The honest comparison
Choose the right tool. Even if it isn't us.
Three ways to translate a spiritual book, set side by side — on price, on speed, and above all on what you can actually verify. We include the rows where the others win, because a comparison that concedes nothing convinces nobody.
The failure mode, watchable
Watch a generic tool lose the thread
SAMPLE — illustrative dataOne source term, three passes, three different words — while a tradition needs one. Illustrative.
Source
The path begins in inner stillness.
A generic AI tool
renders it differently each time
O caminho começa em recolhimento.
O caminho começa em silêncio interior.
O caminho começa em quietude.
SpiritualTranslations
the same, first page to last
O caminho começa em recolhimento.
Glossary: recolhimento — approved at setup by a human expert.
| A specialist agency | A generic AI tool | SpiritualTranslations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who translates | Human translators | A general-purpose model, untuned | AI tuned to your tradition's terminology, on a foundation approved by a human expert |
| Who checks the work | Internal proofreading — sampled, not shown to you | Nobody | Automated checks, a five-lens AI review, and a credentialed human who rules on every flagged passage |
| What you can verify | A reputation | Nothing | A signed Assurance Report with a public verification ID |
| Terminology consistency | Depends on the translator's memory and tools | Drifts — the same term rendered different ways | Checked against an expert-approved glossary, first page to last |
| When an error is found | Varies by contract | You're on your own | Corrected in the open: files re-issued, record annotated, client told |
| Your manuscript and data | Varies by vendor | May train third-party models | Never shared, never trains third-party models; every right stated in your contract |
| Typical cost per book | Thousands of dollars | Nearly free | A fraction of the agency's price |
| Typical time | The better part of a year | Minutes | Weeks |
Who translates
- A specialist agency
- Human translators
- A generic AI tool
- A general-purpose model, untuned
- SpiritualTranslations
- AI tuned to your tradition's terminology, on a foundation approved by a human expert
Who checks the work
- A specialist agency
- Internal proofreading — sampled, not shown to you
- A generic AI tool
- Nobody
- SpiritualTranslations
- Automated checks, a five-lens AI review, and a credentialed human who rules on every flagged passage
What you can verify
- A specialist agency
- A reputation
- A generic AI tool
- Nothing
- SpiritualTranslations
- A signed Assurance Report with a public verification ID
Terminology consistency
- A specialist agency
- Depends on the translator's memory and tools
- A generic AI tool
- Drifts — the same term rendered different ways
- SpiritualTranslations
- Checked against an expert-approved glossary, first page to last
When an error is found
- A specialist agency
- Varies by contract
- A generic AI tool
- You're on your own
- SpiritualTranslations
- Corrected in the open: files re-issued, record annotated, client told
Your manuscript and data
- A specialist agency
- Varies by vendor
- A generic AI tool
- May train third-party models
- SpiritualTranslations
- Never shared, never trains third-party models; every right stated in your contract
Typical cost per book
- A specialist agency
- Thousands of dollars
- A generic AI tool
- Nearly free
- SpiritualTranslations
- A fraction of the agency's price
Typical time
- A specialist agency
- The better part of a year
- A generic AI tool
- Minutes
- SpiritualTranslations
- Weeks
Where the others genuinely win
Choose a specialist agency
when a human must read every word: canonical scripture, sworn and legal documents, poetry where every line is a judgment call. That work exists, it costs what it costs, and our own reports state plainly that ours is not that process.
Choose a generic AI tool
when the stakes are low: getting the gist of a text for yourself, private study, everyday correspondence. Not everything needs its papers.
Choose us
when the meaning is the point, the budget is a barrier, and someone has to be accountable: the books and writing a community will live by, in translation, with a signed record of how good it is — and a name standing behind it.
The first two columns are our fair-minded summary of common practice, not claims about any named company. If we've been unfair to your corner of the industry, tell us — we correct in the open.
Be early to something careful.
We're small on purpose — a few projects at a time, taken on with care, while we prove the method in the open. Talk to us now and you'll help shape what this becomes. Bring your hard questions. Or bring a book you already paid to translate, and see how we compare.