What Philin does

Philin (МСП "ФИЛИН") is a Ukrainian professional translation services bureau founded in 2012 and headquartered in Kharkiv, with a regional office in Kyiv. The company delivers written translation, oral interpretation, notarization/apostille/legalization, and digital localization (websites, software, mobile apps, games, audio/video) across 70+ languages, supported by a team of more than 250 translators, correctors, editors, layout designers, and project managers, with a vetted database of 1,500+ performers. Technology infrastructure centers on the proprietary Alisa TM CRM platform for workflow automation and analytics, integrated with the SmartCat CAT tool for client-specific translation memory and glossary management; an automated quality-control module handles grammar and spelling checks in the proofreading stage, and the firm offers a neural-machine-translation tier with mandatory human post-editing for time-sensitive jobs.

Philin operates a transactional revenue model priced per word or per page (1,800-character units), with rates stratified by language pair (CIS, European, Scandinavian, Eastern), tier (express/professional/expert), and add-on services (notarization from 450 UAH, apostille from 950 UAH, layout in graphic editors from 45 UAH/page), with 50% prepayment required and discount tiers for repeat clients. The customer base spans four segments: business clients (primary), private individuals needing certified personal documents, IT and digital companies needing localization, and industrial/manufacturing firms needing technical documentation. As of 2016 the bureau reported 1,600+ corporate clients in its database, 4,000+ projects completed that year, and 7,000+ pages translated monthly across 600-1,000 orders. Distribution is omnichannel: website with online cost calculator and file upload, phone/Viber/Skype, walk-in offices, Nova Poshta nationwide courier, and free courier within Kharkiv for orders above 500 UAH.

The company holds EN 15038 and ISO 9001 certifications issued by European Quality Assurance (EQA) following a 2017 audit, positioning it for enterprise and government procurement. It is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors, and is led by Executive Director Alena Movchan. Competitive positioning rests on a 15-25% below-market pricing strategy coupled with multi-stage quality control (translator -> corrector -> editor) and community branding through the annual Kharkiv Translator's Day conference and participation in Translation Forum Russia.

Name

Philin

Legal name

МСП "ФИЛИН" (MSP FILIN)

Website

https://philin.com.ua

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Philin is a Kharkiv-based translation bureau serving Ukrainian and international clients across 70+ languages, with 250+ linguists delivering written translation, oral interpretation, notarization, apostille, and digital localization, underpinned by its proprietary Alisa TM platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kharkiv

HQ country

Ukraine

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Written Translation Services: Core translation services charged per word or per page (1800 characters with spaces). Pricing varies by language pair and complexity tier (express, professional, expert). Revenue generated from both one-time projects and recurring corporate client relationships.
2. Notarial Services: Notarial certification of translator signatures starting from 450 UAH per document. Includes document verification against state registries.
3. Apostille and Legalization: Apostille stamp placement from 950 UAH. Full consular legalization services for documents requiring authentication for foreign countries.
4. Localization Services: Website, software, application, and game localization services. Pricing includes translation and layout in graphic editors from 45 UAH.
5. Interpretation Services: Oral interpretation services including consecutive, simultaneous, conference, and online meeting interpretation.
6. Proofreading and Editing: Quality control and proofreading services for machine translations and completed translations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Philin is a professional translation bureau operating in Kharkiv and Kyiv, Ukraine, providing written translation across 70+ languages with notarization, apostille, and consular legalization, oral interpretation (consecutive, simultaneous, conference, online), and digital localization for websites, software, applications, and games. The company supplements its human linguist services with an in-house Alisa TM management platform, SmartCat integration, automated quality control, and neural machine translation with human post-editing.

Product overview

Philin (МСП «ФИЛИН») is a translation services bureau operating primarily in Ukraine (Kharkiv, Kyiv, and 40+ other cities) and serving clients worldwide. The company operates as a unified service portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core service suite spans written translation (legal, technical, medical, economic, financial, literary, scientific) with notarization and apostille/ legalization support; oral interpretation (consecutive, simultaneous, conference, online, phone, Skype); and digital localization (websites, software, mobile applications, video games). AI-assisted offerings include neural machine translation (Express translation) with human post-editing, and automated quality control. Supporting add-on modules include translation verification, glossary compilation, document layout, and courier delivery. The company has 200+ linguists on staff and handles over 600 projects monthly in 70 languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urgent Document Translation Express translation service for documents with turnaround as fast as 15 minutes after order submission. Available for individuals needing quick personal document translation as well as businesses with time-sensitive requirements.
• Business Translation Translation services tailored for corporate clients covering contracts, tenders, patents, presentations, customs documents, licenses, founding documents, business plans, reports, charters, business correspondence, and restaurant menus.
• Legal Translation Specialized translation of court decisions, judicial rulings, and laws performed by specialists competent in the legal norms of the target country. Targeted at law firms, courts, and corporate legal departments.
• Notarial Translation Translation with notarization of the translator's signature by an experienced notary, including apostille services for documents required abroad.
• Written Translation Comprehensive written translation across technical, scientific, literary, economic, financial, medical, and standard document domains, offered in professional and expert tiers.
• Legalization Services Document legalization services including apostille stamping, consular legalization, document retrieval, and nostrification for countries such as Bulgaria, Egypt, Italy, Canada, UAE, Poland, Russia, Singapore, USA, France, and the Czech Republic.
• Oral Interpretation Oral interpretation services including consecutive interpreting, simultaneous interpreting, conference interpreting, online meeting translation, phone negotiation translation, and Skype negotiation translation.
• Website Localization Full website localization including translation and layout in graphic editors, adapted for Ukrainian, English, Polish, and Russian languages with cultural adaptation.
• Software Translation Translation of software interfaces and localization of desktop and web applications for international markets.
• Application Localization Localization of mobile and desktop applications including UI translation, cultural adaptation, and compliance with target market requirements.
• Game Localization Localization of video games including text translation, voice-over adaptation, and cultural sensitivity adjustments.
• Audio Translation Audio translation services including transcription and audiovisual translation with subtitling and dubbing options.
• Video Translation Video translation services including subtitling and dubbing across language pairs such as English to Russian.
• Neural Machine Translation / Express Translation AI-assisted neural machine translation with human post-editing, offered as an express translation option using automated programs with final proofreading for spelling, punctuation, grammar, semantic and stylistic accuracy.
• Translation Verification Standalone quality assurance service including editorial proofreading, machine translation post-editing, and final verification by experienced linguists.
• Translation Glossary Compilation Custom terminology glossary creation, maintaining and updating client-specific glossaries of specialized terms for recurring projects.
• Document Layout Desktop publishing and layout services in graphic editors, including formatting of translated materials to match original documents for PDF and print.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,000 projects completed in 2016 alone
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kharkiv Translator's Day (Community Event)minorOthers · 22 October 2016Annual professional conference organized by MSP Filin for the translation community. Features presentations on industry topics, networking opportunities, and professional development. Venue at Ovis Hotel Kharkiv.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Smartling: Translation management and localization platform with hybrid AI/human translation offering. Comparable to Philin on software/app localization but differentiated as a SaaS platform business rather than a services bureau.
• Gengo: Crowd-based translation platform combining human translators with API-driven ordering. Comparable to Philin on language-pair breadth and online ordering, though leaner on notarization/legal services.
• One Hour Translation (OHT): Online translation agency offering fast-turnaround professional translation with AI-assisted workflows. Closely comparable to Philin's express tier and online ordering model.

Direct peers

• Translated.net: Mid-sized online translation services company combining human translators with proprietary MT (ModernMT). Directly comparable to Philin in offering tiered human + AI translation across many language pairs to SMB and enterprise customers.
• Day Translations: Global online translation agency offering certified, notarized and apostilled translations across 100+ languages with 24/7 availability. Similar service breadth, online ordering model and SMB/individual focus as Philin.

Broad incumbents

• Lionbridge: Global translation and localization company with strong enterprise and game/software localization practices. Overlaps with Philin on website, software and game localization but operates at vastly larger scale.
• RWS Group: Owner of Trados, the leading CAT/TMS platform, and one of the largest LSPs globally. Competes with Philin both as an LSP and indirectly via the Trados toolchain that Philin-adjacent translators also use.
• LanguageLine Solutions: Largest interpretation services provider globally (phone, video, in-person). Directly comparable to Philin's interpretation practice but at enterprise/government scale across thousands of language combinations.
• TransPerfect: One of the world's largest language services providers offering translation, interpretation, and localization at global enterprise scale. Competes with Philin on large multilingual projects but at far greater scale and brand.

Regional players

• Straker Translations: AI-augmented translation services provider with strong Asia-Pacific and EMEA presence. Comparable hybrid AI/human service model but primarily serves enterprise customers in geographies where Philin is not present.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/philin.translate
• Xx.com/MSP_PHILIN

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Philin