No-Install PDF Translation: 3 Web Tools Tested
A friend traveling abroad needed to translate PDFs on a phone with no software installed. Three web solutions recommended — one has a Safari bug nobody talks about.
Three Options
PDFTranslate Web: Full-featured, layout preservation, built-in OCR for scanned files.
Google Translate Web: Zero barrier, plain-text output only.
DeepL Web: High translation quality, no layout preservation.
A Safari Bug Nobody Mentions
Friend on iPhone 15 + Safari 17: the "Select File" button did nothing on PDFTranslate.
Confirmed: Safari 17 has a known compatibility issue with certain file picker components on iOS. Workaround: use Chrome iOS or share from Files App. This bug does not affect Google Translate or DeepL — they use different upload components.
Results
| Tool | Layout | OCR | Mobile | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDFTranslate | Yes | Yes | Chrome OK / Safari bug | 200 pages/mo |
| Google Translate | No | No | Works | Unlimited |
| DeepL | No | No | Works | Unlimited |