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Translation · head to head

Amazon Translate vs Localazy

Amazon Translate logo

Amazon Translate

Translation

AWS machine translation API priced at $15 per million characters, with a 2 million character monthly free tier for the first 12 months

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Localazy logo

Localazy

Translation

Localisation platform priced per source string, where adding target languages costs nothing extra

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Translate the generous 2 million character monthly free tier applies only for a customer’s first 12 months on AWS, so translation costs step up materially in year two with no change in usage.; Localazy the price ladder is stepped rather than continuous, so a project that grows from 2,500 to 2,600 source keys jumps a whole bracket rather than paying slightly more.
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Translate covers Text translation API, Localazy covers Per source key pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Translate and Localazy actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Translate and Localazy differ
AttributeAmazon TranslateLocalazy
Pricing modelPer million charactersPer month by source key count
PlatformsWebWeb, API, Linux, macOS, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Translation).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon Translate

  • Text translation API
  • Document translation
  • Active Custom Translation
  • Real-time document translation
  • Formality control
  • AWS-native integration

Only in Localazy

  • Per source key pricing
  • Shared translation memory
  • Framework SDKs
  • Figma plugin
  • CLI and GitHub Actions
  • Language CDN

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon Translate

  • An AWS-native development team wanting translation billed through the same console as the rest of their infrastructurenot Localazy
  • A new AWS customer running a translation-heavy pilot project inside the generous first-year 2 million character monthly free tiernot Localazy
  • A team building a translation pipeline directly integrated with S3 and Lambda for document processingnot Localazy
  • A business wanting formality-adjusted output for specific language pairs in customer-facing contentnot Localazy

Localazy

  • A mobile or web application that ships in twenty or more locales, where per-word pricing would multiply the bill by every added marketnot Amazon Translate
  • An indie developer or small studio that needs a genuinely free tier rather than a fourteen day trialnot Amazon Translate
  • Teams that want strings pulled from Figma so copy is localised before the interface is built rather than afternot Amazon Translate
  • Continuous localisation in a build pipeline through the CLI and GitHub Actions, with runtime delivery through the CDNnot Amazon Translate

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon Translate

  • The generous 2 million character monthly free tier applies only for a customer’s first 12 months on AWS, so translation costs step up materially in year two with no change in usage.
  • There is no consumer-facing app or website, so it is unusable for casual personal translation the way Google Translate or Microsoft Translator are.
  • Document translation of Office files costs double the standard per-character rate, which is easy to underestimate when budgeting a document-heavy project.
  • Active Custom Translation, the tool for improving output with domain-specific data, costs four times the standard rate at $60 per million characters.
  • As with all major MT APIs, output for low-resource languages and specialised terminology often still needs human review, so it does not substitute for a human translation service on customer-facing or legally sensitive content.

Localazy

  • The price ladder is stepped rather than continuous, so a project that grows from 2,500 to 2,600 source keys jumps a whole bracket rather than paying slightly more.
  • Single sign-on, audit logs, an SLA, priority support and audit trails are all Enterprise-only, and Enterprise is the one tier with no published price, so the moment a security review lands you leave the transparent pricing behind.
  • Counting by source key penalises content models where every paragraph is a separate key, so a documentation site or a marketing site can consume brackets far faster than an application with the same amount of text.
  • Human translation is sold in the platform but its rates only become visible after you have signed up, and whether Localazy takes a margin on that work is not disclosed anywhere public.
  • It is a company of roughly twenty people with no disclosed investors and no published legal entity details, which is a real continuity question for anyone putting a multi-year product localisation pipeline through it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Translate

Free
  • Standard text translation$15/month
    • $15 per million characters
    • 2 million characters per month free for the first 12 months on AWS
  • Document translation (Office files)$30/month
    • $30 per million characters, double the standard rate
  • Real-time document translation$15/month
    • Text and HTML documents, no free tier
  • Active Custom Translation$60/month
    • $60 per million characters
    • 500,000 characters per month free for the first 2 months

Localazy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 200 source keys
    • Unlimited seats and languages
    • All essential localisation features
  • Professional$34/month
    • 1,000 source keys
    • 408 USD per year billed annually, 41 USD if billed monthly
    • Scales to 1,500 keys at 43 USD and 2,500 keys at 61 USD
  • Autopilot$78/month
    • 3,500 source keys
    • 936 USD per year billed annually, 94 USD if billed monthly
    • Scales to 5,000 keys at 104 USD and 7,500 keys at 139 USD
  • Business$175/month
    • 10,000 source keys
    • 2,100 USD per year billed annually, 210 USD if billed monthly
    • Scales to 25,000 keys at 263 USD, 50,000 at 350 USD and 100,000 at 438 USD

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Translate if

  • You need text translation api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want document translation.
Amazon Translate review

Choose Localazy if

  • You need per source key pricing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API, Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want shared translation memory.
Localazy review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Translate or Localazy better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Translate starts at Free and Localazy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Translate or Localazy?
Amazon Translate starts at Free and Localazy at Free.
Does Amazon Translate or Localazy run on more platforms?
Amazon Translate runs on Web. Localazy runs on Web, API, Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Amazon Translate for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amazon Translate best used for?
Amazon Translate is most often used for an aws-native development team wanting translation billed through the same console as the rest of their infrastructure, a new aws customer running a translation-heavy pilot project inside the generous first-year 2 million character monthly free tier, a team building a translation pipeline directly integrated with s3 and lambda for document processing, a business wanting formality-adjusted output for specific language pairs in customer-facing content. Of those, an aws-native development team wanting translation billed through the same console as the rest of their infrastructure and a new aws customer running a translation-heavy pilot project inside the generous first-year 2 million character monthly free tier are not what Localazy is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Translate do that Localazy cannot?
Amazon Translate covers Text translation API, Document translation, Active Custom Translation, Real-time document translation. Localazy covers Per source key pricing, Shared translation memory, Framework SDKs, Figma plugin.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Translate: How generous is the free tier really?

2 million characters per month, the largest of the three major cloud APIs, but only for the first 12 months after which standard per-character pricing applies to everything.

Localazy: What exactly is a source key?

One segment of text in your source language, such as a button label or a short paragraph. The same key translated into ten languages still counts as one key, and languages are unlimited on every plan.

Amazon Translate: Is there a consumer app like Google Translate?

No, Amazon Translate is a developer API only, accessed through the AWS console and SDKs, with no separate public-facing app.

Localazy: Is the free plan a trial?

No, the 200 key free plan is permanent and includes unlimited seats and languages. Separately, new signups get a fourteen day trial of the Business plan.

Amazon Translate: How much does document translation cost compared to text?

Double the standard rate, at $30 per million characters for Office file formats.

Localazy: How does it compare with per-word pricing?

It stops scaling with locale count. If you ship in three languages the difference is small; if you ship in thirty, per-key pricing is structurally cheaper rather than marginally so.

Localazy: Can I get single sign-on?

Only on Enterprise, which is quoted rather than published. There is no mid-tier SSO option.

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