5 Best PDF Translators (Features, Pros and Cons)
There are so many PDF translators out there these days that choosing one for your translation project can seem daunting, but don’t worry. You don’t have to wade through a seemingly endless sea of PDF translators to find one that works. I’ve tested dozens of PDF translators so you don’t have to. Here are my favorites:
1. UPDF
Hands down, UPDF is the absolute best online PDF translator available. This fantastic PDF translator has all the bells and whistles, and while there is a subscription option, there are a lot of features that are available for free. UPDF is an AI-integrated PDF translator. You can translate a document by simply opening up the AI chat, pasting the content, and instructing the AI to translate the PDF into any language. UPDF is an incredibly powerful tool that can even translate scanned documents. This program goes above and beyond other free PDF translators since you can also add comments to translated documents, and it has the best text editor of any PDF program I’ve seen. When you upload the document, you can click on the “edit PDF” icon, and it creates a text box, allowing you to easily edit the body of the document. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention UPDF’s sleek and intuitive UI, which makes translating PDFs a breeze.
UPDF is supported on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Create an account and download the application to begin. You can download UPDF here.
Pros:
- Amazing UI
- Integrated translation and PDF editing features, allowing you to translate and edit the entire document
- Translate into any language
- Translate scanned documents
- Add comments to translated documents
- Built-in AI assistant
Cons:
- Requires you to download a program to use
2. DeepL
DeepL’s innovative design is powered by neural networks, making it one of the most accurate online translators on the market. Blind tests showed that DeepL outperformed competitors such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft when it came to the accuracy of the translations it provided. The PDF translation feature takes an uploaded document and downloads the translation as a Word Document onto your computer. DeepL has a text box translation feature, allowing you to enter text into a field and translate it to the target language instantly. DeepL also comes with DeepL Write, an AI-powered writing assistant that corrects spelling, punctuation, and grammar and provides suggestions. You can translate up to 500,000 characters on DeepL for free each month before you would need to get a membership to continue using the software. That might sound like a lot, and it’s fine if you only have the occasional small translation project, but if you find yourself translating large documents several times a week, you will probably run out of characters.
Pros:
- Highest translation quality
- Text box translation tool
- Easy to use
- AI-powered editing tool
Cons:
- Limited number of free characters translated each month
- Lacks PDF editing features
3. Google Translate
Google translate is another great option for PDF translation, and it’s completely free. However, it lacks a lot of the features of UPDF, especially if you need to add comments or edit your PDF after translating it. The PDF translation feature is simple and straightforward to use. You can just upload your PDF, and Google Translate will download the translated PDF onto your computer. You should note that on the top left hand corner of your document, it will say “Machine Translated by Google.” Besides translating PDFs, Google Translate has handful of different translation features. For example, Google Translate allows you to copy and paste text into a text box, and it will translate the text into the language of your choosing. You can also translate text found in images and websites.
Pros:
- Intuitive PDF translation feature
- Can translate text, images, and websites
- Completely free
Cons:
- No PDF editing tools
- Quality of the translation is decent, but not as good as UPDF or DeepL
4. DeftPDF
DeftPDF is another PDF editing tool that has a translation feature. You can upload your document and DeftPDF will provide the translation as a downloadable Word Document file. What’s nice about DeftPDF is that unlike Google Translate or DeepL, it doesn’t include an automatic mention of the company in the translated document. DeftPDF also has some basic PDF editing tools. You can use it to merge documents, delete pages, convert files, and edit documents. However, the editing features are more limited than UPDF. You can’t leave comments on the document, and the editing feature can be tricky to use. When you go to edit, it highlights a single line at a time as opposed to the whole paragraph. You can also drag the individual lines, which can happen inadvertently, and it could cause some spacing issues on the final document. DeftPDF is free to use, but there is also a premium membership if you find yourself needing to edit a large volume of documents.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Doesn’t advertise itself in the translated PDF
Cons:
-Editing tools are limited compared to UPDF
5. Onlinedoctranslator
Onlinedoctranslator is another PDF translator. It has the most cluttered UI of any of translator on this list and the website is covered in ads, but it’s free and it gets the job done. Simply upload your PDF, and the site will provide the translated document in the form of a downloadable PDF. Onlinedoctranslator’s translation software is powered by Google, so you can feel confident that the quality of the translation is decent. I would like to note that the download button is tiny and hard to see, and when you click on it, you’re prompted to make a donation to the website, but this is optional. The size of the text on the PDF varies from sentence to sentence, and there was a small advertisement for the site in the top left corner, so I would only recommend using this site for personal projects. If you need a more professional looking document, you should try another one of the translators on this list, especially UPDF. Onlinedoctranslator has a document conversion feature, and a feature that allows you to split a document.
Pros:
- Free
- Translations are powered by Google, sot the quality is ok
Cons:
- Website is covered in advertisements
- Somewhat cumbersome to use
- Download button is hard to find
- Needed to make multiple attempts to translate a single document
- Has some editing feature, but they are very limited
Conclusion
I hope this list is helpful to you. In the course of testing out tons of free online PDF translators, I found that they tended to fall into two categories: They were either translation software with a PDF translating feature or a free PDF editor with translation capabilities. However, UPDF stood out as a software that combined excellent PDF editing capabilities with translation and AI assistance, but you don’t need to take my word for it. Download UPDF for free today!