Estimate credits for bulk translation
Bulk translation is the operation most capable of consuming a large balance quickly, because each element is its own charge. This page is about knowing the number before you commit to it.
The cost model
One charge per element. An element is one post, page, product, taxonomy term or navigation menu. Translating 400 posts is 400 charges.
Plus the terms attached to posts. Translating a post also translates its categories, tags and other terms when those have no translation yet — each as its own request and charge.
Times the languages. Each language pair is a separate run. Three target languages means three times the work and three times the cost.
That third point is the one that turns a manageable number into a large one. A 300-post site into three languages is at least 900 charges before terms.
Getting the estimate
On Languages → AI translate:
- Choose the language pair.
- Select Analyze elements — free, as often as you like.
- Tick your selection.
- Use the button that calculates credits before confirming.
POM AI prices the whole selection and shows a confirmation with the total. An elapsed-seconds counter runs while it calculates; on a large selection this takes a moment.
Cancelling costs nothing.
Why the charge can exceed the estimate
The estimate covers the elements you ticked. It does not cover the taxonomy terms that will be created as a side effect of translating those posts.
On a site with many untranslated terms, that gap is significant. The way to close it is to translate the terms first, as their own batch: then the estimate for them is explicit, and the later post run reuses existing translations instead of creating new ones.
Sizing a run before you start
Rather than selecting everything and reading a large number, work it out:
- Analyze and count what is actually untranslated per post type.
- Translate one representative item of each type, and note its cost from the usage log.
- Multiply by the counts.
- Multiply by the number of target languages.
- Compare with your balance, and with what the content is worth.
Step 2 is worth the small spend. A product with a long description and a post with three paragraphs cost very differently, and an average taken across the whole site tells you nothing useful.
Controlling the cost
Translate what earns its keep. Old posts nobody reads, archived products and internal pages do not need translating because they exist.
Do the pilot. Ten items, reviewed properly, before the other 990. If the terminology is wrong, you learn it after ten charges instead of a thousand.
One language at a time. Complete and review one target language before starting the next. If the process needs adjusting, you have not spent it three times.
Terms first, then posts. As above.
Batch by post type. Easier to review, easier to attribute failures, easier to stop.
Avoid select-all. It is the single most expensive control on the screen.
Watching the balance during a run
The run processes elements one at a time and can take a long time on a large selection. The balance is drawn down as it goes.
If the account runs out partway, remaining elements fail. Elements already translated stay translated and stay charged. Check the summary list to see where it stopped, then top up and select only the remainder — already-translated items no longer offer a checkbox, so the selection is naturally the leftovers.
See Resolve an insufficient-credit error.
After the run
Compare the balance movement with the estimate, and read the usage log. A bulk translation appears as a burst of entries — one per element — which makes it easy to confirm the count and to spot the extra term translations.
See Review your credit history.
Budgeting for an ongoing site
Translation is not a one-off. Every new post is a new charge in every language.
Two practical habits:
- translate as you publish, rather than accumulating a backlog that becomes a large batch;
- decide which post types are worth translating and which are not, and write that decision down so it is not re-litigated each time.
On a shared subscription, set a per-domain spending limit before a bulk run so a mistake cannot drain the pool for other sites. See Plans, credits and domain capacity.
Selection limits
Estimate at most 500 selected items in one request. Each selected element must be available to your account. For larger jobs, work in separate selections so you can review the price and results for each group.