The Best Translation Apps of 2024
Written by: BestApp.com App Testing Team - Updated: Aug 09, 2021
Microsoft Translator stands out as the best translation app available. It’s completely free, works offline, and offers a variety of useful features. But Microsoft Translator may not be the best fit for your specific needs. We’ve also reviewed nine other top translation apps that are worth checking out below.
Top 10 Translation Apps to Try
- Microsoft Translator — Top Pick
- iTranslate — Best for Different Dialects
- Google Translate — Most Popular
- TripLingo — Best for Live Translations
- SayHi — Best Performance
- Papago — Best for Handwriting Translations
- TextGrabber — Best Support
- Waygo — Best for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
- Speak & Translate — Most Languages
How We Chose the Best Translation Apps
When determining the best translation apps, we looked for features such as real-time voice translation, text translation, camera translation, and pronunciation guides. We also prioritized providers that offer affordable pricing. Many of the options listed below won’t cost you anything at all.
Choose the translation app that’s right for you
When choosing a translation app, consider your specific needs. The best option for one user isn’t necessarily the best one for another. For example, some apps are designed for travel use, while others are more focused on helping you learn a new language.
Translate on the go with offline mode
If you are looking for a translation solution to use while traveling, then offline mode is an absolute must-have feature. Many areas of the world don’t offer access to fast internet, but that won’t matter if your translation app doesn’t require internet connection. For this reason, you’ll find that most of the apps featured in this guide include at least some level of offline functionality.
Our Translation App Reviews
Microsoft Translator — Top Pick
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
With this app, you can translate text and voice content in over 70 languages. You can also download languages, which allows you to translate content without an internet connection — this is an especially useful feature when you’re traveling. Other features include split-screen mode, phrasebooks, and pronunciation guides. Best of all, you can access all of these features for free.
Notable features:
- Free mobile application
- Support available: Help & FAQs, Forum, Email
| Microsoft Translator Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Feature-rich translation app | No live support available |
| Offline access | |
| All features are free to use | |
iTranslate — Best for Different Dialects
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
With the free version of iTranslate, you can translate content into over 100 languages, listen to translations in a male or female voice, and switch between different dialects. By upgrading to the premium version of this app, you’ll get access to extra features such as verb conjugations in different tenses and offline translation mode for over 40 languages. The Pro version’s Lens feature allows you to use your device’s camera to instantly translate menus, signs, etc.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $2.99 – $43.99 per item
- Support available: Email, Help/FAQs
| iTranslate Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Translate content into 100+ languages | No live support |
Google Translate — Most Popular
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
With over one billion downloads, Google Translate is by far the most popular translation app covered in this guide. And it’s easy to see why this app is so popular — Google Translate’s features include text and voice translations for 108 languages, a phrasebook, handwriting translations, instant camera translation, and offline mode for 59 languages.
Notable features:
- Free mobile application
- Support available: Help Center, Email, Community Forum
| Google Translate Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Translate content into 100+ languages | No live support |
| All features are free to use | |
TripLingo — Best for Live Translations
TripLingo offers many features that will help you learn how to speak a new language, including a 10,000-word offline dictionary, audio lessons, built-in flashcards, and quizzes. There are also features for traveling, such as an intelligent tip calculator, currency converter, and an instant voice translator for 19 languages. But what really separates TripLingo from your other translation app options is that you can access a live human translator whenever you need it (this service will cost you $3 per minute).
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $9.99 – $100.00 per item
- Support available: Email
| TripLingo Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Access to a human translator | No live technical support |
SayHi — Best Performance
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
With a size of just 11 MB, SayHi is one of the most lightweight apps covered in this guide, which has enabled it to offer exceptionally fast loading time and performance. The app is completely free to use, and it allows you to translate content into dozens of languages. There’s also support for several specific dialects, including USA, UK, and Canada English; France and Canada French; and Mandarin and Taiwan Chinese.
Notable features:
- Free mobile app
- Support available: Email, FAQs
| SayHi Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Lightweight app with exceptional performance | Doesn’t work offline |
| All features included for free | No live support |
Papago — Best for Handwriting Translations
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Papago offers all the translation features you’ll ever need, including text translation, image translation, voice translation, handwriting translation, a dictionary, and offline mode. All of these features are included for free as well. The only downside to Papago is that it only allows you to translate 13 languages — most of the other options in this guide let you to translate many more languages than that.
Notable features:
- Free mobile app
- Support available: Help/FAQs, Ticket
| Papago Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| All features included for free | Relatively few languages included |
| Offline access | No live support |
TextGrabber — Best Support
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
As you may have been able to guess from its name, TextGrabber only allows you to translate text. But if you just need text translation, TextGrabber is a useful tool — all you need to do is point your camera at a piece of printed text and the app will quickly translate it for you (no internet connection is required). Unlike most of the other apps listed in this guide, TextGrabber offers live phone support that you can contact whenever you need assistance.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $1.99 – $17.99 per item
- Support available: FAQs, Email, Phone, Ticket
| TextGrabber Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Offline mode | Only capable of translating text |
| Phone support | |
Waygo — Best for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
Download: iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Waygo allows you to translate Chinese, Japanese, and Korean without an internet connection. With Waygo’s camera feature, you can point your phone at a piece of text and get your translation without even taking a picture. Waygo allows you to see and hear the pronunciation of translations as well. If you only need to translate one of the three languages that Waygo offers, this is an excellent choice.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $1.99 – $11.99 per item
- Support available: Email, FAQs, Videos
| Waygo Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Offline mode | Only works for three languages |
Speak & Translate — Most Languages
Download: iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Speak & Translate allows you to translate text into 117 languages, which is more than any of the other apps covered in this guide (you can access voice translations for 54 languages). But you’ll need to find another solution if you have an Android device, as Speak & Translate is only available on the Apple app store.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $2.99 – $69.99 per item
- Support available: Email, Phone
| Speak & Translate Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Translate content into 100+ languages | Not available for Android devices |
| Phone support | |
Translation Apps: Feature Summary Table
| Translation Apps Comparison Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| App | Subscription Fees or In-App Purchases |
Features |
| Microsoft Translator — Top Pick | Free | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation ✓ Pronunciation Guide |
| iTranslate — Best for Different Dialects | $2.99 – $43.99 per item | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |
| Google Translate — Most Popular | Free | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation ✓ Pronunciation Guide |
| TripLingo — Best for Live Translations | $9.99 – $100.00 per item | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |
| SayHi — Best Performance | Free | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation X Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |
| Papago — Best for Handwriting Translations | Free | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |
| TextGrabber — Best Support | $1.99 – $17.99 per item | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |
| Waygo — Best for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean | $1.99 – $11.99 per item | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation ✓ Camera Translation ✓ Pronunciation Guide |
| Speak & Translate — Most Languages | $2.99 – $69.99 per item | ✓ Real-Time Voice Translation ✓ Text Translation X Camera Translation X Pronunciation Guide |