Reviewing 10 Best Online Translators

You’d think with all the technology we have, finding a good translator would be easy, right?

Wrong. It’s frustrating and leaves you with a bad case of decision paralysis. Especially, if you want something more accurate than Google Translate.

There are so many online translators to choose from. How do you pick the most accurate tool for your language pair and use case?

Worry not, I’ve done the legwork for you.

Ahead is a list of the ten best online translators available. I will also show you how to maximize their accuracy with MTPE.

First off, what does a good translator even look like?

What is the most accurate translator?

Translation accuracy is measured with the help of the Bilingual Evaluation Understudy (BLEU) score. The metric evaluates how closely a machine-translated text matches a set of reference translations in the target language. Among popular MT engines, DeepL is the most accurate translator with a BLEU score of 0.4 (40%).

The BLEU scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 being a perfect match. It can also be expressed as a percentage from 0% to 100%.

Source: Google Cloud

• The average BLEU score for human translators ranges from 0.6 to 0.7 (60% to 70%)
• The ideal BLEU score for MT engines is above 0.3 (30%)

Accuracy is not the only metric to assess when looking for the best online translator. Also, evaluate these criteria:

Language and tone support

A translator tool should support a wide range of languages. Check the translator’s language list to ensure it includes the languages you need. You should also check if the translator handles regional dialects or levels of formality for that target language.

Source: DeepL

Google Translate, for instance, supports over 100 languages. Although DeepL supports only 32 languages, it offers varying degrees of formality and politeness in its Pro version.

User interface and ease of use

The best translation websites are user-friendly and intuitive. You shouldn't have to spend time deciphering complex menus or struggling with clunky interfaces. Does the design feel clear and uncluttered?

Here's what you should look for:

• Smooth navigation
• Clear instructions and tutorials
• Text editing options
• Support for different file formats

Pro tip: Professional localization tools offer the broadest range of editing features and supported file formats.

Privacy and security

Does the translator clearly outline its data security practices? Does it have a transparent privacy policy that explains how your data is handled?

For example, DeepL’s free version uses your translations to train its Neural Machine Translation (NMT) system but doesn’t do this in the Pro version.

Here’s what DeepL states on its Privacy Policy page:

“When using our free services, please only enter texts that you wish to transfer to our servers. The transmission of these texts is necessary in order for us to provide the translation or improvement and offer you our service.”

A good translator should have data encryption to protect your information. It should also adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) guidelines.

Speed of translation

While speed is important, prioritize translation quality over raw processing power. However, compare how quickly different translators deliver results, especially for larger text volumes.

You should also check if they let you translate multiple files simultaneously and if they integrate well with your existing CMS or localization workflows.

Cost

A good translator will have different plans for businesses at any stage. Consider whether the translator offers a free version and what additional features are included in premium plans.

Usually, free tools offer basic functionality, while premium versions provide more advanced features and better accuracy.

Top 10 best translation websites

To find the best online translators for you, I focused on options that consistently delivered high accuracy, were user-friendly, secure, and had additional features like voice translation.

Note that the arrangement of this list does not imply a ranking from best to worst. Each tool is excellent in its own right.

Without further ado, here are the best translation websites and services for your business:

Google Translate

Google Translate is a Neural Machine Translation (NMT) tool supporting over 100 languages. It offers unique functionalities such as real-time voice translation, text-to-speech, and image translation using your phone's camera. You can also use the mobile app offline by downloading language packs.

Besides its core translation features, Google Translate integrates seamlessly with Google Lens, allowing you to translate text from images and objects in real-time, which is particularly useful for travelers. It also has a Chrome extension that helps you translate web pages in seconds.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Includes basic translation features
• Premium: Starts at $20 per million characters for text translation (the first 500,000 characters are free). Google also charges $0.08 per page for document translation.

Strengths 💪🏼

• Best for real-time conversations and multilingual support
• Exceptional integration with other Google services
• Voice and image translations

Limitations ⚠️

• Accuracy can vary, especially with complex or nuanced text
• The free version lacks custom glossaries and terminology management features

Best for 🔥

• Real-time conversations and multilingual support
• Perfect for casual users and small businesses requiring quick language translations for non-technical content

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.6/5)

DeepL

DeepL Translator is known for its high-quality translations and supports 32 languages. It uses advanced neural networks to deliver contextually accurate translations and has dubbed itself “the most accurate translator.”

DeepL’s free tier lets you translate 5000 characters per translation request. Even the free version is particularly good at European translations. The platform also offers text and document translation with a DeepL Write tool for AI-assisted edits.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Basic translation with some limitations
• Premium: Starts at $10.49 per month for individual use. Offers increased volume, access to different tone/politeness options, custom glossaries, and improved security.

Strengths 💪🏼

• Accurate translations, sometimes even better than Google
• Great European language accuracy
• Translation glossary in all versions
• Excellent for technical and professional documents
• Text-to-speech functionality, as well as speech recognition
• Free REST API
• Strong emphasis on privacy with no data retention in the Pro version
• Mobile and desktop app

Limitations ⚠️

• Supports fewer languages compared to some competitors
• The free version has a 5,000-character limit per translation
• Speed is generally good but may vary with large documents
• No offline capabilities

Best for 🔥

• High-quality, accurate translations
• Ideal for professionals and businesses requiring precise document translations, especially for European languages

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.6/5)

Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator supports over 70 languages. It offers text, speech, document, and image translation, and integrates well with other Microsoft products like Office and Teams. It also provides features for multi-device conversations.

Microsoft Translator is available as a web application (Translator for Bing), a Word add-on, and a mobile app. The mobile app also has speech, image, and real-time conversation translation capabilities.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Limited features and daily usage
• Premium: Starts at $10 per 1 million characters. Increased volume, custom glossaries, priority translation, and access to advanced features through Azure Cognitive Services.

Strengths 💪🏼

• Real-time translation for conversations and meetings
• Scalable solution for handling large volumes of content through Azure integration

Limitations ⚠️

• Fewer languages are supported compared to Google Translate
• Feature and usage limitations with the free version
• Inaccurate translation of idioms

Best for 🔥

• Businesses using Microsoft Office and Teams
• Large volumes of content

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.3/5)

Reverso Context

Reverso is a comprehensive translation tool that supports 13 languages. It offers text translation, context-based translations, document translations, and learning tools like grammar and conjugation features. Reverso also has a mobile app for translations on the go.

Although Reverso has smaller language support than most translators, it is a fantastic learning resource for translators who want to master a target language.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Limitations on daily searches and saved translations
• Premium: Increased search volume, saved translations, advanced grammar explanations, and offline access. Starts at $9.99 per month.

Strengths 💪🏼

• Examples from texts published online
• Integrated conjugation tools, flashcards, and interactive phrasebooks for building vocabulary and sentence structure
• Text-to-speech capabilities
• AI-powered grammar checker
• Context analysis for accurate translations

Limitations ⚠️

• Limited language support
• Occasional mistranslations
• Slower than other translators
• Excessive ads in the free version

Best for 🔥

• Small businesses
• Language learners

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 based on 1 review)

SYSTRAN Translate

SYSTRAN Translate has been in the translation game since the 1960s. It is an established translation website supporting 50+ languages and is known for its high-quality translations.

SYSTRAN uses advanced Neural Machine Translation (NMT) technology and offers customization options to enterprise users, including access to specialized dictionaries for specific industries. SYSTRAN also has a dedicated text and document translation feature.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Basic translation features with limited usage
• Premium: Starts at $21.70 per month, offering unlimited translations, increased users, and specialized dictionaries

Strengths 💪🏼

• Best for industry-specific translations and business applications
• High-quality translations with specialized terminology
• Strong integration options for enterprise use

Limitations ⚠️

• Usage limits and lack of advanced features with the free version
• Average speed, especially for complex documents
• Lack of security and data privacy protections under the free plan

Best for 🔥

• Industry-specific translations
• Technical documents

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.8/5 based on 2 reviews)

Translate.com

Translate.com leverages a combination of advanced NMT technology to provide high-quality translations. It supports over 50 languages and offers text, speech, and image translation.

Using Translate.com, you can access a network of professional translators—as an alternative to MT. Human translations start from $0.07 per word. The company relies on its community of translators to help refine and improve the accuracy of its automatic translations over time.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Basic translation features with limited usage
• Premium: Starts at $4.00/month, offers volume discounts, and access to advanced features like TM and customization options

Strengths 💪🏼

• You can translate into 3 languages at the same time
• Utilizes neural machine translation for improved accuracy
• Strong integration with business applications and tools
• You can pay extra for urgent translations

Limitations ⚠️

• The free version has a 700-character daily limit and fewer features
• Excessive ads in the free version

Best for 🔥

• Businesses requiring machine translation and professional human translations

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.3/5)

iTranslate

iTranslate supports over 100 languages. It offers text, voice (including voice-to-voice), and image translation. It is also available as a web, desktop, and mobile application. iTranslate uses neural translation technology for its translations and provides offline translation capabilities.

Additionally, iTranslate has been actively involved in integrating its services with wearables, providing real-time translations on devices like Apple Watches.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Basic translation features with ads and limits
• Premium: Starts at $5.99 per month

Strengths 💪🏼

• Offline translation and voice-to-voice capabilities useful for travel
• User-friendly interface
• Multiplatform support
• Translations are not stored
• A phrasebook with the free version

Limitations ⚠️

• Voice, camera, and offline translations are only available in the paid plan

Best for 🔥

• Affordable offline translations
• Helpful in regions with poor internet service

G2 Rating: N/A

Product Hunt: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.3/5)

ChatGPT

ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, is not a traditional translator. It’s an advanced AI language model that can handle a wide range of tasks, including language translation.

Its ability to generate human-like text based on context makes it suitable for translating nuanced and idiomatic expressions. However, they might not always sound as natural as those produced by other translators.

ChatGPT’s flexibility allows it to be used for various applications beyond translation, such as drafting emails, generating content, and answering questions. It is also available on mobile with speech recognition, image upload, camera recognition, and text-to-speech features.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Limited access with basic features and older AI model
• Premium: $20 per month for fewer limits, newest AI model, and faster response times

Strengths 💪🏼

• Supports a wide range of languages
• Adjusts the translation style and tone
• Useful for more than just translation
• The premium plan has speech recognition and voice-to-voice translation

Limitations ⚠️

• Lacks specialized translation features
• Varying accuracy for idiomatic and highly technical text
• Low speed
• Security concerns

Best for 🔥

• Small businesses with AI and translation needs

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (4.7/5)

LibreTranslate

LibreTranslate is a free and open-source translation tool that supports over 44 languages. It uses both neural and statistical machine translation techniques to deliver accurate translations.

LibreTranslate doesn't use proprietary services like Google or Azure for translations. Its translation engine runs on the open-source Argos Translate library. This makes it a great option for developers or privacy-conscious users who want control over their data and translations.

Pricing 💰

• Free: All features except API are available without usage limits
• Premium: API key is $29/month

Strengths 💪🏼

• Self-hosted, so you have full control of your data
• No ads or subscription fees
• Regular community updates and improvements
• Highly customizable

Limitations ⚠️

• Limited language support compared to some paid options
• Low speed
• Low accuracy for highly specialized or idiomatic language
• Limited features

Best for 🔥

• Tech-savvy businesses with resources to manage their own translation infrastructure

G2 Rating: N/A

Apertium

Apertium is a rule-based machine translation (RBMT) platform. It is a free and open-source translation tool that supports over 40 languages and is particularly effective for closely related languages. Apertium offers text translation through a web interface or API integration.

Apertium's focus on less common languages makes it a valuable resource for language enthusiasts or those working with lesser-known languages.

Pricing 💰

• Free: Completely free with all features available without any usage limits

Strengths 💪🏼

• You own your data (self-hosting)
• Open-source and community-driven
• Webpage translation
• No ads or subscription fees
• Translates languages that are not always supported by commercial services

Limitations ⚠️

• Poor handling of ambiguity
• Gaps for uncommon language pairs
• Requires technical knowledge if you want to self-host
• Low accuracy
• Basic security features with limited encryption

Best for 🔥

• Businesses translating between uncommon language pairs, especially those in the education sector

G2 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰ (3.5/5)

How to maximize the accuracy of online translators

Machine translation (MT) has come a long way. But it’s still far from perfect.

Take, for example, English-Fillipino translation in Microsoft Translate. When tasked with translating the euphemism “kick the bucket,” Microsoft Translator renders it literally as “kick the bucket.”

Need I say that your business content requires higher accuracy?

To maximize the accuracy of your translations, use automatic tools and then call in the human cavalry. Human translators can refine your content ensuring that context and nuanced are perfectly rendered in the target language.

This process is called machine translation post-editing (MTPE) and here’s how to organize it using a professional localization tool.

First, sign up to Centus and create a new project

Then, navigate to the Imports section and add your files for translation. Centus supports all popular file types: HTML, CSV, JSON, SUB, SRT, DOCX, PPTX, and more.

In the Editor section, click empty values and choose among the most accurate machine translation options: Google Translate, DeepL translate, or Microsoft Translate.

And here’s where the magic happens. Centus allows adding your team members to the translation project. These could be your translators, editors, managers, or even designers.
Let your project contributors review automatically-generated translations and refine them to perfection. They can leave comments and share screenshots to provide valuable translation context.

And if you need to populate your designs with translations, nothing can be easier with the Centus plugin for Figma. Your designer can install it in mere moments and effortlessly localize their designs.

Ready to translate without the hassle? Try Centus now!