The world is becoming more interconnected due to the marvelous information technology revolution. When living in a global village, the production and consumption of content inevitably occur across borders. It’s only a matter of time before someone googles “translation services near me” to fulfill his linguistic needs.

Top 15 Best Translation Companies Near Me

There are a whopping 18,000 translation companies in 137 countries worldwide. So whenever someone needs to get translations done professionally and quickly, the first thing that comes to his mind is probably looking for “language translation services near me.” Not just document translation services, professional translation service providers can also cater to other linguistic needs, including transcription, subtitling, desktop publishing, etc. 

“When shopping for language translation services near me, I always choose a translation company with global offices.” Said a marketing manager who regularly integrates translation services into their internal workflow, which is quite true.

Translation companies with global offices are usually very large-scale, with more streamlined workflow, more rigorous quality control, and more sophisticated project management, all of which are the critical components to ensure the delivery of top-quality translations.

In this blog post, we’ve compiled the top 15 best translation companies from organic Google searches and their global offices and will dive into their differences.

1. Wordspath    

Wordspath is a professional language service provider with two decades of experience in delivering a wide range of high-quality linguistic services such as translation and interpretation, desktop publishing, transcription and subtitling, dubbing and voiceover, AI training data solution, etc., to businesses and individuals. 

As of 2022, Wordspath has 13 global offices in seven countries, including China, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, Pakistan, and Spain. Home to 30,000+ translators from various industries and sectors worldwide, Wordspath is a good substitute for the local translation agencies nearby, covering nearly all major and less common languages.

Wordspath is known for its traditional Chinese translation services and its expertise in information technology. Its customer churn rate is low due to its first-rate and responsive customer service and capacity to handle urgent needs without sacrificing quality. The company also provides a free test translation of up to 300 words for any first order over $100.

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2. TransPerfect

TransPerfect is the first billion-dollar company in the language industry. The industry leader is headquartered in New York and has offices in 104 cities worldwide. The company started as a two-person company and grew into a reputable LSP. It has transformed into the world’s largest provider of language services after several large M&A transactions in recent years.

TransPerfect provides a full range of language solutions, including translation and interpretation, multicultural marketing, website, and software localization, multimedia and studio solutions, globalization management technology, legal support, and E-Discovery.

Global locations:

3. RWS 

RWS Group was established in 1982 from a merger between a specialist translation agency and a patent and technical information searching company. The group has also gone through many strategic mergers and acquisitions. After acquiring its former rival SDL, RWS Group became the second largest language service provider next to TransPerfect.

The British company has 160 global offices and offers technical and commercial translation, intellectual property, and content management services. It also develops software to support translation productivity and management.

Global locations:

4. LanguageLine Solutions   

The California-based company LanguageLine Solutions claims to be the world’s largest provider of interpretation services, with over 9,000 contracted interpreters worldwide. LanguageLine Solutions boasts over two decades of experience in the language service industry and operates 364 offices across the world.

The company renders language services to healthcare institutions, government agencies, and multinational corporations. Apart from translation and interpretation services, LanguageLine also provides language proficiency testing and training services.

Global locations:

5. Keywords Studios   

Keywords Studios was founded in 1998 as a localization services provider for business software that later shifted its focus to the video game industry. Keywords Studios has grown into a pioneer in adapting games and provides translation and localization services for game developers and publishers worldwide.

As the enabler of the gaming business, the company highly values the importance of interaction, which is also the theme of its website. Keywords Studios now has operations in 70+ cities worldwide.

Global locations:

6. Lionbridge  

Lionbridge is another big name in the language service market, having held the world’s second-largest LSP position for years. The company was founded in 1996 and bought the largest LSP of the time, Bowne Global Solutions, in 2005 and then kept expanding ever since through mergers and acquisitions.

Lionbridge provides content services, translation services, testing services, knowledge hubs, etc., in many languages across 39 locations worldwide.

Global locations: 

7. Iyuno-SDI Group  

Iyuno-SDI Group is a global leader in translation, subtitling, and language dubbing services operating its media services in 67 other offices and facilities in 34 countries. Founded in 1990 in Sweden as a media company, Iyuno is now headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Iyuno’s media services encompass subtitling, dubbing, accessibility, speech recognition, distribution, and creative post-production. The company provides localization solutions for episodic TV series, feature films, interactive games, media news, and the needs of other entertainment industries.

Global locations:

8. Appen  

Founded in 1996, Appen’s global headquarters is in New South Wales, Australia.

It is a publicly traded data company that provides or improves data such as speech and natural language data, text and alphanumeric data, image and video data, etc., to support the development of AI and machine learning projects at all stages.

Appen provides global coverage with nine offices and various locations. More than 1 million skilled contractors work for Appen online, making it one of the world’s largest crowdsourcing service providers.

Global locations:  

9. translate plus  

Translate plus is a global language service provider purchased by Publicis Groupe’s cross-media production platform Prodigious in 2017. It claims to be the pioneer in translation and transcreation.

According to its website, translate plus provides an array of language services, including translation, localization, transcreation, multilingual SEO, machine translation, DTP, transcription, subtitling, and video adaptation in 200 languages. Translate plus has 12 operating offices in different countries across four continents.

Global locations:

10. Acolad Group  

Based in Boulogne-Billancourt, Île-de-France, Acolad is an industry-leading provider of language services and technology, content, and digital services. With 60+ global offices in operation, the company has made its presence in 25 countries across three continents.

Acolad markets itself as a multi-local market approach provider and has served 25,000+ clients in various industries worldwide.

Global locations: 

11. Welocalize   

Headquartered in New York, Welocalize was founded in 1997 as a translation supply chain management solutions provider to deliver market-ready content to global brands and companies. Its services span translation, localization, and adaptation in 250+ languages.

It also offers data training solutions for NLP-enabled ML. It has 15 offices across North America, Asia, and Europe, where over 1,900 employees are working there.

Global locations: 

12. Hogarth Worldwide   

Established in London in 2008, Hogarth World is owned by WPP plc, a UK-based holding company specializing in multinational communications, public relations, advertising, technology, and commerce.

Hogarth Worldwide delivers a wide range of services, including marketing, advertising, production, web banners, CGI, packaging production, translation, transcreation, and digital asset management. It operates 32 offices across five continents.

Global locations:

13. Poletowin Pitcrew Holdings   

Poletowin Pitcrew Holdings, shortened for PTW, is a professional language service provider dedicated to helping the gaming industry to enable better player experiences worldwide. PTW comprises a global team of passionate and dynamic gamers who are also linguistic professionals.

Poletowin Pitcrew Holdings’ global presence stretches across three continents in 9 countries with 12 office locations.

Global locations:

14. STAR Group   

Founded in 1984 in Switzerland, the STAR Group is the world’s leading provider of comprehensive information solutions. It helps brands, products, and services worldwide better present their content with professional services ranging from technical writing and translation to publishing design and optimization of the information life cycle.

Apart from its headquarters in Switzerland, the STAR Group also has 50 more offices operating its businesses across 30 countries.

Global locations:  

15. Pactera EDGE  

As a separate global digital and technology company from Pactera, Pactera EDGE is dedicated to designing, building, and optimizing human-centric intelligent digital platforms. Language services are only a small part of one of its core capabilities – globalization.

They are a team of go-getters who believe in using the power of technology to increase business value and human experience. There are 23 global Pactera EDGE offices located on five continents.

Global locations: 

How can I find professional translation services near me?

Finding a stellar translation service nearby can give you a hard time, especially when living far away from metropolitan areas. Even if you are living in a metropolis where language service agencies abound, how do you scrutinize and select the one that suits your requirements and, at the same time, guarantees top quality out of so many options?

The sad truth is many people aimed to search for a reliable LSP but always ended up working with an unsatisfactory one due to a lack of research. To spare you from the struggles and frustration of working with a low-quality and unprofessional translation service, we’ve brought together some useful and insightful tips on finding the most reliable translation services near you and me.

As long as you are shopping for language services, these tips will help you out in one way or another.

1. Google search

Google search is undoubtedly an amazing tool for getting quick and comprehensive answers to any question. And not just for search results of top-rated translation agencies near me and you. It’s wise to attach your desired location to the search query to narrow down the results. 

2. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social network platform for professionals and companies intended to showcase their capabilities and strengths and keep in contact with potential employers and customers. You can identify local translation companies using company search and other parameters to filter search results that best fit your needs.

3. Social Media Group

Social media group is a virtual community that allows its members to create, post, read, and comment on content relevant to the members’ interests or the forum’s niche-specific topics. By joining the social media group run by local translation services providers (translators or agencies), you are more likely to get the information you need straight from the horse’s mouth.

4. Local Business Directory

A local business directory catalogs companies and their hours, contact information, locations, photos, and other information, such as reviews and links to their websites and social media platforms. Users can obtain comprehensive information about their targeted services/products using a local business directory. Popular business directory websites include yelp.com, yellowpages.com, merchantcircle.com, bbb.org, etc.

5. Friends Recommendation

You can also leverage your available connection to find your desired translation service provider without causing an evitable sunk cost. If your friends or acquaintances have experience working with the local translation offices, it’s best to ask them for their opinion on what agencies to avoid and the highly recommended go-to options.

6. Business Magazine

When a local business magazine is published in your city, translation agencies may advertise their businesses there. Although this is a less common case, such ads do exist in areas with booming foreign trade and a large expat population.

Do I really need a translation service near me?

When you hesitate about using the local translation service you found, trust your gut! Because you really should ponder over the pros and cons of entrusting your translation work with local translation offices.

Pros:

• You can visit the company and learn more about the services and pricing on the ground.
• The turnaround time is possibly faster and more under control.
• You don’t need to worry about data security problems online when you can hand your document over to professionals on the spot.

 Cons:

• There are limited options in local areas regarding translation agencies and translators available for service.
• Translation services providers in small towns are mostly workshops with no or less professional processes and quality control, so the quality you get is not guaranteed.
•  Local translation companies usually don’t provide complete coverage of language combinations or subject matter expertise to accommodate varied linguistic needs.

What if I can’t find a satisfying local translation agency near me?

Getting translation services at a physical location is now considered obsolete in the evolving language industry. Most local translation offices/workshops don’t have access to an extensive network of global linguists with specialties in their dedicated fields, nor do they have online translation management systems to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and consistency. When cooperating with such agencies, chances are that you can only receive translations between some specific language pairs in a few topics in a comparably slower turnaround.

The good news is that translators can now work virtually anywhere, thanks to technological advancement. So even if there is no translation service nearby, you can always resort to the almighty Internet for even better alternatives.

The following features of a good translation agency should help alleviate your concerns about “finding professional translation agencies near me.”

• A truly professional translation company tends to extend its presence to as many places as possible so that customers worldwide can benefit from its language services.
• A professional LSP should have its proprietary translation management system on which a designated team of translators, project managers, editors, and proofreaders can work closely together to keep the whole process under control.
• A good translation agency needs to be able to quickly mobilize its massive linguistic resources to match the clients’ most detailed requirements.
• To ensure impeccable accuracy, all processes at a reliable language service company comply with the ISO 9001 or even ISO 17100 standards.    

Wordspath is a professional language service provider that delivers cost-effective translation and localization solutions to end customers across various business verticals worldwide.

Powered by its global network of experienced linguists and SMEs and two decades of expertise, it can effortlessly handle translation projects of different sizes and topics from and into 150+ languages. Wordspath provides round-the-clock language service and has served over 3,000 satisfied customers globally.

Conclusions:

Discovering the best translation services near me can be daunting when you are not doing your research right. The old days when you popped into a physical store to get the desired translation services are now gone for good.

For those who are used to supporting local businesses, it’s about time to embrace the digital age and unlock more possibilities with global translation agencies. Wordspath is one of these international translation agencies ready to support people who need translation services near them.