In LingoHub, hosted characters represent the total amount of text content, including both source texts and translated target texts, that you store and manage in our database across all your projects.
Unlike linguistic credits (which are calculated based on AI/machine translation processing using source text, context, and engine multipliers), hosted characters refer solely to the total volume of text content hosted in LingoHub.
LingoHub subscription plans include a limit on the number of hosted characters. This article explains how hosted characters work and how you can track or upgrade your allowance.
How hosted characters are calculated
Your hosted character limit reflects the total character count across your source texts and all target language translations stored in LingoHub.
Example calculation
Suppose you have a project with a source text containing 1,000 characters in English, and you translate it into 3 target languages (with each translation averaging around 1,000 characters):
Source language (English): 1,000 characters
Target languages (3 x ~1,000 characters): 3,000 characters
Total hosted characters: 1,000 + 3,000 = 4,000 hosted characters
Hosted characters vs. Linguistic credits characters
To help manage your account usage, keep the following distinction in mind:
Hosted characters: The total volume of text (source content + target translations) stored in LingoHub's database.
Linguistic credits: Used when generating translations, rephrasing, or processing text with AI or machine translation. Linguistic credits are calculated based on the source text, context, and the engine multiplier used.
For a complete overview of how AI engine multipliers and context affect consumption, see our detailed article on How AI translation is priced in LingoHub (linguistic credits).
Tracking and managing your character usage
You can monitor your active character consumption at any time:
Navigate to Subscription & Billing in your workspace settings.
Under the Subscriptions section, view your Hosted characters card (below your plan overview and specifications).
The progress bar displays:
Plan incl. used: Characters currently used within your base plan.
Plan incl. left: Remaining hosted character quota in your plan.
Extra used / Extra left: Additional character packs active on your account.
Overusage: Any usage exceeding your current plan limit.
💬 Please note: Hosted character usage is recalculated on schedule. It can take up to an hour for newly added content or translations to reflect in your usage counter.
Buying additional hosted characters
If you need to store more content or add additional target languages to your projects, you can purchase extra hosted characters directly from your account:
Go to Subscriptions & Billing to add extra hosted characters.
Add-ons: You can purchase additional hosted characters in packages of 1 Mio. characters, billed monthly or annually based on your current billing cycle.
To view plan limits and top-up options, visit our pricing page.
Need more help?
Couldn't find what you were looking for? We are here to help! Reach out to our team at [email protected], and we will gladly assist you.