Translation is the process of reworking text from one language into another to maintain the original message and communication.
But, like everything else, there are different methods of translation, and they vary in form and function.
Google Translate needs no introduction, being probably the most well-known multilingual neural machine translation service software out there. It translates multiple forms of texts and media such as words, phrases and webpages. Google Translate is not open source software.
There is a wide range of translation software available for Linux. Some of the tools included are front-end to other services. We’ve also included software which translates text on your local machine, and we include both GUI and CLI tools.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool.
| Translators | |
|---|---|
| Pot | Highly versatile translator that offers translation by selection and input |
| Translate Shell | CLI powered by Google Translate, Bing Translator, Yandex, and Apertium. |
| Speech Note | Combines Speech to Text, Text to Speech and Machine Translation |
| Argos Translate | State of the art neural machine translation software. |
| Crow Translate | Cross-platform, lightweight, translator |
| LibreTranslate | Machine translation API which is entirely self-hoste |
| translateLocally | Translation on your local machine with a GUI |
| Dialect | Translation app for GNOME |
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |