How are characters counted and billed in document translations processed via the API?
For the following file types, a minimum of 50,000 characters will be counted for each document translated, even if the document contains fewer characters:
- Word (.docx / .doc)
- PowerPoint (.pptx)
- Excel (.xlsx)
- PDF (.pdf)
This is done to cover the cost of processing the document.
Files containing more than 50,000 characters will be counted to the exact character.
For the following file types, characters will be counted to the exact character, with no minimum character count per document:
- HTML (.html)
- SRT (.srt)
- Text (.txt)
- XLIFF (.xlf / .xliff)
More information about document translation can be found in the API documentation.
For DeepL API Free
With our limited DeepL API Free plan, you can translate up to 500,000 characters per month for free.
For DeepL API Pro
With a DeepL API Pro subscription, there is no limit to the number of documents you can translate.
Documents are billed singularly, following a usage-based pricing model: a fixed price per month + usage-based costs per translated character. See the plan cost breakdown for your region and currency here.
If you want to limit the number of characters you can translate per month, you may want to consider adding cost control.