Best Translation Apps to Use in 2024

Photo by Chris Karidis on Unsplash

Translation apps can be a godsend if you travel often and talk to individuals who don't speak the same language as you. Now, with recent advancements, the language barrier has shrunk significantly. So, I embarked on a journey to find the best translation apps you can use on your next trip.

Here are my picks for the best three translation apps in 2024.

1. Google Translate
2. Apple Translate
3. DeepL

Testing Criteria for Language Apps

When testing each app's functionality and feature set, I kept in mind a few things. These include:

1. Interface: This is the first thing you're going to notice when you launch the translation app. I looked for interfaces that are easy to use, even for someone who doesn't use technology a lot. However, having a simple interface doesn't necessarily mean that that app has basic functionality.
2. Accuracy: What good is a translate app if it can't translate properly right? I checked to see if the translations are accurate. My main focus for checking accuracy was Spanish and English. Not all translations are bound to be 100% accurate, but making sure that the meaning doesn't change matters.
3. Offline Functionality: In a lot of places, there may be no internet connectivity which can render some translation apps useless. Thankfully, many apps allow you to download languages you can use later without the internet.

Let's take a look at my picks for the best translation apps in 2024.

Google Translate

1. Platform: Android and iOS
2. Things we loved: Easy-to-use interface.
3. Things we disliked: Not great for longer translations

The iOS and Android versions of Google Translate roughly have the same feature set but with some changes in the layouts. The app allows you to translate more than 100 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Greek, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian and much more.

The app also allows you to download languages for offline translation which can come in handy if you're in an area with no internet.

Translating text is extremely easy in the app. To do it, click on the language box towards the bottom left part of the screen and choose the source language. Then, click on the language selector on the bottom right side to choose the target language. After that, simply start writing and you will see real-time translations being displayed below the text.

The app also allows you to share translations, translate from images, and transcribe speech. On top of that, Google Translate allows users to have real-time translated conversations. To do it, simply click the Conversation icon and you can talk in different languages seamlessly.

I suggest the Google Translate app especially if you use an Android device as it features Google Assistant support as well.

Apple Translate

Platform: iOS

Things we loved: Great sentence structure

Things we disliked: Problems with compound words

Like Google's translator app, this dedicated Apple app focuses on a simple, easy-to-use design. The app is great for on-the-go translations but soon you're going to realize that Apple's translation app has a fairly stripped-back design than the already simple Google app.

You can pick the languages at the top and write the text in the textbox. The app also has an offline translation option. Translations are pretty accurate but often lack a complex sentence structure which can make the sentences seem very basic.

In my testing, the app only has Spain Spanish which can change the meaning of some words for people who speak Mexican Spanish. For example, Spaniards use the word "vosotros" whereas Mexicans use the word "ustedes"

One great integration I loved was its built-in functionality for the Action button in the iPhone 15 Pro. This allows you to live-translate languages with the press of a button.

If you're using iOS, then the native Apple Translate app is great to use unless you're looking for highly accurate translations.

DeepL

Platform: iOS and Android

Things we loved: Highly accurate Translations

Things we disliked: Some options locked behind a paywall

If you're someone who values accuracy in translations, DeepL should cover your needs. The app features a very similar design to the previous two apps. At the top, you can see the language selector where you can choose the source language on the left and the target language on the right.

Below it, you can write the text in the textbox and you will be able to see the translations in real-time. The app has additional features like keyboard shortcuts, instant insert, document translations, and auto screen capture.

Compared to the other two apps, DeepL has very high translation accuracy. The best part about it is that it can understand context and create more human-sounding sentences. Currently, it supports a lower number of languages compared to its competitors but it has some of the most popular ones like Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and others.

I recommend this app if you're someone who needs accurate translations but can afford to sacrifice ease of use.

Final Words

After extensive testing, I found DeepL to be the most accurate language translation app currently on mobile. However, its free version leaves a lot to be desired.

So, if you're looking for conversational translators with a larger number of supported languages, then you should use Apple Translate or Google Translate depending on your device. For more accurate translations, try out DeepL's mobile app.

If you're out of your house and don't want to pay for expensive data plans, you can use Spectrum's Out-of-Home Wi-Fi for doing online translations. Call numero de Spectrum for more details about their internet plans.