{"id":23142,"date":"2020-12-22T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T09:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/?p=23142"},"modified":"2020-12-22T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T09:00:30","slug":"the-best-free-translation-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"The best free translation tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Translation tools are an essential piece of kit in a global marketplace. If we want to trade with people from other countries, it is only polite to talk to them in their own language.<\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered why, in \u2018Star Trek\u2019, the crew of the Enterprise are boldly going where no-one has gone before and yet the various alien species they encounter usually speak English? The truth is, they don\u2019t. We just hear English because they use a \u2018Universal Translator\u2019 which translates everything into \u2018Federation Standard\u2019 (or \u2018English\u2019 as we call it). Let us not dwell on the lip-synching and the different voices, okay?<\/p>\n

Scientists have long known that a machine that can automatically translate any language into any other language would be an astoundingly useful gadget. With that in mind, research began in the 1950s<\/a> on figuring out ways to make such a translation tool a reality.<\/p>\n

The tools that we have access to, today, are achieving results that seem little-short of miraculous and, as machine learning and artificial intelligence develops, they will only get more and more accurate.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our rundown of some of the most impressive free translation tools.<\/p>\n

Google Translate<\/h2>\n

Google Translate<\/a> is, for many, the default translation tool simply because it has been built into Google\u2019s search engine. It has also been integrated into Chrome, so it automatically translates websites that aren\u2019t in your native tongue, and it is active in many Android apps. Google Translate is even available in a voice-activated form, too, which is edging into proper \u2018Star Trek\u2019 territory!<\/p>\n

This tool is the most versatile one here, with more than 100 languages covered – including some of the more \u2018exotic\u2019 ones, such as Frisian or Yeruba.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Translator<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Even though Microsoft Translator<\/a> covers fewer languages than Google (about 70), there is nothing second rate about this translation tool.<\/p>\n

It has been integrated into multiple Microsoft platforms, including Bing, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Edge and Skype, among others.<\/p>\n

The API is free to use (up to two million characters a month), so is a favourite for developers. It also has a formidable OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature which means you can point your phone at a word or character you don\u2019t recognise and it will translate it for you, instantly.<\/p>\n

Linguee and DeepL<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Linguee<\/a> combines the functions of a search engine with a dictionary. So, if you type-in a word or phrase you don\u2019t understand, it will offer you translations in a range of languages, give you a definition and link you to online examples of the word or phrase being used correctly, so you can learn from context and example.<\/p>\n

Possibly not a complete solution by itself, Linguee certainly adds comprehension and context to translations you might get from one of the other tools.<\/p>\n

Linguee has been in development since 2007. In 2017, the same team launched a companion translation tool: DeepL.<\/p>\n

DeepL<\/a> is considered, by some commentators<\/a>, to be a more accurate and nuanced tool than Google or Microsoft\u2019s versions, since it has a better understanding of the hidden meanings of idioms and turns-of-phrase.<\/p>\n

This is because the tool\u2019s convoluted neural network (CNN) was trained by Linguee, so it has learned from the millions of searches that platform has conducted.<\/p>\n

New languages are being added all the time and DeepL is now available as a Chrome and Firefox extension. It can also translate Word and PowerPoint documents.<\/p>\n

DeepL is designed to translate longer documents, however it is only free to use for the first 5,000 characters of a document and, for the moment, is fairly limited in the languages it offers. But, that will change.<\/p>\n

In other words\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, in conclusion, you\u2019ll see that there are a range of free translation tools available to you, which offer different features and have different strengths. At different times and in different circumstances, they could all prove useful.<\/p>\n

As with any AI technology, translation tools are a work in progress. Their translations are not flawless and it wouldn\u2019t be advisable to rely on one tool alone for important business documents or legal documents where the language can be very specific.<\/p>\n

If you want your business to cross the language barrier, and grow into an international marketplace, you need hosting that you can rely on 24\/7.<\/p>\n

Heart Internet offers a wide range of excellent Website Hosting<\/a> options, including WordPress Hosting<\/a> and Windows Hosting<\/a>. Our packages come with a range of features, plus 99% uptime, security powered by Sucuri and support that will keep your business online around-the-clock and around-the-world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s our rundown of some of the most impressive free translation tools to help your digital presence and website speak in your buyers\u2019 languages. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,25,28],"tags":[109],"class_list":{"0":"post-23142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-web-design","8":"category-web-hosting","9":"category-your-business","10":"tag-translation-tools"},"yoast_head":"\nThe best free translation tools - Heart Internet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best free translation tools - Heart Internet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heart Internet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heartinternet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Heart Internet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@heartinternet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@heartinternet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Heart Internet\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Heart Internet\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/4cf88a3a32d3dc3df684ebe5b470bb78\"},\"headline\":\"The best free translation tools\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\"},\"wordCount\":762,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Translation tools\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Web Design\",\"Web Hosting\",\"Your Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\",\"name\":\"The best free translation tools - Heart Internet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":627},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The best free translation tools\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/\",\"name\":\"Heart Internet\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Heart Internet\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/HeartInternet_Logo_Colour.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/HeartInternet_Logo_Colour.webp\",\"width\":992,\"height\":252,\"caption\":\"Heart Internet\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heartinternet\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/heartinternet\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/heart-internet-ltd\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/4cf88a3a32d3dc3df684ebe5b470bb78\",\"name\":\"Heart Internet\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Heart Internet\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/author\/heart-internet\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The best free translation tools - Heart Internet","description":"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The best free translation tools - Heart Internet","og_description":"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/","og_site_name":"Heart Internet","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heartinternet\/","article_published_time":"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Heart Internet","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@heartinternet","twitter_site":"@heartinternet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Heart Internet","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/"},"author":{"name":"Heart Internet","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/4cf88a3a32d3dc3df684ebe5b470bb78"},"headline":"The best free translation tools","datePublished":"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/"},"wordCount":762,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg","keywords":["Translation tools"],"articleSection":["Web Design","Web Hosting","Your Business"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/","url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/","name":"The best free translation tools - Heart Internet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-22T09:00:30+00:00","description":"The best free translation tools - Written by the team at Heart Internet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.-The-best-free-website-language-translation-tools-featured.jpg","width":1280,"height":627},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/the-best-free-translation-tools\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The best free translation tools"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#website","url":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/","name":"Heart Internet","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#organization","name":"Heart Internet","url":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/HeartInternet_Logo_Colour.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/HeartInternet_Logo_Colour.webp","width":992,"height":252,"caption":"Heart Internet"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heartinternet\/","https:\/\/x.com\/heartinternet","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/heart-internet-ltd"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/4cf88a3a32d3dc3df684ebe5b470bb78","name":"Heart Internet","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/heartblog.victory.digital\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Heart Internet"},"url":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/author\/heart-internet\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}