# Amazon Translate vs TranslatePlus

> Amazon Translate scores 75 (BB) to TranslatePlus's 39.7 (E) for translation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-translateplus
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-translateplus.md (~4,950 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Amazon Translate scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against TranslatePlus's 39.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do translation.

- Amazon Translate: grade BB, 75/100, rank #75 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-translate.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-translate.json
- TranslatePlus: grade E, 39.7/100, rank #1316 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/translateplus.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/translateplus.json
- Best machine translation APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/translation/index.md
- All 105 translation comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/translation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Amazon Translate (BB)

Good for: Operators already on AWS who want translation inside IAM and CloudTrail, with S3 batch jobs and terminology files.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 45
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 52
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 61
- Security & auth, 78 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 65 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 72 against 52

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where TranslatePlus loses 3 points for them

Watch for: AWS may store and use text to improve Amazon AI services unless the organisation sets an opt-out policy

### TranslatePlus (E)

Good for: Low-cost per-request translation of short strings, HTML, emails, subtitles and i18n files for small projects.

Watch for: llms.txt claims a 99.9% uptime SLA and SOC 2 Type II, while the terms disclaim any uptime guarantee and no audit is named


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: Amazon Translate +55

- Amazon Translate (65): Read as a closed service from its own service model, as this run reads every AWS listing. The translate model in aws/api-models-aws changed on 8 October 2026 (commit 11f19c6), adding Smithy RPC v2 CBOR as a second protocol beside AWS JSON 1.1, 24 days before 1 November (30). In the 90 days from 3 August that is one model change. `@aws-sdk/client-translate` shipped 60 versions in the same window, to 3.1161.0 on 30 October, and every one but 3.1148.0 (8 October, the same CBOR change) is a version bump that doesn't change the service, so they count at half, as amazon-sns's client versions were read (10 of 20). The document history's newest entry is still brevity on 2023-10-31. AWS re:Post and paid support plans exist, SDK issue trackers not checked (5 of 15). Official SDKs current, `@aws-sdk/client-translate` 3.1161.0 and boto3 (15). SDKs regenerate from the model on AWS's release train, CI not checked (5 of 10). 30 + 10 + 5 + 15 + 5 = 65.
- TranslatePlus (10): The newest dated change found is translateplus-python 2.0.7 and translateplus-js 2.0.1 on 11 January 2026, about ten months before this check, and the API changelog stops at 9 December 2024 (0). No release or dated change in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and a support portal; the status page hasn't updated since January (3). SDKs exist for four languages but haven't changed since January (5). Weekly downloads of 4 (PyPI) and 6 (npm) (2). 0+0+3+5+2 = 10.

### Reliability: Amazon Translate +45

- Amazon Translate (90): AWS Health Dashboard with a per-service, per-region RSS feed (20). The Translate feeds for us-east-1, us-west-2 and eu-west-1 held no events on 1 November 2026 (built 07:32 PST), and Translate has no feed for the Middle East (UAE) or (Bahrain) Regions, whose open multi-service events this run counts on other AWS listings. The public dashboard lists only broad events and account-level ones go to the personal health dashboard, so a clean feed says less than a small vendor's detailed page (30). Quotas, re-read on 1 November, published with numbers for batch, terminology and parallel data calls (5 or 10 a second) and for request sizes (10,000 bytes for `TranslateText`, 100,000 bytes for a real-time document), but no rate for `TranslateText` itself, where the guide says the service scales and to contact support (10 of 15). Throttling comes back as `TooManyRequestsException` and `StartTextTranslationJob` takes a `ClientToken` for idempotency, but the Translate guide gives no backoff advice and leaves retries to the SDK defaults (10 of 15). Named in the Amazon Machine Learning Language SLA, re-read on 1 November (10). GA (10).
- TranslatePlus (45): Hosted lines. status.translateplus.io is the vendor's own page; on 6 November 2026 it showed 'All systems unknown' and a last update of 22 January 2026, with data loading by script (5). No incident history to read (5). The rate-limits guide gives 100,000 requests a minute and 100,000,000 an hour per key, while llms.txt gives 50 requests a second on the Free plan, so limits are published but inconsistent (10). 429 returns a JSON detail message, responses carry X-RateLimit-Limit, -Remaining and -Reset, and the guide shows waiting for the reset with capped retries (15). No SLA. The terms say TranslatePlus strives for 99.9% uptime 'but do not guarantee uninterrupted service' (0). API v2 is the current, non-beta version (10). 5+5+10+15+0+10 = 45.

### Security & auth: Amazon Translate +43

- Amazon Translate (78): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. SigV4 with IAM users, roles and temporary credentials, scoped per action and resource, and a `TranslateReadOnly` managed policy (30). Section 50.3 of the AWS Service Terms (last updated 30 October 2026, re-read on 1 November) still names Amazon Translate among the services whose content AWS may store and use to improve the service and other Amazon AI technologies by default. Any customer can opt out with an AI services opt-out policy in `AWS Organizations` (10 of 20). The FAQ, re-read on 1 November, says content is stored at rest in the region in use and that some may be stored in another region for service improvement. No zero-retention mode without the opt-out (5 of 15). CloudTrail logs API calls per caller (15). Vulnerability reporting policy at vdp.aws.security, SOC and ISO reports in AWS Artifact and public security bulletins, none of the 39 in the feed on 1 November naming Translate. The security.txt on aws.amazon.com, expired from 24 September 2026, was renewed and, re-read on 1 November, expires on 16 October 2027. We found no paid public bug bounty, so 2 points stay held back, as on the Polly, Transcribe, S3 and Secrets Manager listings (18 of 20). 30 + 10 + 5 + 15 + 18 = 78.
- TranslatePlus (35): One API key per account in the X-API-KEY header, which the docs say 'carries full access to your account's resources', and can be revoked in the dashboard (15). No scopes or read-only keys (5). Translations return the caller's own text, so little untrusted content (10). llms.txt claims request logging and an analytics dashboard, which we couldn't see without an account (5). translateplus.io/.well-known/security.txt returns 404 and no disclosure policy was found; llms.txt says 'SOC 2 compliant' and 'SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure' with no report or auditor named (0). 15+5+10+5+0 = 35.

### Schema & documentation: Amazon Translate +38

- Amazon Translate (90): The service model (API version 2017-07-01) is public in every AWS SDK and in the aws/api-models-aws repository, a machine-readable contract in the role OpenAPI plays. Since 8 October 2026 it declares Smithy RPC v2 CBOR beside AWS JSON 1.1 (25). llms.txt for the developer guide (139 lines on 1 November), a Markdown contents page with a link to the whole guide as one Markdown file (10). The guide separates real-time text, real-time documents and S3 batch jobs and says when each fits (15). Inputs typed with enums for formality, profanity and brevity, byte limits and required fields marked (15). Each action lists its errors with HTTP codes, but the API reference has syntax templates and no worked examples (10 of 15). Versioned API and a dated document history (15).
- TranslatePlus (52): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract found in the docs or either llms.txt (0). llms.txt on the site and on docs.translateplus.io (10). Endpoint pages say what each call does, with little on when to choose HTML, email or i18n jobs over plain text (10). Required fields and per-plan character limits per request are documented, without enums for language codes beyond a supported-languages call (10). Code examples in several languages and an error-handling guide with status codes (12). Versioned /v1 and /v2 paths and a changelog, whose newest entry is 2.0.0 on 9 December 2024 (10). 0+10+10+10+12+10 = 52.

### Transparency & trust: Amazon Translate +20

- Amazon Translate (72): Closed service under the AWS Service Terms (15). The FAQ, service terms and opt-out guide agree that AWS may use content by default and that an organisation policy stops it, and a DPA and sub-processor list exist. The same FAQ, re-read on 1 November, says AWS will only use content with your consent, which sits awkwardly beside a default you have to switch off (20 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated deprecation notices found for Translate (0). Sub-processors listed and the region chosen per request, but the FAQ allows some content to be stored in another region (15 of 20).
- TranslatePlus (52): Editorial half only. Closed service under terms last updated 18 December 2024 that name PetaBytes, Inc. as a US corporation but give no address, governing law or courts (10). The terms say translation requests aren't permanently stored 'unless required by law', the privacy policy says 'unless required for caching or service improvement purposes', and the terms allow using anonymised usage data to improve the service (8). API v1 is kept as legacy, with no dated deprecation notice (5). No subprocessor list or data location found (0). 10+8+5+0 = 23.

### Agent ergonomics: Amazon Translate +19

- Amazon Translate (80): API reading of the checklist. Responses carry the translation plus `AppliedSettings` and `AppliedTerminologies` and nothing else, and brevity can shorten output, but there's no field selection (20 of 25). List calls page with `NextToken` and `MaxResults`, and request limits are published, but `TranslateText` takes one string, so batching small strings means S3 jobs or many calls (15 of 20). Typed errors an agent can act on, such as `UnsupportedLanguagePairException`, `DetectedLanguageLowConfidenceException` and `TextSizeLimitExceededException` (20). `TranslateText` is stateless and batch jobs take a `ClientToken`. No read-only hints apply to a plain API (15 of 20). Three required fields, `auto` for detection, but SigV4 signing is hard without an SDK. SDKs in every major language (10 of 15).
- TranslatePlus (61): API reading. Batch translation of up to 100 texts a call and separate HTML, email, subtitle and i18n job endpoints (16). Few output controls or filters (10). Errors are a `detail` string with HTTP status codes (12). No idempotency key for i18n jobs, though text translation is stateless (8). Official SDKs listed for Python, JavaScript and TypeScript, Java and PHP, with few required fields (15). 16+10+12+8+15 = 61.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Amazon Translate | TranslatePlus | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 45 | Amazon Translate +45 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 52 | Amazon Translate +38 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 61 | Amazon Translate +19 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 78 | 35 | Amazon Translate +43 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 30 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 10 | Amazon Translate +55 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 52 | Amazon Translate +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| **Total** | | **75 · BB** | **39.7 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Amazon Translate | TranslatePlus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Amazon Web Services | PetaBytes, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://translate.us-east-1.amazonaws.com` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for translation | $15 per 1M characters | not published |
| x402 | no | no |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-01-11 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2024-12-18 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-18 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 601k npm/wk | 6 npm/wk, 4 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Amazon Translate

- +5.4 on 1 November 2026 (B to BB): security, product, correction
- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist
- -0.3 on 8 October 2026: checklist

### TranslatePlus

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Amazon Translate.** IAM policies scope access per action and resource, with a `TranslateReadOnly` managed policy, and CloudTrail logs each call. AWS may store and use text to improve Amazon AI services unless the organisation sets an opt-out policy, and the document history has no new capability since October 2023.

**TranslatePlus.** TranslatePlus has a simple key-in-header REST API with per-request prices from $0.0001, a 5,000-request free plan, batch, HTML, subtitle and i18n endpoints and documented 429 handling. Its changelog and SDKs haven't changed since January 2026 or earlier, the status page is stale, and llms.txt promises an SLA the terms disclaim.

## Before you call either

### Amazon Translate

1. Chunk real-time text under 10,000 bytes, not characters, so multibyte scripts fit less per call
2. Pass `SourceLanguageCode` auto to detect the source language, and handle `DetectedLanguageLowConfidenceException`
3. Read `AppliedSettings` in the response, since unsupported formality or profanity settings are dropped without an error
4. Retry `TooManyRequestsException` with backoff, which the AWS SDKs do by default
5. Set the AI services opt-out policy before sending private text

### TranslatePlus

1. Send the key as X-API-KEY; there is no read-only or scoped key
2. Use /v2/translate/batch for up to 100 texts instead of looping single calls
3. Keep each text under the plan's per-request character limit (500 on Free, up to 2,000 on Mega)
4. On 429 wait until X-RateLimit-Reset, then retry a few times at most
5. Don't rely on an SLA; the terms don't guarantee uptime

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Amazon Translate or TranslatePlus?

Amazon Translate scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against TranslatePlus's 39.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Amazon Translate and TranslatePlus need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Amazon Translate and TranslatePlus without installing anything?

Amazon Translate has a hosted endpoint at https://translate.us-east-1.amazonaws.com. No hosted endpoint is listed for TranslatePlus.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-translateplus.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-translateplus.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "amazon-translate", "b": "translateplus"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare amazon-translate translateplus`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-translate.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/translateplus.json

## Other comparisons with Amazon Translate or TranslatePlus

- [Amazon Translate vs Azure Translator](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-azure-translator.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Crowdin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-crowdin.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs DeepL API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-deepl-api.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Google Cloud Translation](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-google-cloud-translation.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Lara Translate API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-lara-translate.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Lingo.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-lingo-dev.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Lingvanex Translation API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-lingvanex.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-localazy.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Lokalise](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-lokalise.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Phrase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-phrase.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Smartcat](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-smartcat.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs SYSTRAN Translate API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-systran.md)
- [Azure Translator vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-translator-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Crowdin vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crowdin-vs-translateplus.md)
- [DeepL API vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepl-api-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Google Cloud Translation vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-translation-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Lara Translate API vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lara-translate-vs-translateplus.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Lingo.dev vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lingo-dev-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Lingvanex Translation API vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lingvanex-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Localazy vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Lokalise vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lokalise-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Phrase vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/phrase-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Smartcat vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smartcat-vs-translateplus.md)
- [SYSTRAN Translate API vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/systran-vs-translateplus.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp