Most translation apps that advertise a "free" tier are really running a countdown clock — a 7- or 14-day trial that quietly turns into a paywall. Echonora's free plan works differently: it's permanent. You get 20 translated messages a day, no credit card, and no expiry date, right inside the LINE groups you already use. The paid plans don't unlock secret features — they simply remove the daily ceiling.

This guide compares Echonora's free and paid plans for its LINE translation bot, explains exactly what counts toward the free limit, and gives you an honest signal for when it's worth upgrading. For the full picture of how the bot works, see the complete LINE translation bot guide.

Echonora pricing at a glance

Three tiers, billed in USD through Stripe. The free plan is the on-ramp; the paid plans remove the daily limit.

Plan	Price (USD)	What's included
Free	$0 / forever	20 translated messages a day. No credit card. No expiry.
Monthly	$10 / month	Unlimited message translation across all your LINE groups.
Annual	$100 / year	Unlimited translation, ~17% cheaper than monthly (≈ $8.33/month effective).

Pricing is the same in every market — there's no separate TWD, JPY, or SGD rate; all plans are charged in USD. You can change or cancel a paid plan yourself at any time (more on that below).

What you actually get on the free plan

The free tier is a real product, not stripped-back bait. On a free LINE translation bot account you keep:

• 20 translated messages a day, resetting every day — no credit card required to start, and no expiry date.
• The full language range — 180+ languages, the same as paid. The free plan does not limit you to a handful of pairs. See the full list of supported languages and activation syntax.
• Voice and text both translated — record a LINE voice note and it's transcribed and translated just like a typed message.
• 2 to 5 languages per group — a mixed-language family or supplier group works on the free plan, not just simple two-person pairs.
• No ads, no branding watermark, no hidden language limits.

In other words, the free plan is the trial. There's no separate 7-day countdown — you evaluate the real thing for as long as you like, and you only pay when your daily volume genuinely outgrows the ceiling.

What counts as one of your 20 daily messages

This is the part most people get wrong, and it's good news. The meter counts bot translation replies — not what you type.

Action	Counts toward your 20?
You type a message in any language	No — free
You send a voice note	No — free
The bot posts a translated reply	Yes — 1 message
In a 3–5 language group, one message translated into several languages at once	Still just 1 — not one per language

So a back-and-forth chat with roughly 20 translated replies fills a day. And multi-language groups are especially generous: a single source message rendered into four other languages is still one translation event. A five-language supply-chain group gets far more downstream coverage per message than a simple two-language pair does.

When the free plan is genuinely enough

For a lot of people, 20 messages a day never runs out. The free plan fits when:

• You're a cross-cultural couple or family sending a few good-morning, good-night, and check-in messages each day. Twenty translated replies covers an ordinary day of staying in touch.
• You're evaluating before committing a team. Add the bot to one real group, run your actual conversations through it for a week, and see the translation quality before anyone pays.
• Your translation needs are occasional — a weekly call with an overseas relative, an as-needed chat with one supplier.

The upgrade trigger isn't a clock running out — it's the day your volume crosses the line.

A few daily check-ins between an English speaker and a Chinese speaker — comfortably within the free plan's 20 messages a day.

When to upgrade to a paid plan

You'll feel the ceiling on the days that matter most: a busy shift handover, a long heart-to-heart conversation, a supplier thread that lights up before a deadline. The honest signals to move to a paid plan:

• You regularly hit the daily limit and a conversation stops mid-flow until the next day's reset.
• It's a workplace or team group where missing a translated message has a real cost — a safety instruction, a schedule change, a customer reply.
• You run several active groups — multiple sites, shifts, or family threads — and 20 shared replies a day no longer stretches.

At $10/month for unlimited translation, the upgrade pays for itself the first time a conversation would otherwise have stalled.

How the paid plan works for a team

The paid subscription is bound to an individual LINE account, but the unlimited benefit extends to every group that person is in. The practical rules:

• If any one member of a group has an active paid plan, the whole group gets unlimited translation. The other members don't each need their own subscription.
• For a company, that means you arrange paid accounts proportional to your structure — one per department, shift, or site lead — not one per employee.
• If the paying member leaves a group, the bot keeps working; the group simply reverts to whatever tier the remaining members represent. If no paying member is left, it falls back to the free 20-messages-a-day limit.

One paid account covering several of a lead's groups is usually the most economical way for a small business to roll this out.

Monthly vs Annual: which to pick

Both paid tiers are identical in features — unlimited translation. The only difference is commitment and price:

• Monthly ($10): best for short projects, seasonal hiring, or trying the unlimited tier without an annual commitment.
• Annual ($100): best for ongoing use — roughly $8.33/month, about 17% cheaper than paying monthly across a year.

If you already know the bot is part of how your team or family communicates, annual is the lower-cost choice. If you're not sure yet, start monthly — you can switch later.

How billing and cancellation work

Paid plans are charged in USD through Stripe on an anniversary cycle (your signup date each month or year), not a calendar-month proration. Everything is self-service: at echonora.com/subscription you can update your card, download invoices, switch between monthly and annual, or cancel — no email or phone call required. A cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle, and your account reverts to the free plan rather than shutting off. For how chat data is handled, see the privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

Is the free plan really free forever?

Yes. There's no time limit and no expiry — the free plan stays free with its 20-messages-a-day ceiling for as long as you use it. There is no separate trial that ends.

Do I need a credit card to use the free plan?

No. You add the bot on LINE and start translating without entering any payment details.

Does voice translation work on the free plan?

Yes. LINE voice notes are transcribed and translated on the free plan too — voice isn't reserved for paid users. Each translated reply counts as one of your 20 daily messages.

What happens when I hit the 20-message limit?

The bot lets you know you've reached the day's limit and translation resumes after the daily reset. Upgrading to a paid plan removes the ceiling entirely.

Can one paid subscription cover my whole team?

One paid account makes every group that person belongs to unlimited — but for a genuine team you should arrange paid accounts per department, shift, or site lead rather than relying on a single account for the entire company.

How do I cancel?

Go to echonora.com/subscription, where you can cancel yourself at any time. The change takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle and your account drops back to the free plan.