Translate a Whole Document and Keep Its Formatting for €0
Updated: November 2026 · Prices checked: November 2026
In short
- Google Translate’s Documents tab translates whole .docx, .pdf, .pptx and .xlsx files for €0 and gives you back a file in the same format. Limit: 10 MB, and PDFs up to 300 pages.
- DeepL’s free version translates 1 file a month, up to 5 MB. For more, DeepL Individual costs €7.49 a month billed annually and gives 3 files a month.
- For a short, sensitive or important text, an AI chat gives better wording. Translate the text there, then paste it into a copy of the original file to keep the layout.
- Text inside images and scanned pages is not translated. Machine translation is never enough for contracts you sign.
A supplier sends a 30-page manual in German. A customer wants your price list in English. Copying text into a translator paragraph by paragraph breaks every table and heading. Google Translate can translate the whole file and keep the formatting for €0, and DeepL and AI chats cover the cases where quality matters more. Here is when to use which.
What you save
The usual paid tool for this job is DeepL Pro. Its Individual plan costs €7.49 a month billed annually, which is €89.88 a year, and includes 3 file translations a month. The Team plan is €24.99 per user a month billed annually, with 20 files a month. Human translation agencies cost far more, but they solve a different problem: legal accuracy.
The maths: say you translate one supplier document and one sales document each month. That is 24 files a year. DeepL Individual covers it for €89.88 a year. Google Translate’s document feature does it for €0, as long as each file is under 10 MB. Doing it by copy-paste instead costs about an hour per document in reformatting, so 24 hours a year.
| Option | Price | Files | Size limit | Keeps formatting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Translate (Documents) | €0 | .docx, .pdf, .pptx, .xlsx | 10 MB, PDF up to 300 pages | Yes, mostly |
| DeepL Free | €0 | 1 file a month | 5 MB | Yes |
| DeepL Individual | €7.49/month, billed annually | 3 files a month | 30 MB | Yes |
| DeepL Team | €24.99/user/month, billed annually | 20 files a month | 30 MB | Yes |
| Free AI chat | €0 | Short texts | Upload caps vary | No, you paste it back |
Google Translate: whole document, step by step
- Use a computer. Google says document translation is not available on small screens or mobile.
- Check the file. It must be .docx, .pdf, .pptx or .xlsx, 10 MB or less. A PDF must be 300 pages or less. Old .doc files: open and save them as .docx first.
- Open Google Translate in your browser (translate.google.com) and click Documents at the top.
- Pick the languages. Set the source to Detect language if you are not sure, and choose the target language.
- Upload. Click Browse your computer and select the file.
- Translate. Click Translate and wait.
- Download. Click Download translation. You get a file in the same format, with the layout mostly intact.
- Proofread in the file. Open it, read every heading, table and number. Fix terms your industry uses differently.
Tip: if the document is longer than the limits, split it. A Word file can be cut into two copies by deleting halves. A PDF can be split with any free PDF tool. Translate the parts, then join them.
DeepL and AI chats: when quality matters
Google’s output is usable, but it can sound flat. For a document a customer will read, two better options:
DeepL Free (one file a month). Upload the file on deepl.com, choose the languages and download the result. DeepL supports Bulgarian and many European languages. The free version gives you 1 file translation a month up to 5 MB and 50,000 characters of text translation a month. Save it for the one document that matters most. Note that “No data training” is listed as a feature of DeepL’s paid plans.
AI chat for short documents (the paste-back method). This works for a one-page offer, an email template or a product sheet:
- Make a copy of the original file. You will type into the copy, so the layout stays.
- Paste the text into a free AI chat with this prompt.
- Replace each paragraph in the copy with its translation.
Translate the text below from [source language] to [target language].
Audience: [customers / suppliers / staff]. Tone: [formal / friendly].
Keep every heading, bullet and number exactly in the same order.
Do not add or remove information. Keep product names and codes untranslated.
After the translation, list any terms you were unsure about.The last line is the trick. It makes the model flag the risky words instead of guessing quietly. Which chat to use depends on your language pair; our comparison of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini covers the free tiers. Google’s own models are also usable for free through Google AI Studio, which handles long texts well. If you translate product pages for an online shop, see our list of AI uses for an online shop.
Limits and traps
- Images and scans are skipped. Google says text in images and scanned PDF pages appears in the output but is not translated. Run text recognition on scans first.
- Numbers and units. Machine translation can change decimal commas, dates and units. Check every price and measurement.
- Long text in short boxes. German and Bulgarian often run longer than English. In slides and tables, text can overflow. Check the layout after download.
- Privacy. Free tools are not the place for personnel files, health data or unsigned deals. Our guide on what never to share with AI chatbots applies to translators too.
- Confident mistakes. A fluent translation can still be wrong. Have a native speaker or a 5-minute check routine look at anything you publish.
When to pay instead
Pay for DeepL Individual (€7.49 a month, billed annually) if you translate a few customer-facing files every month and want consistent quality, files up to 30 MB and a glossary for your terms. Move to the Team plan when several people translate. Pay a certified human translator for contracts, court papers, official certificates and anything where one wrong word costs more than the translation.
FAQ
How do I translate a whole Word document for free?
Open Google Translate on a computer, click Documents, choose the languages and upload the .docx file. Click Translate, then Download translation. You get a Word file in the target language with most of the formatting kept. The file must be 10 MB or smaller.
How many documents can I translate with DeepL for free?
DeepL’s free version allows 1 file translation per month, up to 5 MB, plus 50,000 characters of text translation a month. The Individual plan raises this to 3 files a month up to 30 MB for €7.49 a month billed annually.
Does Google Translate translate scanned PDFs?
No. Google says text in images and scanned PDF pages appears in the output document but is not translated. Convert the scan to editable text first, for example by opening it with Google Docs in Google Drive, then translate the resulting document.
Can I use machine translation for a contract?
Use it to understand a contract, not to sign one. Machine translation is fine for a first read and for finding the clauses that need attention. For the version you sign or file with an authority, use a qualified human translator, and keep the original language version as reference.
Read also: Transcribe Any Recording for €0 on Your Own Computer · Summarize Long PDFs and Reports for €0 With NotebookLM · Anthropic Shows How AI Agents Keep Memory: 13% to 48% Accuracy
Ivan’s Take
For internal documents and supplier paperwork, Google Translate’s document feature is enough and costs nothing. For the one file a month a customer will judge you by, use DeepL Free or an AI chat and read it twice. Pay for DeepL only when you hit the free limits every month. Pay a human when a signature is involved.
Sources: Google Translate Help: Translate documents & websites · DeepL Pro plans and limits
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