How NatChatt pricing works: a free app, credits when you want translation

The NatChatt app is free to download and free to keep. There is no subscription. There is no monthly fee. You only pay when you use translation, and only by topping up credits in a pack of a size you choose. This post is the longer version of that, with the reasoning and the parts of the model that need a sentence more than the headline.

How the credits work

Each translated message, voice note transcript, and call caption deducts credits from your balance. The app shows your remaining balance on the chat screen and lets you top up in one tap when you’re running low. The packs available, and the credits each pack contains, live on the pricing page so we can keep them up to date in one place.

The cost of a credit covers two things. The first is Google’s charge for running the translation through the Gemini API. The second is a small platform fee that funds payment processing, infrastructure, and the part-time people who keep the service running. That’s the whole price. There is no markup on top of Google’s rate, and there is no separate subscription waiting in the background.

Why we don’t do subscriptions

The standard play, in this part of the industry, is to charge a flat monthly fee that includes “unlimited” translation. There are two problems with that. First, unlimited isn’t unlimited; the company has to estimate how much an average user costs, charge above that, and quietly tax light users to subsidise heavy ones. Second, when the underlying API price changes, the company eats it for a while and then quietly raises the subscription. Neither is dishonest. Neither is transparent either.

Charging for credits means: if you barely use translation in a given month, you pay nothing. If you use a lot, you can see exactly what each translation cost. If Google’s rate goes up, your remaining credits aren’t suddenly worth less — they still buy what you paid for. If the rate goes down, the cost per translation goes down too, and your next top-up stretches further.

What this might cost you, in real numbers

It depends on how much you translate and what languages are involved. A few rough sketches from our own use:

A weekly half-hour video call with a parent, plus daily text messages, runs through roughly a small pack a month. A couple in two time zones with daily voice notes and a few video calls lands somewhere between a small and medium pack. A four-person team using translation throughout the working week tends to top up a medium or large pack each month, per person.

These are approximate. The app itemises every translation under usage history, so you can see exactly where credits go and adjust how often you top up.

Credits don’t expire

Top up once, use them whenever — a week from now, a year from now. Credits sit in your account until you spend them. There is no auto-renewal because there is no subscription, so you never wake up to a charge you forgot was coming.

Refunds

You can return any pack you haven’t used within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked. Once you’ve used credits from a pack, that pack is non-refundable, but any other unspent pack you hold still is. If you close your account, any unspent unused packs are refunded to the original payment method.

What changes when Google’s prices change

If Google changes their Gemini API rate, we update the pricing page on the same day, with the date of the change visible. Your existing credits keep their face value — you bought them at the rate that was current that day. The next pack you buy reflects the new cost-per-translation, up or down.

We tell people once, in plain language, the first time it happens after they sign up. We’d rather over-communicate than spring a number on someone.

A short list

• The app is free. No subscription, ever.
• Credits cover Google’s cost plus a small platform fee. No markup.
• Free starter credits on signup, no card needed.
• Top up in whatever pack size suits you, whenever you want.
• Credits don’t expire.
• 14-day refunds on any unused pack.

That’s the whole model. The pricing page has the current packs and rate. If you have questions we haven’t answered, the FAQ probably has them, and if not, the contact form reaches us.