Get granular API usage reporting with DeepL’s show billed characters parameter

Key Takeaways

• DeepL API users can report on the number of characters billed for each successful API request.
• The show_billed_characters parameter gives users immediate access to API usage data directly in the API response.
• That per-request usage data can be used in custom reporting and cost-tracking workflows directly from the API.
• This is especially useful for structured content like HTML or XML, where translatable characters can be harder to identify.
• The feature expands DeepL API reporting beyond the /usage endpoint and helps you monitor translation activity with greater precision.
• The new show_billed_characters parameter is already available to all DeepL API customers with no additional setup.

The DeepL API has always placed reporting and analysis as a priority for developers and businesses like yours. This applies whether that’s through the /usage endpoint directly in the API itself or through the reporting functionality for multiple API keys.

Our team released this convenient addition to our growing list of reporting tools: show_billed_characters is now available to all API customers.

This adds to the DeepL API’s growing reporting functionality. It now enables a granular view of how many characters are billed in the response data for each API request.

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What is the show_billed_characters parameter?

Formerly, API users wanting to get accurate usage data directly from the DeepL API had a single option for calling the /usage endpoint. This is a powerful way of retrieving the most up-to-date character usage for the current billing period. However, it doesn’t give an accurate breakdown of the characters being translated in each request.

An optional parameter solves this problem by returning the number of characters translated and billed with the response of each successful API request.

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How does the show_billed_characters parameter work?

API customers making requests directly to the API, such as via a cURL command, can add the new show_billed_characters parameter to their requests. This returns the number of billed characters as part of the response data. 

API responses with a character cost involved will then return a new integer value in the format “billed_characters:50” with every response.

You can track this value on the API consumer’s end for use in reporting workflows and to track the cost of each individual API request.

This is especially important for requests containing structured content like HTML or XML, where it may be difficult to identify the translatable characters.

In the future, the DeepL team intends to include billed_characters in the API response by default. At that point, it will be necessary to set show_billed_characters to “false” to not include “billed_characters” in the API response.

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What the API response looks like with show_billed_characters

Currently, you get a response similar to this when sending a request to the API:

Your response will look like this if you send a request using the new show_billed_characters parameter:

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Why DeepL added per-request billed character reporting

A number of customers have requested this tool. It lets you report character billing in a granular way and integrate that data directly into your own reporting tools with each successful API translation request.

The show_billed_characters parameter is fully operational within the API for DeepL users—no additional setup required. 

Additionally, we’ve updated our API documentation to reflect this change, making it easy for developers like you to integrate this into your workflows and to start benefiting from greater translation accuracy.

For more information, read Request Body Descriptions and Release Notes.

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Build smarter reporting with DeepL API

DeepL API gives you a flexible way to embed high-quality translation directly into your own tools. With features like show_billed_characters, you can pair that translation power with more precise usage reporting and cost visibility. 

It's part of the same Language AI suite that powers Translator, Write, and Voice—so as your translation needs grow, the underlying infrastructure scales with you. 

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