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We're in the process of translating a website from Dutch to other languages, including English. The texts were translated by a professional translator, but I'm not sure one of the words has been translated correctly, maybe caused by lack of sufficient context.

The word in Dutch ("eenmalig") is used to explain there is no monthly fee for a product, there is only a one time payment, after which the coverage lasts for years. This in contrast with other products having a monthly fee.

There are for example two options, displayed as follows:

'4 years: Premium £ 9.99 one-off'
'5 years: Premium £ 11.99 one-off'

I came up with 'one time only' or 'once' as alternatives, but I'm not 100% sure.

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    "One-off" sounds like a good term to me. It's certainly used in British vocabulary. It could be clarified further with the word "payment" ("one-off payment"), but that is likely not necessary in the context of the website.
    – JMB
    Sep 10, 2015 at 11:27
  • It's also common in American English. "One-off" is quite an informal phrase, but not out of place here. It does seem unusual to me in this context, but that's only because the far more common phrase in American advertising is "one-time" or "single" payment. Most commercials are more explicit, saying something like "a single installment of $49.99."
    – Crazy Eyes
    Sep 10, 2015 at 18:52

2 Answers 2

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If you want to be clear that there's no monthly fee, then it would be best to explicitly state that.

However, one-off would be typically understood as being a single payment.

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As JMB suggested, including the word "payment" is advisable. However, "one-time payment" is a little more common in this context than "one-off payment." I would phrase it as "a one-time payment of £ 9.99." At least, that is how it would typically be seen in American advertisements.

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