Top AI translation tools for 2025

When global businesses expanding into new markets face language barriers, AI translation tools bridge those gaps. These advanced systems don’t just translate word for word — they interpret context, capture nuance, and account for industry-specific terminology to deliver precise, regional results.

This guide will explore 10 of the best AI translators, highlighting their key features and pricing, so you can find the solution that aligns with your global growth strategy and unique translation needs.

Why is localization essential for your global business?

To reach a global audience, you don’t need word-for-word translations, but a system that adapts your language to fit readers’ cultural context and preferences: AI localization. 

Localization might seem like it often creates subtle differences, but these tweaks make a memorable impact on readers because the content is more relatable. Cultural nuances like turns of phrase or preferred spellings show that you’re speaking directly to that audience. That relatability is a major asset if you want to make strong first impressions and resonate with customers in a new market.

Here’s how localization can help you reach audiences in new global markets:

• Adaptation: Each region has unique preferences about everything from humor to date and time formats. Hybrid localization services like Smartling have humans review and adapt translated text to these norms. 
• Sensitivity: Localization helps you avoid faux pas that will turn potential customers away for good. The last thing you want to do is offend potential customers before you have a chance to market to them. 

• Brand recognition: There’s a good chance customers in a market you’re expanding into have never heard of your brand. Localizing content reaches them on their terms and builds a rapport with them.

How do AI translation tools work?

AI translation tools combine technologies like machine learning, generative AI, natural language processing (NLP), and neural machine translation (NMT) to translate text. These programs have become remarkably adept at replicating the nuances of human communication to deliver culturally and contextually aware results.

Automatic translations go far beyond word-for-word conversion. AI localization tools are trained on vast libraries of multilingual content, picking up on unique grammar patterns, word choices, and sentence structures. During translation, the tools analyze entire sentences and paragraphs to grasp the overarching meaning and tone of the original text. The result is accurate translations that sound natural and resonate with the target audience.

As AI technology continues to evolve, translating with AI becomes even more precise and efficient, promising even greater capabilities in the future.

The benefits of using AI translation tools

AI excels at translation, offering numerous benefits for businesses seeking to adapt their marketing efforts across languages and cultures:

• Consistency: AI translation can incorporate brand-specific terminology and leverage translation memory, providing natural and consistent outputs that align with industry standards and capture your brand’s unique voice.
• Speed: AI translators support multiple languages and quickly process large volumes of text, reducing project timelines from weeks to just days or hours.
• Cost-efficiency: By minimizing reliance on traditional human translation services, AI translation tools significantly lower costs while accelerating turnaround times and enhancing scalability.
• Continuous improvement: AI tools learn and improve through adaptive translation, refining their output with each use. They can also be customized to fit industry-specific terminology and desired tone.
• Integration: Many AI machine translation tools connect seamlessly with existing business software, integrating into workflows with minimal disruption.

The top 10 AI translation tools for businesses

From DeepL to Google Translate, the AI translation market is booming. Here are 10 of the best AI tools for text translation available today:

Smartling

Smartling's cutting-edge AI translation platform leverages large language models (LLMs) alongside machine translation, other NLP tools and human expertise, offering a suite of tools that handle everything from quickly translating text to complex localization projects. With advanced workflow automation and automatic quality control, Smartling streamlines the translation process from content creation to delivery.

If you need to reduce costs and turnaround times, Smartling’s AI Translations can step in at any point in the translation process. You can keep traditional human translations but add machine translation post-editing (MTPE) to streamline the review process, or use machine translations and get a qualified human to review them. Smartling’s AI Hub offers access to over 20 LLMs and MT engines that allow you to customize pre- and post-processing to get the best cost and delivery time for every project.

Pros:

• Proven efficiency: Reduces translation workload by up to 90%, freeing up your team for other tasks.
• Hybrid approach: Merges the speed of AI with the nuanced understanding of human translators.
• LLM-enabled: Smartling Translate leverages a broad range of LLMs, including GPT, for instant nuanced and natural translations.
• Quality control: Features built-in checks to monitor translation accuracy.
• Project automation: Supports automated project management for complex, multi-language projects.

Cons:

• Setup time: Initial configuration may take time to optimize, but Smartling aims to complete onboarding for new customers within 30 days.
• Training required: Teams may need guidance to maximize the platform’s features.

Pricing:

Multiple plans are available. Contact Smartling for a custom quote.

How to use Smartling:

To translate text with Smartling, you need to start a translation job, which begins with uploading the files that need to be translated or using the Global Delivery Network (GDN) to capture website content. Then, configure the options for the translation job to select whether you want a fully AI translation, human translations, or a mix of both. If you’re using human translations, it helps to add resources for the translators, like a glossary and screenshots. 

Once the job is complete, you'll receive the files so you can review them and sign off on the project. If you used the GDN, the translated text can instantly appear on a localized version of your site. Smartling will keep those pages synced with the GDN to streamline subsequent translation jobs for the same pages.

DeepL

DeepL is an AI text translation tool known for its impressive accuracy and natural output. This AI translation app stands out for its ability to switch between formal and informal tones, making it a considerable option for different contexts and needs.

Pros:

• Cost-effective: One of the more budget-friendly solutions in the AI translation market.
• Formatting retention: Maintains the original document’s layout, minimizing the need for post-translation adjustments.

Cons:

• Limited language support: Supports only 30 languages, fewer than some competitors.
• Integration constraints: Limited options for integrating with other software and workflows.

Pricing:

DeepL plans start at $8.74 monthly, with a 30-day free trial.

How to use DeepL:

DeepL works through a browser extension, desktop app, or their web translation page. In each, you simply copy and paste the text you want to translate, select a target language, and copy the translated text out of it. Upgrade to a Pro membership lets you translate more text at a time, including entire web pages.

Google Translate

Google Translate’s Cloud Translation AI is a versatile language translation tool known for its extensive capabilities across text, image, and speech translations in over 100 languages. It uses a custom neural network model specialized by Google to deliver accurate localizations. 

Pros:

• Comprehensive language coverage: Supports over 100 languages, one of the broadest selections available.
• Diverse input options: Accepts various input types, including text, images, and spoken language.
• Adaptive learning: Built on a continuous learning model, ensuring translations improve over time.

Cons:

• Limited cultural context: May overlook subtle cultural nuances and context-specific meanings.
• Use-based pricing: The pricing model is based on the number of characters you’re translating and the number of target languages you want, which can rapidly increase the cost.

Pricing:

Volume-based pricing tailored to different service types and translation models.

How to use Google Translate:

To begin using Google’s Cloud Translation AI, you must partner with them to set up a Google Cloud project. When your project is set up, you then use the Google Cloud console to provision two APIs: the Cloud Translation API and the Translation Hub API, both of which are needed to request and review translations. You’ll need to configure and manage them both, which means adding several steps to your SOPs. After set-up, it’s up to you to monitor your use to ensure you don’t go over your budget.

LILT

LILT’s Contextual AI Engine enhances translation workflows with adaptive, predictive suggestions that refine with each use. This technology lets translators concentrate on nuanced content while AI manages repetitive text, increasing efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. LILT’s system continually learns from projects, delivering increasingly tailored and precise translations in real time.

Pros:

• Adaptive translation: Continuously improves suggestions with each use, tailoring translations to brand-specific language and style.
• Efficiency gains: Automatically manages repetitive tasks, allowing translators to dedicate more time to challenging content.
• Data privacy: Maintains strict security, using data solely for the client’s projects and not sharing it across organizations.

Cons:

• Initial setup: Requires time to train the system on brand-specific terminology and tone of voice for optimal results.
• Higher investment: May be costly for smaller projects with limited translation needs.

Pricing:

LILT offers tailored pricing based on project scope and specific requirements. For a personalized quote, contact LILT directly.

How to use LILT

To make the most of LILT, set up projects that record translations so its contextual AI can improve over time. After you create a project, upload the documents to translate, select a target language, and click Translate. Then confirm the translations and make any necessary edits. LILT tracks all your changes and then uses that information to update its model.

Phrase

Phrase’s AI-powered localization platform offers a scalable solution for managing varied translation needs across departments. Its customizable TMS enables organizations to centralize workflows, automate content management, and access brand-specific translation memories and term bases, all while supporting integration with any LSP or in-house team.

Pros:

• Customizable workflows: Automates and customizes workflows to suit various translation needs.
• Comprehensive integration: Over 50 integrations connect to other localization systems, ensuring quick implementation.
• Scalable: Centralizes content and translation assets across departments for cohesive project management.
• Analytics-driven insights: Phrase Analytics provides actionable insights through custom data visualizations.

Cons:

• Advanced setup: Initial configuration may require careful planning to maximize the platform’s customizability.
• Complexity: Full utilization of Phrase’s suite may require some training. 

Pricing:

Phrase’s plans range from $27 monthly for freelancers to $1,045 for teams. It also offers custom solutions that include vendor management and integrations for platforms like Adobe.

How to use Phrase:

Using Phrase to its full potential requires integration with their API. You must set up a Translation Memory (TM) for all the content you’ll need translated. Then, create a project to get all the content analyzed and assigned to either a linguist or their agentic AI translators. You can submit a new project whenever you update that content, and Phrase will check it against the TM to detect changes.

Lokalise

Lokalise simplifies translation for software, mobile apps, websites, and Shopify stores through its Expert and Flow platforms. Lokalise Expert supports translations across content types, offering AI-powered tools, automation, and an in-context editor to maintain brand consistency. Lokalise Flow allows quick, high-quality Shopify store translations with automatic updates, ensuring product lines stay current.

Pros:

• Powerful AI translation: Compares outputs from multiple engines, like GPT-4, Google, and DeepL, for high-quality translations.
• In-context editing: Provides real-time adjustments for a seamless user experience.
• Broad integrations: Works with Figma, GitHub, Jira, WordPress, and more to enhance workflows.

Cons:

• Complexity for small projects: May feel feature-heavy for smaller translation needs.
• Potentially costly for larger teams: Pricing can be high for teams with extensive translation needs or large volumes of hosted keys.