Stuck on a translation assignment? Or do you have enough budget to hire professional translators for your business? Or maybe looking for ways to make your tasks easier as a translator.
The old ways of translation are rapidly being replaced by AI-assisted tools, that are free of charge, and many of them are effective.
Below we curated 10 free online tools to use next time you need to translate a small text, or even a long document, listing their advantages and disadvantages with a screenshot illustrating how each tool works.
1-DeepL
Launched in 2017, DeepL translates into 32 languages. According to DeepL’s survey, the company offers a translation that is 3x more accurate than free tools like Google and Microsoft Translate, and in language pairs like English and German they claim to be six times more accurate.
Advantages of DeepL:
1-Multiple language support
2-Accurate, natural, and contextual translations in many languages.
Disadvantages of DeepL
1-To get the most out of it, a premium subscription is needed to unlock features like translation of whole documents, and other document customization options.
2-Still needs to be trained in other specialized fields to avoid ambiguity or mistranslations.
Below is an example of a translated extract on their website, using the famous opening paragraph from A Tale of Two Cities novel.
The translation is relatively accurate, given the difficulty of translating a literary extract, yet the dictionary did not support translation for the selected word “foolishness”.
MyMemory
It is quite different from most tools on this list because Mymemory depends on a large database or translation memory (TM) of human translation. In fact, it is the world’s largest TM, and its documents are collected from credible sources like the United Nations and the European Union.
Advantages of MyMemory:
1-Large database of human translations, making it a comprehensive resource for translations.
2-It is 100% free, making it accessible to anyone who needs translation services without any cost.
3-Translation memories can be downloaded in TMX format, and could later be used with any CAT (computer assisted translation) tool.
4- MyMemory allows room for contribution since users can contribute to it by adding their own memories or editing entries, helping to improve the overall quality and coverage of translations.
Disadvantages
1-lack of advanced features.
2-Quality variations: Being based on millions of attempted human translations, this means the quality is not always consistent.
3-Privacy concerns; since MyMemory relies on user contributions, there may be concerns about the privacy and security of the data being translated and stored.
The translation of this quote below proves how accurate this tool is, yet it doesn’t provide examples of human translation all the time like in the image below.
Reverso
One of the most used free online translation tools, after Google Translate. It is known for its easy interface,
Advantages of Reverso:
1-Supports 26 languages.
2-Provides high accuracy compared to other tools.
3-Translates whole files and documents.
Disadvantages of Reverso
1-Requires paid subscriptions to enjoy premium features like AI spell-checking checking, and long document translations.
2-The long document translation feature on the free plan is limited to a specific word count that will eventually run out.
Systran
One of the oldest machine translation (MT) services out there. Present on ground since 1968. Systran supports 50+ languages, and more than 150 language pairs. It is an excellent choice for big businesses because it provides an array of services.
Advantages of Systran
1-Free use is without a sign-up process or an account.
2-It allows for up to 5000 words translation in the free web interface.
3-It has a dictionary for the language pairs, if you click on any word, it will provide individual meaning to it.
Disadvantages of Systran
1- It doesn’t have a free plan.
2-Only present in a web version, not desktop or mobile apps
When compared to DeepL, the latter wins because DeepL has a free trial and is available on desktop and mobile applications. However, Systran wins in the number of languages it covers, 55 compared to DeepL’s 32.
Google Translate
This one is a no brainer, Google Translate is present in most of our daily use, either in automated web page translations or in quick and easy access to translating simple words or phrases. Google Translate has gained a bad reputation for the funny mistakes that it makes due to the lack of context and localization.
However, it remains useful as long as it keeps evolving.
Advantages of Google Translate:
1-It is completely free, quick, and supports 109 languages.
2-Based on human translations available online.
3-It is always evolving and improving its logic with time. The quality of its translation now is a lot better than a few years ago.
4-Proves to be accurate when dealing with simple and straightforward text.
5-Translates documents, websites, images, and not just text,
Disadvantages of Google Translate:
1-Makes many contextual errors.
2-It is important to mention that Google Translate is not confidential or secure, anything you put there will be stored.
3-It is not optimal, especially in specialized fields like business or finance.
4-Has a limit, so it forces the user when translating a large document to split it into small paragraphs.
Therefore, Google Translate is a great option, but its translation is only a rough draft that needs your human eye, or to be refined by using other advanced tools.
Yandex Translate
Based in Russia, Yandex is another free tool that provides several interesting features.
Advantages of Yandex
1-Text Translation of more than 100+ languages
2-It provides a free tool between specific language pairs like English/German, and English/Turkish to provide comparisons of how the structure of two languages work, using nuances from movies, videos, and other material.
3-Provides instant website translations.
4-Translates documents and supports many file formats like XLS, PPT, DOC, and PDF
5-Translates text on images.
Disadvantages of Yandex
1-Testing its image translation was not accurate. It still needs to be developed.
2-More language pairs need to be added.
Here is one example of its image translation feature:
Below is the original image:
Promt
PROMT is a prominent developer of machine translation solutions. It utilizes advanced linguistic technologies, including neural networks, to offer top-notch translations to a global audience, catering to both businesses and individuals.
Advantages of Promt.One
1-Supports more than 20+ languages including all major languages like English, German, Spanish, Arabic, and French.
2-Offers translation in context feature. In this section, you can see how words and expressions are used in different contexts.
3-Conjugation tool to show the different varieties of a single word.
4-Free apps on iOS and Android.
Disadvantages of Promt.One
1-Although the ‘Contexts’ feature is brilliant, it works best for generic or general words, but its usage becomes limited with more sophisticated words.
2-Inconsistent accuracy: While Promt can provide basic translations, its accuracy may vary, especially for complex or nuanced content.
The past translation was not accurate, however, when trying another less difficult text, it gave an excellent result.
HIX.AI
This company is based in Singapore. HIX supports not only translation but a variety of content writing tasks, using ChatGPT. It is made for a variety of professionals, writers, editors, and business owners.
Advantages of HIX.AI
1-Several tones of voice (Professional, creative, and academic)
2-Supports more than 100 languages. including Arabic. and English.
3-It not only translates but also offers a refined AI writing tool to make the translation look better.
Disadvantages of HIX.AI
1-The tone of voices feature is not always accurate, sometimes it completely alters the meaning.
2-Has a character limit of 5000.
Below is the same translation with a different tone of voice.
Mate Translate
If you are looking for an easy Google Chrome extension that can translate simple sentences, or words for you instantly, Mate Translate could be the right one for you. It is helpful if you spend a long time online between content that requires you to frequently look up meaning.
Advantages of Mate Translate
1-Available in many languages.
2-Easy to add as an extension on Chrome, and easy to use in seconds while browsing any web page on Google.
Disadvantages of Mate Translate
1-All of their features require a paid subscription, however the translation tool itself is free.
2-The translation box is small and could be annoying for some users.
Lingvanex
A translation company based in Cyprus, present in the market since 2012. Most of their services are paid, but, like Yandex and HIX, Lingvanex has a free translation tool on its website.
Advantages of Lingvanex
1-Easy and smooth interface excellent for user experience.
2-Allows for a bigger character limit compared to other tools here, 10000 characters per attempt.
3-Supports many essential languages.
4-Provides accurate translation, better than plenty of its competitors.
5-Has a built-in dictionary to check any word for meaning.
Disadvantages of Lingvanex
1-limited features compared to other tools on the list that provide multiple translation mediums, or AI tools.
By looking at the diversity of all of these tools, and the many others present online, or in desktop or mobile application versions, any translation task is now made easier, and less overwhelming. When it comes to these tools, it is best not to stick to a single one but make use of all of their distinct features, compare, and contrast their language outputs, and learn how to weigh which is best to use for your next project.
