LibreTranslate
A self-hosted machine translation API that translates text and files between languages without relying on third-party cloud services
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| + | REST Translation API free self host, paid cloud | Exposes translation, language-detection, and file-translation endpoints over HTTP, allowing any application or script to add multilingual support with a simple API call. |
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| + | Offline Operation free self host | Runs entirely on infrastructure the operator controls once language models are downloaded, allowing translation to continue without an active internet connection and without sending text to a third party. |
| + | File Translation free self host, paid cloud | Translates uploaded document files directly through a dedicated endpoint, saving users from having to copy and paste text out of documents before translating it. |
| + | Language Detection free self host, paid cloud | Identifies the language of a submitted text through a detection endpoint, letting integrations skip manual source-language selection. |
| + | Docker Deployment free self host | Ships an official Docker image and docker-compose configuration, letting operators launch a working instance in a few commands instead of manually configuring a Python environment. |
| + | GPU Acceleration free self host | Supports CUDA-based hardware acceleration through a dedicated docker-compose profile, allowing translation throughput to scale on machines with an NVIDIA GPU. |
| + | Per-Key Rate Limits free self host | Lets administrators issue API keys with individually configured requests-per-minute and character limits, enabling different usage allowances to be granted to different users of the same instance. |
| + | MCP Server Support free self host, paid cloud | Provides a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents and LLM tooling can call translation as a tool, enabling automated multilingual workflows without custom integration code. |
| + | Prometheus Metrics free self host | Exposes a metrics endpoint compatible with Prometheus when enabled, allowing operators to monitor request volume and latency of a production deployment. |
...3 more features/limitations. Contact us to get a complete list of features and system requirements.
System Requirements
| # | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Python 3.8 or later | Docker (optional, for containerized deployment) |
| # | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Python 3.8 or later |
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| # | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Python 3.8 or later | Docker (optional, for containerized deployment) |
Ratings
4.005
| AlternativeTo | 4.05 based on 7 reviews |
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License
Categories
Alternatives
Notes
- Self-hosting is free and unlimited (open-source, AGPLv3); the maintainers also run a paid managed hosting service at portal.libretranslate.com for those who don’t want to operate their own server.
- Community made projects:
- LibreTranslator for Android: https://codeberg.org/BeoCode/LibreTranslator, https://f-droid.org/packages/de.beowulf.libretranslater/
- LiTranslate for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/litranslate-language-companion/id6474590714