A few things hold me back from international travel: money and language barriers. I’ve only been outside of the United States once, and it was on a cheap spring break cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. The pool for the whole boat fit a waterslide and a handful of small children. I spent most of my vacation reading and waiting to go on an excursion. I was 12.
When I can bust the piggy bank and make it outside of the States, I don’t want language to get in the way of communicating with locals.
Apps have a variety of features, so prioritize what you’ll need. There is real-time voice translation, phrasebooks, and picture translation, making these great tools for both learning and translation. Use phrasebooks to ask essential questions, voice translators to understand native speakers, and picture translators to read signs and menus. If you’re unsure if you’ll have a cell signal, make sure to get an app with offline translation.
If you’re traveling, you should probably check out our other resources on the matter. We know the best carry-on luggage, best travel adaptors to make your charger go global, and the best travel pillows that aren’t awkward.
Because I’m nowhere near bilingual, I phoned a friend or two to help me try these apps. My roommate is fluent in Spanish, and she spent the summer in Costa Rica. I asked her for a good test of an app’s knowledge of slang. She said “library” is “biblioteca” in Spanish, but locals often shorten it to “biblio.” So I told my phone “Vamos al biblio” over and over to test each app. All of the apps answered incorrectly, but a few picked up that it’s close to “book” and “Bible.”
My dad also offered an assist on app testing. He has been learning German and works on it everyday for a few hours. To test the apps, he sent me a paragraph from Der Herr de Ringe (that’s The Lord of the Rings in German) with lots of similar words like “coach” and “trainer” to see if the software could pick up on the intricacies. None of the translations were perfect, but none were awful either.
I ran my tests on 17 of the highest-rated translation apps to find my top picks — here they are.
Cultural education function • Conversion chart • Free
Translation features aren’t as developed as other apps
Instead of being just one tool, this app is an entire toolbox.
1. TripLingo
This app combines multiple tools for international travel while maintaining a translation focus.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: With subscription
- Offline translation: Yes
TripLingo knows that you may have more than one travel need, so it tries to fill many roles. Just don’t expect the best from every single function. Reviewers on the App Store report bugs, like not being able to hear the translations. One reviewer said the developer fixed his concerns, and I haven’t experienced problems myself.
There are four tabs lining the bottom of the screen: home, culture, tools, and safety. Inside, there’s all three types of translators and many languages. Plus, it’ll help you convert inches to centimeters.
If you want to memorize a little, TripLingo provides flashcards and quizzes to help you learn. But certain features like an advanced phrasebook requires a subscription,
All the tools make this a good download. It’s great for short trips where you don’t need much detail to enjoy your stay. For longer cultural immersions, I’d pick apps that specialize in each area of travel.
Translate across your apps with Go Translate keyboard • Accurate translations
It costs more than your Netflix subscription
On par with many of the other translator apps on the market, it’s the integrated keyboard that sets it apart from.
2. Go Translate
Full features require some dough, but options like an integrated keyboard make Go Translate stand out.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: With subscription
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: With subscription
I love this app for its integrated keyboard that follows me to every app on my phone, meaning it’ll easily translate my Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. It’s great for the age of influencers, where it’s integral to attract eyes from all over the world.
The app isn’t practical for me because it costs $10 per week, which totals to $520 a year. Of all the subscription services, I’d sooner send my dog a BarkBox. But the weekly charge means you can make it through a short trip and cancel when you get home with minimal expense.
Reviewers on the App Store like the accuracy of the translations and help with pronunciations while many other brag that it helped them ace a class and conquer hard vocabulary.
Provides multiple translations for each sentence • Translates languages regionally (like U.S. English instead of U.K. English) • Lots of features
Asks for money
The world is yours for $50 a year.
3. iTranslate
The free version is underwhelming, but extensive features are available for $50 a year.
- Voice translator: With subscription
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: With subscription
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translation: With subscription
The phrasebook is also pretty handy, if you feel weird letting your phone talk for you. It breaks down categories by situation like “at the bar” or “while traveling.”
There’s a catch. After a seven-day trial, you’ll owe $50 for a year’s subscription. And chances are, you’ll forget to cancel that subscription, costing you $50 annually until your MasterCard expires. But, it’s the cheapest subscription I found if you break it down by week. You’re paying more for Disney Plus, so add this one to the bill too.
iTranslate fared well against my tests, though it translated “biblio” as “Bible,” which is actually “Biblia.” Granted, it probably just figures you don’t know your masculine from feminine in Spanish.
Best photo scanner • Easy to use • Free
Extra features could beat all the competition
The best things in life are free (especially in the case of this translator app).
4. Microsoft’s Translator App
The Translator App by Microsoft delivers all the essentials without a subscription.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translator: Yes
I kept looking for a fault, like every hero has to have a tragic flaw right? This app’s Achilles heel is its lack of sophisticated translation. It performed just under Google Translate (my control group, duh) in The Lord of the Rings test and didn’t translate the word “biblio,” mistaking it for a proper noun.
It picked up on all my basic Spanish, so it’s at least proficient enough to make this roundup. Plus, it has the best scanner. It automatically reads the text and changes it to your preferred language before your eyes. This way, you can quickly read street signs and the names of businesses.
This app will absolutely be my travel companion on my next overseas adventure.
Great free capabilities • Gets advanced with a subscription
Yearly subscription rate
Translate Now will work with all your apps and across Apple products to enhance communication.
5. Translate Now
Augmented reality, Apple Watch compatibility, and an integrated extension are highlights of a feature-dense application.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: Yes
The app looks pretty unassuming from the outside, but boy did I feel played when I opened it to see the words “augmented reality.” Some computer scientist went wild with this one and created all the features they could imagine under the translation umbrella.
This is a great tool if language impacts the content you consume online. With a $70 annual subscription rate, it expects to be a long-term commitment, but heavy users are sure to get their money’s worth. So put a ring on it, and just download the app already.
Free • Can customize speed of voices • Great design • Plenty of languages
No photo translator • WiFi or cellular connection required
It’ll do the bare minimum and help you get by in a pinch, but don’t lean on this on.
6. SayHi
This free app doesn’t have key features like a photo translator or offline capabilities, but it has the best free voice and text translation of the bunch.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: No
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: No
The app looks like iMessage in mint green and grey and is pretty easy to use. Change the settings to your two preferred languages and their desired readback speeds, and get ready to talk. Press the button for the language speaking (or hold the button to type the message), and the app will convert it to the other.
I’d recommend this translator app to someone like my mom — there aren’t a ton of buttons and confusing details to mess with, so she could easily get a hang of it.
The simplicity, while good for ease of use, is a sign the developers forgot a few things. There’s no offline capability, so please don’t use this one on a mission trip to a third-world country.
Easy to use • Robust free features
Only 13 languages supported • Photo translator not yet available
You get a lot for free and the design is sleek and user-friendly, but it’s only compatible with 13 languages.
7. Papago
Take a design straight out of Silicon Valley but make it free. That’s Papago. Just don’t expect less popular languages.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Coming soon
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translation: Only for Korean, Chinese, and Japanese
Papago’s translations were the best of the bunch, though it wasn’t perfect. Papago is an artificial intelligence software but much like Google Maps, it’s scary accurate.
A feature called “Gym” allows you to workout Papago’s software. Users vote on the accuracy of translations, so the app can continually build on its knowledge.
Only 13 languages are available, which may seem like plenty unless you compare it to other apps’ laundry list of languages. And only three languages have offline capability, so you better have WiFi wherever you’re going.
