The short answer: If you only text in Messages, have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and both of your languages are on Apple’s list, use Apple’s Live Translation. It’s built in, it translates both ways as you type, and it runs on your iPhone. For WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and the other apps you chat in, you need a translator keyboard. Swift Translate Keyboard is our pick for writing in your language and sending it in theirs, and it shows copied messages in your language above the keys. TransKey suits you if you want to keep Apple’s keyboard, and iTranslate if you also want a full translator app.
Yes, we make one of the keyboards on this list. So we’ll say plainly what each option does best, including where Apple’s own tools or another keyboard is the better choice.
What makes a good translator keyboard
A translator keyboard is a keyboard you add to your iPhone that translates what you write before you send it. A good one gets five things right:
- It works in the apps you use: WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messages, email, and any other app where you can switch keyboards.
- It sends your message in their language. You write in your own words, and what goes out is in theirs.
- It helps you read what they send. A conversation has two sides.
- It’s a real keyboard, with suggestions, auto-correction and emoji, so you don’t miss the one you had.
- It knows both of your languages, yours and the other person’s.
The comparison table further down uses these points.
First: what your iPhone already does
Apple’s keyboard doesn’t translate. It types in many languages, but it has no translate key and no translate setting. iOS still gives you two ways to translate what you write:
- Live Translation in Messages. On an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, Messages can translate a conversation both ways as you type. It covers 16 languages and works only in Messages. The full guide is in How to translate iMessages.
- The Translate option. In many apps, on any recent iPhone, you can select the text you typed, tap Translate, then Replace with Translation. It works one message at a time, in about 25 languages. The steps are in How to translate while typing on iPhone.
If these cover your languages and your apps, you don’t need a translator keyboard. If they don’t, here are the options.
1. Swift Translate Keyboard: best for chatting in any app
Best at: writing in your language and sending it in theirs, in the apps where you type. Type your message and tap Translate. It turns into their language in the message box, ready to send. If you want to change something, the pencil brings your own words back. To read a message, copy it and tap Paste on the keyboard. The translation shows right above the keys, so you never leave the chat.
It’s a full keyboard too: the same layouts as Apple’s in more than 60 languages, with suggestions, auto-correction and emoji, including emoji search. It translates between more than 100 languages, and you don’t need to know what language a message is in, because it’s detected for you. In the app, you can also point the camera at a menu or a sign, or speak instead of typing. And after a one-time setup, a double tap on the back of your iPhone gives you a picture of your screen with its text in your language.
Weak spots: nothing happens on its own. You tap Translate for each message you send, and you copy a message to read it. Translating needs a connection. It has no keys for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Bangla, Thai or Vietnamese: if you write in one of those, type on Apple’s keyboard, then switch to ours to tap Translate. Inside Messages on a newer iPhone, Apple’s Live Translation does more by itself.
It works in WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messages and the other apps where you type. It helps most when you chat outside Messages, or in a language Apple doesn’t cover. More on our translate keyboard for iPhone.
2. Apple’s Live Translation: best if you only use Messages
Best at: translating a whole conversation both ways, on its own. You turn it on once for a conversation. After that, new messages arrive in your language, and what you type is translated as you type. The other person gets your original message along with the translation. It’s built in, it works in group conversations, and Apple says it runs entirely on your iPhone, which keeps your messages private.
Weak spots: it works in Messages only, not in WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. It needs an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 or later. It covers 16 languages: Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese are in, but Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Urdu and Bangla are not. Each language is a large download. Steps and fixes: How to translate iMessages.
3. Gboard: Google’s keyboard, with a translate box
Best at: people who already like Gboard. It’s a full keyboard with Glide Typing, GIFs, emoji search and Google Search. A translate button sits in the bar above the letters: tap it, type in the small box that opens, and the translation goes into your message, in the languages Google Translate offers.
Weak spots: Google hasn’t updated Gboard’s iPhone app since May 2022, and some users have reported that its translation stopped working.
This also answers a common search: there is no Google Translate keyboard for iPhone. Google Translate’s iPhone app has no keyboard, so Gboard’s translate button is the nearest thing.
4. iTranslate: best if you also want a full translator app
Best at: a keyboard that comes with a big translator app. iTranslate Translator includes a keyboard, and its listing adds voice-to-voice translation, a camera mode, AR mode and an offline mode, in 100+ languages. On the keyboard, you type your message and tap the arrow, and the translation goes into the text field. To read a message you received, copy it and tap the speech-bubble button on the keyboard.
Weak spots: the keyboard is one part of a large app, so you get a lot you may not need if you only want to chat. A separate iTranslate Keyboard app also exists, but it hasn’t been updated since November 2024.
5. TransKey: best if you want to keep your own keyboard
Best at: adding translation without giving up the keyboard you know. TransKey has no letters of its own. It’s a translation bar: you type on Apple’s keyboard, Gboard or SwiftKey, then switch to TransKey to translate. It translates the last sentence in the text field, and its “Translate copy” option handles text you copied from a message you received. It covers 100+ languages.
Weak spots: you switch keyboards every time you want to translate, and the app hasn’t been updated since November 2024.
6. Translator Keyboard, Lingo and other “translate as you type” keyboards
Search the App Store for “translator keyboard” and you’ll see more names near the top: Air Apps’ Translator Keyboard (also built into its Translate Now app), Lingo by MWM, Translatify and TypeAI. Translatify and TypeAI are AI writing keyboards, where translation sits next to tools that rewrite your text or change its tone.
Best at: their listings say they translate as you type, in any app: in 60+ languages for Air Apps’ keyboard and 100+ for Lingo. They’re easy to find in the App Store.
Weak spots: from their listings alone, there’s not much to tell them apart. Before you choose one, check how it handles the messages you receive, not only the ones you send.
What about SwiftKey, Google Translate, DeepL and Microsoft Translator?
- SwiftKey is on iPhone, but its translator is not. Microsoft says the translator feature isn’t supported on SwiftKey for iOS. It’s on Android only.
- Google Translate, DeepL, Microsoft Translator and Papago have no keyboard on iPhone. You open the app, type or paste, then copy the result back into your chat.
- DeepL is the one to use for long texts where tone matters.
- Papago is strong for Korean.
- Microsoft Translator handles speech as well as text.
- Google Translate has the longest language list: up to 249 languages, its listing says. You can make it your iPhone’s default translation app in Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Translation, so the Translate option uses it. Apple notes that not every option works with every translation app.
Compare them
| Works in | Your message in their language | Their messages in yours | Its own keys | Languages | Keep in mind | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Translate Keyboard | Apps where you can switch keyboards | Type, tap Translate; the pencil brings your words back | Copy, tap Paste: shown above the keys | Yes, in 60+ languages | 100+ | One tap per message; needs a connection |
| Apple’s Live Translation | Messages only | Yes, as you type | Yes, on its own | Uses Apple’s keyboard | 16 | iPhone 15 Pro or newer |
| Apple’s Translate option | Many apps | Select, Translate, Replace with Translation | Select a message, Translate | Uses Apple’s keyboard | About 25 | One message at a time |
| Gboard | Apps where you can switch keyboards | Type in its translate box | — | Yes | Google Translate’s list | Not updated since 2022 |
| iTranslate | Apps where you can switch keyboards | Type, then tap the arrow | Copy, tap the speech bubble | Yes | 100+ | Part of a large app |
| TransKey | Apps where you can switch keyboards | Translates the last sentence | “Translate copy” | No, you keep yours | 100+ | Not updated since Nov 2024 |
| Translator Keyboard (Air Apps) | Apps where you can switch keyboards | As you type, its listing says | — | Yes | 60+ | Hard to tell apart |
| Lingo (MWM) | Apps where you can switch keyboards | As you type, its listing says | — | Yes | 100+ | Hard to tell apart |
A dash means the app’s listing doesn’t say.
Which one should you use?
| You mostly… | Use |
|---|---|
| Text in Messages on an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, in one of Apple’s 16 languages | Apple’s Live Translation |
| Chat in WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and other apps | Swift Translate Keyboard |
| Write to family in Arabic, Russian, Bangla or Urdu | Swift Translate Keyboard |
| Want to keep Apple’s keyboard and add a translate bar | TransKey |
| Want a full translator app that also has a keyboard | iTranslate |
| Translate a sentence now and then | Select it, tap Translate, then Replace with Translation |
| Translate long texts where tone matters | DeepL (copy and paste) |
On Android? Swift Translate Keyboard is on Android too, and our Android keyboard roundup compares the options there.
Are translator keyboards safe on iPhone?
A keyboard sees what you type, so it’s a fair question. Every keyboard that translates over the internet, ours included, asks you to turn on Full Access, because iOS doesn’t let a keyboard go online without it, and iOS shows its own warning when you turn it on. Whichever keyboard you choose, Apple’s keyboard always takes over in password fields and phone number pads. Before you choose one, read what its developer says it does with the text you type.
With Swift Translate Keyboard, nothing you type is sent until you tap Translate, password fields are left alone, and there’s no account to make. See all about Swift Translate Keyboard.
FAQ
Is there a keyboard that translates as you type on iPhone?
Apple’s keyboard doesn’t translate. In Messages, Live Translation translates as you type on an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. In other apps, you need a translator keyboard. Some keyboards say they translate as you type. With Swift Translate Keyboard, you type your message as usual, then tap Translate once.
Is there a Google Translate keyboard for iPhone?
No. Google Translate’s iPhone app has no keyboard. The nearest thing is the translate button in Gboard, Google’s keyboard, but Gboard’s iPhone app hasn’t been updated since 2022.
Does SwiftKey have a translator on iPhone?
No. SwiftKey’s translator works on Android only. Microsoft says it isn’t supported on SwiftKey for iOS.
Which translator keyboard works with WhatsApp on iPhone?
All the keyboards above work in WhatsApp’s message box. WhatsApp also has its own Translate for messages in a chat (tap and hold, then More… > Translate), but it can’t write your reply. More in How to translate WhatsApp messages.
Is there an iPhone keyboard that translates English to Spanish?
Yes. All the translator keyboards above handle English and Spanish. If you text in Messages on an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, Live Translation covers Spanish too, so you may not need a keyboard there. For other apps, see the Spanish–English keyboard.
Can I keep using Apple’s keyboard?
Yes. Type on Apple’s keyboard, then switch to a translator keyboard only to translate: touch and hold the globe or emoji key, then tap the keyboard you want. Swift Translate Keyboard translates text typed on any keyboard, and TransKey is built to work this way.
Related: Translate keyboard for iPhone · How to translate while typing on iPhone · How to translate iMessages