# DeepL Pro & API — Translation & Localization

DeepL Pro & API by DeepL SE holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-11-02. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: DeepL SE (https://www.deepl.com/en/pro)
- Category: [Translation & Localization](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-06 · evaluated 2026-11-02 · oldest source captured 2026-11-01

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: DeepL SE
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026

## The panel's verdict

DeepL Pro & API is DeepL SE's own neural translation engine, sold as translator seats and a metered API. The bench scores it strongest on content confidentiality, where the five non-zero judges run 7 to 8: Pro texts are stated never to be used for model training and to be deleted after processing, with a 72-hour encrypted debug-storage cap and deletion 90 days after the agreement ends. Weakest is workflow and review, where those five judges all sit at 4 — they found no public information on review or approval stages, automated QA checks or inviting translators and agencies. Pricing transparency scores 7 across the same five, with Individual, Team and Business published at €7.49, €24.99 and €49.99 per user/month billed annually. The widest split is the e-commerce-marketer judge, who scored 0 on every criterion while the others run 4 to 8. The captured pages also give different statements on where processing sits: the privacy policy states translation runs exclusively on DeepL's infrastructure in the EEA, while the license terms reserve processing on third-party cloud infrastructure with DeepL determining the location.

**Speaks for it:**
- Pro texts are stated to be deleted after processing and never used for model training, with debug storage capped at 72 hours and requested stored content deleted 90 days after the agreement ends
- ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II and BSI C5 Type 2 are stated, with a downloadable data processing agreement and audit verdict
- Seat prices and tier limits are published — Individual €7.49, Team €24.99, Business €49.99 per user/month billed annually — with API usage metered at €22.00 per 1,000,000 extra characters
- An own engine covers 126 published languages with per-language features, grammatical glossary adaptation and document translation that preserves layout for Word, PowerPoint, PDF and InDesign, scanned PDFs included
- A documented REST API handles translation-memory import and export, including TMX imports up to 1 GB through signed uploads

**Held against it:**
- Workflow and review scores sit at 4 for the five non-zero judges, with no public information on review or approval stages, automated QA checks, per-language roles or inviting translators and agencies
- We found no public information on software localisation formats such as XLIFF, PO or YAML, or on a CLI, SDKs, Git sync or webhooks, which held the app developer's integrations score to 4
- Portability and exit scores run 4 to 6: TMX is the stated only export format for translation memories, and we found no public information on glossary export as TBX or CSV or on a self-hosted edition
- The free API tier reserves the right to store content perpetually, and free-service texts are processed to train neural networks
- The captured pages give different statements on where processing sits — exclusively on DeepL's own infrastructure in the EEA per the privacy policy, versus a reserved right to process on third-party cloud infrastructure with DeepL determining the location in the license terms

**Best for:**
- You need confidential translation of contracts, manuals and other office documents, and want written deletion, no-training and encryption commitments backed by ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II and BSI C5 before drafts leave your building
- You want to budget from published prices — per-seat tiers with stated character, file-translation and glossary limits, plus unit-priced API usage at €22.00 per 1,000,000 extra characters
- Your content is office and media files — Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, InDesign, scanned PDFs, images — whose layout you need preserved
- You want a vendor registered in Cologne whose privacy policy states document translation is processed exclusively on DeepL's own infrastructure in the EEA

**Avoid if:**
- You need review or approval stages, automated terminology or placeholder checks, and external translators working inside the product — we found no public information on these
- Your pipeline is software localisation with string files, Git sync, CI or over-the-air delivery, since the documented formats are office- and media-heavy, with Contentful JSON the only software format named
- You need a fully documented exit — glossary export in TBX or CSV, project and history export, or a self-hosted edition — since the documented exit path is the translation memory in TMX
- You would run sensitive content through the free tiers, where the API tier reserves perpetual storage of content and free-service texts are processed to train neural networks

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Localization Manager | The App Developer | The In-House Document Translator | The Data Protection Officer | The E-Commerce Marketer | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Machine translation & AI quality | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Translation memory, terminology & review workflow | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 | 2/5 |
| Integrations, file formats & developer tools | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 0/5 | 3/5 |
| Confidentiality of translated content | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 4/5 |
| Data export, portability & self-hosting | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 | 2.5/5 |
| European sovereignty | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3.5/5** | **3/5** | **0/5** | **3/5** |

### The judges

- **The Localization Manager** (v1.0): Runs localization for a Hamburg software company whose product, help centre and marketing site ship in fourteen languages, with two agencies and a pool of freelancers. Every release brings a few thousand new strings and a deadline. Wants one translation memory and termbase across all content, machine translation that respects the glossary, review steps per language, QA checks that stop a broken placeholder before it ships, and cost and progress per vendor in one view.
- **The App Developer** (v1.0): Lead developer of a web app and two mobile apps at a Vienna start-up, with strings in JSON, xcstrings and Android XML. Has hand-merged translation files once and will not do it again. Wants a CLI and a GitHub sync that opens pull requests, over-the-air updates so a typo fix does not need an app store release, an API that does everything the interface does, and ideally an open-source edition they could run themselves if the vendor changes course.
- **The In-House Document Translator** (v1.0): Works in the legal and export team of a machine builder in Baden-Württemberg with customers in France, Italy, Poland and China. Translates contracts, operating manuals and supplier correspondence every day, with no translation management system and no wish for one. Needs translations that read like the company wrote them, the company's terms kept through a glossary, Word and PDF files back with their layout intact, and a written promise that a draft contract is not kept or used to train anything.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Data protection officer of a health insurer whose staff translate letters to members, HR documents and internal guidelines. Found a free translator in the proxy logs and had to explain to the board what had been pasted into it. Reads the terms before the feature page: how long texts are kept, whether they train a model, which engines and LLM providers a platform passes them to, who the subprocessors are and where, and whether the contract names a European entity.
- **The E-Commerce Marketer** (v1.0): Runs marketing for a Shopify shop selling cycling apparel from Munich, live in German and English and due in French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish before the spring season. Has no developer and no translator on staff. Wants product pages, checkout and emails translated in days, a way to fix a bad product name by hand, multilingual SEO that search engines index, and a monthly price that does not double when the catalogue grows.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "human quality" on an engine nobody has evaluated in public, "we never store your data" next to a TMS that forwards every segment to three LLM providers, and a translation memory built over six years that could only leave as a spreadsheet. Reads that a product is "enterprise-grade secure" and asks how long the text is kept, which models it reaches, and whether the memory and termbase export as TMX and TBX — and what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- BSI C5: yes [S11]
- BSI C5: yes [S4]
- Certifications: ISO 27001 · SOC 2 Type II [S4]
- Certifications: yes · yes · yes · yes · yes [S3]
- Consent management: Usercentrics GmbH [S9]
- Data deletion: yes · yes [S1]
- Data training: yes [S1]
- DPA: https://deepl.safebase.us/item/data-processing-agreement · yes [S10]
- GDPR: yes [S11]
- GDPR: yes [S10]
- GDPR: yes [S17]
- GDPR: yes [S7]
- HIPAA: yes [S11]
- ISO 27001: yes [S11]
- ISO 27001: yes [S1]
- Penetration testing: yes [S7]
- Regulations: GDPR · HIPAA [S4]
- Restricted territories: yes [S10]
- Security features: BYOK encryption · audit logs · SSO [S4]
- Security testing: yes [S17]
- SOC 2: security, availability, confidentiality · SOC 2 Type II [S17]
- SOC 2: yes [S1]
- SOC 2 type2: yes [S11]
- SOC 2 type ii: security, availability, and confidentiality · yes [S7]
- Tls: yes [S1]
- Trust center: yes [S17]
- Trust center: yes [S7]

**Data**
- Account data: email · password · IP address [S9]
- Account deletion: yes [S9]
- Content storage transient: yes · yes [S10]
- Customer training data: yes · yes · yes [S10]
- Debug retention: yes · 72 [S10]
- Free glossary local: yes [S9]
- Free no personal data: yes [S9]
- Free training: yes [S9]
- Ip storage free: 14 [S9]
- Ip storage pro: duration of contract [S9]
- Korea special provisions: yes [S9]
- Pro deletion: yes [S9]
- Pro no training: no [S9]
- Retention: 90 [S10]
- Retention: yes [S1]
- Speaker match duration: 30 [S9]
- Tm export async: yes · yes [S19]
- Tm export auth: Authorization · yes · DeepL-Auth-Key [S19]
- Tm export download URL expiry: yes · yes [S19]
- Tm export format: TMX · no [S19]
- Tm export status codes: 202 · 200 · 409 [S19]
- Tm import available: yes [S19]
- Usage sharing with employer: yes [S9]
- Voice transcript retention: yes · 20 seconds to 30 days [S9]

**Hosting**
- Eea processing: DeepL own infrastructure · EEA [S9]
- Third party cloud: yes · yes [S10]

**Integrations**
- API deprecation notice: 4 [S10]
- API glossary: yes [S4]
- API glossary parameter: glossaries created/managed via API with glossary_id parameter; requires API Free or Pro account [S4]
- Aws marketplace: yes [S11]
- Browser extension: Browser extension translating content across apps [S15]
- Browser extensions: Browser extensions translate entire web pages or selected text [S5]
- Browser platforms: Browser extension available for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox [S15]
- Cat tool: yes [S16]
- Cloud storage: Adobe Experience Manager · Google Drive · SharePoint [S11]
- Google workspace: DeepL integration for Google Workspace [S15]
- Linkedin whatsapp x: Extension works on LinkedIn, WhatsApp, X (Twitter) [S15]
- Microsoft 365: DeepL integration for Microsoft 365 [S15]
- Onedrive: yes [S3]
- Productivity suites: Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace integrations for emails, documents, presentations [S5]
- Tm API auth: Authorization · DeepL-Auth-Key [S20]
- Tm delete endpoint: yes · DELETE [S20]
- Tm export endpoint: yes · POST [S20]
- Tm import display name: parameters.display_name · yes [S20]
- Tm import flow: create import job (job_id, upload_url, expires_at) · PUT file to signed upload_url without credentials · poll job until completed or failed [S20]
- Tm import format: TMX · application/xml [S20]
- Tm import limit error: translation memory limit reached · 456 [S20]
- Tm import max size: 1 · 1 [S20]
- Tm import name limits: 100 · 127 [S20]
- Tm import signed URL expiry: create a new import job · yes [S20]
- Tm import skipped segments: skipped_segment_count · yes [S20]
- Zendesk: Zendesk · yes [S5]

**Legal**
- Address: Cologne · Maarweg 165 · Germany · 50825 [S8]
- Commercial register: Amtsgericht Köln · HRB 104617 [S8]
- Content responsible: Dr. Jaroslaw Kutylowski · § 18 para. 2 MStV [S8]
- Contract language: English · German [S10]
- Dispute resolution: no [S8]
- Entity: DeepL SE · Maarweg 165, 50825 Cologne, Germany [S10]
- Entity name: DeepL SE [S8]
- GDPR basis: yes · yes [S9]
- Privacy contact: privacy@deepl.com · yes [S9]
- Rejected customers: yes [S10]
- Terminable on negative change: 30 · yes [S10]
- Terms URL: https://www.deepl.com/pro-license.html · no [S10]
- VAT id: DE349242045 [S8]

**Pricing**
- Advance payments: variable remuneration (API), credit card or SEPA direct debit · 10 · 500 [S10]
- Annual discount: 20 [S16]
- Annual discount: 16 [S1]
- Audio minutes billing: Audio Minutes · fractional minutes rounded up to nearest whole minute [S10]
- Business: Business · 49.99 [S1]
- Business limits: unlimited glossaries · translation memory · SCIM · domain capture · 100 · 99 · yes · 100 [S1]
- Developer free tier: one-time credit · 1000000 [S16]
- Developer included: 1 · yes · 1 · 30 · 1 · 1 [S16]
- Developer web translator: no [S16]
- Enterprise: Enterprise · yes [S1]
- Enterprise custom: yes [S16]
- Enterprise features: custom file size · unlimited glossaries · translation memory · bring your own key · dedicated account team · premium support · 99.9 [S1]
- Fair usage: yes [S1]
- Free trial: yes [S11]
- Free trial: yes [S17]
- Free trial: yes [S7]
- Growth features: 10 · yes · 1 year · 2000 · 30 days · unlimited · yes [S16]
- Growth included: 12000000 · 120 · 60 [S16]
- Growth limits: 50000000 · 300 [S16]
- Growth no data training: yes [S16]
- Growth price: 23.8 · annual [S16]
- Growth usage based: 22 · 1.96 · 3.93 [S16]
- Growth web translator: no [S16]
- Individual: Individual · 7.49 [S1]
- Individual limits: 1 · 30 · 300000 · 3 · 30 [S1]
- Pro expanded glossaries: yes [S2]
- Pro file capacity: yes [S2]
- Pro sample glossaries: Pro · 5 [S4]
- Pro unlimited text: yes [S2]
- Single user license: Single-User License · yes · yes [S10]
- SSO plan availability: SSO offered with DeepL Pro; contact sales [S18]
- Team: Team · 24.99 [S1]
- Team limits: bulk file translation · team administration · analytics and reporting · SSO · 5 · 1000000 · 20 [S1]
- Trial: yes · yes · yes [S10]
- Trial: 30 · yes · yes [S1]
- Trial auto continue: yes [S9]
- Trial payment details: yes [S9]
- VAT: yes [S10]
- VAT: yes [S1]
- VAT note: yes [S16]
- Write pro addon: yes · 6.99 [S1]
- Write pro per seat: DeepL Write Pro Add-On · yes [S10]

**Product**
- Adaptive translation: yes · no [S9]
- Addons: DeepL Write Pro Add-On · File Translation Add-On · no [S10]
- Admin API: available upon request · available upon request [S16]
- API availability SLA exclusions: yes · yes [S10]
- API developer free: yes · yes · Customer shall not process any personal data with the API [S10]
- Audit logs: yes [S17]
- Audit logs: yes [S7]
- Bring own key: yes [S1]
- Browser extensions: Chrome · Firefox · Edge [S1]
- Browser writing optimization: DeepL Write available directly in the browser via extensions [S5]
- Bulk file translation: yes [S1]
- Bulk translation: yes [S3]
- Business customers: 200,000+ [S2]
- Byok: yes [S17]
- Cat tool integration: yes [S2]
- Cat tools: yes · yes [S10]
- Central provisioning: yes [S17]
- Cost control: yes [S16]
- Customer base: 200000 [S5]
- Customer count: 200000 [S11]
- Customer count: 200000 [S17]
- Customization features: glossaries · style guides · style profiles · translation memory [S11]
- Customization hub: Customization Hub enforces terminology, style and tone across translations [S11]
- Customization hub: saved translations · glossaries · style guides · Style Profiles · Translation Memories [S9]
- Customization hub: glossaries · translation memory · style rules [S3]
- Developer API storage: DeepL API Developer · yes [S10]
- Dictionary: yes [S2]
- Document formats: .docx · .pptx · .html · .pdf · .txt · .docx · .pptx · .pdf [S9]
- Document translation: Document/file translation preserves original formatting for PDFs and Word files [S11]
- Document translation: yes · yes [S2]
- Document translation: drag-and-drop translation for all document and file types [S3]
- Domain based deployment: yes [S7]
- Domain capture: yes [S1]
- Encryption: yes [S17]
- Encryption byok: yes [S7]
- English variants: yes · EN · EN-US · EN-GB [S12]
- File formats: PDF · JPG · PNG · InDesign · Contentful JSON [S11]
- Formality: yes [S2]
- Format preservation: yes [S3]
- Fortune 500: trusted by 50% of the Fortune 500 [S4]
- French variants target only: FR-CA · FR-FR · yes [S12]
- German variants target only: DE-DE · DE-CH · yes [S12]
- Glossaries: 5 · 1000 · 5 · yes · yes [S1]
- Glossary: yes [S2]
- Glossary creation methods: manual · file upload · glossary generator · templates [S4]
- Glossary entry limits: Unlimited (10 MB) · 1,000 · Unlimited (10 MB) [S16]
- Glossary generator access: Pro Advanced · Ultimate · bundles including either [S4]
- Glossary generator files: .tmx · .tsv · .docx · .pdf · 1000 · .tmx · .tsv [S4]

**Subprocessors**
- Apryse pdf sdk: Apryse Systems Inc. · PDF translation SDK [S8]
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare Inc. · CDN and security [S9]
- Elevenlabs: ElevenLabs · backup voices in other languages [S9]
- Payrails: Payrails GmbH · payment orchestration [S9]
- Stripe: Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. · payment processing [S9]

**Support**
- Account team: yes [S1]
- Enterprise discounts: yes · yes [S1]
- Help center: yes [S1]
- Payment methods: no · credit or debit card · SEPA Direct Debit · bank transfer (invoice) [S1]
- Trust center documents: yes [S7]
- Uptime business: Business · 99 [S10]
- Uptime standard: fee-based Services (default) · 97 [S10]

95 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl

## Questions

### Is DeepL Pro & API European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies DeepL Pro & API as EU-Made.

### Where does DeepL Pro & API store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

### Does DeepL Pro & API have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to DeepL Pro & API?

As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates [SimpleLocalize (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/simplelocalize), [LILT (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/lilt) and [Phrase Localization Platform (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/phrase) highest among the other 12 Translation & Localization products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [SimpleLocalize](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/simplelocalize) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [DeepL Pro & API alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl/alternatives).

## Head-to-head

- [DeepL Pro & API vs Google Cloud Translation](https://whats-best.ai/compare/deepl-vs-google-cloud-translation.md)

## What this page leaves out

- 20 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 9 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 data facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 pricing fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 subprocessors fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage (with pricing): https://www.deepl.com/en/pro (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S2] Features page: https://www.deepl.com/en/features (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S3] Features page (document translation): https://www.deepl.com/en/features/document-translation (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S4] Features page (glossary): https://www.deepl.com/en/features/glossary (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S5] Integrations page: https://www.deepl.com/en/products/integrations (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S6] API documentation: https://developers.deepl.com/docs/getting-started/quickstart (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S7] Security / trust page (data security): https://www.deepl.com/en/pro-data-security (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S8] Legal notice: https://www.deepl.com/en/publisher (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S9] Privacy policy: https://www.deepl.com/en/privacy (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S10] Terms of service (with data processing terms): https://www.deepl.com/en/pro-license (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S11] Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/en/products/translator (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S12] Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap: https://developers.deepl.com/docs/getting-started/supported-languages (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S13] Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/en/academy/deepl-translation-memory (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S14] Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/de/academy/deepl-translation-memory (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S15] Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/en/integrations (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S16] Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/en/pro-api (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S17] Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/de/pro-data-security (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S18] Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap: https://www.deepl.com/en/features/sso (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S19] Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://developers.deepl.com/api-reference/translation-memory/export-a-translation-memory (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S20] Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://developers.deepl.com/api-reference/translation-memory/import-a-translation-memory (checked 2026-11-01)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "DeepL Pro & API — Translation & Localization", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/deepl

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1299?target=page