A few things hold me back from international travel: money and language barriers. I’ve only been outside of the United States once, and it was on a cheap spring break cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. The pool for the whole boat fit a waterslide and a handful of small children. I spent most of my vacation reading and waiting to go on an excursion. I was 12.
When I can bust the piggy bank and make it outside of the States, I don’t want language to get in the way of communicating with locals.
Translation applications are essential to understanding. Even if you have months of Duolingo under your belt, your vocabulary will still be behind native speakers. Get yourself a translation app and suddenly you’ll be way more comfortable navigating communication in a foreign land. Read more…
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BEST TRANSLATION APP OVERALL
TripLingo
This app combines multiple tools for international travel while maintaining a translation focus.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: With subscription
- Offline translation: Yes
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BEST TRANSLATION APP FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Go Translate
Full features require some dough, but options like an integrated keyboard make Go Translate stand out.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: With subscription
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: With subscription
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BEST WITH SUBSCRIPTION
iTranslate
The free version is underwhelming, but extensive features are available for $50 a year.
- Voice translator: With subscription
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: With subscription
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translation: With subscription
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BEST FREE TRANSLATION APP
Microsoft’s Translator App
The Translator App by Microsoft delivers all the essentials without a subscription.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translator: Yes
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BEST TRANSLATION APP FOR APPLE USERS
Translate Now
Augmented reality, Apple Watch compatibility, and an integrated extension are highlights of a feature-dense application.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Yes
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: Yes
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BEST BACKUP TRANSLATION APP
SayHi
This free app doesn’t have key features like a photo translator or offline capabilities, but it has the best free voice and text translation of the bunch.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: No
- Phrasebook: No
- Offline translation: No
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BEST-DESIGNED TRANSLATION APP
Papago
Take a design straight out of Silicon Valley but make it free. That’s Papago. Just don’t expect less popular languages.
- Voice translator: Yes
- Text translator: Yes
- Photo translator: Coming soon
- Phrasebook: Yes
- Offline translation: Only for Korean, Chinese, and Japanese