The best document translators in 2026

Maxim Enis · co-creator of Polytranslator · author of From LLM to NMT (125+ citations)Updated September 16, 2026

A folder with different document types — report, slides, spreadsheet, book, manuscript

Translating a whole document is a different problem from translating a sentence: names and terminology must stay consistent across hundreds of pages, formats matter, and half the world's interesting documents are scans. Here's how the real options compare in 2026.

Latin→EnglishFrom a scanned 1834 parish register

Anno Domini 1834 die 12 Februarii baptizatus est Josephus, filius legitimus Antonii Rödling et Mariae uxoris eius

In the year of our Lord 1834, on the 12th day of February, Joseph was baptized, the legitimate son of Antonius Rödling and Maria, his wife.

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Polytranslator

Formats: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, EPUB, and photographed pages

Layout: A translated file: native Office/EPUB structure; PDF pages rendered as images

Languages: 475, including ancient and rare languages

Scans & handwriting: Scans and photos supported; review handwriting carefully

Free tier: Free daily credits; quote shown before translation. 20MB upload limit is separate from credit cost

Google Translate

Formats: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX

Layout: Layout-preserving, variable quality

Languages: ~250

Scans & handwriting: Limited

Free tier: Yes (10MB)

DeepL

Formats: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, SRT, TXT

Layout: Formatting preservation for supported files; review complex PDFs and scans

Languages: 100+ advertised for document translation

Scans & handwriting: Scanned PDFs supported; quality depends on the scan

Free tier: Limited

AI chatbots

Formats: Paste text, or upload with limits

Layout: File output depends on the tool and workflow

Languages: Major languages

Scans & handwriting: Page-by-page with vision models

Free tier: Chat limits

	Polytranslator	Google Translate	DeepL	AI chatbots
Formats	PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, EPUB, and photographed pages	PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX	PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, SRT, TXT	Paste text, or upload with limits
Layout	A translated file: native Office/EPUB structure; PDF pages rendered as images	Layout-preserving, variable quality	Formatting preservation for supported files; review complex PDFs and scans	File output depends on the tool and workflow
Languages	475, including ancient and rare languages	~250	100+ advertised for document translation	Major languages
Scans & handwriting	Scans and photos supported; review handwriting carefully	Limited	Scanned PDFs supported; quality depends on the scan	Page-by-page with vision models
Free tier	Free daily credits; quote shown before translation. 20MB upload limit is separate from credit cost	Yes (10MB)	Limited	Chat limits

DeepL's file types and language coverage were checked against its document translation page and PDF support guidance on September 16, 2026. Scan quality, fonts and complex layouts can affect the result.

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Word, PowerPoint, Excel, EPUB, PDF, or a photo of the page — free tier included.

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If you have the original editable file, start with the Word document translator for a DOCX or the PowerPoint translator for a PPTX. These tools produce a translated file whose native text you can revise in your document or presentation editor. Review text fit and unsupported objects before sharing it.

For spreadsheets, the Excel translator translates cell text while retaining formulas and numeric cells. For books, the EPUB translator keeps the ebook's chapter structure and navigation; line breaks and page counts can change in your reader.

If you only have page images, use the scanned PDF translator. Its formatted PDF follows the page layout with translated pages rendered as images, rather than editable Word text. If you need a reading copy you can search and copy instead, the general translator's Documents tab also offers a Text only option.