From time to time we all get into situations when we need to find a decent translation service. Of course, none of them can give a proper translation that can be used in technical documentation, but at least you can grasp the main idea of the passage under consideration.

Google Translate

So, the most popular one is Google Translate. I cannot say that this one is the best. The result depends on the text and the languages involved. But anyway it gives quite decent results. And it is enough when you what to understand what the text is about. It offers about 120 languages. Not bad I would say.

Bing Microsoft Translator

Bing Microsoft Translator can be helpful as well. What I like about it is that you can translate not only a piece of text but also the whole page of a website. You need just to insert your URL. Again not all languages can get an adequate translation. But the range of them is quite large. About 63 as I counted.

Translate.com

Translate.com is another service that can help you. Your text may contain up to 200 words. The number of languages is 53 only. This service offers human translation as well but on paid bases. As for the quality of translation, it is like that: the simpler your text is, the better translation you get.

Prompt Online Translator

It offers 20 languages only. Not much. But it has a dictionary and such features as contexts and word forms. I suppose they are good when you use this service for learning. A virtual keyboard is an advantage as well. The paid version offers far more features, the price is not high.

Babylon Online Translator

This service has 30 languages, a dictionary, and a thesaurus. Besides, it offers you human translation on paid bases. I have never tried it because online translation is enough for me. Definitely, it will not be good for a long and complicated text, but it is quite ok if you want just to get the idea of what the text is about.

Here you go! Test, use, see what is better for you!

Have a nice day!

Bradley Nice, Content Manager at ClickHelp.com — best online documentation tool for SaaS vendors