DeepL Pro (for the web translator, desktop apps and CAT tools) and the DeepL API (for developers and integrations) are generally separate subscriptions.

Separate Packages

• DeepL Pro packages (Advanced, Ultimate, etc.) are aimed at users who want to use DeepL via the web translator, desktop apps or for integration into CAT tools (Computer-Assisted Translation software).
  • These packages do notprovide access to the DeepL API.
• DeepL API packages (DeepL API Free, DeepL API Pro) are specifically designed for developers and anyone who wants to integrate DeepL's REST API into their own products or platforms.
  • These packages do notprovide access to the Pro services in the web translator, desktop apps or CAT tools.

Exception (Bundles)

The only exception to combining functionalities within one subscription mentioned by DeepL is the possibility of combining DeepL Write Pro with DeepL Pro for Translator via a bundle. However, this refers to the writing assistant and end-user translation service, and not a combination with the DeepL API.

If you need both the DeepL Pro end-user services and the DeepL API access, you will need two separate subscriptions.

Differences: DeepL Pro vs. DeepL API Pro

Summary

• Choose DeepL Pro if you or your team want to translate manually using the easy-to-use DeepL tools.
• Choose DeepL API Pro if you want to automatically integrate DeepL's translation technology into your own applications, websites, or IT infrastructure.

DeepL API Pro Pricing Model

The pricing model of DeepL API Pro consists of two components:

1. Fixed Monthly Fee (Basic)

This is a fixed base amount that you pay monthly. This amount gives you access to the DeepL API Pro features, such as:

• Maximum data security.
• Access to all API features.
• No monthly limit on the number of characters.
• Management of multiple API keys (e.g. up to 25).
• Large number of word lists (e.g. 1000).

2. Variable charges (consumption)

On top of the fixed fee, you pay an amount based on your actual usage. This is calculated per translated character.

Key Points

• No Character Limit: With API Pro, there is no cap on the number of characters you can translate per month (unlike DeepL API Free, which has a 500,000-character limit).
• Cost control: You can often set a monthly cost control limit in your account, so there are no surprises.
• Counting Characters: DeepL counts the characters in the source text (the original text). Spaces and other invisible characters are usually counted, but the characters of HTML or XML tags can be excluded if you use the right parameter.

DeepL API Free vs. DeepL API Pro

Conclusion

• Choose DeepL API Free if you are a developer or have a small project and translate less than 500,000 characters per month. It is ideal for testing the API or for very limited use.
• Choose DeepL API Pro if you use the API commercially, translate more than 500,000 characters, or if you need the maximum security and advanced features such as multiple API keys and extensive glossaries.

Difference between a hard limit and a flexible pricing model.

DeepL API Pro works with a fixed price plus usage fee, despite having no hard character limit:

"No character limit" (No hard limit) 1.

This means that DeepL does not block your access after you reach a certain number of characters (such as the 500,000 characters in the DeepL API Free version).

• Free version: Once you have translated 500,000 characters, the service stops until the next month starts. This is a limit.
• Pro version: The service always continues to work, no matter how much you translate. This is the meaning of "no character limit".

2. "Fixed monthly price" (Access price)

You pay this basic fee for the Pro features and the guarantee of unlimited availability of the API. This is the access price for the DeepL API Pro package, including:

• The possibility of unlimited translation.
• The maximum data security.
• The advanced features (multiple API keys, many glossaries, higher priority).

"Consumption cost" (Cost of use) 3.

This is the price you pay for the actual translation capacity you purchase.

Because the service does not stop at a certain point ("no character limit"), DeepL charges you a variable price for each unit translated on top of the fixed amount.

The flat fee is for Pro status and service guarantee, and the usage fee is for actual translations. The combination ensures that you never stop translating (no limit), while DeepL can pass on the cost fairly based on how much you use.

DeepL API Pro: Consumption costs

The usage costs in the DeepL API Pro version are as follows:

1. Price per Translated Character

The default usage cost is:

US$25.00 per 1,000,000 (one million) translated characters}$$$.

• This works out to US$0.000025 per character.
• This amount is billed in addition to the fixed monthly base price (e.g. US$5.49/month).

2. From How Many Characters?

It is important to note that the DeepL API Pro package does not include free characters.

• Consumption charges are calculated from the very first character you translate into a billing period.
• DeepL bills based on the exact number of characters translated via API requests during the month.

Billing detail

DeepL counts the characters in the source text (the original text you want to translate).

• Texts: Spaces, tabs and other invisible characters count as one character.
• Documents: For processing document files such as .docx, .pptx, and .pdf, a minimum of 50,000 characters per translated document is charged, even if the document is shorter. Documents with more than 50,000 characters are counted to the exact character.

Converting characters to words gives you a much better idea of what 1,000,000 (one million) characters means in practice.

Since the average word length in European languages (including space and punctuation) varies, we use a general rule of thumb.

Estimate: 1,000,000 Characters in Words

It is generally assumed that an average word (including the space and/or punctuation behind it) is about 5 to 7 characters long in languages such as Dutch, English, German and French.

Based on a conservative estimate of 6 characters per word, 1,000,000 characters corresponds to approximately:

$$$frac{1,000,000 characters}{6 characters per word}} \$$approx $textbf{166,667 words}$$

What does this mean in documents?

For comparison:

• A standard A4 page in Microsoft Word (double line spacing, 12-point font) contains about 250 to 300 words.
• Based on this estimate, 1,000,000 characters corresponds to about 550 to 670 full A4 pages of text.

So this is a very large amount of text, indicating that DeepL API Pro is designed for significant, large-scale integrations and translation projects.

DeepL API Free: Drawing Limit and Documents

The DeepL API Free subscription has one important general limit and a specific rule for counting characters in documents.

1. Monthly General Limit

The main limit is your total monthly usage:

• Overall limit: You can translate a maximum of 500,000 characters per month for free.
• This applies to all translations via the API (both plain text requests and document translations) combined.

2. Character Count for Documents (Important Rule)

When translating certain file types via the API (even in the free version), a minimum number of characters is charged:

The following file types are subject to a minimum of 50,000 characters per translated document, even if the document contains fewer characters:

• Microsoft Word documents (.docx / .doc)
• Microsoft PowerPoint documents (.pptx)
• Microsoft Excel documents (.xlsx)
• PDF documents (.pdf)

This means:

• If you translate a PDF file of 5,000 characters, 50,000 characters will be deducted from your monthly limit of 500,000 characters.
• If you translate a Word document of 75,000 characters, the exact number, i.e. 75,000 characters, will be deducted from your limit.

Exception:

For simple file types such as .html, .srt, and .txt, characters are usually counted to the nearest character, without this minimum of 50,000 characters per document.

This policy is in place to cover processing costs for the more complex document formats.

Summary

The DeepL API offers two main models: API Free and API Pro.

1. DeepL API Pro (Fixed price + Consumption fee)

• Model: The DeepL API Pro model consists of a fixed monthly base price (to guarantee access and Pro features) plus consumption charges per translated character.
• No Character Limit: The term "no character limit" means that the service does not stop translating when a certain volume is reached; the service always remains available.
• Consumption cost: These charges are calculated from the first translated character at a rate of (indicative) US$25.00 per 1,000,000 characters.

2. Conversion and Documents

• Characters to Words: 1,000,000 characters corresponds to approximately 166,667 words (based on an average of 6 characters per word). This is the amount of text you pay US$25.00 for in the Pro model.
• Cost calculation: Total costs are calculated at the total subscription level, not per individual API key.

3. DeepL API Free (Comparison)

• Limit: The free version has a hard limit of up to 500,000 characters per month.
• Document translation: For complex file types (.docx, .pdf, .pptx, .xlsx), the free version deducts a minimum of 50,000 characters from your monthly limit per translated document, even if the document is smaller.