Top translation apps for filling your passport (and your home screen)
Translation applications are essential to understanding. Even if you have months of Duolingo under your belt, your vocabulary will still be behind native speakers. Get yourself a translation app and suddenly you’ll be way more comfortable navigating communication in a foreign land.
Apps have a variety of features, so prioritize what you’ll need. There is real-time voice translation, phrasebooks, and picture translation, making these great tools for both learning and translation. Use phrasebooks to ask essential questions, voice translators to understand native speakers, and picture translators to read signs and menus. If you’re unsure if you’ll have a cell signal, make sure to get an app with offline translation.
If you’re traveling, you should probably check out our other resources on the matter. We know the best carry-on luggage, best travel adaptors to make your charger go global, and the best travel pillows that aren’t awkward.
Because I’m nowhere near bilingual, I phoned a friend or two to help me try these apps. My roommate is fluent in Spanish, and she spent the summer in Costa Rica. I asked her for a good test of an app’s knowledge of slang. She said “library” is “biblioteca” in Spanish, but locals often shorten it to “biblio.” So I told my phone “Vamos al biblio” over and over to test each app. All of the apps answered incorrectly, but a few picked up that it’s close to “book” and “Bible.”
My dad also offered an assist on app testing. He has been learning German and works on it everyday for a few hours. To test the apps, he sent me a paragraph from Der Herr de Ringe (that’s The Lord of the Rings in German) with lots of similar words like “coach” and “trainer” to see if the software could pick up on the intricacies. None of the translations were perfect, but none were awful either.
I ran my tests on 17 of the highest-rated translation apps to find my top picks — here they are.
Best translation app overall
Cultural education function • Conversion chart • Free
Translation features aren’t as developed as other apps
Instead of being just one tool, this app is an entire toolbox.
1. TripLingo
This app combines multiple tools for international travel while maintaining a translation focus.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: With subscription
- Offline translation: Yes
TripLingo knows that you may have more than one travel need, so it tries to fill many roles. Just don’t expect the best from every single function. Reviewers on the App Store report bugs, like not being able to hear the translations. One reviewer said the developer fixed his concerns, and I haven’t experienced problems myself.
There are four tabs lining the bottom of the screen: home, culture, tools, and safety. Inside, there’s all three types of translators and many languages. Plus, it’ll help you convert inches to centimeters.
If you want to memorize a little, TripLingo provides flashcards and quizzes to help you learn. But certain features like an advanced phrasebook requires a subscription,
All the tools make this a good download. It’s great for short trips where you don’t need much detail to enjoy your stay. For longer cultural immersions, I’d pick apps that specialize in each area of travel.
Best translation app for social media
Translate across your apps with Go Translate keyboard • Accurate translations
It costs more than your Netflix subscription
On par with many of the other translator apps on the market, it’s the integrated keyboard that sets it apart from.
2. Go Translate
Full features require some dough, but options like an integrated keyboard make Go Translate stand out.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: With subscription
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: With subscription
I love this app for its integrated keyboard that follows me to every app on my phone, meaning it’ll easily translate my Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. It’s great for the age of influencers, where it’s integral to attract eyes from all over the world.
The app isn’t practical for me because it costs $10 per week, which totals to $520 a year. Of all the subscription services, I’d sooner send my dog a BarkBox. But the weekly charge means you can make it through a short trip and cancel when you get home with minimal expense.
Reviewers on the App Store like the accuracy of the translations and help with pronunciations while many other brag that it helped them ace a class
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