specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Tolgee
providerId: tolgee
created: '2026-06-21'
modified: '2026-06-21'
reconciled: true
tags:
- Localization
- i18n
- Translation
- Open Source
- Developer Tools
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Tolgee spend. Tolgee can be run two ways with very different
  cost profiles. Self-hosted open source carries no Tolgee license fee for up to
  10 seats with unlimited keys - cost is the operator's own infrastructure
  (compute, database, storage) plus any external machine-translation provider
  charges. Tolgee Cloud is a subscription billed by tier (Free, Team, Business,
  Advanced, Enterprise) with metered overages on translation keys, seats, and
  machine-translation (MT) credits. Optimizing Tolgee spend means right-sizing
  the plan to key/seat counts and managing MT/AI credit burn.
notes: >-
  Self-hosted open source has no Tolgee subscription cost up to 10 seats; cloud
  costs are driven by plan tier plus key, seat, and MT-credit overages. Verify
  current rates at tolgee.io/pricing.
sources:
- https://tolgee.io/pricing
- https://tolgee.io/pricing/self-hosted
- https://docs.tolgee.io/platform/self_hosting/licensing
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Tolgee
serviceCategory: Developer Tools and Localization
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription and Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly or Annual
  billingCurrency: EUR
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Tolgee Cloud
  ServiceCategory: Developer Tools and Localization
  ProviderName: Tolgee
  PublisherName: Tolgee
  InvoiceIssuerName: Tolgee
  BillingCurrency: EUR
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Subscription and Usage-Based
meters:
- name: subscription_tier
  description: Recurring Cloud subscription fee for the selected plan (Team, Business, Advanced).
  unit: months
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
- name: translation_keys
  description: Translation keys against the plan allowance; overage billed per key. A key counts once across all languages.
  unit: keys
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
  - project
- name: seats
  description: Team member seats against the plan allowance; overage billed per seat.
  unit: seats
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
- name: mt_credits
  description: Machine-translation credits consumed (~1 per character for MT providers; LLM-token-based for AI Translator/Playground).
  unit: credits
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - project
  - provider
- name: self_hosted_infrastructure
  description: Operator-borne compute, database, and storage cost for a self-hosted open-source deployment (no Tolgee license fee up to 10 seats).
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - environment
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track key counts, seat counts, and MT-credit burn per project; for self-hosted, attribute infrastructure cost to the Tolgee deployment.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map projects and seats to teams/cost centers; tag MT-credit usage by provider and project.
- name: Optimization
  description: Right-size the Cloud plan to actual key/seat usage; archive unused keys; prefer self-hosting up to 10 seats when infra cost is lower than subscription; limit AI/MT credit spend by reserving auto-translation for high-value locales.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign owners per project; review subscription tier, overages, and MT-credit consumption monthly against budget.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com