Microsoft Translator
Microsoft's free translation apps and Azure API, built into Bing, Office, Edge and Teams.
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About Microsoft Translator
Microsoft Translator is the engine behind translation in Bing, Edge, Office, Outlook and Teams, and it also ships as standalone apps for iOS, Android and Windows. The apps translate typed text, speech, photos and screenshots, and offline language packs let them work without a connection. A distinctive feature is multi-device conversation: people join a shared session from their own phones and each reads the discussion in their own language, which is handy for meetings, classrooms and tours. For developers, the same engine is sold as Azure AI Translator, with a free tier of a couple of million characters a month and pay-as-you-go pricing beyond that, plus custom models trained on your own terminology. The consumer apps are free. Translation quality is broadly comparable to Google's, ahead in some pairs and behind in others, and the standalone apps get fewer updates than the versions embedded in Microsoft's main products.
Best for: Microsoft 365 users and developers who want translation tied into Office, Teams and Azure.
Pros and cons
What works
- Built into Office, Outlook, Edge and Teams
- Multi-device conversation for group translation
- Generous free tier on the Azure API
- Offline language packs in the mobile apps
Why people leave
- Standalone apps feel less maintained than Google's
- Custom models and document translation need Azure setup
- Quality varies noticeably between language pairs
Top Microsoft Translator alternatives
See all 5- 1
Google Translate66.5Broader language coverage and more frequently updated mobile apps.
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DeepL62.6More fluent output for documents in major languages, with glossaries.
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iTranslate59.6A travel-focused mobile translator with voice and camera modes.
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Lingvanex57.2Offers on-premise and offline translation for businesses that cannot use a public cloud.
- 5
SYSTRAN55.3An enterprise translation vendor with private-cloud and on-premise deployment.
Why people left Microsoft Translator
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Microsoft Translator: common questions
Is Microsoft Translator free?
Yes, Microsoft Translator is free to use.
Is Microsoft Translator open source?
No, Microsoft Translator is not open source.
What platforms does Microsoft Translator run on?
Microsoft Translator is available for Web, Windows, iOS and Android.
What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Translator?
The highest-ranked Microsoft Translator alternatives right now are Google Translate, DeepL and iTranslate. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.