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Starting a translation agency in Europe costs €800–€6,000 in 2026, with first income after about 8 weeks and earnings of up to €4,000 a month working full time.
Last updated: September 2026 · sources at the bottom of the page
Managed translation for businesses.
| Money to start | €800–€6,000 | What you spend before the first customer pays: kit, stock, licences, launch. |
|---|---|---|
| Hours a week | 15–45 | What it takes to run it properly, from part time to full time. |
| Weeks to first income | about 8 | How long you pay in before any money comes back. You still need to live in those weeks. |
| Kept of every €100 | €45 | What stays with you after running costs, before you pay yourself for your hours. |
| Most it earns a month | €900 part time · €4,000 full time + | A realistic ceiling for you running it. It can grow further, but only by hiring or adding units. |
| Competition | high | Easy to enter, so plenty of people already do it. |
| Licence or qualification | not usually | Beyond registering the business and insurance, nothing specific in our research. |
The figure above is what this earns in the shape described: you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.
Managing translators pays better than translating, and the work is fully remote and repeatable. Machine translation has flattened the low end permanently — only regulated and specialist content still pays properly.
These are the categories this business pays for in the first month. We go through the software side on the tools page.
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LaunchKit · €390 + VAT
A site made for your a translation agency business, Google profile, domain and email, a QR poster and a 30-day launch plan built on the numbers above. Live in about a week.
Between €800 and €6,000 to begin. That covers translator network, CAT software, project system and the rest of the setup. It does not cover your own living costs during the 8 weeks before the first income arrives, which is the cost most people forget.
Around 8 weeks to the first euro. Reaching the realistic maximum of €4,000 a month takes considerably longer, and assumes 45 hours a week.
Up to about €4,000 a month working full time, or €900 part time. Of every €100 it takes, about €45 stays with you after running costs. Past that it can grow, but by hiring people or adding units rather than by working more hours.
Yes, at a cost. Part time it realistically tops out around €900 a month, against €4,000 working full time, and it needs 15–45 hours a week.
Competition is high. Crowded markets are crowded because anyone can enter tomorrow, which is also why they tend to keep more of each euro but earn less in total.
Compare further: every business you can start with €1,000 · what it costs to start a business, across all 115 · all 115 ranked by startup cost
Where these numbers come from. Figures are rounded ranges for European markets; check the ones you are about to spend money on. Last checked September 2026.
These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your money, your hours and how long you can wait. Put them in and see.
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