# How We Compare · SpiritualTranslations > A specialist agency, a generic AI tool, and SpiritualTranslations — compared honestly, row by row, including the places where the others genuinely win. Source: https://spiritualtranslations.com/compare --- 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 data One 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. [Start a conversation](https://spiritualtranslations.com/contact) [Read the method first](https://spiritualtranslations.com/method)