The verdict in three sentences
A trilingual FR/EN/AR site costs 25 to 40 % more than an equivalent monolingual site, because of the i18n architecture, Arabic RTL support and duplicated-content management. Professional translation is a separate line item to budget on its own: 0.10 to 0.18 EUR/word depending on technicality. For an exporting SME, the 2026 ballpark sits between 12,000 and 28,000 EUR for a complete site delivered in 8 to 12 weeks.
What drives up the multilingual bill
The multilingual surcharge is not a simple copy-paste. It combines development (per-language routing, hreflang, language switcher), design (Arabic RTL flips the whole layout) and content production. The table below breaks down a trilingual project against a reference monolingual site at 10,000 EUR.
| Line item | Monolingual (FR) | Trilingual FR/EN/AR | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical base + design | 10,000 EUR | 13,500 EUR | +35 % |
| i18n architecture + hreflang | included | 1,800 EUR | + item |
| Arabic RTL support (flipped layout) | — | 2,400 EUR | + item |
| Pro translation (8,000 words x2) | — | 2,100 EUR | + item |
| Integration of 3 versions | included | 1,600 EUR | + item |
| Multilingual QA | 400 EUR | 1,100 EUR | +175 % |
| Total delivered | 10,400 EUR | 22,500 EUR | +116 % |
As you can see, it is not a flat "+35 %" but a stack of line items. Arabic RTL is the most underestimated — every component (menus, forms, carousels) must be re-tested in right-to-left writing.
Cost per language and content maintenance
Adding a language is not linear: the first extra language is expensive (i18n setup), the next ones cost mostly translation and QA. Here is the 2026 ballpark per language and the annual maintenance cost.
| Element | FR (base) | + EN | + AR (RTL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical setup | included | 1,800 EUR | 2,400 EUR |
| Initial translation (8,000 words) | — | 1,040 EUR | 1,200 EUR |
| Native proofreading | — | 320 EUR | 380 EUR |
| Content maintenance / year | 600 EUR | 900 EUR | 1,100 EUR |
| Extra lead time | — | +2 wks | +2 wks |
On architecture, two options compete: i18n on a single domain (subdirectories /en/, /ar/) or separate subdomains/ccTLDs. For an SME, i18n on a single domain is almost always the best cost/SEO ratio: one base to maintain, consolidated domain authority, clean hreflang. Subdomains are only justified when markets have genuinely separate teams and offers.
Mini case study
Fatou, export director of a food SME in Rungis, sells in France, the UK and the Gulf. Her current site is monolingual. She scopes a trilingual FR/EN/AR site with 8,000 words per language. Budget: base 13,500 EUR + i18n 1,800 EUR + RTL 2,400 EUR + translation 2,240 EUR + integration 1,600 EUR + QA 1,100 EUR = 22,640 EUR. She currently makes 4 % of revenue internationally; by making English and Arabic credible, she targets 12 %. On 3.2 M EUR revenue, moving from 128,000 to 384,000 EUR in export sales pays back the site in under two months of additional margin.
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FAQ
How long to deliver a trilingual FR/EN/AR site?
Expect 8 to 12 weeks in 2026: 3-4 weeks of design and base, 2-3 of i18n and RTL development, 2-3 of translation and integration, 1-2 of QA. RTL and native proofreading are the main lead-time drivers.
Is hreflang really included?
Yes, with any serious vendor: hreflang configuration is part of the i18n base and prevents cross-language duplicate content in Google's eyes. Budget around 1,800 EUR for the full i18n architecture, hreflang included.
Can I use machine translation for Arabic?
Not advised on commercial and legal pages: formal Arabic requires native proofreading (0.04 EUR/word minimum). Poor translation destroys B2B credibility in a market where trust is paramount.
One domain per country or a single domain?
For an SME, a single domain with /en/ and /ar/ subdirectories is best: controlled cost, consolidated SEO authority. ccTLDs are only justified with dedicated local budgets and teams.
What annual maintenance budget should I plan?
Around 2,600 EUR/year to keep all three languages' content up to date, excluding SEO campaigns. Every new page multiplied by three languages costs translation and QA.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your target markets, the content volume per language and whether Arabic RTL is required: we quote the multilingual base and the translation budget 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.
