How much it costs to auto-translate a WordPress site with TranslatePress depends almost entirely on the engine you use.
- Classic translation APIs (Google Cloud Translation, DeepL) charge per character you send.
- AI models (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Groq, OpenRouter) charge per token, for both the text you send and the translation you get back. In English, one token is roughly four characters.
To compare fairly, everything below is converted to the approximate cost of translating 1 million characters, roughly 160,000 words.
Cost per 1 million characters
| Engine | Approx. cost | Free allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Google Translate (public endpoint, free plugin) | $0 | Free, no API key |
| Google Cloud Translation (official API) | $20 | First 500,000 characters per month |
| DeepL API | About $25 | Varies by plan |
| ChatGPT (gpt-4o-mini) | About $0.25 to $0.50 | None |
| DeepSeek (Flash model) | About $0.15 to $0.50 | Trial credit for new accounts |
Google Cloud charges $20 per million characters after the first 500,000 free each month. DeepL's API is around $25 per million characters, and DeepL changed its API plans in 2026, so check which plan is open to you. OpenAI's gpt-4o-mini costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens. DeepSeek is in a similar or lower range and is cheaper off-peak. The AI ranges include the small extra cost of the instructions sent with each request.
A real example: a 20-page business site
A typical 20-page site has around 15,000 words, about 100,000 characters. One-time cost to translate it into three languages (300,000 characters):
| Engine | Approx. one-time cost |
|---|---|
| Google (free plugin) | $0 |
| Google Cloud Translation | $0 (inside the free allowance) |
| DeepL API | About $7.50 |
| ChatGPT (gpt-4o-mini) | Under $0.20 |
| DeepSeek | Under $0.20 |
TranslatePress saves every translation, so you pay only once per piece of text. After that, only new or changed content costs anything.
Which one should you choose?
- Zero budget, simple site: the free Google engine.
- Best value for quality: ChatGPT or DeepSeek. Natural translations for cents, with your own tone of voice.
- Existing DeepL account or specialist language pairs: DeepL. Excellent, but the most expensive per character.
- Large sites: an AI engine as the main engine and Google as the fallback.
Five ways to keep costs low
- Use a small, fast AI model (gpt-4o-mini or DeepSeek Flash) for bulk content.
- Keep your tone and style instruction short. It is sent with every request.
- Set a monthly spending limit in your AI provider dashboard.
- Add brand names to a glossary so they never need re-editing.
- Translate once, then edit by hand instead of re-translating whole pages.
How to use these engines in TranslatePress
TranslatePress supports only Google Cloud and DeepL on its own. The free Hybrid AI Translator for TranslatePress adds free Google translation without an API key. Hybrid AI Translator Pro adds ChatGPT, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek and DeepL, with a fallback engine, glossary and bulk editing, from $5 per year. You pay the AI provider directly, with no markup.
Setup guides: free automatic translation and ChatGPT and DeepSeek setup.
Not sure which engine fits?
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