AI captions, interpreters or headset hire
Prices checked on 15 October 2026. Prices change: check with each provider before you book.
Three kinds of service make a talk understood by people who do not speak its language, and they are not the same. This page sets out what each costs, from each provider's own published figures, and when a human interpreter is the right choice.
On this page
Three ways to make a talk understood in other languages
- Simultaneous interpreters. Interpreters in a booth listen to the speaker and speak the translation; attendees hear it through a receiver and headphones. For speech in one language, it takes one booth for each language the audience needs.
- Live captioning by a person (CART). A trained captioner types what is said, as it is said, in the same language. It is used where people who are deaf or hard of hearing need captions they can rely on.
- AI captions and translation. Speech recognition writes captions, and machine translation turns them into other languages. With HoloTalk, attendees read them on their own phones and on the big screen.
Auslan interpreting is a fourth service. It serves people who are Deaf and use Auslan, and captions do not replace it.
What each costs
| Service | Published price | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference interpreters | US$702 a day for each interpreter (about A$1,000): the United Nations system's rate for short-term conference interpreters from 1 January 2025. Private bookings are quoted per event. | The interpreters' fees only. The professional standards of AIIC, the International Association of Conference Interpreters: "As a general rule, a team is composed of at least two interpreters per language and per booth." | AIIC, revised rates for short-term conference interpreters, effective 1 January 2025; AIIC Professional Standards (2022), article 6 |
| Interpreting equipment hire | "Daily rates start at $300+GST per day"; "$600+GST per day … based on one interpreter headset and three delegates". More interpreters, attendees and languages cost more. | The equipment only | interpreter.com.au, equipment rental |
| Auslan interpreting | "$137.50 per hour (2 hour minimum charge) excl GST" in business hours; conferences "Additional 20%" and "2 hour per conference preparation time per interpreter". | One interpreter | Echo Interpreting, fee schedule 2026 |
| Live captioning by a person (CART) | Not published by the Australian providers we checked: they quote per booking. | One captioner | The providers' websites |
| HoloTalk | In credits, by the minute: at an attendee limit of 100, an hour with captions in the spoken language and 2 translated languages uses 1,500 credits, and 2,400 at a limit of 250; with 3 translated languages, 1,920 and 3,060 credits. A$50 buys 1,380 credits (larger credit packs add bonus credits). | Captions on attendees' phones and the big screen, and the transcript afterwards. The summary and follow-up answers cost a few credits more. | HoloTalk's pricing page |
An example: a conference day
One room, 7 hours of talks in English, 250 attendees, with Mandarin and Vietnamese for the audience: 2 translated languages.
- With interpreters: 2 languages × at least 2 interpreters = 4 interpreter-days. At the United Nations rate that is US$2,808 (about A$4,000) in fees alone. Booths, a receiver and headphones for each listener, technicians, preparation time and travel are quoted on top.
- With HoloTalk: 16,800 credits for the 7 hours (40 credits a minute for 420 minutes), with the attendee limit set to 250. Paused time, such as breaks, is not charged.
The two are not the same service. Interpreters give spoken translation from trained professionals, who can handle context and nuance and ask when something is unclear. HoloTalk gives text that people read on their phones; it is generated automatically and can contain errors.
US dollars are converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate for 14 October 2026 (US$1 = A$1.428).
When to use which
Book qualified interpreters for legal, medical and safety-critical content, formal negotiations, and anything where a wrong word has serious consequences. In Australia, look for interpreters with NAATI certification.
Book an Auslan interpreter for people who are Deaf and use Auslan. Captions are not a substitute.
Book a human captioner (CART) where someone relies on captions for access and needs them close to word for word, for example as an adjustment at work or in education. HoloTalk is not a substitute for CART captioning.
AI captions such as HoloTalk fit when:
- many attendees would follow better reading in their own language, and interpreting for every language is not booked;
- an event needs several languages at once: HoloTalk offers up to 10 translated languages per session, from 45 caption languages;
- the speakers use more than one language (up to 3 spoken languages in one session);
- attendees want a summary afterwards, in their own language.
They can be combined: interpreters for the main stage and AI captions in the breakout rooms, or AI captions on the screen next to an Auslan interpreter.
Questions to ask any provider
- Which languages, and how many at once?
- How is accuracy measured, on what kind of speech, and how does a noisy room change it?
- Where are the audio and the text processed, and is any of it kept?
- What does an hour cost for your number of attendees and languages, and is there a minimum booking, a set-up fee or a cancellation fee?
- What happens when the venue's network drops?
- What do attendees need: an app, a receiver, or only their phone?
HoloTalk's answers are in the FAQ and on the pricing page. During a network drop, HoloTalk keeps up to 5 minutes of audio on the speaker's device and sends it when the connection returns.
Sources
- AIIC, "Revised rates for short-term conference interpreters, effective 1 January 2025": https://aiic.org/document/13382/CEB%20memo%20official%20AIIC%20rates%20Jan%202025.pdf
- AIIC Professional Standards (2022), article 6, "Teams of interpreters": https://aiic.org/document/10235/NormesProf-ProfStandards_2022_E&F_final.pdf
- interpreter.com.au, equipment rental: https://interpreter.com.au/Rent
- Echo Interpreting, fees and agreements: https://echointerpreting.com.au/fees-agreements/
- Reserve Bank of Australia, exchange rates (14 October 2026): https://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/frequency/exchange-rates.html