# Languagelayer

> Languagelayer is a language detection REST API that identifies which of 173 world languages, accents, and dialects a piece of text is written in, returning the result as lightweight JSON. It is used to route support tickets and user-generated content, pick the right translation pipeline, localise interfaces and email campaigns, and tag or filter multilingual datasets. Detection works probabilistically rather than by dictionary lookup: the query text is first checked against known tri-grams for each candidate language, then each word and word sequence is cross-referenced against confidence words and language-specific sequences, and finally broken down and scored against a continuously improving probability matrix describing how characters follow one another in each language and language family. The highest-scoring language wins, and accuracy improves with longer input. Every match returns a language code and name, a raw probability value, a confidence percentage, and a reliable_result boolean indicating whether the API is fully confident in the answer. Responses support JSON formatting, JSONP callbacks, and Access-Control (CORS) headers, served over 256-bit HTTPS, with an uptime of around 99.9%. Languagelayer is part of the APILayer suite (one account, one API key, one dashboard across the APILayer product family).
A free API key is available at https://languagelayer.com/signup/free/monthly — the Free Plan is a no-time-limit trial with 100 monthly API requests covering standard detection queries and 256-bit HTTPS, restricted to non-commercial use and without support; paid plans add commercial-use rights, standard support, and batch detection. Paid tiers are Basic ($4.99/month, 50,000 requests, adds batch detection), Professional ($19.99/month, 500,000 requests), and Enterprise ($39.99/month, 2,000,000 requests), with up to 15% off on annual billing. To call the API, append your access_key as a query parameter; both GET and POST are supported, and POST is recommended for long query texts. The base URL is apilayer.net/api. A single detection is one HTTP request: apilayer.net/api/detect?access_key=YOUR_KEY&query=Hello+World. There are two endpoints: Detect (/detect), which takes a single URL-encoded query parameter, and Batch (/batch), which takes repeated query[] parameters to identify several texts in one call and is available from the Basic plan upward. Billing note: a standard detect request increments usage by 1, while a batch request increments usage by the number of query[] parameters it carries, so a 20-text batch costs 20 API requests. Usage notifications are sent at 75%, 90%, and 100% of the monthly allowance, after which overage fees apply. Code examples are provided for PHP, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, and more.
## Getting Started
- [Languagelayer Homepage](https://languagelayer.com/): Free, powerful language detection API for 173 languages
- [API Documentation](https://docs.apilayer.com/languagelayer/docs/api-documentation): Full reference — the detect and batch endpoints, parameters, response objects, errors, and code examples
- [Free API Key Signup](https://languagelayer.com/signup/free/monthly): Create a free account with 100 monthly requests
- [Login](https://languagelayer.com/login): Access your dashboard, API key, and usage statistics
- [Pricing](https://languagelayer.com/pricing): Free and premium plan tiers with request volumes, batch access, and features
## Tools
- [Supported Languages](https://languagelayer.com/languages): The full list of all 173 detectable languages with their codes
- [API Status](https://languagelayer.com/api-status): Updates on API performance and uptime
- [Overage Billing Documentation](https://languagelayer.com/billing-overages-documentation): How per-request charges apply once a plan's monthly quota is reached
## Resources
- [FAQs](https://languagelayer.com/faq): Common questions on how detection works, supported languages, GET vs POST, batch requests, plans, and payment
- [APILayer Blog](https://blog.apilayer.com/): Tutorials, use cases, and product updates
## Support
- [Contact Us](https://languagelayer.com/contact): Sales and technical support, including custom and high-volume plan inquiries