Microsoft Azure Translator review

Azure Translator is Microsoft's translation API, and it suits teams that want to translate inside their own software rather than in a separate app. The service covers text translation, language detection, a bilingual dictionary and transliteration, plus document translation and an image translation option. The F0 free tier includes 2 million characters a month. On the pay-as-you-go S1 tier, the US pricing page lists standard text translation at $10 per million characters and document translation at $15 per million characters, while Custom Translation, which trains a model on your own bilingual data, costs $40 per million characters plus training and hosting fees. High-volume users can buy monthly commitment tiers. The weaknesses are practical: you need an Azure account and a developer to call the API, and there is no editor for reviewers. The price table loads through JavaScript, so confirm the rate in the Azure calculator for your region before you commit.

Who it is for

Developers and IT teams that build translation into apps, intranets and Microsoft-based workflows.

Price

Free tier with 2 million characters per month; pay as you go from $10 per million characters.

Text Translation $10 per million characters
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.

Key features

• Text translation, language detection, bilingual dictionary and transliteration
• Document translation priced per million characters, plus image translation
• Custom Translation to train models on your own bilingual data
• Custom model hosting per region
• Commitment tiers for high monthly volumes

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: F0 free tier covers 2 million characters a month
• Strength: Pay-as-you-go text translation is among the lowest per-character rates here
• Strength: Custom models for company terminology
• Weakness: Needs a developer and an Azure account
• Weakness: No reviewer editor or translation workspace
• Weakness: Custom translation costs four times standard text translation

Key facts

• Free tier: 2 million characters per month
• Text translation: $10 per million characters, pay as you go
• Document translation: $15 per million characters

Where it ranks

Microsoft Azure Translator is No. 6 in our Best AI Translation Tools verdict.