11 Best Online Translators to Use in 2024 (Most are free)
Looking for the best online translators? Here is a list of the top 10 online translators that you can use to translate languages easily and accurately.
Online translators make it easy to translate documents and website content into other languages. They are very helpful for all types of users, including students, travelers, and various professionals.
Though the initial online translators were not so good, machine learning methods, especially transformer models, have heavily improved software translator capabilities over the years.
This post looks at the top 10 online translators out there to see what they have to offer and how they can help your life or work.
Tips for Using Online Translators
Online translators are great tools that can help you in many ways. However, you need to keep the following tips in mind for the best results:
- Online translators are not a replacement for humans: While they can quickly explain a foreign text to you, always remember that they are not 100% accurate and so, can never fully replace a human translator. They are helpful tools, but you cannot rely on them for complete accuracy.
- Cultural differences: Also consider that computers simply translate the text between two languages without having any deeper knowledge of their cultural similarities or differences. So, certain meanings might get lost in translation.
- Length limitations: Some translators have text limits while others struggle with longer text blocks. So, you may get better results by translating shorter blocks of text at a time.
- Check for accuracy: You can translate chats with friends and read foreign websites with online translators, but you cannot completely rely on them for serious documents or other purposes. It is best to seek out a human translator, especially if it has to do with official documents.
10 Best Online Translators
| Rank | Name | Highlights | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Google Translate | 133 languages | Free |
| 2. | ChatGPT | Multi-lingual chatbot | Free |
| 3. | DeepL | Fast, accurate | Freemium |
| 4. | Yandex | 98 languages, browser | Free |
| 5. | Translatedict | Voice, professional | Free |
| 6. | Bing Translator | Clean UI, chats | Free |
| 7. | Collins | For language learners | Free |
| 8. | PROMT | SDK, business solutions | Freemium |
| 9. | iTranslate | Text, speech, camera | Free |
| 10. | Systran | Tailored translations | €5 /month |
| 11. | Canva | For graphic designers | Freemium |
1. Google Translate
Highlights: 133 languages, mobile & web versions
Pricing: Free
URL: translate.google.com
Google Translate, as the name implies, comes from the Google web giant. It translates text, websites, and documents from one language to another. It supports 133 languages at different levels and Google claims it serves over 200 million people daily, with billions of words translated daily.
You can use Google Translate on the web or through its smartphone app. It can translate while you write or transcribe while someone else speaks and you get the translated transcription in your chosen language and in real-time. You can also use it to snap pictures and it will translate the text in the image. And you can have a bilingual discussion with someone that speaks a different language as well.
The web version can translate entire websites at once and various browsers have extensions to use Google Translate. There is also an API for developers. However, while the basic Google Translate remains free, the API is a paid service.
2. ChatGPT
Highlights: Multi-lingual chatbot
Pricing: Free
URL: chat.openai.com
OpenAI surprised the computer industry in 2022 with the release of its impressive ChatGPT chatbot. It is a multi-lingual AI model that can accept questions in one language and answer them in another language.
ChatGPT can answer most questions you ask, and it can answer them in a language of your choice. It can even translate code from one computer language to another, including detailed descriptions of what each code block does.
One downside to ChatGPT, however, is that you can’t completely rely on it for factual information, as it can easily generate whatever information it likes, although it does this with impressive audacity. Another downside is that it will refuse to discuss morally sensitive issues.
But if you need a simple German tutor or you want it to recite parts of the scripture, say Genesis chapter 1 in Pidgin, then it does a great job. It can also translate and explain stuff with detailed explanations, as well as give you examples. All you have to do is ask. It even remembers your recent conversations.
3. DeepL
Highlights: Fast, accurate
Pricing: Freemium
URL: deepl.com
DeepL is an artificial intelligence translator that offers more highly accurate translations than the competition. It also features a neat and user-friendly interface that makes it easy to use.
You can translate text into 29 languages, including English, German, French, Chinese, Bulgarian, and so on. You can also translate files such as .pdf and .docx with the platform.
Further features include offering alternative translations and the ability to click a translated word to see a list of possible alternatives. DeepL further offers formal and informal translation tones, but they reserve this for premium users.
4. Yandex
Highlights: 98 languages, integrated browser
Pricing: Free
URL: translate.yandex.com
Yandex Translate is an offering from the Russian web search and technology giant. It offers a simple interface to translate text or websites and is also available from the Yandex browser.
You can use Yandex translate for nearly 100 languages. It will show you related examples from search results below your text translations, as well as synonyms and other helpful hints.
Further features include a collections tab, a history tab of your latest searches, a tab for website translations, and another for images.
5. Translatedict
Highlights: Simple interface, voice, professional translation
Pricing: Free
URL: translatedict.com
Translatedict is a simple online translator that allows you to enter any text and easily translate it into almost 100 languages with a click.
As with many other translators, it can auto-detect the language you are typing in. Plus, it offers text-to-speech translation, voice translation, and paid professional translation services.
6. Bing Translator
Highlights: Clean UI, translated chats
Pricing: Free
URL: bing.com/translator
The Bing Microsoft Translator features a well-designed interface and support for all the major languages. It includes an auto-detect feature, a reverse-translation button, voice translations, and pronunciations.
Most translations also include alternative words, plus there is a button to take you straight to web search results with the translated words.
Another nice feature is the translated conversations that it links to. This allows you to chat one-on-one or in groups with automatically translated text or spoken words in your native language. It is also available as an app.
7. Collins
Highlights: For language learners
Pricing: Free
This translator is an offering from Collins, one of the most trusted online dictionaries. It features a simple interface that lets you translate words and sentences between nearly 100 languages, including Klingon.
The website also features picture-and-word games, a current dictionary with audio and video pronunciations, conjugations, articles, verbs, and anything else you need to learn languages.
8. PROMT
Highlights: Developer kits, business solutions
Pricing: Freemium
URL: promt.com/service/online_translation/
ProMT is a software developer with a line of impressive language translation products for the European market. It also offers the PROMT.One online translator here with some extra features.
The platform can handle up to 1,000 words in 22 languages, including English, German, and Russian. In addition to translations, it also offers dictionaries, example usages, and conjugations in all these languages, making it a good learning resource.
For business users, ProMT offers mobile translation solutions through an SDK, an email and document translating business solution, a cloud API, and more.
9. iTranslate
Highlights: Text, speech, & keyboard translations
Pricing: Free
URL: itranslate.com
iTranslate is a smartphone app that makes it easy to translate websites, chats, voice conversations, and images that were taken with the camera.
The app is available for the iOS platform and there is a web version, Android, and macOS versions as well.
iTranslate supports over 100 languages, verb conjugations, translation history, and transliteration. It can even translate some languages offline.
10. Systran
Highlights: Tailored translations, since 1968
Pricing: From €5 /month
URL: systran.net
Systran offers over 50 years of translation experience to businesses and professionals. It can translate 50+ languages, but what sets it apart is its domain-specific tool.
For instance, a legal translation would be different from a health-centered, business, or agriculture-centered document translation.
Systran offers 3 plans–Lite with 150 pages per month for €5, Plus with 600 pages per month for €14, and Premium for €32 per month with about 2,000 pages. All these plans include access to Systran’s apps.
11. Canva
Highlights: For graphic designers, a popular design platform
Pricing: Freemium
URL: canva.com
Canva is a user-friendly app that has an online translation feature and enables users to automatically translate the text in their existing drawings into their desired languages. Users can now effortlessly translate their documents into other languages making it simpler to connect and communicate with audiences around the globe.
This free graphic design tool has a lot to offer, they also have a PDF editor, summarizing tool, a text-curving generator, photo effects, and an online video recorder that can help you create better visuals for your projects and presentations.
Conclusion
Reaching the end of our top 10 online translators list, you have seen all the amazing platforms out there and the different services they offer.
Online translators have become a very important tool for anyone looking to communicate in a different language, including students and business owners.
It is now up to you to choose which of these will best serve your needs based on your project or what you need to accomplish.
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