Pricing comparison
Real pricing based on monthly character volume. All prices in USD.
| Volume | DeepL | Amazon | Microsoft | Langbly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100K chars/mo | $0 | Check live plan | Free* | Free* | $0 |
| 500K chars/mo | $0 | Check live plan | Free* | Free* | $0 |
| 1M chars/mo | $10 | Check live plan | $15 | $10 | $2.50 |
| 5M chars/mo | $90 | Check live plan | $75 | $50 | $22.50 |
| 10M chars/mo | $190 | Check live plan | $150 | $100 | $47.50 |
| 25M chars/mo | $490 | Check live plan | $375 | $250 | $122.50 |
| 50M chars/mo | $990 | Plan limit | $750 | $500 | $247.50 |
| 100M chars/mo | $1,990 | Above Growth limit | $1,500 | $1,000 | $497.50 |
Feature comparison
| Feature | DeepL | Amazon | Microsoft | Langbly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay-per-use | Subscription + overage | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use | Pay-as-you-go |
| Base rate per 1M | $20 after 500K | Check live Growth plan | $15 | $10 | $5 after 500K |
| Monthly base fee | $0 | Growth subscription | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Included usage | 500K/mo | Developer: 1M total; Growth: 1M/mo | 2M/mo (12mo) | 2M/mo | 500K/mo |
| Volume discount | Custom | Custom | Custom | Flat $5/1M rate | |
| Minimum commitment | |||||
| Payment details required | Plan-dependent | ||||
| Billing granularity | Per character | Per character | Per character | Per character | Per character |
Understanding translation API pricing
Translation APIs charge per character translated. The standard unit is 1 million characters, roughly 150,000-200,000 words or about 500 pages of text.
Most APIs use simple pay-per-use pricing: you pay the same rate whether you translate 1,000 or 100 million characters. Langbly charges $5 per million characters (500K/month free), which is significantly cheaper than all major alternatives.
Free tiers compared
Google Translate: The first 500,000 characters each month are covered by a $10 monthly credit. New GCP accounts may also qualify for a separate introductory cloud credit.
DeepL: API Free and API Pro are retired. Developer includes one million characters in total; Growth includes one million per month or twelve million per year, plus overage.
Amazon Translate: 2 million characters per month free for the first 12 months. After that, pay-per-use at $15/M.
Amazon Translate requires an AWS account, unlike Langbly, which only needs an API key. After that initial free tier ends, there is no included free volume. It is pure pay-per-use at $15 per million characters with no monthly base fee. Amazon also offers custom volume discounts for enterprise customers (marked 'Custom' pricing, contact sales), same as Google. For the full breakdown, see the Amazon Translate vs Langbly comparison.
Microsoft Translator: 2 million characters per month free (permanently). Best free tier for pay-per-use.
Langbly: 500,000 characters per month, permanent. Payment details required, no expiration date.
When lower per-character rates matter
Pay-per-use pricing at $10-25 per million characters adds up at volume. If you translate less than 1M characters per month, the cost difference between providers is small. At 5M+ characters, a lower per-character rate saves significant money.
For example, at 25M characters per month Google calculates to $490 after its monthly credit and Langbly to $122.50 after its included allowance, a 75% difference. DeepL's current Growth total should be checked separately rather than calculated from retired API Pro rates.
Hidden costs to watch for
Cloud setup: Google and Amazon require cloud platform accounts (GCP/AWS) which may incur other charges. DeepL and Langbly only need a simple API key.
Metered billing: Langbly charges $5 per million characters above the 500K free monthly allowance. You pay for what you use, with no overage surprises.
Output characters: Some APIs charge for both input and output characters. Langbly and most providers only charge for input characters.
Learn more
- Google Cloud Translation API pricing breakdown
- How to fairly compare translation API pricing across providers
- How to Cut Your Translation API Costs by 90%
- Best Free Translation APIs in 2026
- Free Translation API Comparison
- Amazon Translate vs Langbly comparison
- Cheapest translation APIs compared
- Try Langbly. 500K characters/month included
Frequently asked questions
How much does a translation API cost per word?
Translation APIs charge per character, not per word. At an average of 5 characters per word, the published usage rates after included volume are about $0.0001/word for Google ($20/1M chars) and $0.000025/word for Langbly ($5/1M input chars). DeepL Growth requires its live subscription and overage price for a fair calculation.
Which translation API has the best free tier?
Microsoft Translator offers the best permanent free tier at 2M characters per month. Langbly includes 500K characters per month permanently with no expiration. Amazon offers 2M per month but only for the first 12 months.
Is Google Translate API expensive?
At $20 per million characters, Google Translate is one of the more expensive options. Microsoft charges $10 per million, and Langbly charges $5 per million with 500,000 characters free per month and no base fee. That makes Langbly 75 percent cheaper than Google Translate. For the full breakdown, including tiers, hidden costs, and AutoML rates, see our dedicated Google Cloud Translation pricing page.
Is Amazon Translate API expensive?
At $15 per million characters after its free tier, Amazon Translate is one of the more expensive options. Its free tier is 2 million characters per month, but only for the first 12 months of a new AWS account, after which it becomes pure pay-per-use with no free allowance. Langbly charges $5 per million with 500,000 characters free every month permanently, no expiration, and no base fee. That makes Langbly 67 percent cheaper than Amazon Translate at the per-character rate. Amazon also requires an AWS account and cloud setup, unlike Langbly's simple API key. For the full comparison, see our dedicated Amazon Translate vs Langbly comparison page.
Do translation APIs charge for failed requests?
No, translation APIs only charge for successful translations. Failed requests, validation errors, and rate-limited requests are not billed.
Can I reduce my translation API costs?
Yes. Avoid re-translating unchanged content. Langbly can cache eligible translated responses for up to one hour. Its first 500K input characters each month are included; additional usage is $5/1M input characters.