Private and open-source alternatives to Google Translate
5 translation rated against the same public privacy criteria as Google Translate, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. Google collects activity data across its services and uses it for analytics and personalized ads.
- No ads or data sales: no. Free service funded by Google's advertising business, which uses activity data across services.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
- TLS configuration: partial. Grade B
- Security headers: no. Grade C (50/100+)
- Works offline: partial. The mobile apps can download languages for offline use. The website and default app mode translate online.
- Text not kept: partial. When signed in, translations are saved to cloud history and My Activity by default. History can be cleared, or avoided by signing out.
See the full Google Translate rating.
The alternatives
TranslateLocally Grade B
Open-source desktop app that translates text on the device with downloadable neural models from the Bergamot project, originally built at the University of Edinburgh. Browser extensions are also available.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). TranslateLocally scores 87 out of 100 (grade B) on the translation criteria. It meets 5 of 6 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, works offline and text not kept.
Apertium Grade B
Free and open-source rule-based machine translation platform, focused on related and lesser-resourced languages. Usable on apertium.org or installed locally for offline translation.
Apertium scores 77 out of 100 (grade B) on the translation criteria. It meets 4 of 6 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, works offline and text not kept.
LibreTranslate Grade C
Open-source machine translation API built on Argos Translate that can be self-hosted. A hosted instance at libretranslate.com offers a free web translator and paid API keys.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). LibreTranslate scores 67 out of 100 (grade C) on the translation criteria. It meets 5 of 10 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, works offline and text not kept.
Firefox Translations Grade C
Built-in Firefox feature that translates web pages on the device with local machine translation models, without sending text to a cloud service.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Firefox Translations scores 63 out of 100 (grade C) on the translation criteria. It meets 3 of 6 criteria: open source, works offline and text not kept.
Kagi Translate Grade F
Translation service from Kagi Inc. that uses large language models from several providers to translate text, documents and web pages. Free to use on the web and in mobile apps.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Kagi Translate scores 38 out of 100 (grade F) on the translation criteria. It meets 2 of 10 criteria: no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.