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How to Translate PDF and Word Documents (Free, Keeping the Layout)

Translating documents on a computer

Short answer: you can translate an entire PDF or Word document for free without copying and pasting, using Google Translate's document-upload feature, which even preserves much of the layout. For higher quality on European languages, DeepL is excellent. Here is how to translate whole documents and keep them readable.

Fastest: Google Translate document upload

  1. Go to Google Translate and click the Documents tab.
  2. Upload your file (PDF, Word .docx, PowerPoint, and more are supported).
  3. Choose the target language and translate.
  4. Download or view the translated document, formatting is largely preserved.

This handles the whole file at once, no copy-pasting paragraph by paragraph.

For Word documents: Word's built-in translator

Microsoft Word has translation built in: Review > Translate > Translate Document creates a translated copy in place, keeping the formatting. Google Docs has a similar Tools > Translate document feature, free.

For higher quality: DeepL

DeepL produces noticeably more natural translations, especially for European languages, and its free tier can translate documents too (with monthly limits). For anything important, it is worth comparing DeepL's output against Google's.

Translating a scanned PDF (image-based)

If your PDF is a scan (a picture of text), translators cannot read it directly. First run it through OCR to extract the text, upload the PDF to Google Docs, which OCRs it into editable text, then translate that. This is the non-obvious step people miss with scanned documents.

Keep the meaning, check the result

Machine translation is very good now but not perfect. For anything that matters, contracts, official forms, medical or legal text, have a fluent speaker review the output. Automated tools are great for understanding and drafts, but not a substitute for a human on high-stakes documents.

Frequently asked questions

How do I translate a whole PDF for free?

Use Google Translate's Documents tab to upload the PDF, choose a language, and download the translated file with much of the layout preserved.

How do I translate a Word document keeping the formatting?

Use Word's Review > Translate > Translate Document, or Google Docs' Tools > Translate document, both create a formatted translated copy free.

What is the best free document translator?

Google Translate for broad language and file support, and DeepL for more natural results, especially on European languages.

How do I translate a scanned PDF?

Scanned PDFs are images, so run OCR first, open the PDF in Google Docs to extract editable text, then translate that text.

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