DeepL API vs Google Cloud Translation API
Free API comparison
| DeepL API | Google Cloud Translation API | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Language and text | Language and text |
| API key | Needed, free | Needed, free |
| Pricing | The DeepL API Free plan gives 500,000 characters per month with a free account (it uses its own server, api-free.deepl.com); DeepL API Pro is paid per character. | Free only with billing turned on (a payment method is required), for the first 500,000 characters a month; above that, paid per character. |
| From the browser | Not stated | Yes (CORS) |
| Formats | JSON | JSON |
| Interface | REST, MCP | REST |
| Provider | developers.deepl.com | cloud.google.com |
| Last checked | Working on October 31st, 2026 | Working on November 1st, 2026 |
| MCP server | Yes, official | No |
Which one to choose
Both give 500,000 free characters a month. DeepL's free plan uses a free account and is never charged, and adds formality settings and glossaries for more than 30 languages. Google Cloud Translation covers more than 100 languages, but its free allowance only works with billing turned on, so use above it is charged. For the main European and Asian languages DeepL is the easier free choice; for rarer languages, Google.
Each service's own page has its full description, a code example and what visitors report: DeepL API, Google Cloud Translation API.