---
title: "Free Translation APIs in 2026: DeepL, Google, Azure, Amazon and LLMs"
slug: "free-translation-api"
description: "Free translation API tiers compared: Azure 2M characters a month, Google 500K, Amazon 2M for 12 months, DeepL 1M one-time, plus free LLM APIs."
published: "2026-10-25"
updated: "2026-10-25"
verifiedAt: "2026-10-25"
canonical: "https://aifree.dev/learn/free-translation-api"
---

# Free Translation APIs in 2026: DeepL, Google, Azure, Amazon and LLMs

> Free translation API tiers compared: Azure 2M characters a month, Google 500K, Amazon 2M for 12 months, DeepL 1M one-time, plus free LLM APIs.

- Time: 15 minutes
- You need: An account with the provider: Google Cloud and Azure ask for a payment card (Google for billing, Azure for identity checks); AWS usually does not; For the LLM route: a Google AI Studio, GroqCloud or OpenRouter API key, no card; curl or any HTTP client; all of them also have Python and JavaScript SDKs
- Last checked: 2026-10-25

Machine translation APIs bill by the character, and four of the big ones give a free allowance: Azure Translator and Amazon Translate 2 million characters a month (Amazon for the first 12 months), Google Cloud Translation 500,000 a month, and DeepL 1 million characters once. Free LLM APIs can translate too, with rate limits instead of a character budget. Every number below was checked on the vendor's own pricing or docs page on 2026-10-25; where a page could not be read automatically, the row says so.

The four translation APIs are not in our catalog yet, so their rows link to the vendor's page; the LLM offers link to our verified offer pages.

## Compare the free translation APIs

| API | Free allowance | Resets | Card to sign up | After the free part |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Azure Translator](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/cognitive-services/translator/) (Free F0) | 2 million characters a month of text translation (and custom translation training) | Monthly; the free tier doesn't expire | Yes, for identity verification (not charged); [Azure for Students](https://aifree.dev/offer/azure-for-students) needs none | S1: $10 per million characters (Azure retail price list) |
| [Amazon Translate](https://aws.amazon.com/translate/pricing/) | 2 million characters a month | Monthly, for 12 months from your first request | Usually not: AWS says most new customers aren't asked for a payment method | $15 per million characters |
| [Google Cloud Translation](https://cloud.google.com/translate/pricing) | First 500,000 characters a month, applied as a $10 monthly credit (Basic v2 and Advanced v3 combined) | Monthly; unused credit doesn't roll over | Yes: you must enable billing on the project | $20 per million characters (NMT) |
| [DeepL API Developer](https://www.deepl.com/en/pro-api) | 1,000,000 characters in total | Never: a one-time allowance | Not confirmed on DeepL's pages (see below) | DeepL API Growth: €22 per million characters plus €29.75 a month (€23.80 billed yearly) |
| [LibreTranslate](https://github.com/LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate) (self-hosted) | Unlimited on your own server | - | No | Your server costs |

**About DeepL:** the "Free API Key" button on DeepL's API page now signs you up for the Developer plan; the plan data on that page gives 1,000,000 characters and one API key at €0. DeepL's help article blocks automated reads, so we read its indexed text: once the Developer allowance is used it "is not reset". The same article still describes the older DeepL API Free plan (500,000 characters a month); third-party plugin docs say new users can no longer buy it, and that sign-up asks for a card to prevent multiple accounts. Neither point is on a DeepL page we could read, so check both when you sign up.

## Free LLM APIs that translate

A general LLM translates well between common languages, follows instructions such as "keep the Markdown and the placeholders", and costs nothing on these free tiers; the trade-off is rate limits and output that is less predictable than a dedicated engine.

| Offer | What is free | Limits | Data note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Gemini API free tier](https://aifree.dev/offer/google-gemini-developer-api-free-tier) | Flash and Flash-Lite models, no card | Per-model rate limits, shown in Google AI Studio (the rate-limits docs page points there) | On the unpaid tier, Google may use prompts and answers to improve its products and human reviewers may read them; in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK the paid-tier terms apply |
| [Groq free tier](https://aifree.dev/offer/groq-free-tier) | Hosted open models such as openai/gpt-oss-120b, no card | Groq's docs list 30 requests a minute and 1,000 a day for gpt-oss-120b (labelled there as Developer plan base limits); your exact free limits are on your organization's limits page | - |
| [OpenRouter :free models](https://aifree.dev/offer/openrouter-free-models) | Free variants of open models, no card | 20 requests a minute; 50 a day, or 1,000 a day once you have bought 10 credits | Each free model is served by a different provider |

Why an LLM may translate worse into your language: [low-resource languages](https://aifree.dev/explain/low-resource-languages). Whether a free tier keeps your text: [does it learn from my chats?](https://aifree.dev/explain/training-on-your-data)

## Which one to pick

- **Most free characters every month:** Azure Translator (2 million, no expiry) or Amazon Translate (2 million, first 12 months).
- **Already on Google Cloud:** Cloud Translation's $10 monthly credit covers 500,000 characters; set a budget alert, because usage above it is billed to the card on the project.
- **A one-off job in DeepL quality:** the DeepL Developer plan's 1 million characters, once.
- **No card at all:** Amazon Translate for most new AWS accounts, a free LLM API, or LibreTranslate on your own machine.
- **Private or confidential text:** avoid the Gemini unpaid tier outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, or self-host LibreTranslate.

## Steps

**Azure Translator**

1. Create an Azure account, then a Translator resource in the Azure portal with the **Free F0** pricing tier (one per subscription).
2. Copy a key and the region from **Keys and Endpoint**.
3. Translate: `curl -X POST "https://api.cognitive.microsofttranslator.com/translate?api-version=3.0&to=vi" -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: $AZURE_TRANSLATOR_KEY" -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Region: $AZURE_REGION" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '[{"Text": "Hello, world"}]'`

**Amazon Translate**

1. Create an AWS account and an IAM user or role allowed to call Translate.
2. Translate: `aws translate translate-text --source-language-code auto --target-language-code vi --text "Hello, world"`
3. Watch the Free Tier page in the billing console: the 2 million characters a month last 12 months from your first request.

**Google Cloud Translation**

1. Create a Google Cloud project, enable billing and the Cloud Translation API.
2. Create an API key (or use a service account) and save it as `GOOGLE_API_KEY`.
3. Translate (v2): `curl -X POST "https://translation.googleapis.com/language/translate/v2?key=$GOOGLE_API_KEY" -d "q=Hello, world" -d "target=vi"`

**DeepL**

1. Choose **Free API Key** on deepl.com/pro-api and create an account.
2. Copy the key from the API Keys tab; free keys end in `:fx`.
3. Translate: `curl -X POST https://api-free.deepl.com/v2/translate -H "Authorization: DeepL-Auth-Key $DEEPL_API_KEY" -d "text=Hello, world" -d "target_lang=VI"`

**An LLM (Gemini example)**

1. Get a free key in Google AI Studio (see the [free Gemini API key guide](https://aifree.dev/learn/free-gemini-api-key)).
2. Send a system instruction such as "Translate the user's text into Vietnamese. Keep Markdown, URLs and {placeholders} unchanged. Reply with the translation only."

**LibreTranslate (self-hosted)**

1. `pip install libretranslate` (Python 3.8 or newer), then run `libretranslate --load-only en,vi` to load only the languages you need.
2. Translate: `curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/translate -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"q": "Hello, world", "source": "en", "target": "vi"}'`

## Limits and the catch

- **Characters, not words.** Every API here bills the characters you send, spaces included, not words or tokens. On Azure, translating one text into three languages counts it three times.
- **Document translation is extra.** Azure's F0 tier has no document translation, Google's credit doesn't cover formatted documents ($0.08 a page), and DeepL limits free document uploads to 10 MB.
- **Billing is live on Google and Azure.** Above the free allowance the card on the account is charged; set a budget or quota before you run a batch job.
- **Amazon's 12 months and the new AWS free plan.** Accounts created since July 15, 2025 start on a 6-month free plan with up to $200 in credits; AWS's pages don't say how that combines with the 12-month Translate allowance.
- **Free tiers change.** We re-check offers monthly. The [free LLM API comparison](https://aifree.dev/compare/free-llm-apis) lists more models you can use for translation.

## Offers in this guide

- [Google Gemini Developer API Free Tier](https://aifree.dev/offer/google-gemini-developer-api-free-tier.md): Free tier, no card. Free Gemini API tier with rate-limited access to Flash models and Gemini 2.5 Pro
- [Groq Free Tier](https://aifree.dev/offer/groq-free-tier.md): Free tier, no card. Free rate-limited Groq API access to hosted open models, no card
- [OpenRouter Free AI Models](https://aifree.dev/offer/openrouter-free-models.md): 50 requests/day, no card. Free :free chat, embedding and rerank models at $0 through OpenRouter's API
- [Google Cloud Free Program](https://aifree.dev/offer/google-cloud-free-program.md): $300, card. $300 in free Google Cloud credits for 90 days plus 20+ always-free products
- [Azure for Students](https://aifree.dev/offer/azure-for-students.md): $100, no card. $100 Azure credit plus 12 months of free services for students, no card needed

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a free translation API?

Yes. Azure Translator’s Free F0 tier gives 2 million characters a month with no expiry, Amazon Translate 2 million a month for 12 months, Google Cloud Translation 500,000 a month and DeepL’s Developer plan 1 million characters once. Free LLM APIs such as Gemini, Groq and OpenRouter can translate too.

### Is the DeepL API free?

DeepL’s Free API Key sign-up gives the Developer plan: 1,000,000 characters in total that do not reset. The older DeepL API Free plan with 500,000 characters a month keeps working for existing users but, per third-party docs, can no longer be bought.

### Is the Google Translate API free?

The first 500,000 characters a month are free, applied as a $10 monthly credit shared by Cloud Translation Basic and Advanced. You must enable billing on the project, and usage above that is $20 per million characters.

### Which free translation API needs no credit card?

Amazon Translate, for most new AWS accounts, the free LLM APIs (Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter) and self-hosted LibreTranslate. Google Cloud requires billing and Azure asks for a card for identity verification.

### Can I use an LLM instead of a translation API?

Yes. Free LLM APIs translate well between common languages and follow formatting instructions, but they are rate-limited and less predictable. Gemini’s unpaid tier may use your text to improve Google’s products outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.

## Sources

- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/cognitive-services/translator/
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/create-translator-resource
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/service-limits
- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/azure-account
- https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices
- https://aws.amazon.com/translate/pricing/
- https://aws.amazon.com/free/free-tier-faqs/
- https://cloud.google.com/translate/pricing
- https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs/setup
- https://www.deepl.com/en/pro-api
- https://developers.deepl.com/docs/resources/usage-limits
- https://developers.deepl.com/docs/getting-started/auth
- https://support.deepl.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021200939-DeepL-API-Free
- https://docs.libretranslate.com/guides/installation/
- https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits
- https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms
- https://console.groq.com/docs/rate-limits
- https://openrouter.ai/docs/api/reference/limits

HTML page: https://aifree.dev/learn/free-translation-api