The short answer. The question that decides this category is where the text comes from. If you select text and want it translated, DeepL or Mate Translate. If the text is inside an image, ScreenTranslate reads it with OCR and translates it without sending the capture anywhere. If the source is audio — a stream, a podcast, a meeting — Live Translator is the one here built around that. If you want a dictionary and a translator in the same tool while you read, Easydict. If you want the translation to replace the text in place rather than appear in a window, Translate Like Me. And if you already pay for a model API, OpenAI Translator uses the key you have instead of selling you a second subscription.
This guide covers 7 translation apps for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepL | translation app | Free | not published | 26.6.14916780 |
| Easydict | productivity app | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 2.23.0 |
| Live Translator | productivity app | Open source | MIT | 0.1.0 |
| Mate Translate | productivity app | not published | not published | 8.3.3 |
| OpenAI Translator | productivity app | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | 0.6.43 |
| ScreenTranslate | productivity app | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 1.6.0 |
| Translate Like Me | productivity app | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 3.1 |
What actually decides this
- Where the text comes from. Selected text, an image, and an audio stream are three different inputs and the tools are not interchangeable between them. This is the first question, and it eliminates more of the list than language count does.
- Whether the text leaves your machine. A local OCR pass followed by an on-device model keeps the content on the Mac. A cloud translation service does not. For a contract, a medical record or a private message this is the deciding property, and it is usually stated less prominently than the language count.
- Who pays for the engine. Some of these bundle a translation service, some ask you to supply your own model API key. The second kind costs you an account and a per-use bill, and it also means you choose the model rather than inheriting one.
- Replacing text, or showing it beside. Replacing the selection in place keeps you inside whatever you were writing. Showing a panel keeps the original visible. Which one you want depends on whether you are drafting or reading.
- Language coverage. Worth checking, but it is the last axis rather than the first. A tool covering a hundred languages badly is worse than one covering the two you use well, and the count says nothing about which case you are in.
Our picks
- DeepL — Its record describes it as a translation service, which is the narrowest and most focused proposition in this group. Choose it when translation quality on ordinary prose is the whole job.
- ScreenTranslate — It captures an area or a selection and translates it, and its record states the processing is fully on-device. Choose it when the text you need is inside an image and you would rather it stayed on the Mac.
- Live Translator — It translates system audio in real time, which is a different input from every other app here. Choose it when the source is audio — a stream, a podcast or a meeting.
- Easydict — It combines dictionary lookup with translation, and its record lists mouse selection, shortcuts and OCR capture as the ways in. Choose it when you look up words while reading and want the dictionary and the translator together.
- Translate Like Me — It rewrites the selection inside any app rather than opening a panel, and its record describes an optional per-language style description. Choose it when you want the translation to replace the text in place, in your own register.
- OpenAI Translator — It is an AI-model translation client rather than a bundled service, so the model and the account are yours. Choose it when you already pay for a model API and would rather use that than a second subscription.
The apps
DeepL
DeepL is a translation app for macOS. Best quality translations. It is free.
What it does. Discover DeepL partners and apps.
DeepL is listed with current version 26.6.14916780.
Full profile and verified facts for DeepL →
Easydict
Easydict is a productivity app for macOS. A concise dictionary and translator for looking up words and translating text. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. Out of the box, automatic language recognition. Auto select with mouse and shortcut key. OCR screenshot translation and silent screenshot OCR. Multiple TTS voice services.
Easydict is listed with current version 2.23.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Easydict →
Live Translator
Live Translator is a productivity app for macOS. Real-time on-screen translation of any system audio (YouTube, podcasts, meetings) using OpenAI or Gemini. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Real-time translation of any audio on your Mac. 11 source languages — English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese. 12 target languages — translate into any supported language. Context-aware AI — maintains full conversation context, never loses track.
Live Translator is listed with current version 0.1.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Live Translator →
Mate Translate
Mate Translate is a productivity app for macOS. Translate in Safari and any app on macOS between 103 languages. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. Deeply integrated with Safari and macOS. Sits in the menu bar. Lets you translate selected text in PDFs, Mail, Notes, etc. 248 languages.
Mate Translate is listed with current version 8.3.3.
Full profile and verified facts for Mate Translate →
OpenAI Translator
OpenAI Translator is a productivity app for macOS. Translation app and browser extension powered by AI models. It is released under AGPL-3.0.
OpenAI Translator is listed with current version 0.6.43.
Full profile and verified facts for OpenAI Translator →
ScreenTranslate
ScreenTranslate is a productivity app for macOS. Capture any area or select text to translate instantly, fully on-device. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. Free macOS screen translator with OCR. Capture any area or select text on your Mac and get instant translation. Fully on-device with Apple Translation. Works offline, no account needed.
ScreenTranslate is listed with current version 1.6.0.
Full profile and verified facts for ScreenTranslate →
Translate Like Me
Translate Like Me is a productivity app for macOS. Open-source menu bar translator that replaces the selected text in any app, in your own writing style, via Claude, ChatGPT or Grok. It is released under Apache-2.0.
What it does. Translate in place: replaces the selected text directly, in any app. Automatic direction: detects which language of the pair you wrote in and translates to the other; text in any other language goes to the pair’s first. Up to three language pairs: for example Russian ↔ English on ⌥⌘F and Russian ↔ Spanish on ⌥⌘G. Your writing style, per pair: an optional style description makes a pair’s translations sound like you.
Translate Like Me is listed with current version 3.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Translate Like Me →
How to choose
- Free of charge. DeepL — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Easydict, Live Translator, OpenAI Translator, ScreenTranslate and Translate Like Me — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. Mate Translate — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: Easydict, Live Translator, OpenAI Translator, ScreenTranslate and Translate Like Me (5 of 7).
Common mistakes
- Treating OCR translation and text translation as the same feature. Reading a screenshot and translating a selection use different pipelines and fail in different ways.
- Forgetting that a cloud translator receives what you translate. The convenience is real and so is the disclosure, and the two are decided at the same moment.
- Using machine translation on a text where the wording is the point — a contract, a medical instruction, a legal notice — without a second read. Fluency is not accuracy.
- Choosing by the language count. The number is the easiest thing to print and the least useful thing to compare.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these translation apps?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 7 translation apps: DeepL, Easydict, Live Translator, Mate Translate, OpenAI Translator, ScreenTranslate and Translate Like Me. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these translation apps free?
Pricing across this group: free (DeepL), open source (Easydict, Live Translator, OpenAI Translator, ScreenTranslate and Translate Like Me) and not published (Mate Translate). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these translation apps are open source?
Easydict (GPL-3.0), Live Translator (MIT), OpenAI Translator (AGPL-3.0), ScreenTranslate (GPL-3.0) and Translate Like Me (Apache-2.0) are open source.
Do these translation apps support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
