Best Free Online Tools to Translate PDF Files

Translating PDF files is essential for organizations that need to bridge language barriers. However, translating PDFs presents unique challenges, such as formatting issues, text extraction difficulties, and file complexity. Fortunately, an AI PDF Translator can help address these obstacles for smooth and seamless PDF file translation. This guide will cover the top 10 free tools to translate PDF files, best practices, and more.

Here are ten leading tools and platforms to translate a PDF file.

Smartcat is the essential translation platform for the enterprise, offering comprehensive services, including cutting-edge AI translation of over 80 file formats, a large linguistic reviewer marketplace, an online translation and editing tool, and collaborative workflows.

• Supported Languages
  280+ depending on the translation engine chosen.

• Technology
  Automatic translation, human editing, AI technologies, OCR.

• Ease of Use
  Create a new project, upload the file, and select language pairs.

• Accuracy
  Starts at around 85% accuracy, increasing to over 95% as the AI learns user preferences.

• Best Suited For
  The combination of enterprise-grade quality, high speed of turnaround time, and cost efficiency. Smartcat serves 1,000+ organizations of all sizes across industries that require accurate, timely translations. This includes 20% of the Fortune 500 list of companies.

Google Translate is accessible and free, making it a go-to translation tool for speed. It can translate PDF files up to 10MB. You can upload your PDF file to Google Translate, choose your languages, and Google will generate the translation.

• Supported Languages
  133 languages.

• Technology
  Machine learning algorithms, community contributions.

• Ease of Use
  Simply select your source and target languages, drag and drop the file, and wait for it to upload.

• Accuracy
  Ranges from 55% to 94%, with the overall meaning preserved in around 82% of translations.

• Best Suited For
  Fast translation of non-confidential documents where 100% accuracy is not required.

DeepL Translator is known for its high-quality translations and is a preferred choice for professional use.

• Supported Languages
  31 languages.

• Technology
  Neural network-based machine translation.

• Ease of Use
  Drag and drop your file or paste the text into the translator.

• Accuracy
  Highly accurate, especially for European languages.

• Best Suited For
  Professional translations with high accuracy.

iLovePDF offers a suite of tools for PDF management, including translation.

• Supported Languages
  Multiple languages via integration with Google Translate.

• Technology
  Integration with Google Translate.

• Ease of Use
  Upload your file and select the translation option.

• Accuracy
  Depends on Google Translate's accuracy.

• Best Suited For
  Quick translations with additional PDF editing needs.

DocTranslator uses the Google Translate API to offer a straightforward document translator service.

• Supported Languages
  100+ languages.

• Technology
  Google Translate API.

• Ease of Use
  Upload your document, select source and target languages, and download the translated file.

• Accuracy
  Similar to Google Translate, ranges between 55% and 94%.

• Best Suited For
  Translating shorter documents quickly.

Canva’s Free PDF Translator offers a user-friendly design tool with powerful translation capabilities.

• Supported Languages: 134 languages.

• Technology: Uses advanced machine learning technology.

• Ease of Use: Canva prioritizes the user experience, offering a seamless and delightful interface that is easy to navigate and helps users reach their goals quickly.

• Accuracy: Believed to be high.

• Best Suited For: Professional teams needing easy-to-use PDF translation with design tools.

TransPDF converts PDF files into XLIFF for translation and then back to PDF, ensuring the original format is maintained.

• Supported Languages
  Multiple languages via integration with various CAT tools.

• Technology
  Uses XLIFF and integrates with CAT tools.

• Ease of Use
  Convert to XLIFF, translate using a CAT tool, and convert back to PDF.

• Accuracy
  Depends on the CAT tool used for translation.

• Best Suited For
  Professional translators who need to maintain document formatting.

Smallpdf provides a suite of PDF tools, including translation via integration with other services.

• Supported Languages
  Multiple languages through integration with Google Translate.

• Technology
  Integration with Google Translate.

• Ease of Use
  Upload your file, choose translation, and download the result.

• Accuracy
  Depends on Google Translate's accuracy.

• Best Suited For
  Basic translations with additional PDF editing tools.

PDFElement by Wondershare offers a comprehensive PDF solution with translation capabilities.

• Supported Languages
  Multiple languages via integration with translation services.

• Technology
  Uses OCR and translation services.

• Ease of Use
  Edit the PDF, use OCR for text recognition, and translate.

• Accuracy
  High, especially with clear text documents.

• Best Suited For
  Detailed editing and translation of complex PDF documents.

Foxit PDF offers robust PDF translation and editing features for professional use.

• Supported Languages
  Multiple languages through integration with translation services.

• Technology
  Uses OCR and integrates with various translation services.

• Ease of Use
  Edit, recognize text with OCR, and translate.

• Accuracy
  High with clear text documents.

• Best Suited For
  Professional users needing robust editing and translation features.

AI-powered translation software like Smartcat can speed up translations and make the process easy from any device. Here's how:

Go to Smartcat’s website and sign up for free.

Start a new project and choose your languages. Then, drag and drop your PDF file into  Smartcat for AI PDF file translation.

Review and edit the translated text in Smartcat Editor. You can also export your file without review.

Assign someone from your team to review. Another option is to hire a subject matter expert reviewer from the embedded Smartcat Marketplace.

Export your translated PDF file.

Smartcat's AI translation software can quickly translate PDF files into 280 languages with high-quality results in seconds. You can also translate your PDF documents into multiple languages at the same time in Smartcat.

OCR technology scans and extracts text from PDFs and converts it into editable text for translation. Smartcat performs the full process from end to end. This covers PDF file upload, scan and text extraction, AI translation, review and edit, and translated file export.

Whether you need a quick or detailed, accurate translation for professional purposes, you have a range of AI translation software from which to choose. By understanding the features and limitations of each tool, you can choose the best one for your specific requirements.

Start translating your PDFs with Smartcat AI PDF translator today for unrivaled, seamless workflow efficiency and results.