DeepL API vs Google Cloud Translation
Default scenario: At 50M characters / month, estimated bills are $11,880/yr for Google Cloud Translation and $14,851/yr for DeepL API. That’s a $2,971 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
50M characters / month
- DeepL API: $14,851/yr estimated
- Google Cloud Translation: $11,880/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | DeepL API | Google Cloud Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Website localization5M characters / month | $1,545/yrAPI Pro · $24.64 per M chars | $1,080/yr$20 per M chars |
| Support / UGC50M characters / month | $14,851/yrAPI Pro · $24.64 per M chars | $11,880/yr$20 per M chars |
| Marketplace listings500M characters / month | $147,907/yrAPI Pro · $24.64 per M chars | $119,880/yr$20 per M chars |
LLM rows are computed from token prices (assumptions in notes). Glossaries, document formats and quality vary, so test on your own content. Try your own numbers against all machine translation providers.
Side by side
| DeepL API | Google Cloud Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | German neural MT API with glossaries, formality control and document translation; EU-hosted, billed per character on top of a small base fee. | Google's Cloud Translation API (NMT) with batch and document translation, glossaries, custom AutoML models and an LLM-based Translation tier. |
| Headquarters | 🇩🇪 Germany | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇩🇪 Germany | 🇺🇸 United States (Alphabet) |
| EU self-serve plan | Available; check eligible plans and regions | Available; check eligible plans and regions |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | subscription | payg |
| Free tier | API Developer (free): character-capped monthly allowance (1M chars/month in DeepL's plan data), no overage. | First 500,000 characters/month free (applied as a $10 monthly credit). |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Published rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
Google Cloud Translation has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5M characters / month to 5B characters / month.
Choose DeepL API if…
- you want a provider whose parent company is outside the US (Germany)
Choose Google Cloud Translation if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Website localization, Support / UGC and Marketplace listings usage
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
DeepL API pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Plan | Base fee / month | 1M additional characters |
|---|---|---|
| API Developer (free) | $0 | $0 |
| API Pro | $5.59 | $24.64 |
EUR list prices from the plan data on deepl.com/pro (German storefront): API Pro €4.99/month base + €22 per 1M characters (converted at 1.12 USD/EUR = $5.59 + $24.64; the US storefront is quoted elsewhere at $5.49 + $25). API Growth is €29.75/month (€23.80/month billed yearly) with the same €22/M usage rate plus more glossaries, CAT-tool and admin features, so it is never cheaper for pure volume. API Enterprise: contract, with a cheaper character add-on (€20/M) in the plan data. The free API Developer plan is capped at 1M characters/month per DeepL's plan data (the legacy API Free plan was 500k); billed characters count source text, including spaces. Text is processed in DeepL's EU data centres and not used for training on paid plans. DeepL SE, Cologne; DPA included in the terms.
DeepL API plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Google Cloud Translation pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| 1M additional characters |
|---|
| $20 |
NMT text translation (Basic and Advanced): first 500k characters/month free, then $20 per 1M characters up to 1B/month; above 1B contact sales. Committed-use savings plans lower this to $18 or $16. Translation LLM is billed $10 per 1M input characters plus $10 per 1M output characters (about the same as NMT for similar-length output). Adaptive translation (LLM with example sentences) is $25 + $25 per 1M input/output characters; AutoML custom models $80/M chars (falling to $30/M at 4B+). Document translation $0.08/page (NMT). Cloud Translation Advanced (v3) offers an EU regional endpoint (translate-eu.googleapis.com) to keep processing in the EU. Cloud Data Processing Addendum applies.
Google Cloud Translation plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepL API cheaper than Google Cloud Translation?
Google Cloud Translation has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5M characters / month to 5B characters / month. At 50M characters / month, the estimates are $14,851/yr for DeepL API and $11,880/yr for Google Cloud Translation. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do DeepL API and Google Cloud Translation offer EU data residency?
Both offer EU data residency on a self-serve plan. Check which plans and regions qualify.
Do DeepL API and Google Cloud Translation have a free tier or trial?
DeepL API: API Developer (free): character-capped monthly allowance (1M chars/month in DeepL's plan data), no overage. Google Cloud Translation: First 500,000 characters/month free (applied as a $10 monthly credit).
Where are DeepL API and Google Cloud Translation based?
DeepL API is headquartered in Germany. Google Cloud Translation is headquartered in the United States and owned by Alphabet (the United States).