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Translation & Localization

DeepL Pro & API

EU-Made Report an error

Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by DeepL SE · www.deepl.com

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DeepL Pro & API: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai DeepL Pro & API: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

DeepL Pro & API 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
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates DeepL Pro & API 2.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. DeepL Pro & API is DeepL SE's own neural translation engine, sold as translator seats and a metered API. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 2 Nov 2026. all sources

DeepL Pro & API alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Localization Manager

Weighted verdict

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.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Localization Manager

Panel median The Localization Manager This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Localization Manager
Machine translation & AI quality 3.5 of 5 3 of 5
Translation memory, terminology & review workflow 2 of 5 2 of 5
Integrations, file formats & developer tools 3 of 5 3 of 5
Confidentiality of translated content 4 of 5 4 of 5
Data export, portability & self-hosting 2.5 of 5 2 of 5
European sovereignty 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Pricing transparency 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5

Machine translation & AI quality

How this is scored

What the machine translation does and how well it is controlled: the languages and language pairs covered, the engine (own neural or LLM model, or a choice of third-party engines such as DeepL, Google, Microsoft or an LLM), glossaries and formality applied during translation, document translation that keeps the layout (Word, PowerPoint, PDF, InDesign), custom or adaptive models trained on the customer's own translations, automatic quality estimation or scoring, and published evaluations of translation quality.

0 — No machine translation of any kind, and no way to connect an engine.

3 — Machine translation is offered or one engine can be connected; languages, glossary use and quality controls are basic or not described.

5 — Machine translation for the major European and world languages with the list published, glossaries applied during translation, a formality or tone setting, document translation that keeps formatting for common office formats, and either an own engine or a choice of several named engines.

8 — Custom or adaptive models that learn from the customer's translation memory or corrections, automatic quality estimation per segment with a threshold that routes weak segments to human review, LLM-based translation with style guides and context, engine selection per language pair stated, and a published quality evaluation with its method.

10 — Translation quality that an organisation can measure and steer: evaluations against named benchmarks or blind human review published with their method, quality estimation calibrated and explained, custom models with their training data and isolation documented, and every machine-translated segment traceable to the engine, model version and glossary that produced it.

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The Localization Manager

Their own neural engine covers a published list of 126 languages with glossaries applied during translation, a formal-or-informal tone setting, and document translation that keeps the original layout for Word, PowerPoint, PDF and even InDesign and image files. Adaptive translation confined to our own account, style rules with custom instructions, and a glossary generator that works from at least 1,000 sentence pairs of our past translations push toward the next level. We found no public information on per-segment quality estimation or a published quality evaluation with its method, and the engine is DeepL's own rather than a choice of engines per language pair. 2 3 4 9 11 12 13

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Translation memory, terminology & review workflow

How this is scored

How translation is managed as an ongoing process: translation memory with fuzzy matches, a termbase or glossary managed centrally, style guides, review and approval stages, automated QA checks (placeholders, tags, length, terminology, punctuation), an in-context or visual editor, screenshots and context for translators, tasks and deadlines, roles per language, and ordering or inviting human translators and agencies inside the product.

0 — No management of translations at all; text goes in and comes out with nothing stored or reviewed.

3 — Translations can be edited or a glossary kept; translation memory, review stages and QA checks are basic or not described.

5 — A translation memory reused across projects, a central glossary, at least one review or approval stage, automated QA checks for placeholders and terminology, comments and screenshots for context, and roles that limit translators to their languages.

8 — Configurable multi-step workflows with automation rules, an in-context or visual editor for apps or websites, QA checks configurable per project with blocking rules, style guides applied by the AI, translation memory and termbase shared across projects with penalties and priorities, vendor or agency management with ordering inside the product, and progress and cost reporting per language.

10 — A translation process an enterprise runs on: workflows per content type with conditional routing on quality scores, linguistic quality assessment with a named framework (MQM or similar), termbase with approval workflow and forbidden terms, full revision history per segment, and productivity and quality metrics per translator and vendor.

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The Localization Manager

A team-shareable translation memory (TMX upload, reuse of similar past translations) sits beside centrally managed, mergeable glossaries with priority ordering, style rules and shareable style profiles — the terminology backbone I need is genuinely there. But we found no public information on review or approval stages, automated quality checks that stop a broken placeholder before it ships, per-language roles, or inviting translators and agencies with cost and progress per vendor; the pages instead show CAT tool integration for the paid API, so any review workflow would live outside DeepL. 2 4 10 13 14 16

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Integrations, file formats & developer tools

How this is scored

How content gets in and out: the file formats supported (XLIFF, PO, JSON, YAML, Android XML, iOS strings and xcstrings, Office documents, InDesign), a REST API and CLI, SDKs and over-the-air updates for apps, Git repository sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) and CI pipelines, connectors for CMS, shop and design tools (WordPress, Contentful, Shopify, Figma), browser and office add-ins, webhooks, and a JavaScript snippet or proxy for website translation.

0 — No documented way to get content in or out except typing or pasting by hand.

3 — File upload and download or a basic API; formats, repository sync and connectors are basic or not described.

5 — A documented REST API, a list of supported file formats covering the common software and document formats, sync with at least one Git host or CI, and connectors or plugins for several named CMS, shop or design tools.

8 — A CLI and SDKs for named platforms, over-the-air updates for mobile or web apps, Git sync with branching, webhooks, connectors for the main CMS, shop, design and support tools, office or browser add-ins, a public status page, and API limits documented.

10 — Integration that scales across an organisation: an API covering every function of the product with versioning and SDKs, an app or connector framework third parties build on, continuous localization in CI with pull requests opened automatically, and every connector documented with its limits and the fields it syncs.

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The Localization Manager

The REST API is documented in detail, down to translation-memory endpoints with signed upload URLs and explicit status codes, and connectors cover Zendesk, Adobe Experience Manager, SharePoint, Google Drive, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS Marketplace and browser extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Document and office formats are well covered (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML, SRT, TXT, InDesign), with Contentful JSON the only software format named. We found no public information on XLIFF, PO, YAML, Android or iOS string formats, Git repository sync, a CLI, SDKs, webhooks or a public status page — a gap for me since my product strings are JSON and strings files, not slide decks. 3 5 11 15 16 19 20

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Confidentiality of translated content

How this is scored

What happens to the text a customer translates: whether source and target texts are stored and for how long, deletion after translation, whether customer content is used to train the vendor's or a third party's models, which machine translation and LLM providers a TMS sends text to and whether that can be restricted or switched off, encryption in transit and at rest, single sign-on, roles and audit logs, and certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) with their scope. Where the text is processed is scored under sovereignty.

0 — Customer texts are stored indefinitely and used for the vendor's own purposes, or no statement on data handling exists at all.

3 — The product is described as secure or GDPR-compliant and a privacy policy exists; retention of translated texts, model training and third-party engines are basic or not described.

5 — A documented statement that customer texts are not used to train models, retention or deletion of translated texts stated, the third-party engines or LLM providers named, encryption in transit and at rest, single sign-on on a business tier, and a data processing agreement offered.

8 — Texts deleted immediately after translation or after a retention period the customer sets, third-party AI processing switchable per project or account, zero-retention terms with the named LLM providers, audit logs, granular roles, ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification stated with its scope, and a private or dedicated deployment option.

10 — Confidentiality that can be verified: an on-premise or customer-controlled deployment, customer-managed encryption keys, every subprocessor that sees content listed with its role, independent audit reports available, and every data flow of a translation request documented end to end.

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The Localization Manager

For Pro, texts are stored only as technically needed and deleted after the service, never used to train their models — with a 72-hour debugging exception and deletion of customer-requested storage 90 days after the agreement ends — plus bring-your-own-key encryption, audit logs, role-based permissions, SSO over SAML and OpenID Connect, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II with its scope stated, and a data processing agreement forming part of the terms. The free tiers read differently: free-service texts feed model training and the free API reserves perpetual storage of content, so the paid plans are where these guarantees live. We found no public information on a private or dedicated deployment option. 1 4 7 9 10 17

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Data export, portability & self-hosting

How this is scored

Whether translation assets stay the customer's and can leave with them: export of translation memory and termbase in open formats (TMX, TBX, XLIFF, CSV), export of all projects and files, import from another TMS, an API that can read every asset, the return or deletion of data on termination, open-source code and a self-hosted or on-premise edition.

0 — Translations cannot be exported; they exist only in the vendor's interface or engine.

3 — Translated files can be downloaded; export of translation memory and glossary, import and termination terms are basic or not described.

5 — Translation memory exportable as TMX and glossary as TBX or CSV, all project files downloadable, import of translation memory and glossaries from another tool, and an API that reads translations and keys.

8 — Complete export of every asset (memory, termbase, files, comments, history) in open formats, a documented migration path from named competitors, the data returned or deleted on termination under stated terms, and a self-hosted or on-premise edition with its own documentation.

10 — The customer owns the assets end to end: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, a complete export another tool can import without loss, and the deletion of every copy on termination documented.

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The Localization Manager

Translation memories export as TMX through a documented background-job API and import the same way — TMX is stated as the only supported format in either direction — and account deletion is self-service, with customer-requested stored content deleted 90 days after the agreement ends. We found no public information on glossary export in TBX or CSV, a bulk export of all projects and files, or any self-hosted or on-premise edition, so the exit path today runs through the translation memory alone. 9 10 19 20

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where texts are translated, stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, machine translation engines, LLM providers, CDN for over-the-air delivery, support and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; translated texts often hold personal data and trade secrets, so the whole chain counts, including the engines a TMS calls. A self-hosted edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.

0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.

3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.

5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (machine translation or LLM providers, CDN, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.

8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations including the engines and LLM providers, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every text on the customer's own servers.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting, engine and every subprocessor, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.

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The Localization Manager

DeepL SE is registered in Cologne (Amtsgericht Köln, HRB 104617), carries ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II and BSI C5 Type 2 certifications, publishes a data processing agreement as part of its terms, and names subprocessors with addresses: Stripe in Dublin, Payrails in Berlin, Usercentrics in Munich, Cloudflare in San Francisco, Apryse for the in-house PDF translation SDK and ElevenLabs for backup voices. The captured pages give differing indications on where content runs — the privacy policy states document translation is processed exclusively on DeepL's infrastructure in the EEA, while the terms reserve processing on third-party cloud infrastructure with DeepL determining the location. With a US CDN and PDF SDK in the chain and no location given for two subprocessors, this is a strong European seat that stops short of a fully evidenced end-to-end chain. 8 9 10 11 17

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per tier by characters, words, keys, hosted words or seats, what happens when the volume exceeds the tier, the number of users, projects and languages included, which features (machine translation volume, AI credits, SSO, integrations, API access) cost extra, the free tier and its limits, the self-hosted edition and its support, minimum term and setup.

0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.

3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with volume, seats or features is unclear.

5 — Tiers are public with their price per volume band and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (overage, extra seats, machine translation or AI volume, SSO, connectors) is unpriced or "on request".

8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (characters, words, keys, seats), overage handling stated, add-ons and AI credits priced, the self-hosted edition's cost or licence stated, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.

10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given volume, seat count and feature set, with every add-on, setup, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.

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The Localization Manager

Seat prices are public per tier — Individual €7.49, Team €24.99, Business €49.99 per user/month billed annually — with included characters, file translations and glossary counts listed, and the API side is unit-priced: €23.80 per month billed annually plus €22.00 per 1,000,000 extra characters, €1.96 per extra speech-to-text hour and €3.93 per extra speech-to-speech hour, with 20 % annual discount and VAT stated as included. Enterprise is custom pricing only and the fair usage policy behind "unlimited characters" is not quantified, and the captured pages give different indications on SSO — plan pages list it for teams of 50+ users while the SSO page says contact sales — so the complete annual cost for a large organisation still needs a sales call. 1 10 16 18

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European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 6 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Hosting location Not determined — uncited Report an error
Hosting options Not determined — uncited Report an error
Open source Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data processing agreement Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Transfer impact assessment Not determined — uncited Report an error

Questions about DeepL Pro & API

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), LILT (3.5/5) and Phrase Localization Platform (3.5/5) 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 (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: DeepL Pro & API alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

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Sources (20)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage (with pricing) www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Features page www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Features page (document translation) www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Features page (glossary) www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  5. 5 Integrations page www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  6. 6 API documentation developers.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Security / trust page (data security) www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Legal notice www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Privacy policy www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  10. 10 Terms of service (with data processing terms) www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap developers.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  13. 13 Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  14. 14 Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  15. 15 Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  16. 16 Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  17. 17 Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  18. 18 Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap www.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  19. 19 Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap developers.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  20. 20 Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap developers.deepl.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →