For instance, DeepL is a fantastic alternative to Google Translate, and it’s known for its accuracy. It can translate text and files in 28 different languages and comes with a bunch of very cool features. While you may already be used to Google Translate, it’s worth trying out DeepL to see if it does better for you because I see a possibility. In this post, we’re going to discuss this fantastic tool and how it compares with the legendary Google Translate.
The research behind DeepL
It all began in 2017 when DeepL was launched to the world. The company has since been coming up with a new generation of neural networks. With the help of a novel neural network, DeepL networks can grasp the accurate meaning of the words that users put into it and translate them into the preferred language in a very exquisite manner. This software not only competes with the world’s leading translation tools but also keeps on evolving as part of its growth process. For example, in recent times, the tool developed the ability to overcome the challenge of industry-specific professional jargon with absolute success. DeepL is only expected to improve with time because the creators strive to make it one of the go-to machine translation services.
Features of DeepL
DeepL is filled with tons of great features that’d make the translation a breeze for you and do so much more than that. Here are some of them:
Instant alternatives
While translating, you might be delivered results that contain specific words that you do not wish to use, so you can simply click on them and choose between different alternatives to replace them instantly. The entire surrounding text will be adjusted automatically after that.
Translate different types of files together
DeepL supports a variety of files for import, so you can just upload them and have the tool translate the entire collection of files together. It lets you translate large files (up to 10 MB) with ease.
Select your choice of tone
During the process, you can choose what kind of tone you’d want the result to have. Whether you choose formal or informal, it’ll automatically update the pronouns and related words in the result. This feature is available in a number of languages, including German, Russian, Polish and Dutch.
Instant definition lookup
It has a built-in dictionary within the tool so you can instantly look up the meaning of certain words without having to leave the page. Apart from meanings, it also gives synonyms and related words.
Integrate with your CAT tool
If you already use a computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool, you can integrate DeepL to pre-translate your files automatically and extend the functionality even more. Tools like memoQ and Trados Studio integrate seamlessly with DeepL.
Highly secured data
When you use DeepL, you don’t have to worry about your data being manipulated because it takes a lot of security protocols 🔒 into consideration to always keep your data safe and secure. Here are just a few measures it takes for security:
Data encryption with TLS Appropriate data storage of your texts and files Data centers in Finland that have certified operator 99.92% uptime + automatic failover mechanism GDPR Compliance
Additionally, they’re also ISO 27001 certified and perform regular penetration testing just to be on the safer side at all times. All of these security practices ensure you can relax and completely trust DeepL.
Pricing of DeepL
For a start, you can use DeepL’s free version or get on their free trial to get a good idea of what the tool is capable of. The Pro versions are definitely something you should look into if you’re constantly translating because it offers so much more than the free version. It’s used and trusted by over 350,000 professionals around the world.
Free plan
For no cost, you get to use this tool for a lifetime with few limitations. Here’s what you get in this plan:
Text translation with limited characters and volume Whole files translation with limited characters and editing up to 5 MB file size 1 glossary with only 10 entries
Starter plan
Their entry-level plan, called the “Starter” plan, costs $6.99/user/month when billed annually. It gives you:
Maximum data security Unlimited text translation Translation of 5 files/month of up to 10 MB size Formal/informal tone options 1 glossary with 5,000 entries Team administration for 2 or more users
Advanced plan
The next one is called the “Advanced” plan, which costs $22.99/user/month when billed annually. It gives you:
Maximum data security Unlimited text translation Translation of 20 files/month of up to 10 MB size Formal/informal tone options 2,000 glossaries with 5,000 entries Team administration for 2 or more users Single sign-on (SSO) integration for 35 or more users It can be integrated with CAT tools
Ultimate plan
The last one is the “Ultimate” plan, which costs $45.99/user/month when billed annually. It gives you:
Maximum data security Unlimited text translation Translation of 100 files/month of up to 10 MB size Formal/informal tone options 2,000 glossaries with 5,000 entries Team administration for 2 or more users Single sign-on (SSO) integration for 35 or more users It can be integrated with CAT tools
You can choose according to your requirements and needs. The “Advanced” plan is known to be the most recommended one, so you might want to check that one out. Keep in mind that the Pro versions aren’t available for every country. In fact, the list is very selective, so consider yourself lucky if you happen to be residing in one of those countries it’s available. Here’s a list of the countries it’s available for: You may also want to check out their free apps for desktop, mobile, and Chrome extension.
DeepL vs. Google Translate
Now, things get exciting as we come to the part where we know how DeepL and Google Translate stand against each other. For a tool that was introduced not too long ago, DeepL has done an exceptional job even to be compared to a giant like Google Translate. Since both tools are made for the same purpose, that is, to translate text, we can say the only massive difference between the two is the data language each of them is trained on. DeepL mostly sources their translations with the help of Linguee’s corpus. On the other hand, Google Translate uses multiple digital resources, but its primary source is the Europarl corpus. While both of them have their own pros and cons, DeepL has been known to perform better and provide more accurate translations of European languages. Also, DeepL provides more “extra features” that Google Translate currently doesn’t. For example, DeepL gives you a glossary that basically allows you to choose how you want the tool to translate certain words/sentences/phrases. There’d be times when the tool would mistranslate certain text repeatedly, so you can use the glossary to let the tool fix it for the entire text rather than manually fixing it everywhere. There’s also a feature to select the formality of the output language, especially one where there are nuances so that it gets the words right without sounding very foreign. So, you can say DeepL is great at providing these additional features that can prove to be very useful for you. One of the areas in which Google Translate really has the edge is the fact that it provides you with a ton of variety and compatibility. It allows translation in 109 languages, while DeepL only allows 28. Also, Google Translate is available worldwide and not just to certain parts of it, compared to DeepL’s Pro version being limited to certain countries. However, keep in mind that DeepL is super accurate in all languages it supports. At the same time, Google Translate can sometimes mess up the output result in languages such as Somali due to the limited availability of data. To give some more genuine points to Google Translate, I’d like to mention another area that it excels over DeepL, and that is the fact that it supports image translation for 27 languages. I think this is a handy feature to have, especially if you’re in a foreign country and you don’t understand the road sign or the text written on grocery labels. All you need to do is point the camera to the object and let Google Translate do the job.
Conclusion
Both DeepL and Google Translate have their pros and cons, and sometimes it also depends on an individual what they really need from a machine translator. Google Translate is just enough for some people, while others who like to have additional features would go for DeepL. One thing to note here is that, based on various research and reviews, DeepL has proven to be a very worthy alternative to Google Translate and is known to deliver more accurate results. ✔️ Next, you might also want to check out these translation services.
