Understanding Smartwords
Overview
Smartwords are the currency Smartcat uses to pay for automated actions. This includes automatic repetition insertion, TM match insertion, source-to-target insertion, and AI-powered actions, like translation, content generation, voiceovers, image processing, and more. You spend Smartwords when you use these features and acquire them through a subscription or pay-as-you-go purchase.
How it works
Smartwords are deducted from your workspace balance when an action runs
Your balance is always visible in the top-right corner of the app
Workspace balances are shared across all users within a workspace. Organization balances can be shared across multiple workspaces and are added to a workspace balance in the Smartwords count.
Benefits
Pay only for the actions actually performed — no flat fees for unused capacity
Full visibility into which projects, languages, and actions drove your usage
Balance top-ups available mid-term so you are never blocked mid-project
When to use it
Smartwords are consumed automatically whenever you run an automated action. Understanding this section helps you predict costs, avoid surprises, and investigate unexpected charges.
Reference this article when you need to:
Understand what an action will cost before running it
Check your current balance before starting a new project
Investigate why your balance dropped more than expected
Read your consumption report to identify which specific actions generated charges
Estimate how many Smartwords to purchase before an upcoming project
How to use it
Check your current balance
Your Smartword balance is visible in the indicator at the top-right corner of the screen. Click the counter to expand the display. Click View report to see a breakdown of recent Smartword consumption.
Click the Smartword counter → View report pace → Smartwords
Select the time period you want to review
Review the report. Each row represents one consumption event. You can download a CSV report for a more detailed overview.
Track and filter your usage history
Tracking and filtering your usage history
The Smartwords Usage Report gives you a full breakdown of consumption events across your organization. Use it to investigate unexpected balance drops, monitor team usage, or audit project costs.
To access your usage history:
Click the Smartwords counter in the top navigation bar.
Select View report from the dropdown, or go to Workspace → Smartwords.
The report loads with your most recent consumption events listed chronologically.
To filter your usage history:
Use the date range selector at the top of the report to narrow results to a specific period — for example, the past 7 days or a custom date range.
Use the User filter to see consumption by a specific team member.
Use the Project filter to isolate usage from a specific project.
Use the Action type filter to view only specific feature usage — for example, Machine Translation only, or AI Dubbing only.
To export your usage data:
Apply any filters you need to scope the export.
Click Download CSV at the top of the report.
The CSV includes all visible columns: date, action type, project name, user, and Smartwords consumed.
💡 Tip: If your balance dropped unexpectedly overnight, filter by date to the relevant period and check the User and Action type columns to identify the source quickly.
⚠️ Reminder: Smartwords are shared at the organization level. Consumption events from any team member will appear in the same report.
The report columns in the website view are:
Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
Used For | When the Smartwords were consumed |
Earliest Date | The project associated with the consumption |
Most Recent Date | What triggered it (e.g. MT, TM insertion, voiceover, image re-embedding) |
Amount | The source language of the content processed |
The report columns in the CSV are:
Time | When the Smartwords were consumed |
Package ID | Unique identifier of the Smartwords package from which units were consumed or that was created/expired. Links the operation to a specific allocation of Smartwords. |
Type | What action triggered the consumption |
Amount | Number of Smartwords consumed |
Package Owner | The name or identifier of the entity that owns the Smartwords package (typically the workspace or organization name) |
Start Date | If a package was added, shows the start date of the package. If this is a Smartwords consumption event, this column is empty. |
End date | If a package was added, the date when the package will expire |
Price | If a package was added, price of the package |
Currency | If a package was added, the currency for the package price |
Project ID | The unique identifier of the Smartcat project where the Smartwords were consumed. Only populated for spending operations. |
Project name | Name of the project that consumed the Smartwords |
Document ID | The unique identifier of the specific document within the project where Smartwords were consumed. Only populated for spending operations. |
Document name | Name of the translated document |
Language | Target language |
External tag | A user-defined tag passed via API integrations for tracking and attribution purposes. |
Internal tag | System-generated or internally-assigned tags for categorizing consumption. Used for internal tracking such as marketplace attribution, AI translation tagging, etc. Only populated for spending operations. |
How Smartwords are calculated
Understanding exactly how Smartwords are calculated helps you anticipate costs before processing files and avoid unexpected balance depletion.
Base calculation
The standard rate is 1 Smartword per source word processed. For example, a 2,000-word document translated using Machine Translation consumes 2,000 Smartwords.
Special rates
Some content types and features use rates that differ from the base calculation:
Image translation — 1,000 SW flat rate Translating text within images (via OCR) costs a flat rate of 1,000 Smartwords per image, regardless of the amount of text in the image. This flat rate reflects the additional processing required to detect, extract, and translate embedded text.
⚠️ Note: If a document contains multiple images with text, each image is charged separately at the 1,000 SW flat rate.
Audio and video content — 10x multiplier Processing audio or video files consumes 10 Smartwords per source word rather than the standard 1 SW. A 1,000-word video script consumes 10,000 Smartwords.
AI Dubbing — 10x multiplier AI Dubbing also applies the 10x multiplier due to the additional processing required for voice synthesis and lip-sync alignment.
Course Editor (AI Course Creation) — Variable rates
The Course Editor uses different consumption rates based on content type:
Text elements: 1 SW per generated word
Video generation: 10 SW per word (based on script length)
AI-generated images: 500 SW per image
Typical Course Estimates:
Microlearning Courses (10-60 minutes):
10 min course: ~3,500 SW
20 min course: ~7,000 SW
30 min course: ~10,500 SW
45 min course: ~17,000 SW
60 min course: ~24,000 SW
Pre-recorded Courses (longer content):
2 hours/week: ~24,000 SW
4 hours/week: ~56,000 SW
6 hours/week: ~96,000 SW
8 hours/week: ~136,000 SW
⚠️ Note: Estimates are based on balanced content mix (text, video, images). Actual consumption varies based on content complexity and generation choices.
Worked example
Consider a project with the following content:
1,000 words with no TM match
500 words with a 75–99% TM match
200 words with a 100% TM match
1 image with embedded text
A 500-word video script
Content | Words | Rate | Smartwords consumed |
|---|---|---|---|
No TM match | 1,000 | 1 SW/word | 1,000 SW |
High fuzzy match (75–99%) | 500 | 0.25 SW/word | 125 SW |
100% TM match | 200 | 0 SW/word | 0 SW |
Image with text | 1 image | 1,000 SW flat | 1,000 SW |
Video script | 500 | 10 SW/word | 5,000 SW |
Total | 7,125 SW |
Allocation types: monthly, annual, and top-ups
Your Smartwords allocation depends on your subscription plan and any additional top-ups you have purchased. Understanding the differences helps you plan usage and avoid unexpected depletion.
Monthly vs. annual allocations
Smartcat subscription plans include a Smartwords allocation that refreshes on a recurring basis:
Monthly plans receive a Smartwords allocation that renews each month on your billing date. Unused Smartwords from the current period do not carry over — they expire at the end of each billing cycle.
Annual plans receive a Smartwords allocation at the start of the subscription year. The full annual amount is available immediately and does not refresh monthly — you draw from the same pool throughout the year.
⚠️ Expiration: Subscription Smartwords — whether monthly or annual — expire at renewal. If you do not use your full allocation before your subscription renews, unused Smartwords are forfeited.
What happens when you run out of Smartwords
If your Smartwords balance reaches zero:
AI-powered features — including Machine Translation, AI Actions, AI Content Generation, and AI Dubbing — will be unavailable until your balance is restored.
OCR processing requires a minimum Smartwords balance to initiate. If your balance is too low, OCR jobs will not start.
Your projects and files remain accessible — only AI features are affected.
To restore access immediately, purchase a pay-as-you-go top-up or contact Smartcat Sales to discuss a plan upgrade.
Managing your subscription and top-ups
Pay-as-you-go (mid-term top-up)
Go to Workspace → Smartwords
Locate the Pay-as-you-go option
Select the amount and confirm payment
⚠️ Pay-as-you-go Smartwords are available for a year, regardless of when the subscription ends.
Upgrade your subscription plan
Contact Smartcat’s Sales team to upgrade your subscription plan.
💡 When you upgrade, any remaining Smartwords from your previous plan carry over and are added to your new balance.
Contact Sales for bulk packages
For large top-ups or bundle pricing, contact the Sales team through the Contact Sales option in your account dashboard.
Result: Your Smartwords balance is increased and available immediately for card payments. Bank transfers may take up to 5 business days to reflect.
Requirements and Limitations
Smartwords cost by action
As a general rule, 1 Smartword = 1 source word translated into 1 target language. Translating a 500-word document into 3 languages costs 1,500 Smartwords. Some actions have different rates:
Action | Smartwords cost |
|---|---|
AI translation (per source word, per target language) | 1 SW |
Translation Memory (TM) automatic insertions | 1 SW per word |
AI text generation | 1 SW per word |
Extracting text from images or files with images | Free (requires a sufficient Smartword balance of 250 Smartwords for every page) |
Re-embedding translated text into an image | 1,000 SW flat per image |
Extracting text from video or audio files | Free (requires a positive balance) |
AI voiceovers | Charged 10 SW per word at download, not during translation |
Factors that increase consumption
Multiple MT engines: Each enabled engine charges separately — a project with two engines consumes twice the Smartwords for that step
Pre-translation: Smartwords are charged when the file is uploaded, not when you review the output
File re-uploads (non-unique-ID files): Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files do not have unique segment IDs — all segments are re-processed and charged again on re-upload
File re-uploads (unique-ID files): XLIFF, LocJSON, PO, and RESX files carry unique segment IDs — only new or changed segments are charged on re-upload
Files with code formatting: Markup and code tags count as translatable segments and can significantly increase the Smartwords cost relative to the visible word count
OCR file requirements
⚠️ Files requiring Optical Character Recognition (images, PDFs, PPTX) use a page-based estimate before the actual word count is known. Smartcat requires a minimum balance of pages × 250 Smartwords to start processing. Maintain a buffer above your expected usage to avoid OCR jobs being blocked.
Balance types and expiry
Workspace balances are shared across all users — personal balances are unavailable when a workspace balance exists
Subscription Smartwords expire at the end of the subscription term — unused Smartwords do not roll over
Personal trial balances expire 15 days after registration
Pay-as-you-go availability
⚠️ Pay-as-you-go is not available on all account types. Free accounts and certain account types cannot purchase Smartwords directly.
Refunds
⚠️ Smartwords are non-refundable once consumed. If consumption occurred due to a configuration error (e.g. multiple MT engines accidentally enabled), contact Support — but refunds are not guaranteed.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Balance decreased overnight with no active projects
Solution: Check the usage report for scheduled projects, integrations running automatically, or other team members' activity. Contact support if no matching consumption events appear.
Problem: Video project consumed more Smartwords than expected
Solution: Audio and video files use a 10x multiplier. A 1,000-word video script consumes 10,000 Smartwords, not 1,000.
Problem: File re-upload charged full amount again
Solution: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files don't have unique segment IDs, so all content is re-processed. Use XLIFF or other formats with unique IDs to avoid this.
Problem: Balance shows "N/A" or incorrect amount
Solution: Data sync issues between systems. Check both the main counter and usage report. Contact support if discrepancies persist.
Problem: I have TM matches but I'm still being charged full Smartwords
Solution: There are several reasons TM discounts may not be applying:
Glossary correction triggered — for non-LLM AI engines, if a TM match contains a glossary term error, Smartcat reruns the translation rather than applying the match. This can result in a higher Smartwords charge than expected. Check whether glossary validation is enabled and whether the TM segment contains any terms flagged by your glossary.
TM not connected to the project — the TM must be explicitly connected to the project via the Linguistic assets tab. If the TM was added after the project was created, verify it is active for the relevant language pair.
Match percentage below threshold — only matches at 50% or above receive a discount. Matches below 50% are treated as no match and charged at the full rate.
Context or key ID mismatch — some file formats (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) do not have unique segment IDs, which means segments that appear identical may not be recognized as matches. Use XLIFF or other formats that preserve unique segment IDs for reliable TM matching.
TM set to read-only without active matching — verify that the TM is set as the active matching source for the language pair, not just as a reference TM.
💡 Tip: Run a pre-translation report before processing a large file to preview how many TM matches will apply and estimate your Smartwords cost before committing.
FAQs
Q: Does adding an LQA or review stage consume Smartwords?
A: No. Only automated actions, such as TM Insertions and AI-powered actions, consume Smartwords. Human review stages, LQA stages, and Reviewer Agent usage do not consume Smartwords
Q: If I delete a translation and redo it, am I charged again?
A: Yes. Smartwords are consumed when translation is performed, not when it is accepted. Re-translating content charges again
Q: Why was I charged more than the word count of my file?
A: The most common reasons are multiple MT engines enabled (each charges separately), OCR estimation using page-based rounding, files with heavy code formatting, or a file re-upload that re-processed all segments. Go to Workspace → Smartwords, filter by your project, and review the Action type column to identify the specific events
Q: Can I see consumption by individual team member?
A: The workspace Smartwords tab shows aggregate usage. For a per-user breakdown, contact your account team about reporting options available on your plan
Q: My Smartwords balance dropped overnight with no active projects. What happened?
A: This can be caused by a schedule project, an integration, or a package expiring and reducing your visible balance. Go to Workspace → Smartwords, review the consumption report for events in that timeframe, and contact Support if no matching events appear