Free PDF Translator — Translate Any PDF Online Instantly, No Sign-Up
Upload any PDF, get a translated copy in minutes — with the original layout preserved. No account, no credit card, no page-count paywall, and it runs right in your browser.
Drag & drop a PDF or click to browse
Up to 20MB · processed in your browser, never stored on our servers
Scanned/image-based PDFs are handled automatically with built-in OCR
Reading PDF…
Larger documents take longer — OCR and translation both run page by page.
Layout-preserved keeps every page's original background, images and positions — the original text is covered and the translation is drawn in its place. It's image-based, so text in this view isn't selectable; use Reflowed or TXT for selectable/searchable text.
Original — page
Translated
Compare
How we stack up
An honest, factual comparison — not a knock on the competition, just what's actually different.
| Feature | PDF Translator (us) | Typical credit-based tools | Typical "free" tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, always | Credits (pricing often not published upfront) | Free, but often funnels to a paid upgrade |
| Page limit | None (20MB file limit) | Tied to credit balance | Often capped (e.g. 15 pages / 50MB) |
| Signup required | No | Yes, to manage credits/history | Sometimes |
| Scanned PDFs (OCR) | Yes, automatic | Often not clearly stated | Often a separate tool |
| Layout claim | Layout-preserved, side-by-side, or reflowed — how each works is explained upfront | Often claims full layout preservation, mechanics unclear | Often claims "formatting preserved", mechanics unclear |
| Runs client-side | Yes — file never leaves your browser | No — server-side pipeline | No — server-side pipeline |
Comparison based on publicly available information at the time of writing. Competitor features may change.
How it works
Five steps. Zero setup.
Upload, translate, and download — all in your browser.
Upload a PDF
Drag & drop, choose a file, or paste a PDF URL. Up to 20MB, no page limit.
Detect language, choose target
Source language is auto-detected (with OCR for scanned pages); pick the language you want.
It gets translated
Every page is translated to your chosen language, with a progress bar for large documents.
Layout preserved
The original background, images and positions stay put — translated text is drawn back in place.
Download
Get the translated PDF (layout-preserved, side-by-side, or reflowed) or the plain text.
Why us
Why PDF Translator
Completely free
No signup, no credit card, no credits or page-count paywall.
No page limits
Translate a 5-page memo or a 500-page report — the only cap is a 20MB file size.
Runs in your browser
Text extraction happens on-device — your PDF is never uploaded to our servers.
Scanned PDF support
Image-based pages are detected automatically and read with built-in OCR before translating.
Layout preserved
Original backgrounds, images and positions stay put — or switch to side-by-side or reflowed view.
Download PDF or TXT
Save the translated result as a new PDF, or grab the plain text if that's all you need.
100+ languages
Auto-detected source language, translate into over 100 target languages.
Progress you can see
A per-page progress bar sets expectations up front for large documents.
How layout-preserving translation actually works
The Layout-preserved view keeps every page's background, images, tables and spacing exactly where they were: we render the original page, cover each line of original text with a plain box, and draw the translated line back in that same spot, shrinking the font if needed to fit. The result looks like your original document, translated in place.
The honest trade-off: that page becomes a flattened image rather than vector text, so the text in this view isn't selectable or searchable, and on documents with colored or textured backgrounds (not plain white) the covering box can be visibly imperfect. If you need selectable, searchable, or copy-pasteable text, use theReflowed view or the TXT download instead — both give you real text, just not in the original page layout.
Need the words for reading, reference, or reuse? Any of the three views gets you there free, in minutes. Need a legally or professionally certified translation? Have a professional translator review the output.
Translate into 100+ languages
Source language is auto-detected. Pick any of these as your target.
PDF Translator: Free AI PDF Translation Online
PDF Translator is a free, AI-powered PDF translator built for one job: getting a readable, translated version of your document without an account, a credit balance, or a page limit standing in the way. Whether you're a student translating a research paper, a business owner reading a contract in another language, or you just need to translate a PDF document to English before a meeting, this tool takes a PDF in and gives you a translated PDF — or plain text — back, in minutes, right in your browser.
Search for "pdf translator online" and you'll find a mix of paid, credit-gated tools and free tools that cap you at ten or fifteen pages. PDF Translator online is different: it's a genuinely free pdf translator online, with no credits, no signup, and no artificial page-count wall — only a practical 20MB file size limit so processing stays fast, stated clearly before you upload rather than discovered halfway through.
How to Translate a PDF, Step by Step
Wondering how to translate a PDF without installing software or copying text by hand? The process takes four steps. First, upload your file — drag and drop it onto the tool, click to browse your device, or paste a direct PDF URL. Second, the tool reads every page: normal, text-based pages are extracted directly, and any scanned or image-based pages are automatically run through built-in OCR first, so you don't need a separate "scanned PDF" tool. Third, pick the language you want the document translated into — the source language is detected automatically, so there's nothing to configure there — and click Translate. A progress bar tracks each page so you know roughly how long a large document will take. Finally, compare the original and translated pages side by side, or switch to a cleanly reflowed translated PDF, and download the result as a PDF or as plain text.
Translate a PDF to English, or From English Into Any Language
A large share of people looking for a pdf translator want to translate a PDF to English — a foreign-language manual, a research paper, an invoice — so they can actually read it. Others need the opposite: translating an English PDF into another language for an international client or colleague. Both are the same single pass here. To translate a PDF document to English, upload the file and choose English as your target language; the source is detected automatically, whatever it is. Need to translate a PDF from Spanish to English, or the reverse — translate a PDF from English to Spanish? Same process: upload, pick the target language, translate. The same pattern covers translating a PDF from French to English, German to English, or into any of the 100+ supported target languages. There's no need to know or manually set the source language before you begin.
Translate a Scanned PDF Automatically, No Extra Steps
Many PDF translators only work on documents that already contain a text layer, which trips them up on a scanned contract, an old form, or a photographed page. This pdf document translator checks every page automatically: if a page has little or no extractable text, it's treated as scanned and read with on-device OCR before translation. You upload a scanned PDF the exact same way you'd upload any other PDF — there's nothing extra to select or configure, and no separate scanned-PDF product to find.
Free PDF Translator, No Credits, No Page Limits
Plenty of tools that call themselves an "online pdf translator free" still cap you after a handful of pages, require an account to unlock a history panel, or run on a credits system where you eventually have to pay per page. PDF Translator doesn't do any of that. Every feature — text extraction, OCR for scanned pages, translation into 100+ languages, the side-by-side and reflowed views, and downloading the result — is free for as many documents and as many pages as you want to translate. The only constraint is a 20MB file size cap, which exists purely so a large file still processes quickly in your browser, not to nudge you toward a paid plan.
Layout-Preserved, Side-by-Side, or Reflowed: Three Ways to View a Translation
Layout-preserved view keeps each page looking like the original — same background, images, tables, and text positions — by rendering the page, covering each original line, and drawing the translation in its place. It's the closest to a true "translate this PDF and keep the layout" result, with one honest trade-off: the page becomes a flattened image, so its text isn't selectable or searchable. Side-by-side view shows each original page as an image next to its translated text, useful for double-checking the translation against the source. Reflowed view places the translated text into a fresh, simply formatted PDF, page by page, giving you real selectable, searchable text when that matters more than matching the original layout.
AI Translation That Runs in Your Browser, Not on Our Servers
Under the hood, this is an AI-driven pipeline — a text-recognition model reads scanned pages, and a machine translation model converts each line of text into your target language. The difference from most pdf translator online tools is where that first step happens: text extraction and OCR both run locally, in your browser tab, so the PDF file itself is never uploaded to our servers. Only the short lines of extracted text are sent out to a translation API so they can be translated. There's no account, no upload history saved anywhere, and nothing left behind on a server once you close the tab — see the Privacy Policy for the full details.
Translate a PDF Document on Any Device
Because PDF Translator is a website rather than an app, it works the same way on a phone, tablet, Chromebook, or desktop computer, in whatever browser you already have — Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. There's nothing to install from an app store and nothing to update later. Whether you need to translate a PDF document to English on your laptop before a meeting or translate a scanned PDF from your phone while traveling, the same free tool handles it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I translate a PDF?
Upload your PDF to PDF Translator — drag and drop it, choose a file, or paste a URL — then pick a target language and click Translate. The tool extracts the text automatically (using OCR for scanned pages), translates every page, and gives you a side-by-side or reflowed translated PDF to download, free and with no account required.
How can I translate a PDF file to English?
Upload the PDF, leave the source language on auto-detect, and choose English from the target language dropdown, then click Translate. Every page is translated to English automatically, including scanned pages, which are read with built-in OCR first.
How do I translate a PDF document to English?
The process is the same for any PDF document: upload it, select English as your target language, and translate. You don't need to tell the tool what language the document is currently in — the source language is detected automatically.
How do I translate a PDF from English to Spanish?
Upload an English-language PDF, select Spanish as the target language, and click Translate. The source is auto-detected as English, and every page — including any scanned pages — is translated into Spanish.
How do I translate a PDF from Spanish to English?
Upload the Spanish PDF and choose English as the target language, then translate. There's nothing to configure for the source side; auto-detection handles recognizing that the document is in Spanish.
How do I translate a PDF to Spanish?
Upload your PDF and pick Spanish from the target language dropdown, then click Translate. This works no matter what language the original PDF is written in, since the source language is auto-detected.
How do I translate a PDF document?
Drop the PDF document into the tool (or paste a link to it), choose the language you want it translated into, and click Translate. Multi-page documents are handled automatically, with a progress bar for larger files so you know it's working.
How do I translate a PDF file?
Choose a PDF file from your device (or drag it into the dropzone), pick a target language, and translate. There's no file conversion step needed first — PDF Translator reads the PDF directly, whether it's text-based or scanned.
How do I use Google Translate on a PDF?
Google Translate's website lets you upload a document under its "Documents" tab, but it has its own file size limits and can struggle with scanned PDFs that don't already contain a text layer. PDF Translator is a free alternative built specifically for PDFs: it handles scanned pages with OCR automatically and has no page-count paywall.
How do I translate a scanned PDF?
Just upload it like any other PDF — no separate step needed. PDF Translator checks each page automatically, and any page with little or no extractable text (a scan, a photo of a document, an old form) is read with built-in OCR before being translated.
How do I translate a PDF from French to English?
Upload the French PDF, select English as the target language, and click Translate. The source language is detected automatically, so you don't need to specify that the original is in French.
How do I translate a PDF from German to English?
Upload the German PDF, choose English as your target language, and translate. As with any language pair, the source language is auto-detected — you only need to set the language you want the output in.
How do I translate a PDF in Adobe?
Adobe Acrobat offers a "Translate PDF" feature in some plans, typically requiring a paid Acrobat subscription. If you want a free option, PDF Translator translates PDF documents online in your browser with no subscription, no signup, and no page limit.
Does translating a PDF keep the original formatting?
Yes, with the Layout-preserved view: it keeps the page's background, images and positions, covers the original text, and draws the translation in the same spot. That view is image-based, though, so its text isn't selectable — for selectable, searchable text, use the Reflowed view or the TXT download instead.
Can I translate a PDF without uploading it to a server?
Yes. Text extraction and OCR both run entirely in your browser — the PDF file itself is never uploaded to our servers. Only the extracted text (not the file) is sent to a translation API so it can be translated.
Is there a file size limit for PDF translation?
Yes, a practical one: 20MB per file, checked before processing starts. There's no limit on the number of pages — a 5-page letter and a 300-page report are both fine as long as the file itself is under 20MB.
How accurate is automatic PDF translation compared to a human translator?
It's generally accurate enough for everyday reading, reference, and understanding a document's content. Machine translation and OCR can still make mistakes, though, so for legal, medical, or other high-stakes documents, have a professional human translator review the result before relying on it.
Can I translate a scanned or image-based PDF, or only text-based PDFs?
Both. Every page is checked automatically — normal text-based pages are extracted directly, and scanned or image-based pages are read with built-in OCR first. You upload the PDF the same way either way.
What languages are supported?
The source language of your PDF is auto-detected, and you can translate into 100+ target languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Russian, and many more.
Do I need to create an account to translate a PDF?
No. There's no signup, login, or account of any kind. Upload a PDF and start translating immediately.
Is PDF translation free?
Yes, entirely. Uploading, translating, viewing results side-by-side or reflowed, and downloading as PDF or TXT are all free, with no credits, no daily cap, and no page-count paywall. The site is supported by advertising instead.
Can I download the translated PDF, or only view it?
You can download it. Once translation is done, use "Download PDF" to save a translated PDF (side-by-side or reflowed, depending on the view you have open), or "Download TXT" for the plain translated text.