The short answer: If you only write a line in another language now and then, use the Translate tool already in your keyboard: Gboard on many Android phones, the Samsung Keyboard on a Galaxy. On a recent Galaxy with Galaxy AI, Chat translation is the best built-in way to read a whole WhatsApp or Instagram chat. For back-and-forth chats in any app, where you need to write in their language and read theirs in yours, Swift Translate Keyboard does both from one keyboard.
Yes, we make one of the keyboards on this list. So we’ll tell you what each one is best at, including when it isn’t ours. New to the idea? Start with what a translator keyboard is and how it works.
What to look for in a translator keyboard
Five questions make the comparison below easy to read:
- Does it translate what you write? Every keyboard here does. Some show the translation as you type, others when you tap a button.
- Does it help you read what they send? This is the harder half. Many translator keyboards only work in one direction.
- Does it work in your chat apps? A keyboard works in the apps where you type. Some phone features work only in a fixed list of apps.
- Does it have your languages? Check twice: the keys you type on, and the languages it translates.
- Do you choose what gets sent? You should see the translation before it goes out, and be able to change it.
1. Swift Translate Keyboard: best for chatting both ways
Best at: writing in your language and sending it in theirs, and reading their replies, from the same keyboard. Weak spots: no glide typing, and no voice typing on the keyboard (Voice is in the app). No Chinese, Japanese or Korean keys, though you can still translate into those languages. To read a message you receive, you copy it first. Translating needs a connection.
Type your message in your own language and tap Translate. It turns into their language right in the message box. If you want to change something, the pencil brings your own words back.
To read their reply, copy the message. Translate copied text appears on the keyboard. Tap it, and the message shows in your language on a card, without leaving the chat. You don’t need to know what language it’s in, because it’s detected for you.
It translates between more than 100 languages. The keys come in more than 60, with word suggestions, auto-correction and emoji search, and they follow your language: write in Arabic or Spanish and you type on Arabic or Spanish keys (see the Arabic to English keyboard and the Spanish translator keyboard). It works in WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, your texts and the other apps where you type.
You stay in control. Nothing you type is sent until you tap Translate, copied text in your own language is recognized on your phone and never sent, and password fields are left alone. There’s no account to make. In the app, you can also translate longer text and hear it read aloud, speak instead of typing, and point the camera at a menu or a sign to read it on the photo.
On iPhone? There’s a Swift Translate Keyboard for iPhone too, and our iPhone roundup compares the options there.
2. Gboard (Google Translate): best for writing a line now and then
Best at: it comes preinstalled on many Android phones, so there may be nothing to install. The translation goes into your message box as you type. Glide typing, voice typing, and the languages Google Translate offers. Weak spots: it translates what you write, not what you receive. It only works while Gboard is your keyboard, so on a Galaxy you have to install it and switch to it.
At the top of Gboard, tap Open features menu (the four squares), tap Translate, pick the two languages and type. You can also drag Translate to the toolbar, so it opens with one tap. Full steps, and fixes when the button is missing: How to use the Google Translate keyboard.
3. Samsung Keyboard and Galaxy AI Chat translation: best on a Galaxy
Galaxy phones have two different translation tools, and it’s easy to mix them up.
The Samsung Keyboard’s Translate is on any Galaxy that uses Samsung’s keyboard. Tap More options (the three dots) at the top right of the keyboard and select Translate. Pick the language you write in and the language to translate into, type your text, and tap the Translate button. Like Gboard’s tool, it translates what you write.
Galaxy AI Chat translation goes further. In a conversation, tap the three-stars icon on the keyboard’s toolbar, tap Chat translation, and choose a language at the top. The translation appears below the original text. It translates the messages you receive as well as the ones you write, with nothing to copy. In its settings, you can show the original and the translation together or the translation only, and choose the apps it works in.
Best at: reading whole chats. On a recent Galaxy, in WhatsApp, Instagram direct messages or Samsung Messages, Chat translation reads a conversation better than any plain keyboard can, ours included. Weak spots: only on Galaxy phones with Galaxy AI (Samsung lists select models with One UI 6.1 or later). A fixed list of apps: Samsung Messages, Google Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram (direct messages only), KakaoTalk, Google Chat, Signal, LINE and Tango. Telegram and Messenger aren’t on it. Its language list is shorter than a full translator’s and depends on your phone and region. Samsung says it needs a Samsung account and a connection.
To turn it on, go to Settings > Galaxy AI > Chat assist (on newer phones, Writing assist) > Chat translation. If it still doesn’t appear, Samsung’s fix is to open Settings > Security and privacy > More privacy settings, turn on Android personalization service, and restart the phone.
Not on a Galaxy, or chatting in an app Samsung doesn’t list? Swift Translate, our main app, reads chats on any Android phone. Drag its floating bubble onto a message and a translation card appears next to the text. In WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram direct messages, its Chat mode translates the conversation in a panel as new messages arrive.
4. Microsoft SwiftKey: a good all-rounder with a translator
Best at: writing and reading, from a keyboard many people already like. Tap the icon to the left of the prediction bar to open the Toolbar, then tap Translator. Type your reply and SwiftKey translates it as you write. Copy a message, and SwiftKey detects its language and shows the translation above the keyboard. Swipe typing, and typing in over 700 languages, as Microsoft lists it. It can even translate without internet if you also install the Microsoft Translator app and download a language. Weak spots: translation covers 60+ languages, fewer than the keyboards that offer 100 or more. The translator sits inside the toolbar, not on the keys, and the app now puts its AI tools first.
SwiftKey works much like ours: copy to read, type to write. If you already use SwiftKey and your languages are on its list, it’s a fair choice.
5. Naver SmartBoard: best if you write in Korean
Best at: type in Korean, and it translates into English, Chinese (Simplified) or Japanese as you type, with Naver’s own translation. It also has the main Korean keyboard layouts, such as 2-set Korean and Cheonjiin. Weak spots: it only translates from Korean, and only into those three languages.
Writing in English and sending it in Korean instead? See our Korean translator keyboard.
6. Yandex Keyboard: a translator for 70 languages
Best at: a translator built into a full keyboard, with swipe typing and voice commands. Its translator covers 70 languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Tatar and Bashkir. Weak spots: 70 translation languages, so check that yours is on the list. Its listing describes translating what you write, and says nothing about reading the messages you receive.
Writing between Russian and English? Swift Translate Keyboard has Russian keys too: see the Russian keyboard translator.
7. “Translator keyboard” apps on Google Play
Search Google Play for “translator keyboard” and you’ll find many apps from smaller developers. We haven’t tested them, so we don’t rank them.
- What they offer: most say they translate as you type, list many languages, and add extras such as voice translation, a camera, themes or games.
- What to check: who the developer is, and what the app’s Data safety section on Google Play says, before you choose it as your keyboard. Many put the translator inside a bigger app with other tools, so make sure it does the job you need. Some say they also translate the messages you receive. Try that in your own chat app before you rely on it.
The quick comparison
| Translates what you write | Helps you read their messages | Works on | Translation languages | Glide typing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Translate Keyboard | Yes: tap Translate, the pencil undoes it | Yes: copy, then tap Translate copied text | Android (and iPhone) | 100+ | No |
| Gboard (Translate) | Yes: as you type | No | Android phones with Gboard | Google Translate’s list | Yes |
| Samsung Keyboard (Translate) | Yes | No | Galaxy phones | — | — |
| Galaxy AI Chat translation | Yes | Yes: below each message, in supported apps | Galaxy phones with Galaxy AI | A shorter list, by phone and region | — |
| Microsoft SwiftKey (Translator) | Yes: as you type | Yes: copy, shown above the keys | Android | 60+ | Yes |
| Naver SmartBoard | From Korean only | No | Android | Into English, Chinese, Japanese | — |
| Yandex Keyboard | Yes | — | Android | 70 | Yes |
| “Translator keyboard” apps | Yes | Varies | Android | Varies | Varies |
Which one should you use?
| You mostly… | Use |
|---|---|
| Write a line in another language now and then | The keyboard you have: Gboard or the Samsung Keyboard |
| Read whole WhatsApp or Instagram chats on a recent Galaxy | Galaxy AI Chat translation |
| Read WhatsApp or Instagram chats on any other Android phone | Swift Translate (Chat mode and the bubble) |
| Chat back and forth in any app, writing and reading | Swift Translate Keyboard |
| Want to keep your keyboard but read and reply on screen | Swift Translate (the floating bubble) |
| Write in Korean | Naver SmartBoard |
| Glide-type a lot | Gboard or SwiftKey |
Not a keyboard, but worth knowing
- Pixel Live Translate. On Pixel 6 and later, it can translate messages in some chat apps, and Google says those translations happen on the phone. Turn it on in Settings > System > Live Translate.
- Circle to Search. On phones that have it, touch and hold the Home button or the navigation bar, then tap Translate. Scroll and translate keeps translating as you scroll.
- WhatsApp’s own Translate. It translates the messages you receive, but it can’t translate your reply before you send it. See how to translate WhatsApp messages.
- Swift Translate’s bubble. It works with whatever keyboard you use. To read, drag the bubble onto a message. To reply, type in your language, drag the bubble onto what you wrote, check the card and send. Your message goes out in the language you chose for them. More on the chat translator.
FAQ
Which keyboard translates as you type on Android?
Gboard, the Samsung Keyboard, Microsoft SwiftKey, Yandex Keyboard and Swift Translate Keyboard all translate what you write. Gboard and SwiftKey show the translation as you type. Swift Translate Keyboard translates the whole message when you tap Translate, so you can check it and get your words back with the pencil.
Is there an auto translate keyboard for Android?
For what you write, a keyboard translates when you use its translator. For the messages you receive, Galaxy AI Chat translation and Pixel Live Translate translate them on their own in supported apps, on phones that have them. On other Android phones, Swift Translate’s Chat mode translates new messages in WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram while its panel is open.
Does the Samsung keyboard have a translator?
Yes. Tap More options (the three dots) on the keyboard and select Translate. On Galaxy phones with Galaxy AI, Chat translation (the three-stars icon) also translates the messages you receive in supported apps.
Can a translator keyboard translate messages I receive?
Some can, once you copy the message: SwiftKey shows it translated above the keys, and Swift Translate Keyboard shows it on a card. Gboard’s Translate doesn’t. Galaxy AI Chat translation translates them inside the chat, with nothing to copy.
Is it safe to use a translator keyboard on Android?
Android shows the same warning for every keyboard you add: the keyboard may be able to collect the text you type. That’s true of any keyboard, so choose a developer you trust and read the Data safety section on Google Play. Swift Translate Keyboard sends nothing you type until you tap Translate, leaves password fields alone, and needs no account.
Do translator keyboards work without internet?
SwiftKey’s Translator can, if you also install the Microsoft Translator app and download a language. With Swift Translate Keyboard, typing works without internet, and translating needs a connection.
If you read most of your chats in one supported app on a recent Galaxy, Samsung’s Chat translation may be all you need. If you chat across apps and languages, Swift Translate Keyboard writes and reads from one place.
Related: Translate keyboard for Android · How to use the Google Translate keyboard · Translator keyboard: how to translate while you type · Best screen translator apps for Android