Argos Translate

Offline neural translation library and app you install and run locally

AI Translation ToolsFree planOverseasβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜† 3.0

What is Argos Translate?

Argos Translate is an open-source neural translation tool that runs on your own machine. You install it as a Python package or desktop application, download model packages for the pairs you need, and translate text, files or folders without sending anything to a server. It is built on an open translation stack and is one of the engines behind LibreTranslate, the self-hosted translation API that lets organisations add translation to internal systems while keeping documents on their own network. Model quality is below the largest commercial engines, and every pair must be downloaded, but the offline and self-hosted properties are the point.

Last updated: 2026-09-20. This site only provides an index; for exact features, pricing, and licensing, see the official website.

Key features

  • Neural machine translation that runs fully offline on local hardware
  • Installable as a Python library, command-line tool or desktop app
  • Downloadable model packages for each language pair you need
  • File and folder translation covering documents and subtitle files
  • Serves as one of the engines behind self-hosted translation APIs
  • Free and open source with no account, quota or per-character fee

Pros & cons

Strengths

  • Nothing leaves your machine, which suits confidential documents
  • No quotas or per-character costs, so volume is not the constraint
  • Straightforward to embed in scripts and internal services

Watch out for

  • Translation quality sits below the leading commercial engines
  • Every language pair needs its own downloaded model package
  • Larger models want disk space and noticeable CPU time

Best for & use cases

offline translation, confidential documents, self-hosted services and scripted pipelines

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FAQ

Can it really run without an internet connection?

Yes, once the language model packages have been downloaded. That is the point of the project and the reason it turns up in environments where documents cannot be sent to a cloud service at all.

How good are the translations?

Understandable but not polished. For internal reading and getting the gist they are usually adequate; for published or customer-facing text a larger commercial engine or a human reviewer remains the safer choice.

What is the relationship with LibreTranslate?

LibreTranslate is a self-hosted translation API that uses Argos Translate as one of its engines. Teams wanting an HTTP service rather than a Python library often deploy it that way.