Pricing
Multilingual Data Collection: cost and pricing in India
Indicative rate bands for multilingual data collection, the five specification decisions that move the number most, and how a fixed quote is put together from a written spec.
- Pricing model
- Per delivered unit, fixed against spec
- Minimum
- ~50 hours or equivalent per language
- Turnaround
- 6-12 weeks for a multi-language programme, depending on the smallest-pool language in scope.
- Quote time
- One working day
What drives the price of multilingual collection
Parallel programmes across several Indian languages at once, run to one specification so the resulting datasets are comparable rather than a set of incompatible deliveries.
- Language tier: widely spoken languages have deeper recruitment pools and cost less per unit than low-resource ones
- Demographic narrowness: a 50/50 gender split across three age bands is routine; a narrow cohort multiplies recruitment effort
- Languages — Up to 14 Indian languages plus Indian English in one programme. Moving this off the standard changes the unit cost directly.
- Consistency — One spec, one manifest schema, one QA standard across all languages. Moving this off the standard changes the unit cost directly.
- Balance — Per-language quotas set independently to match your deployment mix. Moving this off the standard changes the unit cost directly.
- Reporting — Single consolidated progress view across languages. Moving this off the standard changes the unit cost directly.
- QA threshold and rework policy: a higher accept bar means more re-collection, which is priced in rather than absorbed later
Where the cost sits in multilingual collection
Each language is fielded from its own home region, not from a single metro with mixed speakers.
Turnaround: 6-12 weeks for a multi-language programme, depending on the smallest-pool language in scope.
Indicative rate bands
| Scope | Unit | Indicative band |
|---|---|---|
| Widely spoken language, standard spec | per delivered hour | ₹3,200 – ₹6,500 |
| Regional language, standard spec | per delivered hour | ₹4,200 – ₹8,200 |
| Low-resource language or narrow cohort | per delivered hour | ₹5,500 – ₹11,000 |
| Verbatim transcription add-on | per audio hour | ₹900 – ₹2,400 |
| Pilot batch (10-20 hours) | fixed | Quoted separately, credited against the full run |
These are bands, not a price list. Two projects with the same hour count can differ by 3x on cohort design alone, which is why every number here is replaced by a fixed figure once we see your specification.
What the price includes
- Per-language datasets in one schema
- Cross-language coverage report
- Consolidated QA summary
How the quote is built
- Master specification written once and localised per language
- Per-language linguistic review of prompts and guides
- Parallel fielding across studio cities
- Central QA applying identical thresholds
- Consolidated delivery with per-language reports
Where budgets get wasted
The most expensive mistake in a data purchase is buying volume before the specification is settled. Re-collecting 200 hours because the noise profile did not match deployment costs more than the entire QA layer would have.
The hardest language sets the timeline. Low-resource languages such as Assamese and Odia should start first.
Best suited for
- Multilingual ASR
- Multilingual LLM data
- Pan-India voice products
Frequently asked
How much does multilingual collection cost per hour in India?
Most programmes land between ₹3,200 and ₹11,000 per delivered unit depending on language tier, cohort narrowness, recording condition and annotation depth. A written specification converts that band into a single fixed number.
Is there a minimum order?
Around 50 hours or equivalent per language for a production run. Pilots of 10-20 hours are accepted when they lead into a larger build, since most setup cost sits in specification and recruitment.
Do you charge for rejected audio?
No. You pay for delivered units that pass the agreed QA threshold. Rejected material is re-collected at our cost.
Can the price be fixed rather than estimated?
Yes. Once the specification is signed the price is fixed against it. Changes to quotas, conditions or annotation depth are re-quoted before work continues.
Related pages
Get a fixed price for multilingual collection
Send the volume, languages and quality bar you have in mind and you get a scoped price within a working day.