The verdict in three sentences
A group-grade bilingual FR/EN corporate site compliant with Bill 96 costs between CA$25,000 and CA$55,000 in Montréal in 2026. The multilingual premium is not linear: budget +18 to +25% over the base for i18n engineering, plus professional translation and the editorial governance that keeps both language versions truly equal — a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have. The real budget risk is not development but sustaining a genuinely bilingual content workflow over time.
Where does the multilingual premium come from?
A multilingual site is not "one site × 2." Structure, code and templates are shared; what costs money is the i18n infrastructure, per-language content production and the governance that keeps French at least as prominent as English (a Bill 96 obligation). Here is a typical breakdown for a Montréal group.
| Line item | 2026 range (CA$) | Range (EUR) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base corporate site (EN) | 16,000-30,000 | 11,000-20,000 | 15-25 pages, CMS, custom design |
| i18n engineering | 4,000-8,000 | 2,700-5,400 | Per-language routing, hreflang, fallback |
| Professional FR translation | 3,500-7,500 | 2,400-5,100 | CA$0.20-0.28/word, native review |
| Bilingual governance & workflow | 2,500-6,000 | 1,700-4,000 | Multi-level CMS validation |
| Bill 96 compliance review | 2,000-4,500 | 1,350-3,000 | French-first prominence audit |
| Indicative total | 28,000-56,000 | 19,000-37,500 | 2026 order of magnitude |
Translation and governance: the two underestimated lines
Translation is billed per word and varies sharply with technicality. An investor relations page costs more than an "About" page. Governance — keeping both versions synchronized on every update — is where budgets quietly overrun.
| Element | 2026 unit price | Typical group volume | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| EN→FR translation (general) | CA$0.20/word | 12,000 words | CA$2,400 |
| EN→FR (legal/IR) | CA$0.28/word | 4,000 words | CA$1,120 |
| Native FR review | CA$0.07/word | 16,000 words | CA$1,120 |
| Template i18n adaptation | CA$450/template | 8 templates | CA$3,600 |
| Translation memory (setup) | flat fee | — | CA$1,200 |
| Ongoing sync per quarter | CA$800-1,500 | 4/year | CA$4,600/yr |
A translation memory reuses previously translated segments: on future updates it cuts translation cost by 30 to 50%.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Sarah, communications director of an agri-food group in Montréal, needs a fully bilingual site to satisfy Bill 96 and win export tenders. Base EN at CA$24,000, i18n at CA$6,000, FR translation at CA$5,500, governance at CA$4,000, compliance review at CA$3,000: total CA$42,500 (about €29,000). With translation memory, her quarterly updates drop from CA$1,400 to CA$750. Over 3 years the cumulative saving exceeds CA$7,800 — more than the compliance review itself.
FAQ
Can we launch in English first, then add French? Under Bill 96, no — French must be present and at least as prominent from day one. Architect the i18n layer up front; retrofitting a second language costs 2-3× more.
Is machine translation enough? For a corporate site, no. AI post-editing plus native review lands at CA$0.11-0.15/word, but raw machine translation damages credibility and French-language SEO.
How long for a bilingual build in Montréal? Budget 10 to 16 weeks: 6-8 for the base, 3-4 for FR integration and hreflang, 2-3 for QA and native review.
Does Bill 96 really affect the website? Yes. French must be available and displayed at least as prominently as any other language; non-compliance carries fines and reputational risk. A compliance review is cheap insurance.
What is a realistic minimum budget? Below CA$25,000 you cut into professional translation or custom design. For a group chasing export tenders, that is a false economy.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your target languages, content volume and deadline, and we'll price the base, i18n and governance separately. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
