-site interpreting services (also called in-person interpreter services), with quotes confirmed once an interpreter is secured for the specific language pair, location, and date.

What determines the price

Four factors set the price of an on-site interpreting booking.

01. Language. Rates scale with how many qualified interpreters are available for a given language pair. Common languages like Spanish ($96/hour in-person), French, German, and Chinese sit at the lower end of the range. Less common languages run higher, and for rare or low-diffusion languages, Tomedes confirms the exact rate once an available interpreter is found.

02. Session length. In-person bookings carry a 3-hour minimum, since an interpreter's travel time to the location is built into the cost regardless of how short the session runs. A full day covers up to 8 hours; additional time is billed hourly, and any session extending past the booked hours rounds up to the next full hour.

03. Equipment. Interpretation equipment and a technician are not included in the standard rate. If a session needs equipment, such as headsets or a booth setup for simultaneous interpretation, that's quoted separately.

04. Notice period. Requests inside one week of the session date are quoted once an available interpreter is confirmed, rather than at a fixed rate upfront, since short-notice availability varies by language and location.

Rates rise with how many qualified interpreters are available in a given language. Spanish runs $96 per hour, French and German run $108, Japanese and Russian run $120, and less common languages like Korean and Danish run around $180. The chart below shows these examples side by side.

In-person hourly rate by language (selected examples)

These are representative examples from Tomedes' current rate list. Rare and low-diffusion languages are quoted once an interpreter is confirmed for that pair.

Booking terms worth knowing

Cancelling on the day of a session is charged at 100% of the rate. Cancelling the day before is charged at 50%. Cancelling two or more days ahead carries no charge.

For sessions over 4 hours, Tomedes asks clients to provide the interpreter with food and beverages, standard practice for full-day, in-person bookings. Quotes are confirmed by signature, returned to support@tomedes.com.

For an exact quote based on language pair, location, and session length, request a quote or contact Tomedes directly.

When on-site interpretation is worth the added cost

On-site interpretation costs more than off-site interpretation because it requires an interpreter to travel to a physical location rather than joining remotely. That extra cost is worth it in specific situations.

• Courtroom and legal proceedings, where many jurisdictions require or strongly prefer a physically present interpreter for depositions, hearings, and witness testimony
• Medical procedures and in-patient consultations, where reading body language and being present for physical examinations matters
• Multi-party negotiations and conferences, where an interpreter needs to read the room across several speakers at once, not just relay through a screen
• Situations involving elderly, disabled, or distressed individuals, where a screen or phone adds a layer of distance that can make communication harder

On-site

• Interpreter present in the room
• Best for legal, medical, and high-stakes multi-party settings
• $84–$180/hour, 3-hour minimum

Off-site

• Interpreter connects by video
• Lower cost, more scheduling flexibility
• See off-site interpretation pricing

How Tomedes' on-site interpretation works

01. Request a quote with the language pair, location, session date, and expected length.

02. Get matched with an interpreter. 

03. Confirm details. A Tomedes project manager confirms the interpreter, location, and any background materials needed before the session.

04. Session takes place on-site, with the interpreter present for the full booked duration.

Tomedes covers on-site interpretation worldwide, drawing on a network of 20,000+ certified interpreters across 270+ languages, backed by ISO 17100:2015 certification and a 1-Year Quality Guarantee on every project.

Recent on-site interpretation projects

Workers' compensation proceedings, Oregon. 

Tomedes provided on-site Spanish consecutive interpretation for 16 hours of workers' compensation proceedings for a Spanish-speaking freight coordinator, covering medical evaluations, administrative hearings, and recorded testimony across the full duration of the case. The same interpreter attended every session, maintaining the continuity that proceedings with a cumulative record require, and the case was completed without language access gaps or technical interruptions.

Read the full case study.

FAQs

Q: What do interpreters charge per hour?
A: On-site interpreter rates typically run $84 to $180 per hour, depending on the language, with a 3-hour minimum for in-person bookings. Spanish, one of the most commonly requested languages, runs $96/hour. Rarer languages are quoted once an interpreter is confirmed for that specific pair.

Q: How far in advance do I need to book an on-site interpreter?
A: There's no strict minimum, but booking at least a week ahead gives Tomedes the best chance of confirming the exact language pair at standard rates. Requests inside one week are still accepted; the rate is confirmed once an available interpreter is found for that language and location.

Q: What's the difference between on-site and off-site interpretation?
A: On-site interpretation places an interpreter physically in the room. Off-site interpretation connects an interpreter remotely by video, which costs less and offers more scheduling flexibility, but doesn't provide an in-person presence for situations where that matters, such as courtroom proceedings or in-patient medical visits.

Q: Does Tomedes provide on-site interpretation?
A: Yes. Tomedes provides on-site interpretation with certified interpreters, a dedicated project manager on every booking, and a 1-Year Quality Guarantee. Rates run $84 to $180 per hour depending on language, with a 3-hour minimum for in-person sessions. Request a quote with the language pair and location needed.