Every developer eventually needs a translation API. Whether you're localizing a web app, translating user-generated content, or building a multilingual feature, the first question is always the same: is there a free option that's actually good enough for production?
The answer in 2026 is yes, with caveats. Free translation APIs vary enormously in quality, language coverage, rate limits, and how "free" they actually are. Some offer generous permanent free tiers. Others give you a limited trial that expires. And a few are genuinely free but come with quality trade-offs.
We tested the five most popular free translation APIs and compared them on what matters: free tier limits, translation quality, language support, API design, and what happens when you need to scale.
1. Langbly: Best Overall Free Tier
Langbly is an advanced, context-aware translation API that's fully compatible with the Google Translate v2 API format. The free tier includes 500,000 characters per month, permanently, with no expiration and no credit card required.
Free Tier Details
- Monthly limit: 500,000 characters (no expiration)
- Languages: 100+ languages
- Rate limits: Standard rate limits apply on the free tier
- Signup: Email only, no credit card, no Google Cloud project
- Authentication: Bearer token in header
Why It Stands Out
Langbly uses advanced AI technology for translation instead of traditional Neural Machine Translation. This produces more natural-sounding output, especially for idiomatic expressions, marketing copy, and text where register (formal vs. informal) matters. It also automatically applies locale-specific formatting, converting decimal separators, date formats, and currency symbols to match the target language.
The Google Translate v2 compatibility means you can try it without rewriting any code. If you're already using Google Translate, switching is a one-line change (the base URL).
Quick Start
import requests
response = requests.post(
"https://api.langbly.com/language/translate/v2",
headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
json={
"q": "The meeting is scheduled for next Thursday.",
"source": "en",
"target": "de",
"format": "text"
}
)
print(response.json()["data"]["translations"][0]["translatedText"])
Paid Plans
When you outgrow the free tier, paid plans start at $19/month for 5 million characters ($3.80/M). Growth ($69/mo, 25M chars) and Scale ($199/mo, 100M chars) tiers bring the per-character cost down to $1.99/M. Overage is $4 per million characters, and your service never stops.
2. Google Translate API: Most Language Coverage
The Google Cloud Translation API is the industry standard, supporting 130+ languages. However, calling it "free" requires an asterisk: Google offers a $300 promotional credit for new Cloud accounts that expires after 90 days. There is no permanent free tier for the Translation API.
Free Tier Details
- Monthly limit: None permanent. $300 one-time credit (expires in 90 days)
- Languages: 130+ languages
- Signup: Requires a Google Cloud account with billing enabled
- Authentication: API key in URL parameter or service account
- Pricing after credit: $20 per million characters
Pros and Cons
Google Translate has the widest language support of any translation API, including many low-resource languages. The API is fast (50-200ms typical latency) and highly reliable. On the downside, it requires setting up a full Google Cloud project with billing, the translation quality for many languages hasn't significantly improved since 2022, and the API key-in-URL authentication model is a security concern.
Who Should Use It
Google Translate is the best choice if you need a specific language that other APIs don't support, or if you're already deeply invested in the Google Cloud ecosystem. For most common language pairs, other options offer better quality or pricing.
3. DeepL API Free: Best European Language Quality
DeepL has earned a strong reputation for European language translation quality. The DeepL API Free tier offers 500,000 characters per month at no cost.
Free Tier Details
- Monthly limit: 500,000 characters
- Languages: 33 languages
- Rate limits: Stricter than the paid plan
- Signup: Email + credit card required (even for free)
- Authentication: API key in header
Pros and Cons
DeepL produces excellent translations for European languages, particularly German, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Polish. The API is well-documented and includes useful features like formality settings for supported languages. However, the free tier has significant limitations: only 33 languages are supported (compared to 100+ for Langbly and 130+ for Google), and you need to provide a credit card even for the free plan. The API format is also proprietary and not compatible with any other provider.
Who Should Use It
If your translations are exclusively between European languages and you don't need broad language coverage, DeepL Free is a solid option. Just be aware that you'll be locked into their proprietary API format.
4. MyMemory: No Signup Required
MyMemory is a unique option: it's a translation memory service that aggregates translations from professional translators, European Union documents, and machine translation. You can use it without any signup or API key.
Free Tier Details
- Daily limit: 5,000 characters per day (anonymous) / 50,000 per day (with email)
- Languages: 200+ language pairs
- Signup: Not required for basic use
- Authentication: None needed (or email as query parameter)
- Rate limits: Low (intended for light usage)
Pros and Cons
The biggest advantage of MyMemory is zero-friction access: no signup, no API key, just send a request. This makes it useful for quick prototyping and testing. The downside is significant: quality is inconsistent because it draws from crowdsourced translation memories. Some translations are excellent (pulled from professional sources), while others are poor. The daily character limit is also very low: 5,000 characters per day is roughly one or two short articles.
Who Should Use It
MyMemory is best for prototyping, proof-of-concept projects, or lightweight personal projects where consistent quality isn't critical. It's not suitable for production applications.
5. LibreTranslate: Self-Hosted Open Source
LibreTranslate is an open-source translation API that you can host yourself. It's built on the Argos Translate library and runs entirely on your own infrastructure.
Free Tier Details
- Monthly limit: Unlimited (self-hosted) / varies (public instances)
- Languages: 30+ languages
- Signup: Not required for self-hosted
- Hosting: Docker, pip, or from source
- Authentication: Optional API key (self-configured)
Pros and Cons
LibreTranslate is the only truly "unlimited free" option on this list, because you run it yourself, there are no per-character costs or monthly limits. It's also fully private: your text never leaves your server, which matters for sensitive data. The trade-offs are real, though: translation quality is noticeably lower than commercial alternatives, you need to provision and maintain the server, model downloads are large (several GB), and GPU acceleration is needed for reasonable performance.
Who Should Use It
LibreTranslate is the right choice if data privacy is non-negotiable and you can't send text to any external API. It's also useful for air-gapped environments or if you need to translate very high volumes where per-character API costs would be prohibitive and quality is a secondary concern.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Langbly | Google Translate | DeepL Free | MyMemory | LibreTranslate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free limit | 500K/month | $300 credit (expires) | 500K/month | 5K/day | Unlimited (self-hosted) |
| Languages | 100+ | 130+ | 33 | 200+ pairs | 30+ |
| Translation engine | Advanced AI | NMT | NMT | Mixed (TM + MT) | NMT (Argos) |
| Credit card for free tier | No | Yes (billing required) | Yes | No | No |
| Quality (common langs) | Excellent | Good | Very good | Inconsistent | Fair |
| Locale formatting | Automatic | No | No | No | No |
| Google API compatible | Yes | Yes (it's Google) | No | No | No |
| Paid upgrade from | $19/mo | $20/M chars | $5.49/mo + $20/M | Contact sales | Free (self-hosted) |
| Self-hostable | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Which Free Translation API Should You Choose?
The right choice depends on your specific requirements:
Best for production SaaS apps
Langbly. The 500K free tier is permanent, the quality is excellent for customer-facing text, and the Google Translate v2 compatibility means you can migrate to a paid plan (or switch to Google) later without code changes. Start free, upgrade when you need more volume.
Best for rare languages
Google Translate. If you need Amharic, Khmer, Maori, or other languages that smaller providers don't support, Google is your only realistic option. Just be aware that the "free" credit expires.
Best for European-only translation
DeepL API Free. If all your translation needs are between European languages and you don't mind providing a credit card for the free tier, DeepL's quality is strong, particularly for German and French.
Best for prototyping
MyMemory. Zero signup friction makes it perfect for a quick proof of concept. Don't use it for production, but it's hard to beat for "I just need to test something in 5 minutes."
Best for privacy-sensitive workloads
LibreTranslate. When data can't leave your servers, self-hosted is the only option. Accept the quality trade-off and the operational overhead in exchange for complete control.
Beyond Free: What Scaling Looks Like
Free tiers are great for getting started, but production workloads grow. Here's how the paid tiers compare for the APIs that offer both free and paid options:
| Provider | At 5M chars/month | At 25M chars/month | At 100M chars/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Langbly | $19 | $69 | $199 |
| Google Translate | $100 | $500 | $2,000 |
| DeepL API Pro | $105.49 | $505.49 | $2,005.49 |
This is why starting with the right free tier matters. If you begin with Langbly's free plan and scale to the Starter plan at $19/month, you're paying 81% less than the equivalent Google Translate usage. At 100 million characters, the savings are 90%. For a full pricing breakdown, see our translation API pricing comparison.
Getting Started
The fastest path from zero to working translations:
- Sign up for Langbly (takes 30 seconds, no credit card)
- Copy your API key from the dashboard
- Send your first translation request
With 500K free characters per month, you have plenty of room to integrate, test, and ship before worrying about pricing. Check the documentation for complete API reference and SDK guides.
Related Articles
- How to Replace the Google Translate API v2 Without Changing Your Code. Step-by-step migration guide with Python and Node.js examples.
- Translation API Pricing in 2026: Google vs DeepL vs Azure vs Langbly. Detailed pricing comparison at every volume tier.
- How to Use a Translation API in Python: Complete Tutorial. Code-focused guide to adding translation to your Python project.