Open Source DeepL Alternatives
A curated collection of the 2 best open source alternatives to DeepL.
The best open source alternative to DeepL is LibreTranslate. If that doesn't suit you, we've compiled a ranked list of other open source DeepL alternatives to help you find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternative to DeepL is Linguist.
DeepL alternatives are mainly Publishing but may also be Browsers & Extensions. Browse these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of DeepL.
Self-hosted machine translation API that runs entirely on your own hardware, with no dependency on Google or Azure.
Machine translation usually means shipping every string to a commercial API and trusting whatever happens next. LibreTranslate is the self-hosted alternative: a free and open source translation API where the whole pipeline, models included, runs on machines you control.
The translation engine is Argos Translate, an open source library, which is what lets the project avoid proprietary software such as Google or Azure anywhere in the path. LibreTranslate itself is Python, tested in continuous integration and shipped both as a package and as a container image.
A few practical points matter before deploying it.
- Self-hosted by design: the entire service runs on your own hardware, with nothing forwarded elsewhere.
- No proprietary backend: unlike other translation APIs, no commercial engine sits behind the endpoint.
- Python package: distributed on PyPI, with the supported Python versions declared alongside it.
- Container image: a Docker image is built and published automatically by the project's own workflow.
- Documented API: a quickstart and usage guide cover calling the endpoints, next to a list of community resources.
A public instance is available for anyone who wants to try the API before running one, and a community forum handles questions. The code is AGPLv3, with separate trademark guidelines covering use of the LibreTranslate name.
Translate pages, selected text, subtitles, and messages across 130 languages, offline on your device or through any translation backend you choose.
Commercial translation widgets see every page you translate. Linguist is a standalone translation system for the browser that keeps that traffic under your control, covering web pages, highlighted text, subtitles including Netflix, private messages, and any text input, across 130 languages.
The translator layer is modular rather than fixed. Point it at Google, Yandex, Bing, DeepL, or ChatGPT, write a custom translator module of your own, or skip remote services entirely and run the embedded Bergamot translator on your device. A separate repository collects bindings for popular services.
Beyond one-off lookups, the extension keeps what you translate.
- Dictionary: save entries into a personal collection of translations.
- History: recently translated words stay available for review.
- Full-page translation: whole pages translate under configurable auto-translation rules.
- Text to speech: hear a translation read aloud.
- No data collection: the extension is free, open source, and gathers nothing personal.
Install it from Firefox Add-ons or the Chrome Web Store, or take a package from GitHub Releases and load it manually in another browser. On Android it works through Firefox Nightly using a custom add-on collection, or through any Chromium browser that supports extensions. Development is funded by donations, and backers can point their money at specific issues or features to move them up the queue. Contributions in code, translations, artwork, and bug triage are all requested.
