Pricing comparison
Real pricing based on monthly character volume. All prices in USD.
| Volume | Google Translate | DeepL | Langbly | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500K chars/mo | $10 | $12.50 | Free | 100% off |
| 1M chars/mo | $20 | $25 | $19 | Save 5–24% |
| 5M chars/mo | $100 | $125 | $19 | Save 81–85% |
| 25M chars/mo | $500 | $625 | $69 | Save 86–89% |
| 100M chars/mo | $2,000 | $2,500 | $199 | Save 90–92% |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Google Translate | DeepL | Langbly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python package | google-cloud-translate | deepl | langbly |
| pip install | pip install google-cloud-translate | pip install deepl | pip install langbly |
| Auth method | Service account JSON | API key string | API key string |
| Lines of code to translate | 6–8 lines | 3 lines | 3 lines |
| Type hints | |||
| Async support | |||
| Auto-retry on errors | Manual | Manual | Built-in |
| Typed error classes | Google exceptions | DeepLException | RateLimitError, AuthError |
| Retry-After support | |||
| Google v2 compatible | |||
| Price per 1M chars | $20 | $25 | $3.80–$1.99 |
| Free tier | $300 credit | 500K/mo | 500K/mo |
| Translation quality | NMT | NMT + AI | Next-gen AI |
| Context-aware | Limited |
Python SDK comparison: code examples
The easiest way to compare translation APIs is to look at real code. Here is how you translate text with each SDK in Python:
Google Translate (google-cloud-translate):
from google.cloud import translate_v2 as translate
import os
os.environ["GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS"] = "service-account.json"
client = translate.Client()
result = client.translate(
"Hello world",
target_language="nl"
)
print(result["translatedText"])DeepL (deepl):
import deepl
translator = deepl.Translator("your-api-key")
result = translator.translate_text("Hello world", target_lang="NL")
print(result.text)Langbly (langbly):
from langbly import Langbly
client = Langbly(api_key="your-api-key")
result = client.translate("Hello world", target="nl")
print(result.translated_text)Google requires a service account JSON file and environment variable setup before you can make your first call. DeepL and Langbly both use simple API key strings, making them much faster to get started with.
Which Python translation API is easiest to set up?
Setup complexity is a real factor when choosing a translation API. Google Translate requires creating a Google Cloud project, enabling the Translation API, creating a service account, downloading a JSON key file, and setting an environment variable. This typically takes 10-15 minutes even for experienced developers.
DeepL and Langbly both use straightforward API key authentication. Sign up, copy your key, pass it to the client constructor. First API call in under 2 minutes.
Langbly has an additional advantage: built-in auto-retry with exponential backoff for rate limits (429) and server errors (5xx). The SDK also respects Retry-After headers and provides typed error classes like RateLimitError and AuthenticationError, so you can handle failures gracefully without writing boilerplate retry logic.
Pricing for Python developers
For Python developers building SaaS products, internal tools, or content pipelines, translation costs add up quickly. Here is how the three APIs compare at common volumes:
At 5M characters per month (a typical volume for a mid-size SaaS app), Google charges $100, DeepL charges $125, and Langbly charges $19. That is an 81-85% cost reduction. At 100M characters per month, the gap widens further: Google is $2,000, DeepL is $2,500, and Langbly is $199.
Both DeepL and Langbly offer a 500K characters/month free tier, perfect for development and testing. Google only offers a one-time $300 credit for new accounts. Langbly also offers a 20% annual discount on all plans.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best translation API for Python?
For most Python developers, Langbly offers the best combination of simple setup, clean SDK, async support, auto-retry, and affordable pricing. DeepL is a solid alternative for European languages. Google Translate has the most language coverage but the most complex setup.
How to translate text in Python?
Install a translation SDK with pip (e.g., pip install langbly), initialize the client with your API key, and call the translate method. With Langbly, it takes just 3 lines of code: create the client, call translate(), and read the result.
Is Google Translate API free for Python?
Google Translate API is not free. It costs $20 per million characters. New Google Cloud accounts receive a $300 trial credit, but it expires. Langbly and DeepL both offer a permanent free tier of 500K characters per month.
Which Python translation library is fastest to set up?
Langbly and DeepL are the fastest to set up. Just pip install the package and pass an API key. Google Translate requires creating a GCP project, enabling APIs, generating a service account JSON file, and setting environment variables.
Can I use Langbly with Python?
Yes. Install the official SDK with pip install langbly. The package supports Python 3.8+, includes full type hints, async support, auto-retry with exponential backoff, and typed error classes. It is available on PyPI.