In short. The "Translation" category has nine services. Seven are for everyday users: Google Translate, Yandex Translate, DeepL, Microsoft Translator, Promt, Reverso and Papago. Two more, Lilt and Smartcat, are built for companies. Text in photos is handled by Google, Yandex, Microsoft, Promt (in its app) and Papago; documents with their formatting by Google, DeepL and Reverso (Papago lists documents too); speech by Google, DeepL, Microsoft and Papago. Google and Yandex are free and work without signing in; DeepL, Microsoft, Promt, Reverso and Papago keep their core features free, and some of them also have paid versions.

We use only what our catalog pages and the services' official pages say.

Seven translators for everyone

Google Translate has been running since 2006 and has been based on neural networks since 2016. It translates text, speech, photos and signs through the phone camera, documents with their formatting and websites by link. A conversation mode helps you talk with someone in another language, and in the app you can download languages and translate offline. It is free and works without signing in.

Yandex Translate is a translator from Yandex, running since 2011. According to its official help, it translates words, expressions, text in photos and pictures, websites and mobile apps. It works in desktop and mobile browsers and has Android and iOS apps. It is free and works without signing in (per its catalog page). Documents are not listed on its page, so we do not recommend it for them.

DeepL is a translator from DeepL, a company based in Cologne, Germany, running since 2017. It translates text, whole Word, PDF and PowerPoint documents with their formatting, and speech; a separate tool helps edit text. It works on the website, in desktop and mobile apps and as a browser extension, and developers can use the API. The translator is free; the paid DeepL Pro offers more and comes with a free trial, see the DeepL page.

Microsoft Translator is Microsoft's translator based on neural machine translation. The app translates text, speech in real time and text in images, can show a live conversation translated as captions, and language packs can be downloaded to translate without internet. The app is free. The multi-device conversation mode has been removed from the app, and translating whole documents is not listed for it.

Promt is the PROMT.One online translator (also Translate.ru) from PROMT, a company that has developed linguistic solutions since 1991. It translates texts and words between more than 20 languages, with particular attention to Kazakh, Uzbek and Tatar. It has a dictionary with examples and audio, plus conjugation and declension tables. The iOS and Android app translates text in photos and has a dialogue mode. The online version is free and shows ads; offline translation is by subscription with a free trial.

Reverso is a translation and language-learning service from the French company Reverso SAS. It translates text and documents (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel) keeping their layout across more than 25 languages. It is known for translation in context: words and phrases are shown in examples from real texts; there are also dictionaries, synonyms, conjugation and a grammar check. The core features are free; longer texts and one-click document translation are in the paid Premium version.

Papago is a translator from the South Korean company NAVER. It translates text, images, documents, speech and websites. The core features are free; some are in the paid Papago Plus.

For companies

Lilt is an enterprise translation and localization platform from the US company LILT. AI agents translate websites, app interfaces, marketing and legal content, and where accuracy matters the work is checked by human translators. There is no self-serve sign-up for individuals; access comes after a demo.

Smartcat is an AI translation and localization platform from the US company Smartcat Platform Inc. It combines AI translation, a translation management system with translation memory and a marketplace of human linguists for review, and connects to Google Docs, WordPress, Git, Figma and other systems. It is built for organizations; there is a free trial, and paid plans are listed as annual plans for companies.

What to pick

  • A quick phrase or paragraph: Google Translate, Yandex Translate or Promt, all free.
  • A Word, PDF or PowerPoint document keeping its layout: DeepL, Google Translate or Reverso.
  • A whole website: Google Translate (by link), Yandex Translate or Papago.
  • Text in photos, signs, menus: Google Translate, Yandex Translate, Microsoft Translator or the Promt app.
  • A conversation with someone in another language: Google Translate (conversation mode) or Microsoft Translator (live captions).
  • Translating without internet: Google Translate or Microsoft Translator (download languages in the app); Promt offline is by subscription.
  • Understanding how a word is used and learning it: Reverso (examples from real texts) or the Promt dictionary.
  • Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar: Promt.
  • Business localization, company terminology: Lilt or Smartcat.
  • Translation inside your own software: DeepL and Microsoft have an API.

How to check the result

  1. Translate it back into the original language and compare the meaning.
  2. Check numbers, names and terms against the original by hand.
  3. Open a translated document in full and see whether tables and fonts moved.
  4. For important texts (contracts, medicine) you need a human translator: machine translation can be wrong.

The data comes from our catalog pages and the services' official pages as of 12 October 2026. If a service has changed its terms, tell us in the comments under the post in our Telegram channel, Pro AI Expertise (the channel is in Russian), and we will update the page.