mybest
AppsHelping You Find the Best
mybest
AppsHelping You Find the Best
  • 10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More) 1
  • 10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More) 2
  • 10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More) 3
  • 10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More) 4
  • 10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More) 5

10 Best Language Apps for Travel in 2022 (HelloTalk, Google Translation, and More)

One of the hardest parts about traveling is the language barrier. As English speakers, we’re incredibly lucky that so many people around the world can communicate with us, but we can’t assume that knowing English will be enough. Luckily, there are a bunch of smartphone apps that make bridging the language gap a little bit easier.

Picking the right one, however, isn’t quite so easy. Different apps cater to different needs, and if you don’t know what to look for, you could end up trying a dozen before finding the right one. In this guide, we’ll go over the factors you should consider when choosing the app for you. We’ve also got a list of our favorites, including our number one, TripLingo.
Last updated 09/26/2023

Quick List - Top Language Apps For Travel

1

TripLingo, LLC

TripLingo
TripLingo

All-in-One Travel and Language Assistant

2

Lesson Nine GmbH

Babbel
Babbel

Conversation-First Learning App for Your Trip to Europe

3

Google LLC

Google Translate
Google Translate

Accurate and Multi-Input Translator from Google

4

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Translator
Microsoft Translator

A Conversation-Focused Translation App

5

SayHi

SayHi Translate
SayHi Translate

Simple Speech-Focused Translation

mybest US Editors
Guide
Editing Dept.
mybest US Editors

mybest US' editing team consists of experienced members who have backgrounds in writing, editing, translation, and more. We are dedicated to researching what makes a product or service the best to users in the US in order to create top-quality articles. From skincare, to kitchen appliances, and to DIY supplies, our mission is to find the best ones for you.

mybest US Editors's Profile
…Continue reading

Table of Contents

How to Choose Language Apps For Travel

When choosing an app, don’t forget that having a ton of extra features doesn’t necessarily make it the best choice for you. Always consider what you need first.
1

Ensure Your Target Language Is Supported

Ensure Your Target Language Is Supported
This should go without saying, but the first thing you should do is check to see if the app you want to use supports the language of the country you’re visiting. That being said, it might be good to double-check exactly what the country’s main language is and also the language of the specific region you’re visiting.


Remember, Brazil speaks Portuguese and not Spanish, and even though Mandarin is used throughout China, in different places you might find that you need to use other dialects like Cantonese or Hokkien.

2

Pick a Type Based on Your Situation, Confidence, and Time to Prepare

There are three main types of language apps for travel: translation, phrasebook, and learning apps. Which one will be best for you depends largely on your travel style, so think realistically about the situations you might be in.

Translation Apps Are the Fastest and Most Convenient

Translation Apps Are the Fastest and Most Convenient
For on-the-go translation that doesn’t require a lot of know-how, translation apps are your best bet. They allow you to easily move between two languages without any real prior knowledge. Some translation apps work with written input where you type in one language and it’ll come out in another.


Others can also handle spoken input, which will allow you to translate conversations in almost real-time. Translation apps are great not just for your typical travel phrases but also for situations that might come up involving speech that other travel-related language apps aren’t prepared for.


Just note that if you have an app that produces written output but the literacy rate in the country you’re visiting is low, you might still need to read it aloud to the other person. So if it’s an alphabet that you’re not familiar with, be sure that the app also provides you with a transliteration that you can read.

Phrasebook Apps Give You the Need-to-Knows and Make You Look Like You’re Trying

Phrasebook Apps Give You the Need-to-Knows and Make You Look Like You’re Trying
Like the travel phrasebooks of old, phrasebook apps provide you with a number of words, phrases, and sentences that you’re likely to use when traveling. 

Phrase apps are great if you’ll only need a fairly limited vocabulary and want to try your hand at speaking the local language. In many places, locals are thrilled to hear tourists trying, even if it’s just “thank you” or “where is the restroom?”


For the best phrase app possible, look for one that splits phrases into categories or has a search function so that you can quickly and easily find what you’re looking for. It’s also really helpful if the app has audio so that you know how the phrases are pronounced.

Learning Apps Take Some Time but Help You Talk With Locals

Learning Apps Take Some Time but Help You Talk With Locals
If you’re intent on making friends and communicating with the local community, it’s best to learn a little more about the language and grammar aside from just direct translations and travel words.


Naturally, this can take several weeks or months of preparation, but it can be worth it if you’ll be visiting for more than a couple weeks or traveling solo. Just be sure that the app that you choose is practical and focuses on speaking.

3

Look for Apps That Use Photo Readers or AR for Writing

Look for Apps That Use Photo Readers or AR for Writing
If you’re visiting a country that uses the same alphabet English does, it’s easy enough to do a quick search for unfamiliar words. But if the alphabet is completely different, and you have no idea how to even pronounce the word, let alone type it, it really helps to have an app that can translate without that extra step.


Luckily, there are several apps that allow you to either take a picture of the writing or just hold your phone up to it, and it’ll tell you what it means. One of the places that you’ll likely need this the most is restaurants, but it’s important to note that food translations often don’t make sense and may not tell you exactly what’s in the dish.


So if you have allergies or restrictions, it’s always best to ask directly (via a translation app or predetermined phrase).

4

If You Don’t Have Data, Offline Availability Is Critical

If You Don’t Have Data, Offline Availability Is Critical
Depending on whether you’ve decided to pay for international roaming or rent a portable wifi router or foreign SIM card, you may or may not have reliable data throughout your trip. Even if you have, there will still likely be times where coverage is spotty.


If you want to be able to communicate (relatively) effectively even without internet, it’s important that the app you’re using has offline availability that allows you to download everything you need ahead of time.

Was the Buying Guide helpful?

10 Best Language Apps For Travel Ranking

Here are the best Language Apps For Travel, ranked according to 10 Best Language Apps for Travel (as of 11-04-2022). The products are ranked independently by mybest.
Popularity
Products
Image
Click to purchase
Key features
1

TripLingo, LLC

TripLingo

TripLingo, LLC TripLingo 1

All-in-One Travel and Language Assistant

2

Lesson Nine GmbH

Babbel

Lesson Nine GmbH Babbel 1

Conversation-First Learning App for Your Trip to Europe

3

Google LLC

Google Translate

Google LLC Google Translate 1

Accurate and Multi-Input Translator from Google

4

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Translator 1

A Conversation-Focused Translation App

5

SayHi

SayHi Translate

SayHi SayHi Translate 1

Simple Speech-Focused Translation

6

Busuu Limited

Busuu

Busuu Limited Busuu 1

For Effective, Long-Term Language Learning

7

iTranslate

iTranslate Translator

iTranslate iTranslate Translator 1

Quick, On-the-Go Voice and Text Translations and a Sleek Design

8

Apalon Apps

Speak & Translate

Apalon Apps Speak & Translate 1

Instant Speech and Text Translator

9

HelloTalk Learn Languages App

HelloTalk

HelloTalk Learn Languages App HelloTalk 1

Language Exchange With Powerful Learning Tools

10

Translate Abroad

Waygo

Translate Abroad Waygo 1

Accurately Translates Chinese Text With Photos

If you don't see the product you're looking for, you can request that it be listed.
No.1

TripLingo, LLC
TripLingo

TripLingo 1
Source:itunes.apple.com

All-in-One Travel and Language Assistant

What can’t this app do? On the language side, it offers translations in various levels of formality, photo translations, pronunciation guides, and a robust 2000+ entry phrasebook spanning topics like directions, compliments, and bargaining.

On top of that, it has information on 100+ countries that includes things like culture notes, currency conversion, and emergency numbers. There’s even a built-in wifi caller that allows you to call any phone regardless of your own phone plan’s limitations.

Users on Android experience frequent crashing issues, while iPhone users find the app buggy, However, the functions and extra information provided within the app are praised by reviewers.

Was this Ranking helpful?
No.2

Lesson Nine GmbH
Babbel

Conversation-First Learning App for Your Trip to Europe

Babbel is a language learning app that focuses on practical situations in 10-15 minute lessons. It features pronunciation guides from native speakers to help you feel confident speaking before you even get to your destination.

Unlike other apps, it’s conversation-focused and doesn’t worry much about reading or vocabulary drills. However, it is still very Europe-centered, though they are continually adding new languages.

Although the app is free to download, most lessons are pay-for. Reviewers also weren't fans of how you have to use the app's keyboard rather than your native one. There are also some sound recognition issues. However, reviewers generally like the app, since it's easy to do it in small spurts and the lessons are well structured

No.3

Google LLC
Google Translate

Accurate and Multi-Input Translator from Google

Google Translate is probably one of the most accurate multi-lingual translation tools available, and it’s free. It offers text translation for over 100 languages and even supports handwriting input that allows you to draw characters instead of type.

You can download 60 languages for offline use and star translations for later, making this a great tool for travel. Do note, however, that Google apps don’t work in China, so if you’re visiting China, you’ll have to use a different app.

Reviewers say the app's translations aren't always reliable and the voice recognition is poor. In general, they like that it is an overall good app and that it has a live camera function, where it translates the text on what your phone camera points at.

No.4

Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Translator

A Conversation-Focused Translation App

This handy translation tool offers text and speech translation, photo text translation, and an intuitive interface that makes it easy to have a live bilingual conversation.

On top of that, this app also lets you to look up alternate translations, includes a useful phrasebook, and allows you to connect devices with up to 100 different people to have live multi-lingual conversations.

It doesn't work offline, unfortunately, which reviewers do talk about. Reviewers also say that the spoken translations are given way too fast to understand and that the translations are inaccurate for non-Western languages. The design of the app is quite easy to use, and reviewers like that it doesn't have many ads

Simple Speech-Focused Translation

This user-friendly app is built for instant speech to speech translation. Simply choose your input and output languages, speak into the microphone, edit the transcription (if necessary), and listen to your translated speech.

To give it a personal touch, the app even allows you to choose between a male and female voice as well as speed. As a speech-focused app, it also offers many spoken only dialects of various languages.

Reviewers say the app is really slow to load and translate sentences and it doesn't have instructions on how to use it. It also censors certain words and won't translate them. One reviewer really liked that it can translate dialects. Others also like that the app saves what you translate.

For Effective, Long-Term Language Learning

Busuu is a language learning app that uses personalized study plans, speech recognition, and feedback from native speakers to help you learn a new language in the most natural, useful way possible.

There’s even a specific course that focuses on learning language geared towards travel. Using Busuu should be a long-term thing, and the app makes it easy by offering goal setting and progress tracking to keep you motivated.

Reviewers don't like the subscription process and how it isn't the most transparent. However, they do like how Busuu is engaging and teaches from the fundamentals of a language before easing you into more difficult material.

Quick, On-the-Go Voice and Text Translations and a Sleek Design

This app is one of the best tools for quick, on-the-go translations. It translates both voice and text, accommodates different dialects within each language, and has a phrasebook with 250 useful predefined phrases. Plus, it looks good.

With the pro version, you get a photo reader, offline availability, and verb conjugations that lets you see different tenses. However, depending on your needs, the cost may not be worth it for some as there are other apps that have similar functions.

Many reviewers warn that the app does automatically sign you up for a subscription via Google - there are also quite a few paywalls added with each update. Make sure to check the terms and conditions before purchase. Reviewers do like, however, that it is fast and quite accurate.

Instant Speech and Text Translator

As its name suggests, this app allows you to speak and translate, giving you instant speech to speech, text to text, and speech to text translation, which makes it ideal for almost any situation.

However, offline functionality is only available for 10 languages if you have a subscription. If you choose to use the free version, you’ll face a daily translation limit and have to deal with pop-ups prompting you to upgrade.

Like some of the other apps on this list, this one also pushes ads onto the user - even while in the middle of using it to converse with other people. But other users say the app is quick and very useful when talking to people who don't speak your native language.

Language Exchange With Powerful Learning Tools

HelloTalk allows you to connect with other people around the world to improve your language skills. The chat interface features powerful tools such as grammar correction, text to voice, and transliteration.

On top of that, this app also provides free audio and video calling so that you can better practice speaking and listening. Any language that a user speaks is fair game, and with 10 million users, you’re bound to find your target language.

With each update, content for basic users has gone down. Reviewers note that you can only call three times a day now, so the time you can practice language is limited. Reviewers like that they can make friends through the app and the layout is easy to navigate.

Accurately Translates Chinese Text With Photos

If you’re traveling in East Asia, this app could be a lifesaver. Waygo specializes in translating menus and signs, which are two places general translation apps sometimes have trouble with. It even has pictures of menu items for Chinese translations.

However, reviewers note that the app sometimes has trouble focusing the camera and recognizing text, and if the free trial doesn’t fully work on your phone, it probably isn’t going to work with the upgrade either. 

And although the app works well with Chinese text, it has trouble with being accurate in Japanese. But, otherwise, it works really well when traveling to mainland China-plus, it's extremely easy to use. 

Top 5 Language Apps For Travel

No. 1: TripLingo, LLCTripLingo

No. 2: Lesson Nine GmbHBabbel

No. 3: Google LLCGoogle Translate

No. 4: Microsoft CorporationMicrosoft Translator

No. 5: SayHiSayHi Translate

View Full Ranking
The descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.

Most Viewed
Featured Rankings Similar to Apps

JRPG Apps

10 Best

Search by category

mybest

We connect users with the best tried and true products,
tested by our in-house guides and backed by expert insight.

Copyright mybest All Rights Reserved.