LIVE UPDATE DeepL · API

DeepL API Pricing and Features for Developers 2026

500K

Free Chars/Mo

$5.49

Per 1M Chars

Languages

99.9%

Uptime

Prashant Lalwani

June 14, 2026 · 13 min read

Updated Today

DeepL API pricing and features for developers 2026 — comprehensive guide covering free tier, Pro plans, endpoints and code examples

The DeepL API gives developers access to the same high-quality neural translation engine that powers deepl.com. Here is everything you need to know about pricing, endpoints, limits, and getting your first translation call working.

Try DeepL free: deepl.com offers 5,000 characters per translation with no account required. The free API tier at deepl.com/pro-api includes 500,000 characters/month for developers.

DeepL API Plans (2026)

Plan	Cost	Characters	Best For
API Free	$0	500K/month	Development, testing, small apps
API Pro	$5.49/1M chars	Unlimited	Production applications

Getting Your API Key

Go to deepl.com/pro-api and create a free account
Navigate to Account → API Keys
Click Add Key — your key looks like xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx:fx
Free API keys end in :fx and use api-free.deepl.com — paid keys use api.deepl.com

First API Call: Python

# Install DeepL Python SDK
pip install deepl

import deepl

translator = deepl.Translator("YOUR_DEEPL_API_KEY")

# Translate text
result = translator.translate_text(
    "Hello, how are you?",
    target_lang="DE"  # German
)
print(result.text)  # "Hallo, wie geht es Ihnen?"

# Translate multiple texts at once
results = translator.translate_text(
    ["Good morning", "Thank you", "Goodbye"],
    target_lang="FR"  # French
)
for r in results:
    print(r.text)

REST API Direct Call

# Direct HTTP request (any language)
curl -X POST "https://api-free.deepl.com/v2/translate" \
  -H "Authorization: DeepL-Auth-Key YOUR_KEY_HERE" \
  -d "text=Hello+world" \
  -d "target_lang=ES"

# Response:
{
  "translations": [{
    "detected_source_language": "EN",
    "text": "Hola mundo"
  }]
}

Document Translation via API

import deepl, pathlib

translator = deepl.Translator("YOUR_API_KEY")

# Translate a Word document
translator.translate_document_from_filepath(
    "report_en.docx",
    "report_de.docx",
    target_lang="DE"
)
# Translated file saved to report_de.docx
# Preserves all formatting, tables, images

Key API Features

Language detection: DeepL auto-detects source language — you only need to specify target
Formality control: Pass formality="more" or formality="less" for languages that support formal/informal registers (German, French, Spanish, etc.)
HTML handling: Set tag_handling="html" to translate only text nodes while preserving HTML tags
Glossaries via API: Create and apply glossaries programmatically for consistent terminology

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free DeepL API?

Yes. DeepL offers a free API tier (DeepL API Free) with 500,000 characters per month at no cost. This is sufficient for development, testing, and small-scale applications. The free API key has the same endpoints as the paid version but with monthly character limits.

What is the DeepL API character limit?

The free API tier allows 500,000 characters per month. DeepL API Pro charges $5.49 per million characters translated, with no monthly character cap. Characters are counted per API call including HTML tags when present.

Does DeepL API support batch translation?

Yes. The DeepL API supports translating multiple texts in a single request by passing an array of text strings. This reduces API calls and improves throughput for applications translating many short strings simultaneously.

Can I use the DeepL API to translate documents?

Yes. The DeepL API supports document translation via the /v2/document endpoint. You upload the file, DeepL processes it asynchronously, and you download the result. Supported formats: .docx, .pptx, .pdf, .txt, .html, .xlf.

Final Thoughts

The DeepL API offers exceptional translation quality with a generous free tier that makes it accessible for developers of all sizes. Whether you're building a small app or a production system, DeepL's neural translation engine delivers professional-grade results across 31 languages.

For more on translation tools and multilingual SEO, explore our guides on DeepL Pro vs Free, using DeepL for professional documents, and DeepL vs ChatGPT comparison.