What is Microsoft Translator used for?

Microsoft Translator is a machine translation service with consumer apps and an API for translating text, speech, documents and conversations. It is a good fit for travelers translating menus and signs, businesses translating customer interactions through the API, and teachers supporting multilingual classrooms.

Is Microsoft Translator free?

Yes. Microsoft Translator has a free plan.

Is Microsoft Translator open source?

No. Microsoft Translator is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Translator include LibreTranslate and Argos Translate.

What are some alternatives to Microsoft Translator?

Microsoft Translator competes with Google Translate, DeepL and Amazon Translate. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Microsoft Translator alternatives.

Microsoft Translator: features, pricing and alternatives

About Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator is a machine translation service from Microsoft that works across text, speech, images and documents. Consumer apps handle live conversations, menus and street signs, websites and documents, and some features work offline so travelers can use them without a connection.

For businesses, the same technology is offered through the Translator API and Speech service in the Azure AI Services family, which can translate text and speech in customer interactions and products. A separate education offering provides live captioning and cross-language understanding for classrooms, including students and parents. The product has apps for Android, iOS and Windows, an Outlook add-in and a multi-device conversation mode.

It is a hosted Microsoft service. The apps are for personal use, while developers can use the API with a free trial that includes a monthly allowance of text translation, and the Translator blog announces new languages and features as they are added.

Key features

Real-time conversation translation
Translation of text, speech and documents
Offline translation in the mobile apps
Translator API and Speech service on Azure
Live captioning for classrooms
Outlook add-in and multi-device conversations

Good fit for

→Travelers translating menus and signs
→Businesses translating customer interactions through the API
→Teachers supporting multilingual classrooms

Tags: machine-translation; translation-api; speech-translation; azure; mobile-app; localization; microsoft

Microsoft Translator: questions and answers

What is Microsoft Translator used for?: Microsoft Translator is a machine translation service with consumer apps and an API for translating text, speech, documents and conversations. It is a good fit for travelers translating menus and signs, businesses translating customer interactions through the API, and teachers supporting multilingual classrooms.
Is Microsoft Translator free?: Yes. Microsoft Translator has a free plan.
Is Microsoft Translator open source?: No. Microsoft Translator is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Translator include LibreTranslate and Argos Translate.
What are some alternatives to Microsoft Translator?: Microsoft Translator competes with Google Translate, DeepL and Amazon Translate. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Microsoft Translator alternatives.