What is LibreTranslate used for?

LibreTranslate is a free, open-source, self-hostable machine translation API that works offline using the Argos Translate engine. It is a good fit for adding translation to apps without Google or Azure and private translation on your own server.

Is LibreTranslate open source?

Yes. LibreTranslate is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate and is written mainly in Python.

Is LibreTranslate free?

Yes. LibreTranslate is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host LibreTranslate?

Yes. LibreTranslate can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is LibreTranslate an alternative to?

LibreTranslate is an open-source alternative to Google Translate, DeepL, Amazon Translate and Google Cloud Translation. Other open-source alternatives to Google Translate include Argos Translate.

Is LibreTranslate actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to LibreTranslate was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is v1.9.6, published on 26 May 2026. The project has 17k stars on GitHub.

LibreTranslate: open-source alternative to Google Translate

About LibreTranslate

LibreTranslate is a machine translation API that you can run entirely on your own server. Unlike hosted translation APIs, it does not depend on proprietary services such as Google or Azure. Its translation engine is the open-source Argos Translate library, and the project is licensed under AGPL-3.0.

It provides a web interface for translating text and files, along with an API documented on the site. The homepage lists languages including Basque, Chinese, English, French, German, Irish, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, among others. The software can work offline and is designed to be set up in a few minutes.

A hosted instance is available at libretranslate.com, with an option to obtain an API key, while developers who prefer control over their data can download the software and run their own API server. It is written in Python, and a Quickstart guide and community resources explain deployment.

Key features

Self-hosted machine translation API
Offline-capable translation engine
Text and file translation
Powered by open-source Argos Translate
Web interface and API documentation
Optional API keys

Good fit for

→Adding translation to apps without Google or Azure
→Private translation on your own server

Built with: Python
Tags: translation; machine-translation; api; self-hosted; offline; argos-translate; localization; python

LibreTranslate: questions and answers

What is LibreTranslate used for?: LibreTranslate is a free, open-source, self-hostable machine translation API that works offline using the Argos Translate engine. It is a good fit for adding translation to apps without Google or Azure and private translation on your own server.
Is LibreTranslate open source?: Yes. LibreTranslate is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate and is written mainly in Python.
Is LibreTranslate free?: Yes. LibreTranslate is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host LibreTranslate?: Yes. LibreTranslate can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is LibreTranslate an alternative to?: LibreTranslate is an open-source alternative to Google Translate, DeepL, Amazon Translate and Google Cloud Translation. Other open-source alternatives to Google Translate include Argos Translate.
Is LibreTranslate actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to LibreTranslate was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is v1.9.6, published on 26 May 2026. The project has 17k stars on GitHub.