Video localization for small companies: cost

Video localization for small companies costs a fraction of a new shoot, but only if you plan for it on day one. In 2026, subtitles for a short company video run to a couple of hundred euros per language, a voiceover roughly double that, and full lip-synced dubbing a lot more. Below we walk you through when each option makes sense, how to shoot a video so it is easy to translate, and what every extra language really costs.

Key takeaways

• A 2020 CSA Research survey of 8,709 consumers in 29 countries found that 76 percent prefer to buy products with information in their own language. In Germany, 57 percent only buy on sites in their own language.
• Subtitles are the cheapest route (roughly 110 to 220 euros per language for a two minute video), a voiceover costs about 250 to 550 euros, lip-synced dubbing starts around 800 euros.
• What drives the cost of localization most is how the video was shot: text burned into the picture and wordplay make every language more expensive.
• For a neighbouring market with a similar language, subtitles are often enough. For Germany and Austria, a native German voice pays off.
• AI dubbing is cheap and fast, but never ship it to a German buyer without a native speaker checking it.

Subtitles, voiceover or dubbing: which fits a small company?

Choose based on who is speaking in the video and where it will play. If someone talks straight to camera and the video lives mostly on muted social feeds, subtitles will do. If the video is carried by a narrator over shots of your factory, product or team, a voiceover in the target language works best. Full dubbing, where the new voice matches the speaker's lips, is only worth it when the whole video rests on one person's face and viewers would notice the mismatch.

For a typical exporter we work with, a manufacturer in Slovakia selling into Czechia, Germany and Austria, the setup usually looks like this: the Slovak version stays the original, the Czech one gets subtitles, and the German one gets a voiceover. Austria is normally covered by the same German version. Just have someone from Vienna or Graz read the script, because a handful of everyday words differ and they will spot them instantly.

Why bother at all? Because language sells. In the same CSA Research study on language preference, 40 percent of respondents said they will never buy from a website in another language. A video your German buyer cannot follow without a translation app simply does not exist for them.

How do you shoot a video that is easy to localize?

You plan and edit for it from the start, otherwise you pay for rework in every language. The most expensive localization jobs we have seen were not expensive because of the translation. They were expensive because the original text was burned into the footage and the editor had to rebuild shots. Here is the checklist we hand clients before the shoot:

• No text baked into the picture. Keep captions, numbers and your tagline on a separate graphics layer that we simply retype in post production.
• Music and effects on their own track. On export we want a clean music and effects stem without voice. Without it, a new voiceover cannot be mixed cleanly.
• No puns. A play on words that lands in one language dies in the next. Build humour on situations, not vocabulary.
• Room to breathe in the edit. German sentences often run longer. Leave some air, or the German narrator will sound like he is racing the clock.
• Talking heads only where needed. The more product and process footage, the less lip-sync, and the cheaper every extra version gets.
• Does your CEO speak German? Record their key lines in both languages on the day. Fifteen extra minutes on set saves hundreds of euros later.

Put this into your brief and you get a very different video. For what else belongs there, read our guide on how to write a video brief.

This Vanity Fair piece shows nicely why dubbing costs what it does: the script is not translated, it is rewritten to fit the timing and the lip movement, and every line involves an actor, a director and a sound engineer.

What does video localization cost per language in 2026?

For a two to three minute company video, plan on 110 to 220 euros for subtitles, 250 to 550 euros for a voiceover, and from 800 euros upwards for dubbing. These are our typical figures from real projects, not a fixed price list. The final number depends on how many people speak, whether graphics need changing, and the language.

• Subtitles: translation 60 to 120 euros, timing and placement 50 to 100 euros.
• Voiceover: native speaker 150 to 350 euros, recording and mix 100 to 200 euros, plus graphics changes if there is text on screen.
• Lip-synced dubbing: 800 to 2,000 euros or more per language, depending on the number of speakers.

Let us run the numbers on a real situation. A furniture maker has a two and a half minute video showing how they build their products. They want it for Czechia and the German speaking markets. Czech subtitles come to about 150 euros, a German voiceover with retyped graphics to about 450 euros. Around 600 euros for two new markets. A fresh shoot would cost several times more, as you can see in our breakdown of what a company video costs. If the same video also loops at a trade fair, the German version earns its keep at the very first stand, which we covered in our piece on video for an exhibition booth.

Is AI dubbing good enough for a small business?

For internal and quick content, yes. For a video that represents your company in front of a German buyer, only with a human check. Automatic voice translation tools can keep the speaker's voice and turn a video around in minutes for a monthly subscription in the tens of euros. The trouble is in the details: a technical term translated literally, formal and informal address mixed in one video, an accent that sounds faintly like a sat nav.

Our approach is simple. Let the AI do the first version, but have a native speaker go through both the script and the final audio, ideally someone from your own sales team in that country. A proofread costs 80 to 150 euros and it is the best spent hundred euros of the whole project.

When is localizing a video not worth it?

Honestly, not always. If your neighbouring market understands your language reasonably well, as many Czechs do with Slovak, a short and visual video may do fine without subtitles, and the investment may not come back. Nor is it worth localizing a video that is weak to begin with. A bad video in four languages is still a bad video, just four times the price.

One more thing clients tend to overlook: if nobody on your team can pick up the phone in German, a German video creates an expectation you will then fail to meet. Localize only where you can actually serve the customer.

If you are planning a video for several markets, get in touch through our contact page. We are happy to look at your existing video or script and tell you which language to handle with subtitles, which with a voice, and where you can save. Localization is part of our video production work.

Frequently asked questions

Is dubbing or subtitling better for a company video?

For most company videos subtitles or a voiceover are the better choice because they are cheaper and faster, and full dubbing only pays off when the video rests on one person speaking to camera.

How much does it cost to translate a video into German?

For a two to three minute video, roughly 110 to 220 euros for German subtitles and 250 to 550 euros for a German voiceover including recording and mix, depending on how much text and graphics are on screen.

Do I need a separate version for Austria?

Usually not, one German version covers both Germany and Austria, but have someone from Austria check the script so you avoid words that sound foreign there.

Can a finished video still be localized?

Yes, but the price depends on whether you still have the original edit project with separate music and graphics, and if not, expect to pay more for reworking the text on screen.