Table of Contents
Many people recognize the advantages of using closed captioning software. Having the text displayed on screen is helpful, whether you’re watching a movie or completing a training module.
Furthermore, utilizing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software allows you to convert text from images into an editable digital format, making it easier to process or repurpose. Then, translation software can combine both these tools’ capabilities, enabling businesses aiming for success to operate seamlessly across different languages and regions.
But what if a company wants to go beyond basic translation, aiming for true global reach? This is where machine translation software becomes essential. Designed with the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence, these tools provide fast, precise translation of content into multiple languages, making international expansion much more manageable.
This article evaluates and compares the top machine translation software based on features, costs, translation quality, automation capabilities, and more, to help you identify the best solution for your business needs. Let’s dive right in.
What Are the Leading Machine Translation Tools?
Below is a list of the best machine translation software options to consider.
1. SYSTRAN Translate
The Top Overall Choice for Machine Translation

SYSTRAN Translate is a comprehensive solution that can convert various document formats such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or PDF into multiple languages with high accuracy. It preserves your original layout, graphics, and visuals, ensuring the translation reads naturally and maintains the original look. The output is editable, making it easy to adjust the translated content as needed. This flexibility makes SYSTRAN suitable for a diverse range of business applications.
You can enhance translation quality further using Advanced User Dictionaries to define specific terminology, and custom rules allow for fine-tuning translations according to your preferences. Additionally, SYSTRAN offers a browser extension that enables quick translation of web pages for instant multilingual access.
Core Features:

- Supports translation of large texts, documents, and files, with output that remains editable.
- Can translate PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Excel files, and emails into multiple languages, producing natural-sounding results.
- Offers API access, allowing integration into custom applications or systems.
- Effortlessly works with Microsoft Office, Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT), and Translation Management System (TMS) workflows.
User Interface and Experience:

The platform features a user-friendly interface that clearly displays ongoing translation jobs and their statuses. It also offers the flexibility to toggle between translating text directly, files, or web pages, making the translation process more adaptable.
Pricing:


Here are the available pricing options offered by Systran:
– Translate Pro: $5.49 per month per user, billed annually
– Translate Pro Plus: $15.49 per month per user, billed annually
– Translate Pro Premium: $34.99 per month per user, billed annually
Moving to the different aspects of the service, I want to highlight what I find appealing and what could be improved about Systran:
**Likes:**
– The platform supports a diverse range of language pairs, allowing for multiple translation combinations.
– Its customization features enable users to achieve more accurate and efficient results compared to some other translation tools.
**Dislikes:**
– The translation quality for certain languages, such as Bengali and Hindi, still leaves room for improvement.
Regarding recent product developments, Systran now features the Model Studio, which empowers users to develop translation models tailored to specific domains, enhancing precision and relevance.
Moving on to Unbabel, a platform best suited for API-based translation solutions.

Unbabel creates a customer-centric translation environment that facilitates converting documents and emails into various languages. Whether for marketing campaigns or customer support communication, Unbabel aims to help businesses save time and reduce costs through automation. It caters to companies of all sizes and promises reliable results that sound natural in the target language. By blending the quickness of machine translation, the finesse of professional linguists, and cutting-edge AI, Unbabel stands out as a robust tool for enterprise translation needs.
**Key Features:**
– Hire translators based on expertise rather than just language skills, thanks to Unbabel’s talent marketplace, allowing quick assignment of the right professional for your project.
– Integrate translation processes seamlessly into your existing workflows via APIs, helping streamline operations.
– Monitor translation performance in real-time with comprehensive analytics to optimize your language strategy.
– Access translation services on the go with the Unbabel mobile app.
**User Experience:**
Unbabel offers detailed documentation highlighting various use cases, especially useful when integrating with their API. Their manuals are thorough, making it easier for new users to get started and utilize the platform effectively.
In summary, both Systran and Unbabel provide powerful translation solutions with distinctive strengths—Systran excels in customizable language pairs and enterprise models, while Unbabel offers seamless API integration and a focus on customer communication, making them suitable for different business requirements.
There are two options available for pricing plans. The first, called Standard, is ideal if you need moderate translation volumes. The second, Enterprise, is designed for managing larger translation needs and handling peaks in demand. For detailed pricing, you will need to reach out directly to their sales team.
What I Like/Dislike About Unbabel
Like:
– The Unbabel support team provides excellent customer service, always ready to assist with any issues.
– The integration with Zendesk is seamless, making customer support operations much easier.
Dislike:
– Additional information about their quality assurance (QA) review processes would be helpful to ensure the reliability of translations.
Product Updates:
– One recent update allows clients to customize privacy settings, giving them control over how Unbabel handles their data based on the features they choose to use.
3. memoQ Translator PRO
Best For Windows Translation.

memoQ Translator PRO is a comprehensive computer-assisted translation environment tailored to streamline your entire translation workflow from start to finish. By consolidating all necessary tools in one platform, memoQ Translator PRO makes it easier to manage and monitor your translations, ensuring accuracy and consistency. Built with translators in mind, it operates smoothly on a standard Windows system without requiring any special hardware.
Its advanced features include translation memories, terminology management, quality checks, and project oversight tools. Users can import tables or external term bases with just one keystroke, enhancing efficiency. Notifications alert you when you’re using terms outside your word base, helping maintain translation quality. The system also retains every segment you translate, enabling quick reuse and saving you valuable time.
Key Features:

– You can collaborate easily with team members by managing user roles and permissions, giving you full control over access rights.
– The platform’s features, including translation memories, terminology management, quality assurance, and project management tools, help you work more efficiently.
– Translation memories enable you to quickly locate and reuse existing translations, which saves time.
– The term base feature ensures accurate terminology use by alerting you when you employ words not in your shared database.
User Experience:

Using memoQ Translator PRO is simple and familiar, just like any other Windows application, making it easy to start working. The interface is clean and user-friendly, with different functions organized into dedicated menus for quick access.
Pricing details are available upon request, and you can receive a custom proposal by reaching out to their sales team. For freelance translators, the software is available for $770, providing a cost-effective way to access professional translation tools.
When considering memoQ Translator PRO, many users appreciate its support for multiple programming languages, which allows integration with a wide range of software applications. It also performs well even with complex term bases and translation memories, ensuring efficiency and accuracy. However, a notable downside is that it requires an internet connection since offline work isn’t supported.
Recent updates include the launch of memoQ Cloud, a SaaS platform that offers all the features of memoQ Server directly from the cloud. This makes collaboration and access even more flexible, accommodating the needs of modern translation teams.
Smartling stands out as a comprehensive translation platform designed for businesses aiming to deliver a cohesive brand experience across multiple channels. It enables seamless localization efforts and management of translation assets within a single, integrated system.
This platform is especially suited for companies that require efficient machine translation and a centralized workflow. With Smartling, you can streamline your language processes, freeing up time to focus on core business activities. It consolidates all translation resources into one easy-to-manage hub and connects with various content management systems through its CAT tool. This integration helps businesses handle multilingual content more effectively and extend their reach globally.
Smartling also offers robust features such as end-to-end translation management, translation proxy to oversee all translations from one interface, and detailed analytics to improve the quality and efficiency of your language operations.
The user experience is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, supporting users in managing complex localization projects effortlessly. This makes Smartling an excellent choice for organizations looking to enhance their international presence with a versatile and scalable translation solution.
Make sure your projects are labeled correctly and check for any issues that might need fixing before starting the translation process. The useful data on the number of strings and words in a project helps you compare its size with others, allowing better prioritization.
Pricing:

To receive a personalized quote, you will need to schedule a demo.
What I Like and Dislike About Smartling
Likes: Manual tasks are significantly minimized thanks to the automation features available. Customer support is accessible whenever you need assistance.
Dislikes: It would be helpful to receive a confirmation email once a job is completed and ready.
Recent Product Updates:
New filtering options for tags, date ranges, and string ingestion warnings help ensure your translations are precise and complete.
5. Crowdin
Ideal for Agile Localization

Crowdin is a platform that offers agile translation solutions for technology companies aiming for global reach. It provides a unified dashboard where you can oversee multiple projects efficiently. Crowdin is especially well-suited for businesses that need to translate websites, mobile apps, or software. Users can create tasks, generate progress reports, and monitor translation activity in real-time to stay on top of their localization workflows. It also facilitates team collaboration directly on the platform, allowing discussions and modifications of translations. Additionally, the option to add contextual information helps ensure everyone is aligned on the final translations, supporting brand consistency.
Key Features:

- Invite team members and set permission levels to control access to your projects.
- Receive detailed reports, including cost estimates and translation expenses, to manage your projects effectively.
- Control user permissions at a granular level to restrict or grant access as needed.
- Utilize a marketplace of translation vendors to find professional linguists for your projects.
- Manage multiple vendors simultaneously within a single project framework.
- Integrate with popular version control systems like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure Repos for seamless translation management within your coding environment.
User Experience:

A straightforward input and output section on the homepage simplifies selecting the content you want to translate. You can also organize your projects by language, making it easier to find specific work quickly.
Pricing details are available, and you can request a personalized quote by scheduling a demo.
Crowdin is appreciated for its extensive integrations, including connection with platforms like Github, which streamlines the management of translations. Users find it convenient to search through their projects and locate the necessary information efficiently. However, one drawback is that adding features like tone of voice and brand-specific language options could make the software even more powerful and tailored to branding needs.
Recent product updates include a Crowdin marketplace, allowing users to add content directly via third-party apps such as Notion, Typedream, Sitecore, and others, which simplifies the localization process.
6. TextUnited
Best for creating a termbase.
This platform uses advanced technologies to deliver precise, consistent, and reliable translations. Focused on quality, TextUnited is ideal for business users seeking to localize their content to reach global audiences. Its deep neural network continuously learns, providing more accurate translations than many other machine translation tools. The system evaluates the probabilities of word sequences and considers entire source sentences during translation, enhancing the accuracy and preserving context.
Key features include intuitive content management, a terminology management loop to build a comprehensive termbase for future projects, flexible engine selection—whether statistical or neural—based on content type, and the ability to reuse and train with past translations for better results.
Regarding pricing, various plans are offered, including a free option costing $0 per month, a basic plan at $70 per month, and an essential package at $250.
- Pricing options: Plans start at a free tier, with paid plans beginning at $10 per month, and customizable options available by contacting the sales team.
7. Azure Translator Text API
Ideal for Large-Scale Projects

Microsoft’s Azure Translator API offers batch translation capabilities across more than 100 languages. If you need to process large volumes of text, this platform might be your top choice for machine translation. It is built to handle substantial workloads quickly and efficiently.
Designed for scalability, Azure can be employed for various applications, from website localization to chatbot development. Its integration is straightforward, allowing for a single REST API call to translate text, making it easy to embed into existing workflows. You can choose your preferred programming language—such as Python, Java, C, Go, or JavaScript—to tailor the system to your needs. Additionally, if your industry requires specialized terminology, you can create custom translation models with Azure. The platform’s flexible scaling options enable you to control costs, paying only for the resources you use.
Key Features:
- Extensive language support ensures that your content can be translated into over 100 languages worldwide.
- You can develop tailored translation models that incorporate industry-specific terminology for more accurate results.
- The platform is optimized for high-volume, production-level use, providing fast and reliable translations at scale.
Pricing Details:

Microsoft offers both pay-as-you-go pricing and tiered subscription options. Discounts are available for high usage, making the platform more affordable the more frequently you use it.
Other machine translation platforms include Deepl, Bing, Microsoft Translator, and Amazon Translate, each offering unique benefits for different needs.
What Is Machine Translation Software?
Machine translation software, often called an engine, uses complex algorithms to convert text from one language to another automatically. As the importance of multilingual communication grows in today’s global economy, such tools have become vital for businesses aiming to reach international audiences. Over time, translation quality has improved significantly due to advances in machine translation engines. Many companies now rely on these tools to streamline their operations, making machine translation software an essential part of modern business workflows. While Google Translate is the most well-known, other solutions may be better suited for specific needs, offering more accurate and nuanced translations.
Top Features of Machine Translation Software
The effectiveness of a machine translation service depends heavily on its features, so choosing a platform with the right capabilities is crucial. The best software should include a comprehensive range of features to meet diverse needs. When selecting a service, look for essential functionalities such as a centralized translation management system, automation capabilities, support for multiple language pairs, and advanced translation techniques like statistical machine translation. Having a translation management dashboard allows you to oversee all translation tasks in one spot, track progress, and ensure deadlines are met. Automated translation powered by deep learning can significantly save time, especially for large volumes of content. Support for a wide variety of language pairs offers flexibility for global outreach, enabling translations across different language combinations as needed. Furthermore, statistical machine translation techniques are employed to improve accuracy by analyzing linguistic patterns through large datasets.
Machine translation is a type of automated translation that depends on statistical models to convert text from one language to another. This method can be quite effective and is often combined with neural machine translation to enhance accuracy.
Neural machine translation learns how to translate by analyzing vast amounts of existing data, improving over time.
It’s important to note that a neural machine translation system can sometimes outperform human translators in producing accurate results.
Ensuring Accurate Translations
High-quality machine translation software is crucial for companies that need regular translations. A system capable of delivering precise results will save time and resources by reducing the need for manual checks.
Flexible Pricing Options for Different Needs
The algorithms in a good machine translation service should support various document types, languages, and translation requirements. Whether a business prefers to pay per word or per project, it’s essential that the software can handle the content volume and complexity involved.
Mobile Translation Capabilities
Some providers offer translation services directly accessible through mobile devices, which can be particularly useful for businesses needing quick translations on the move. Though not universally available, mobile-friendly platforms that deliver accurate short-text translations are increasingly popular, whether on iOS or Android, with many apps continually improving in quality.
Human Versus Machine Translation
Despite advances in language translation technology, challenges remain, notably in accurately translating idiomatic expressions and colloquial language. Human translators are still vital for nuanced and context-rich translations. Using computer-assisted tools allows human experts to efficiently handle large volumes of work, quickly generating draft translations that are then refined for precision. This combined approach is especially valuable for businesses that require extensive and accurate content translation regularly. A translation provider offering both human and machine services can offer the best of both worlds, balancing speed and accuracy.
Top Machine Translation Software – FAQs
What Is an MT Engine?
An MT engine is a software program that transforms text from one language into another. With the advent of natural machine translation (NMT) engines, businesses can now communicate with international audiences quickly and with high accuracy.
In What Formats Can Machine Translation Be Used?
Machine translation can be applied to various formats, including text, audio, and video. Depending on your content type, different software solutions are available. It’s essential to research the supported formats of any software you consider to ensure it meets your needs.
Conclusion
Machine translation technology has evolved significantly and now produces reliable results across many languages. For businesses that regularly need to translate large quantities of content, investing in a suitable machine translation service can save considerable time and effort. When choosing software, consider the types of content you need to translate, the languages supported, and the overall cost to find the best value. Have you used machine translation tools before? What was your experience? Feel free to share in the comments below.
Additional resources available at StepThroughThePortal.com: Transcription software can serve as an initial step in your translation process. Such tools enable quick transcription of audio or video into text, which can then be translated via machine translation. By using top transcription tools, you can transcribe large files in minutes—ideal for high-volume content. If you aim to deliver excellent customer experiences, you might also consider a knowledge base platform that consolidates translated content, making it easier for employees and customers to access information in their languages.
 
