15 Must-Have Machine Translation Tools in 2024

When will machine translation software be sophisticated enough to render human translators obsolete?

Probably never. Translation isn’t just about language, it’s about context and the ability to read between the lines.

Yet technology is getting so refined that a machine translator can replace a human expert in many situations, especially when time and budget are scarce. Professional translation software is a perfect tool for businesses to cut their expenses without compromising the quality of content.

In this guide, we’ve gathered the best machine translation tools with a various combination of features to suit your unique translation needs.

Pro tip: Use the translation management system, Centus, with your preferred MT engine to combine speed with the quality only humans can provide.

Evolution of machine translation software

Machine translation software is a computer-based tool designed to do automatic translation from the source to the target language without human involvement. It started as simple rule-based algorithms and has evolved into context-conscious systems attuned to many linguistic nuances.

Here is how it went.

Invention of machine learning translation software

The idea of machine translation predates the first computers by centuries. No wonder that as soon as first cumbersome computation devices arrived, researchers started making early attempts to program them for translation.

The first public demonstration happened in 1953 in New York. Although it was more or less a parlor trick with only 250 words and carefully curated phrases, the Georgetown—IBM experiment was widely reported by the press stoking public interest and attracting funding. This made further research in the field possible.

Rule-based machine translation software

In the 1970s, computers became powerful enough for rule-based machine translation (RBMT) — systems based on dictionary definitions and typical grammatical structures. These algorithms used more information than earlier systems but were rigid and handled semantic ambiguity poorly.

Still, they were quite an improvement and despite clunky and unnatural sentences, RBMT helped to understand the general meaning of the text, which was enough for scientific and business applications.

Statistical machine translation

The 1980s saw the rise of mathematical methods that led to the development of statistical machine translation (SMT). This approach relied on large corpora of the translated text and applied probability distribution to predict results in the translated text.

SMT grew in popularity through the 90s and 2000s along with the availability of more powerful low-cost computers. However, based solely on statistics and neglecting semantic rules, it often provided suboptimal results. SMT is still in use today in combination with other techniques.

Neural machine translation

Through the 2010s, neural machine translation (NMT) methods evolved replacing statistical machine translation. They use machine learning algorithms and neural networks significantly reducing memory needed to translate vast volumes of text.

Most of the well-known translation systems today are NMT: Google, Microsoft, DeepL, and Chinese Baidu, which was the first to apply its NMT system on a large scale in 2015. Popular AI machine translation tools like ChatGPT are also NMT-based.

NMT shows exceptional superiority over the preceding machine translation methods, being contextual and natural-sounding. However, it isn’t perfect and still evolving.

Hybrid machine translation

Hybrid machine translation (HMT) isn’t based on any new technology. It is an approach to machine translation that merges multiple methods into one system to balance out the shortcomings of each individual technique.

For example, machine translation post-editing (MTPE) is hybrid, since it fuses machine translation with human editing. Other approaches include:

• Multi-engine that runs several MT systems in parallel and combines the results for optimal output.
• Mutli-pass where the input goes through several consecutive iterations, reducing the processing power required to parse the final output.
• Confidence-based that combines SMT with NMT and uses the “confidence” metric to decide whether the first translation was good enough or a secondary system must be involved to improve the result.

That’s the gist of it.

Now let’s look closer at the best machine translation solutions available today.

Ranking criteria for the best translation tools for modern businesses

Yet before we start, here are the criteria we used to rank every tool on the list. We’ve concentrated on metrics that are most relevant for business translation tools used for localization projects, global team communication, etc.

Here is what we looked for in the tools we rated:

• Accuracy. That’s the key translation characteristic. Can you trust this language translator software to provide correct interpretations consistently? How reliable is its understanding of context cues and sentiment?
• Usability. Since many team members are required to use this tool within the company, intuitive interface and manageability are of the essence. You don’t want clunky software to hamper your team’s productivity.
• Speed. Businesses often need to translate large volumes of content and documentation in a narrow window of time, so processing speed and swift delivery are vital.
• Integration capability. We measured how easily each translation tool integrates with other apps and platforms used in business settings since you need a software ecosystem with seamless workflow.
• Support. Delays might cost your business money and opportunity, so timely resolution of any issues is vital. We’ve estimated how reliable and responsive customer support is for each tool.
• Innovation. Unique features can give your business an edge over the competition, so we also assessed any special functionality that can benefit a business.
• Value for money. Last but not least, the cost. Does the price tag reflect the value that you get out of this machine translation solution?

With that in mind, you should always weigh all the pros and cons specific to your situation and translation needs. Some prioritize speed and price, some focus on scalability and flexibility. Whichever is relevant to your business, we hope you will find the perfect match on this list.

Best machine translation tools

The best online translation service goes beyond simple translation. These powerhouses handle large volumes of text, seamlessly integrate into workflows, and offer robust features for professional results. Here are the top translation tools that excel in these areas:

1. Google Translate

Google Translate is probably the most well-known and accessible solution out there, enjoying half a billion daily users. It is NMT-based, free, user-friendly, and supports a whopping 234 languages (at varying levels) with 32 of them having real-time translation capabilities. No wonder it became a go-to place for quick translations for business and leisure. Source: Google Translate

• Performance (⚙️9/10): The accuracy fluctuates depending on how common the language pair is. For common languages with a lot of data like Spanish or French, accuracy is great, which unfortunately cannot be said about Greek or Polish.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧7/10): Google Translate integrates seamlessly with other Google products and is fairly good at working with other tools like WordPress and Disqus. Because of the sheer number of users, individual tickets might not get an immediate response, but a vast knowledge base and active community forum are enough to resolve most issues independently.
• Innovation (💡8/10): Google is regularly updated and keeps abreast of the latest developments in the field, yet it’s been a while since they launched something genuinely groundbreaking.
• Value for money (💰8/10): Free for small volumes and personal use, Google Translate provides exceptional value. Google Cloud Translate prices start at $0.003 per character (more details on the website), which is affordable, but bears varying value depending on the language and the accuracy Google provides for it.

2. DeepL

DeepL follows a different strategy and chooses quality over quantity. It supports only 33 languages (mostly European) but is famous for the superior accuracy of its translations. DeepL derives its name from “deep learning” and uses a fine-tuned proprietary neural network for natural-sounding and faithful translations.

The tool gradually expands to include other in-demand languages but keeps high fidelity front and center. This made DeepL particularly popular among researchers and academics. Source: DeepL

• Performance (⚙️9.5/10): For the few languages DeepL supports, its accuracy is outstanding, with nuanced and natural-sounding translations, especially for European languages. Of course, human editing is still advisable.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧8/10): DeepL is available as a web-based tool, Chrome plugin, and a desktop app for Windows and MacOS. It also offers API integration. Customer support, however, leaves a lot to be desired with many users complaining about long response time.
• Innovation (💡8/10): DeepL uses its own neural network it keeps perfecting, making unique things possible, for example, formal/informal tone distinction.
• Value for money (💰9/10): DeepL’s free version is more restrictive than Google’s, but the Pro version is arguably more affordable. Prices range from $8.74 to $57.49 per user per month depending on functionality and translation volumes.

3. Bing Translator (formerly Microsoft Translator)

Bing Translator is a widely popular system created by Microsoft. The current simplified version was designed for access via the Bing search engine. It supports over 100 languages, including versions and dialects, which is the similar number compared to other tools on this list, yet they don’t fully overlap. For example, Bing has American indigenous languages better represented.

Apart from its native web-based interface, Bing is available as an iOS and Android app, API service, and enterprise version with custom glossaries and terminology. Source: Bing

• Performance (⚙️8/10): Translation accuracy fluctuates depending on a particular language pair, but overall is impressive, especially for European languages.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧9/10): Bing integrates natively with Microsoft products, but works okay with other platforms. FAQs and documentation provide ample information, plus support channels work efficiently.
• Innovation (💡7/10): Bing is very reliable, but not particularly inventive. Recent updates focus on better user experience, smooth integration, and customization rather than on innovative automatic translation services.
• Value for money (💰9/10): Free functionality is enough for everyday personal use giving 2,000,000 characters per month, which is four times Google’s limit. The paid options offer scalable solutions for businesses of all sizes, ranging from 20 million to 1 billion characters per month.

4. Baidu Translate

Dabbed “Chinese Google,” Baidu is a tech giant with an all-encompassing selection of products, including its machine translation tool. Baidu Translate currently supports an impressive number of 280 languages for text and 45 for speech translation. Apart from translation, it offers language-learning features, such as Notepad with important phrases, oral practice, videos, and daily readings.

While the interface might not be as intuitive for Western users, Baidu Translate is innovative, dynamic, and provides excellent support for Asian languages. It’s definitely a tool with great potential.
Source: Baidu Translate

• Performance (⚙️7/10): Baidu’s accuracy is unparalleled for Asian languages, particularly Chinese and its dialects, but might be less reliable for other language families.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧7/10): Baidu is currently available only as a web-based tool and an iOS mobile app.
• Innovation (💡8/10): Baidu focuses on keeping up with the latest developments, offering live speech translation, image translation (including live camera), and voice conversion offering translated speech in the speaker’s voice.
• Value for money (💰9/10): Freemium model with generous free tier and affordable paid plans, Baidu is particularly useful for individual learners or businesses expanding into Asian countries.

5. Papago

Papago is a new kid on the block but powered by AI, it’s set for success. It was released in 2017 by the Naver Corporation, a South Korean internet giant with a proprietary search engine. Currently, Papago, which means “parrot” in Esperanto, supports only 14 languages, mostly Asian, with a handful of European ones. It is available as a web-based text/doc translator and a mobile app.

It is marketed as an on-the-go translation tool for personal use, mainly travel and studies, with handy features like speech translation and image translation. However, you might want to keep an eye on it because more robust business-focused functionality is sure to follow.
Source: Papago

• Performance (⚙️7.5/10): Accuracy heavily depends on the language pair, with Korean and Japanese being the best translated.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧8/10): User-friendly and intuitive, Papago is available on the web, iOS and Android.
• Innovation (💡9/10): Voice translation for live chats works smoothly and sounds natural, especially in Korean and Japanese, letting you adjust honorifics and switch tones.
• Value for money (💰10/10): For individual communication and travel, the value is great. Free ad-supported version has some limitations, while paid plans remove ads and allow bigger translation volumes.

6. Systran

SYSTRAN is one of the oldest machine translation tools that managed to survive since the 1960s. It has always been rule-based machine translation technology with a later addition of a hybrid rule-based/statistical approach. SYSTRAN currently supports 55 languages.

The key to SYSTRAN’s longevity seems to be reliability and customizability. Even though the RBMT/SMT method isn’t as flexible as NMT in ready-made solutions, it can be efficiently customized for each specific application. Source: Systran

• Performance (⚙️7/10): SYSTRAN’s fidelity fluctuates with greater accuracy for European languages and poorer results for unusual language pairs.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧8/10): Paid versions of SYSTRAN run on MS Windows (including mobile), Linux, and Solaris. Twelve other machine translation systems have SYSTRAN integrations. Documentation and support are detailed and efficient.
• Innovation (💡7.5/10): SYSTRAN tentatively participates in NMT research collaborating on OpeNMT, but is more conservative than its competitors.
• Value for money (💰7/10): SYSTRAN offers multiple subscription plans for users and customized solutions for businesses, but some might find their services pricey for the features.

7. iTranslate

iTranslate is a mobile app created for personal use and on-the-go translations. It currently supports over 100 languages with voice, text, and camera translation, and has a keyboard extension for live chat translation. It is available for Android and iOS (+Apple Watch) and supports offline mode.

iTranslate used to exist as a family of apps: iTranslate Converse, iTranslate Translator, and a web tool, but not long ago has been consolidated into one universal app. Source: iTranslate

• Performance (⚙️8/10): iTranslate offers a decent level of fidelity. However, the latest updates might have tampered with the accuracy of the voice recognition feature.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧7/10): iTranslate is a self-sufficient mobile app and as such is available on several platforms. However, it does not support any integrations with other products.
• Innovation (💡8.5/10): With updates sometimes backfiring, iTranslate is obviously trying new things using proprietary systems. That said, their features are very similar to the competitors.
• Value for money (💰7.5/10): Full capability is only available via subscription, which many individual users consider too pricey for the functionality. This product is best suited for individual language learners and travelers.

Best AI translator software

Artificial intelligence translation software is trained on large datasets of bilingual texts and translates based on probability and patterns it detects. This allows the technology to be context-sensitive and handle ambiguity much better than other methods. Yet it’s not bulletproof and can misinterpret the source or hallucinate something in the translation that wasn’t in the original.

Thanks to its flexibility, AI can be trained for certain application cases, for example, for highly technical engineering texts or specific vernaculars. That’s why all the tools in this section have their unique features, strengths, and blind spots.

1. Amazon Translate

Amazon Translate is a part of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and targets businesses with a vast online presence. It uses deep learning for its Neural Machine Translation (NMT) technology and currently supports 75 languages (including language variants).

Amazon Translate offers real-time and batch translations, integrations via API, and customized machine translation tools for specific use cases: FAQ, user-generated content (reviews), support tickets, etc. Source: Amazon

• Performance (⚙️8.5/10): Amazon's translation tool is precise and context-aware, with some minor imperfections requiring human post-editing.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧8/10): As other tools on this list, Amazon Translator works perfectly in its native ecosystem, so it’s the best for businesses already using AWS. The setup might be complex, especially for new users, but the documentation is detailed and clear enough to make it out.
• Innovation (💡8/10): Uses advanced machine-learning techniques for a proprietary AI and offers flexible customization, but nothing groundbreaking compared to similar services.
• Value for money (💰8/10): Amazon has a free tier for casual users offering generous character limits per month for text and batch document translation. Real-time translation features are only available in paid tiers starting at affordable $15 per million characters).

2. Reverso

Reverso is an AI-powered tool that currently supports 25+ languages, primarily European. It was conceived as an educational tool more than anything and was quite innovative in this way, offering context-based translations for texts and documents, quick vocabulary lookup for particular words and phrases, synonyms, verb conjugation, pronunciation, and integrated grammar checks.

As a commercial translation service, Reverso makes its first steps with the recently added Reverso Corporate Translator—NMT technology with interactive tools making human editing more comfortable. Source: Reverso

• Performance (⚙️8.5/10): For the limited pool of supported languages, Reverso’s accuracy is exceptional. It adequately translates idiomatic expressions and catches tonal nuances.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧8/10): Reverso is represented as a web tool and mobile app, but no information is currently available on integrations for the Corporate Translator.
• Innovation (💡8/10): Reverso uses a proprietary AI system trained on massive datasets of bilingual texts, but its most innovative features target individual users.
• Value for money (💰8/10): Reverso is free to use with character limits and restrictions for some features, with a Premium subscription allowing full access for language learners and translators. Pricing information for the corporate services can be requested through an online form and is decided on case-by-case basis.

3. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is the natural language processor developed by OpenAI and probably the most famous generative AI out there. It currently supports around 80 languages, although some of them with limited functionality, but it’s learning fast. Translation is one of the possible uses for this large language model.

ChatGPT is available as a web tool and mobile app, but none of these have features tailored for translation. Instead, you should give a prompt asking ChatGPT to translate the text for you or use one of many templates and pre-trained custom bots that other users created. Source: ChatGPT

• Performance (⚙️9/10): ChatGPT’s translations are very natural-sounding and accurate, with a deep understanding of context, slang, and idioms, especially if English is one of the languages in your pair.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧9/10): With recently added APIs and the possibility of creating custom chats, compatibility has improved significantly.
• Innovation (💡9/10): With competition breathing on their necks, OpenAI keeps rolling out newer versions that are even more flexible, context-aware, and natural sounding. ChatGPT got the title of industry disruptor for a reason.
• Value for money (💰8/10): ChatGPT gives access to an impressive arsenal of features for free. Plus subscription of $20 per month unlocks image generation, advanced voice mode, faster response times, and priority access during peak hours. For unlimited access and enterprise-grade data security, there is Enterprise tier, but for specific details one has to contact the sales department.

4. KantanAI (formerly KantanMT)

KantanAI, previously known as KantanMT is a translation and localization ecosystem developed by Keyword Studious and targeted at corporate clients. Among KantanAI products, there are translation, localization, OCR, customer support, quality assurance, and marketing research platforms.

Much like SYSTRAN, KantanAI specializes in creating customized solutions tailored for specific industries, content types, and use cases. This makes their services popular in highly-specialized domains: legal, technical, and health care. KantanAI claims to support 760 languages. Source: KantanAI

• Performance (⚙️8/10): Accuracy heavily depends on language pair and particular domain. KantanAI is more a set of tools a company can employ to fine-tune its very own translation model than a ready-made solution.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧7/10): Cloud-based platform hosted on Amazon Web Services, KantanAI is available as API, mobile, and web app. It is now better integrated, but still not universal. Support options are limited to essentials (email, phone).
• Innovation (💡8/10): Being a sandbox of possibilities for corporate clients, KantanAI is as innovative as each particular case requires. They are very flexible and allow for unorthodox solutions.
• Value for money (💰6/10): KantanAI offers custom pricing, depending on desired features and translation volumes. It’s not the most budget-friendly option out there, but might be worth it for companies in need of highly-specialized solutions.

Best professional translation services

Professional translation software go beyond machine translation engines and some custom glossaries. Instead, they are platforms for cooperation with advanced features that were created with specific business translation and localization needs in mind. They cater to companies and their employees rather than individual translators, travelers, and learners.

Here are examples of such professional software ecosystems.

1. Centus

Centus takes a cloud-based approach to translation management and localization. Developed with a focus on collaboration, Centus allows managing the entire translation process from initial translation to quality assurance. It stands out for its simplicity and multiple integration options.

Centus comes with a powerful feature set including machine translation, glossaries, translation memories, quality assurance, and automation. The solution is particularly well-suited for growing companies looking for an affordable way to localize their websites, software, and content.

• Performance (⚙️9/10): Centus integrates all the popular machine translation engines and allows human translators and editors easily improve the text.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧9/10): Centus offers a range of integrations for translators, developers, designers, and project managers. According to customer reviews, Centus is also intuitive and easy to work with.
• Innovation (💡8/10): The platform keeps rolling out new features and updates the workflows making them smoother. In many ways, it is still a work in progress, but it already has some unrivaled advantages.
• Value for money (💰9/10): Centus’ pricing plans are flexible providing affordable solutions for startups and small companies and catering to bigger enterprises in need of powerful features.

Here is how you can translate your content with Centus:

1. Import content to Centus
2. Translate automatically with DeepL, Google Translate, or Bing Translator
3. Assign the translated content to human editors or other teammates
4. Track and manage the editing process
5. When happy with results, export the content

2. SDL Trados Studio

Trados is another language service provider with a history on this list. It hails back to the 1980s when the German company Trados GmbH began developing translation software. Nowadays, Trados is a big translation management system that is used by freelancers and corporations alike.

Trados has recently rolled out Language Weaver, an AI translation technology adding to its suite of products that include translation memory, glossaries, editing, project management, quality assessment, etc. Key Trados products are Trados Studio, Trados Team, Trados Accelerate, and Trados Enterprise, targeting individual translators and businesses of different sizes. Source: SDL

• Performance (⚙️9/10): Trados is a household name in the translation community, famous for its dependability. It takes some time to master but allows great control over the translation process.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧7/10): Trados is available as a cloud solution and a desktop app for Windows, and works with dozens of file types. Although it offers extensive courses helping users to learn all the capabilities of this rather complex system, they are paid, which isn’t very approachable.
• Innovation (💡8/10): Trados is a more conservative system that focuses on stability more than innovation, but lately they started adding some progressive features like AI translation.
• Value for money (💰6/10): Although Trados offers reliable service, prices are on the higher end of the market, starting at $395 yearly for freelancers and charging monthly for each user in business subscriptions.

3. Promt

ProMT (stands for “Project Machine Translation) is neural machine translation system that operates as on-premises software and focuses on the security needed for translating sensitive information. It currently supports 45 languages, primarily European. ProMT works best is one of the language pair is English, German, or Russian.

Historically it used to be a rule-based machine translation system, but various hybrid techniques were introduced in 2011. It is best suited for professional environments where not only reliability, but also privacy is of importance: government agencies, law firms, healthcare facilities, IT companies, etc. Source: Promt

• Performance (⚙️ 7/10): ProMT is highly accurate for technical texts but does not handle ambiguity and literary translation very well. For its particular niche, however, it’s a solid choice.
• Compatibility and assistance ( 8/10): ProMT runs on MS Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS and Android and offers API for developers.
• Innovation ( 8/10): Despite using traditional techniques, adds new approaches and experiments with neural translation to stay up-to-date.
• Value for money ( 7/10): As on-premises software, ProMT is one-time purchase and as such is very affordable. However, you must be strategic about which languages you are interested in, because various packs contain different sets of languages (Nordic Pack, French Pack, Asian Pack, etc.)

4. Text United

TextUnited is a cloud-based AI-powered translation management system with a collaborative environment for team communication. It currently supports 170 languages. Similarly to other CAT-tools, it offers a choice between machine translation, human translation, or a combination of both with translation memory and glossaries.

It is an easy-to-use tool available as a web-based, desktop, and mobile app. On top of machine translation technology, TextUnited also offers human translation services from its in-house team of professionals. Source: Text United

• Performance (⚙️8.5/10): TextUnited uses a balanced approach combining fast AI translations with human editing for speed and precision.
• Compatibility and assistance (🔧9/10): TextUnited is available as a web tool and app, although some users complain about the online version often lagging. It also offers APIs and an extensive set of integrations: Bitbucket, GitHub, Dropbox, HubSpot, Adobe, and overlay editors for website translations.
• Innovation (💡7/10): TextUntied is pretty progressive with its human-AI partnership, however, lacks some important features, such as SEO tools or spellchecker.
• Value for money (💰8/10): Offers free trial and free tier for “users who need translations rarely” with limits on new words added monthly and allowance for string translation. Other subscription tiers range from €60 to €210 per month, with custom arrangements for enterprises.