Comparison

PDF Translator vs Babel Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PDF Translator

Instantly translate and edit PDF documents and various file formats across 136 languages. Preserve formatting and layout with powerful translation and editing tools. Access translations seamlessly from any app.

Highlights
  • Translate PDFs, images, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Edit PDF text and images
  • Translate multilingual PDFs
  • Choose translation engine (Google/Microsoft)
  • Unlimited page and MB translation
  • Language Detection
  • Scan, convert, and translate photos
Features
Read full description

TRANSLATE PDF, WORD, EXCEL AND POWERPOINT — AND KEEP THE LAYOUT Most translators hand you back a wall of text. PDF Translator hands you back your document: the same tables, the same columns, the same letterhead and the same page breaks — in a new language. Try it before you pay. No account, no card. KEEPS YOUR FORMATTING - Tables stay tables and columns stay aligned. - Logos, headers, footers and images stay exactly where they were. - Page layout is preserved, so a translated contract still reads like a contract. - Documents that mix several languages can be translated into one single language. EVERY DOCUMENT YOU ACTUALLY WORK WITH - PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx) and photos. - Scanned paperwork: built-in OCR reads the page first, then translates it. - Long documents: split and translated automatically, however many pages. - Up to 133 languages, with automatic language detection. TRANSLATE WITHOUT LEAVING THE APP YOU ARE IN Share a document straight from Mail, Files, Safari or any other app using the built-in extension, and get the translated file back without switching apps. STRAIGHT ANSWERS ON CREDITS - One page costs one credit, and you see the page count before anything is spent. - If a translation fails, the credit goes back into your balance automatically. - No machine-translation watermark on your translated documents. A FULL PDF TOOLKIT AS WELL - Edit the text and images inside a PDF. - Compress a PDF to reduce its file size. - Split, merge and scan, and convert photos into PDF. - Rename, save and share your files, with full Dark Mode support. CHOOSE YOUR ENGINE Translate with Microsoft or Google, whichever you prefer for your language pair. Built for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.pdftranslator.dk/privacy-policy

About

Babel Reader

Read foreign language PDFs with on-the-fly page translation. This tool supports text-based PDFs and allows seamless comprehension of documents in different languages while you read.

Highlights
  • Translate current page while reading
  • Supports text-based PDFs
  • Foreign language document comprehension
  • Seamless reading experience
Features
Read full description

Babel Reader is a tool for reading foreign language PDFs, which can translate the current page at any time while reading. Currently, it only supports PDFs in text format, not scanned PDFs in image format.

Screenshots

PDF Translator4 screens
Babel Reader2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Babel Reader at none against PDF Translator's 13. Babel Reader also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 17%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). PDF Translator's advantage is ratings volume (477 vs 23) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF Translator sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Babel Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Babel Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PDF Translator has 477 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of PDF Translator's written reviews are positive against 50% of Babel Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Translator ships an update monthly, Babel Reader every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PDF Translator versus Babel Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF TranslatorBabel Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (477 ratings)4.5 (23 ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.2% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings477 — better23
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlex Gameli HeymanSeedvector LLC

Customer experience

PDF Translator

All ratings477 ratings
Positive79.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative18.4%
Written reviews204 reviews
Positive17.2%
Neutral2.0%
Negative80.9%

Babel Reader

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

PDF Translator

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Server errors preventing translation completion
  • App crashes when opening or uploading PDFs
  • Credits deducted despite failed translations
  • Text rendered as gibberish or random characters
  • Overlapping of original and translated text
Show 8 more
  • Missing text sections in translated documents
  • Incorrect font sizes and spacing in output
  • Language detection failures
  • Translated text not saving properly
  • Payment processing issues
  • Credits not appearing after purchase
  • Inconsistent translation quality across documents
  • Watermark artifacts appearing in output

Requested features

10 requests
  • Subscription-based pricing (monthly/yearly/lifetime) instead of per-page
  • Free trial with full functionality before purchase
  • Automatic language detection without manual selection
  • Batch processing for multiple documents
  • Edit functionality for translated text
Show 5 more
  • Document preview before payment
  • Transparent pricing information before download
  • Better language selection interface
  • Support for image text translation
  • Offline translation capability

Babel Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

PDF Translator

Subscriptions6
  • PDF Translator Weekly3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • PDF Editor Monthly$9.991 Month
  • PDF Translator Lite$12.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • PDF Translator Standard$19.991 Month
  • PDF Translator Premium$69.991 Month
  • PDF Editor Yearly Access$99.991 Year
One-time7
  • PDF Translate 3 Pages$0.99
  • PDF Translate 10 Pages$2.99
  • PDF Translate 20 Pages$3.99
Show 4 more
  • PDF Translate 50 Pages$12.99
  • PDF Translate 100 Pages$19.99
  • PDF Translator 200 Pages$39.99
  • PDF Translate 500 Pages$84.99
None

Babel Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Translator free?
PDF Translator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Babel Reader free?
Babel Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Translator or Babel Reader?
Babel Reader is rated higher. PDF Translator averages 4.2 out of 5 from 477 ratings, while Babel Reader averages 4.5 from 23 ratings.
Do PDF Translator or Babel Reader have ads?
Both PDF Translator and Babel Reader show ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Translator or Babel Reader?
PDF Translator ships an update monthly, and Babel Reader every 4 days. Most recently, PDF Translator was updated on October 17, 2026 and Babel Reader on September 19, 2026.

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