Papago
Papago is Naver's free translator for text, images, documents, voice and websites, best known for Korean, Japanese and Chinese. A paid Papago Plus subscription adds unlimited secure text translation, more file and image translations and shared glossaries.
#13 in Writing & Translation ToolsTranslatorsFree plan
Who it's for
Best for
Korean learners checking words, phrases and pronunciation
Travellers and fans reading Korean or Japanese text
Not for
Writers drafting vows or personal letters where nuanced tone is essential
Businesses needing publish-ready translations without secondary review
Free plan$0
Plus Basic$9.99/mo
Plus Standard$29.99/mo
Plus Advanced$55.99/mo
Features
Text translation
Translates typed text between Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese and other languages, with dictionary results below.
Romanization and audio
Shows romanized readings under Korean and plays the sentence aloud to help with pronunciation.
Image and document translation
Translates text in photos and uploaded files, with larger monthly limits on Papago Plus.
Voice and website translation
Translates spoken input and whole web pages from the same web app and mobile apps.
Glossaries
Saves preferred translations for terms so they are reused, with team sharing on paid Plus plans.
What users say
Pros
- A go-to translator for Korean, and handles Japanese well too.
- Romanization and audio playback appear under translations to help with pronunciation.
- Screenshot translation produces accurate, readable text from captured images.
Cons
- Translations can be off or awkward, requiring secondary confirmation to ensure accuracy.
- Provides little breakdown of grammar or slang to explain the reasoning behind translations.
- Voice translation is often inaccurate, especially Korean-to-Chinese, and can cause real misunderstandings.
- Output can be impolite or awkward, creating embarrassment in face-to-face situations.
- Photo translation demands very clear images; unclear photos are unreliable.
- Struggles with casual, nonstandard spoken Korean, producing jumping, incomprehensible text.
- Recognition can fail even for English, not only Korean.
A selection of the review sources we used:
Summarized from public user reviews and community discussions. View details
Global Traffic Rank
Top 50k
Alternatives
Rank#13 in category#1 in category#2 in category#3 in category
Free planYesYesNoYes
ProStrong for Korean, romanization helps with pronunciationQuick translations in many languages, handy camera modeSlavic strength, bulk documents, image capture, above GoogleNatural translations, plus Write for second-language drafts
Better forTranslating across over a hundred languages, including less common ones.Polishing self-drafted writing with DeepL Write and translating European languages.
Weaker atTranslating nuanced Korean phrasing and controlling honorific speech levelsShowing romanized Korean readings and dictionary results for learners.