Why is the pricing so complicated?
Short answer: a predictable monthly plan, plus capacity in steps when you need more.
Pricing is one model with two halves. The plan is straightforward - a flat monthly fee with defined limits, just like any other SaaS tool. On top of it, extra capacity is usage-based in steps: blocks you buy (or let auto-adapt buy) at a price you see before you take the step.
Fixed plans - simple and predictable
On a fixed plan, your monthly bill is just your subscription price. No metering, no variable charges, no surprises. You get a defined set of limits (words, languages, downloads, and more) and that is what you pay - month in, month out. That includes edits: adding, updating, deleting and importing keys is never billed on fixed plans - per-modification metering only exists on the usage-based model.
| Plan | Price/mo | Words | Languages | Std. CDN downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 2,000 | 2 | 100,000 |
| Starter | $7 | 15,000 | 5 | 1,000,000 |
| Starter-Plus | $19 | 30,000 | 7 | 3,000,000 |
| Growth | $49 | 60,000 | 10 | 5,000,000 |
| Professional | $99 | 100,000 | 20 | 7,000,000 |
| Professional-Plus | $149 | 150,000 | 50 | 10,000,000 |
| Enterprise | $199 | 200,000 | 150 | 15,000,000 |
Full feature comparison on the pricing page.
What happens if you exceed your limits?
Fixed plans have hard monthly limits. When you get close, you have two options:
- Buy overage blocks - for Standard CDN downloads, you can purchase additional blocks on demand after receiving an email reminder.
From the Growth plan upward you can also buy blocks of 10,000 words, or switch on auto-adapt so they are added automatically instead of the write being blocked.
Each block has one flat price, shown on the pricing page. - Upgrade your plan - if you are consistently bumping against limits, moving up a tier is the cleaner long-term choice.
Pro CDN downloads and private downloads on fixed plans that include them (Growth and above) are charged automatically per use at the overage rates - no manual purchasing needed. Plans without private downloads (Free, Starter, Starter-Plus) refuse private download requests instead of charging for them. The Free plan is the exception: instead of charging overages for standard downloads, it automatically unpublishes translations when the limit is reached.
See full overage block pricing on the pricing page under "Usage-based pricing, in steps".
The legacy usage-based plan
The usage-based plan is no longer available for new subscriptions, but projects already on it keep it, so the mechanics are documented here. It has no fixed limits. Instead, you pay a small monthly base fee ($5.00/mo) and are billed for three usage metrics each month.
You are charged on your monthly subscription date.
What you are billed for
Counted across all languages.
Calculated by splitting text by spaces and newlines (examples).
Done via UI, API, or CLI.
Counted even for empty values.
Per file/namespace, not per word.
Standard CDN has a generous 1,000,000/month free quota.
All unit prices decrease as usage increases - see tiered rates on the pricing page.
Other optional billable items: AI Tokens, MT Characters, private downloads, SAML SSO, Backups.
Why these three metrics?
- Words - reflects storage cost (how much content you are keeping alive in the system)
- Modifications - reflects processing cost (how actively you are editing and publishing)
- Downloads - reflects CDN cost (how often your app fetches translations, including private downloads)
These are the actual cost drivers on the infrastructure side. Charging for them means small, low-traffic projects pay very little while high-volume projects pay proportionally - rather than everyone paying for the same ceiling.
Worked example
A team with 3 languages and ~3,000 words per language (~200 keys at ~15 words/key), using 2 namespaces and Pro CDN for delivery. All prices in USD.
Words are counted across all languages: 3,000 x 3 = 9,000 total. Downloads are per namespace request: 2 namespaces x 30,000 app loads = 60,000 downloads/month.
On the legacy plan, modifications and downloads were free for the full 14-day trial and words were billed. Fixed plans bill nothing during the trial.
- Words:9,000 x $0.0040 = $36.00
- Modifications:600free
- Pro CDN Downloads:1,800free
- Base fee: $5.00
App is live with typical CDN traffic and only a handful of translation edits.
- Words:9,000 x $0.0040 = $36.00
- Modifications:10 x $0.0200 = $0.20
- Pro CDN Downloads:60,000 x $0.0001 = $6.00
- Base fee: $5.00
Added a new language, cleaned up outdated keys. Slight increase in words and modifications.
- Words:10,000 x $0.0040 = $40.00
- Modifications:250 x $0.0200 = $5.00
- Pro CDN Downloads:60,000 x $0.0001 = $6.00
- Base fee: $5.00
Which plan is right for me?
- One monthly price per plan, known up front
- Generous included volumes for words and downloads
- No per-seat charges and no MAU multipliers
- A free plan for small projects
- Extra capacity comes in blocks (10k words at a time, for example)
- You see what the next step costs before you take it
- Auto-adapt buys the blocks for you, so work is never blocked
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with full feature access - no credit card required. Nothing is billed during the trial.
If anything is still unclear, share your expected setup - languages, namespaces, CI/CD workflow, CDN traffic - and we can help you estimate a realistic monthly cost. Reach out any time.