The Best Machine Translation Software You Can Try in 2024

When it comes to text translations, businesses now have a credible alternative to engaging a human translator: using machine translation software.

Machine translation software (known as MT software) is an artificial intelligence-based tool that provides automated translations of text between different languages, such as from English to Spanish or vice versa. Although machine translation software didn’t have the highest translation accuracy when it was first developed, technological improvements over the decades allowed such software to do a pretty accurate job.

As a result, this category of software is often integrated into computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and used by businesses involved in international projects. For example, international businesses intending to localize their web pages may use machine translation software to translate large amounts of text at scale.

However, MT software isn’t used only for translating websites. It can also translate documents required to maintain successful international business relationships.

The financial upside of investing in translation is clear: According to a survey by Common Sense Advisory (now known as CSA Research), Fortune 500 businesses that spent more on translation were 1.5 times more likely to report an increase in total revenue than their counterparts that didn’t.

Read on as we explore the top machine translation software options, compare their strengths and limitations, and show you how to effectively implement website translation for your business.

Why Website Translation Software Matters

There’s a reason why some of the largest corporations on the market make translation a priority and use translation software to do it: it’s profitable.

For starters, native English speakers make up less than 5% of the global population, despite 52% of websites being written in English, indicating that many websites are leaving profitable markets untapped.

That’s because, while the Internet’s content caters more to English speakers, consumers are 73% more likely to purchase something on a website in their native language.

Big businesses are aware of this. Microsoft, for example, has translated its products into over 90 languages, Toshiba into over 30, and Apple into 40.

In the long run, translating your website will boost sales rates and enhance your marketing efforts, such as SEO.

More than half of Google searches are non-English, so how can you outrank international competitors if you’re not creating content in your target audience’s native language? 

The answer: You can’t. That’s where machine translation software comes in. Machine translation can help you to localize your site and enhance multilingual SEO to expand your market reach.

That's because your non-English speaking visitors are more likely to engage with your website when reading content in their mother tongue. Over 56% of consumers said that getting information in their own language is more important than price.

Most modern browsers include the functionality to integrate with common online translators (using advanced machine translation systems), native speakers will feel much more at ease knowing that a website has been originally served to them in their own language, rather than having to translate text from a foreign language manually using their own translation apps.

Take respond.io as an example. The customer conversation management platform uses Weglot to translate its website into fifteen new languages. Since using the solution, the site has increased traffic and impressions growth 2x. If respond.io got these results, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy similar results too!

The Evolution of Machine Translation into 2024 (And Beyond)

Let’s be honest: When machine translation was first launched, it wasn’t the best.

The first experiments in machine translation began in the 1950s, with early systems relying on rule-based machine translation (RBMT). By the 1970s, RBMT technology had matured, using a set of grammatical rules and bilingual dictionaries to translate text. However, these systems often produced literal or rigid translations, as they struggled to handle linguistic nuances.

As a result, machine translation got a bad reputation almost immediately. Unimpressed by the poor accuracy of machine-translated text, people began to dismiss machine translation as being inferior to “proper” (read: human) translators, and thus preferred website translation services for their content, for example.

From Rules-Based Machine Translation to Statistical Machine Translation

Fortunately for machine translation providers, machine translation began shedding its negative image as the technology evolved. After RBMT, came statistical machine translation (SMT), which translates text by analyzing existing human translations, known as bilingual text corpora. Then, it uses prediction algorithms to determine the best way to translate text in any given situation.

SMT was a major improvement over RBMT, but its accuracy was still lacking at times. However, development didn’t stop there. Today, the latest and greatest machine translation technology available is neural machine translation (NMT), which uses complex deep learning models to translate text.

Enter Neural Machine Translation

Neural Machine Translation (NMT) is capable of generating high-quality translations with the help of sophisticated language translation algorithms. These translations are not only more accurate but also sound more natural than the translations produced by RMBT and SMT technologies.

These days, the effectiveness of NMT has quelled most of the opposition towards machine translation. Even objections such as “But machine translation can’t pick up or translate text in images and PowerPoint slides!” have largely been silenced — advanced machine translation tools can do just that.

Generative AI: The Future of Machine Translation Software?

The rise of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI in 2022-2023 has opened up new possibilities for machine translation. Unlike traditional NMT systems that are trained specifically for translation between language pairs, generative AI models are trained on vast amounts of multilingual data and can understand context across languages more holistically.

These AI models show promise in handling nuanced translations, including idioms, cultural references, and context-dependent meanings that have traditionally been challenging for machine translation. For example, they can often maintain consistency in tone and style across longer pieces of text, and some can even adapt translations for specific industries or audiences.

However, it's important to note that generative AI isn't replacing NMT entirely. Instead, many translation providers are exploring hybrid approaches that combine the strengths of both technologies. This combination could potentially offer the reliability and efficiency of traditional NMT with the contextual understanding and adaptability of generative AI.

Should You Use Machine Translation Software for Your Business?

Machine translation is now widely used in the market, a lifesaver for international businesses that need access to consistently accurate translations in the most efficient way possible. Even professional translators adopt automated translation technology to streamline and accelerate the translation process!

But why? Here are some benefits of machine translation software, which your business can also enjoy:

• Easy to use: Machine translation software is so simple to operate that you won’t need a tech background to use it like a pro. Fire up the software, copy/paste your source text, set your target language, and get the translated text in real-time.
• Faster results: Machine translation software can translate text in seconds while human translation can take hours or even days, depending on the text volume.
• Reliable: While the accuracy of machine translation software translations may vary, they are generally reliable. The software is typically vetted by expert translators and native speakers before release.
• Great value for money: It costs a lot less to invest in machine translation software than to hire a professional translator – especially if you’re looking to translate uncommon language pairs, or need translations within a short turnaround time.
• Seamless operation: Some machine translation software can integrate with other platforms for smooth translation workflows. No tedious copy/pasting of text between software and platform needed!

Here's a look into translating your website with AI:

5 Best Machine Translation Software Options in the Market

At this time, there isn’t a single machine translation software that can perfectly cater to all needs and use cases. Each software has its pros and cons and may be best suited for meeting certain language translation objectives, content formats, and target audiences over others.

Here are 5 of the best machine translation software options in the market, and how their technological features influence their translation quality:

1. Weglot

With a website translation solution that combines the speed of machine translation with direct integration with your website platform, you won’t need to waste hours copying/pasting translated texts back and forth.

Weglot is the perfect solution for providing a first layer of machine translation for website translation projects. It uses the best of leading machine translation software, such as DeepL Translator, Microsoft Translator, and Google Translate, to effortlessly translate your website with a high degree of accuracy thanks to post-editing features available within your Weglot Dashboard.

Weglot integrates with WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, and all other popular website platforms (and custom-built websites) to translate your website content and display these translations on your website, giving you the full package when it comes to website translation.

It is also built for team collaboration among your teammates and professional translators, making it convenient for you to get expert eyes and edits on your translations before rolling them out.

Pros:

• Integrates directly with popular platforms (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, custom sites)
• Handles automatic content detection and translation display
• Includes team collaboration features for translation management
• Provides post-editing capabilities in the Weglot Dashboard
• Translates all website content including widgets and meta tags
• Offers customizable language switcher options
• Easy installation process, especially for WordPress
• Highly rated on G2 as industry leader

Cons:

• Free trial limited to one language and 2,000 words
• Requires paid upgrade for additional languages and higher word counts
• API key needed for setup
• Translations require review/editing for optimal quality

User rating: 4.8/5 stars

2. Google Translate

Google Translate needs no introduction, being probably the most well-known machine translation software out there.

Launched in 2006, and currently supporting 133 languages, the translation tool previously used SMT to churn out word-for-word translations.

Since then, however, Google has abandoned SMT in favor of the more accurate NMT, resulting in ever-improving translation quality. Dubbed Google Neural Machine Translation (GNMT), Google’s proprietary machine translation technology uses recurrent neural networks to translate entire sentences while retaining their contexts as much as possible.

Google Translate will also soon offer more contextual translation options. So if you’re looking for a place to park your car or you’re hoping to take a walk in the nearest park, the platform will give you the context you need to use the right words and not get lost in translation. The first languages to feature this include English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

Pros:

• Supports a very extensive range of languages (133 languages)
• Uses advanced Neural Machine Translation technology (GNMT)
• Free and easily accessible
• Recently added more contextual translation options for key languages (English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish)
• Translates entire sentences while maintaining context

Cons:

• Quality can be inconsistent, especially for less common language pairs
• May struggle with technical or specialized content
• Doesn't offer customization options for specific industries or terminology
• Limited features compared to professional translation tools
• No built-in quality assurance tools
• Not ideal for official or business documents without human review

User rating: 4.5/5 stars

3. DeepL Translator

DeepL Translator is an NMT service developed by Linguee GmbH (now known as DeepL GmbH), a German business that focuses on developing machine translation technology through deep learning.

DeepL Translator was launched in 2017 and currently offers 32 languages. It extensively studies and learns the best translation options from reliable linguistic sources.

Thanks to its use of artificial intelligence, DeepL Translator can deliver more precise and nuanced translations compared to its peers. It may truly live up to its own claim of being “the world’s most accurate translator.”

In January 2024, DeepL added Arabic—the first language it’s supporting that’s written right-to-left—which is currently available on the web translator, along with the desktop and mobile apps. As the 5th most spoken language in the world, businesses can finally cater to more than 400 million Arabic speakers using DeepL’s service.

Pros:

• Translation accuracy consistently outperforms competitors like Google Translate
• Adaptive learning system that improves with user input over time
• User-friendly interface that's easy to install and start using immediately
• Strong free tier that works well for individual users
• Quick translation delivery
• Professional-grade results for most common language pairs

Cons:

• Some users report stability issues requiring occasional reinstallation
• Persistent notifications promoting DeepL Pro can be intrusive for free-tier users
• Technical limitations when combining text segments
• Limited language support (only 32 languages) compared to competitors
• Paid subscription needed for advanced features and higher word counts
• Not all language pairs are available

User rating: 4.8/5 stars

4. Bing Microsoft Translator

Bing Microsoft Translator is based on Microsoft’s proprietary machine translation system. Currently offering 40 languages, it relies on the latest NMT technology to offer the most accurate translation.

Like most machine translation software developers, Microsoft has focused its research efforts on delivering smarter machine translations that match natural language use. For example, Bing Microsoft Translator employs an attention algorithm to analyze the order in which words should be translated for the most accurate translation results.

In 2023, Microsoft upgraded its Custom Translator platform, where its team of experts have developed a new set of algorithms and techniques to improve the accuracy of the Custom Translator.

It has also integrated with Cortana, supporting languages including Simplified Chinese, German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese.

Advanced offline translation is also now available through Microsoft Translator, allowing users to download offline language packs so they can continue using the platform even when they don’t have a steady Internet connection.

Pros:

• Powered by Microsoft's advanced NMT technology
• Uses attention algorithms for more accurate word order in translations
• Recently upgraded Custom Translator platform with new algorithms
• Integrates with Cortana for voice translation
• Supports offline translation through downloadable language packs
• Works well within Microsoft's ecosystem
• New improvements to Custom Translator enhance accuracy

Cons:

• Limited language support (40 languages) compared to Google Translate
• Quality can vary depending on language pair
• Interface may not be as intuitive as some competitors
• Less popular than Google Translate or DeepL

User rating: 3.7/5 stars

5. SYSTRAN Translate

SYSTRAN has a long history. It was founded in 1968 and is possibly the first-ever business to offer commercial machine translation services.

And this pioneer in the field hasn’t rested on its laurels: this machine translation provider regularly updates its SYSTRAN Translate tool with cutting-edge machine translation technology and features. For example, SYSTRAN’s latest pure neural machine translation (PNMT) engine models the entire machine translation process through an artificial neural network for highly accurate translations.

It currently supports 55 languages and has 140 combinations.

Pros:

• Extensive language pair options
• Sophisticated neural network approach
• Continuously updated translation technology
• Experience in enterprise/professional translation needs

Cons:

• Less mainstream than newer competitors like Google Translate or DeepL
• May be more expensive due to enterprise/professional focus
• Interface might be less user-friendly for casual users
• Documentation and support could be more comprehensive
• Learning curve can be steeper than other solutions

User rating: 4.7/5 stars

6. Amazon Translate

For those in the know, Amazon isn’t merely a leading ecommerce marketplace: it also supplies machine translation through its Amazon Translate tool.

According to the Amazon Translate website, this NMT service was created to provide fast, high-quality, and customizable language translations at an affordable price.

Amazon constantly enhances its datasets to deliver the best possible translations regardless of source text length. At the same time, Amazon Translate’s Active Custom Translation feature allows users to import their own translation data for customizing translations according to their preferences.

The provider currently supports 75 languages.

Pros:

• High functionality and feature set for large-scale projects
• Accurate language detection
• Fast and fluent service
• Provides API access
• Customizable translations through Active Custom Translation feature
• Supports 75 languages

Cons:

• Steep learning curve - requires training to use effectively
• Complex interface that can be confusing for beginners
• Translations can be too literal at times
• Payment required (credit card) even for minimal usage
• Less accessible than free alternatives like Google Translate
• May not be the best choice for professional translators
• Requires AWS knowledge/account to get started

User rating: 3.5/5 stars

Which Machine Translation Software is Best?

Out of all of the solutions we’ve discussed, Weglot stands out by offering a complete website translation solution that combines the best machine translation engines with direct platform integration, meaning it not only translates content but also handles the technical implementation and display of translations on your website.

Unlike standalone machine translation software, it provides an end-to-end solution with team collaboration features and post-editing capabilities, eliminating the need for manual copy-pasting or technical expertise in implementing translations.

Installing Weglot onto Your WordPress Website

Here’s how you can install it on your website.

After you’ve logged into your WordPress dashboard, head to the WordPress plugin directory, find Weglot in the search bar and install it.

Click activate. 

Now, enter the API key provided by Weglot (to find this, you’ll need to log into your Weglot account).

Once you’ve entered the API key, enter the destination language (also known as your target language). If you’re just trialing Weglot to test it out, you only get access to one language, for one site, where you can translate up to 2000 words. If you want more than that, you can upgrade your plan from your Weglot Dashboard.

Weglot matches your chosen language pair with the best available service for the job – including Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translate. So whether you’re translating between Dutch and German, Italian and Arabic, or Russian and Portuguese, you can be certain that your first layer of machine-translated text will always be the highest-quality translation available.

Choose how your language buttons will appear on your website. You can customize these options and decide whether you want them with or without flags. The translation button can be readily displayed on your website’s menu, so customers can easily switch between languages.

Alternatively, you can post your language translation options in your sidebar, or in the bottom right-hand corner of your website. Save your changes and proceed.

You can now view the language buttons on your website.

Hit the menu to show which languages you can translate your website into. Weglot will translate your site within seconds, including content controlled by your widgets. If you want to make translation corrections, navigate to the Weglot Dashboard.

As you can see in the example screenshot below, visitors can toggle between English and Spanish using the menu in the bottom right corner. 

View each string and edit your translations. You can override Weglot’s automatic translations and save your edits.

Weglot displays all text on your website, organized by languages and web pages. You can also view your translated images and meta tags. From here, you can invite collaborators to work from your Weglot Dashboard to update and optimize translations.

So, there’s your rundown on how to install and use website translator software on WordPress.

Why Machine Translation Software Is Your Passport to International Success

Machine translation software has evolved tremendously, moving from rudimentary rule-based systems to sophisticated neural machine translation models. This leap in technology makes it an invaluable tool for businesses looking to scale internationally, both efficiently and affordably. 

Weglot offers an integrated, high-quality translation service that combines the best machine translation software, such as DeepL, Microsoft Translator, and Google Translate. With easy installation and team collaboration features, Weglot simplifies website translation without compromising on quality.

With its unique mix of the authority of professional translation and the speed and reliability of machine translation, all simple to manage through your Weglot Dashboard, you’re sure to provide a high-quality localization service and enhance your customer experience with Weglot’s online translation platform.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial (no-commitment) of Weglot to get started.