PopTranslate: The AI Translation Tool for Mac Enthusiasts
Remember when macOS apps were described as “delightful”? Those rare gems that seamlessly blend functionality with elegance, making you wonder how you ever lived without them? In today’s crowded app landscape, it’s a rare feat. But PopTranslate manages to pull it off—a Mac-native AI translation tool that feels like an extension of your system, not just another app.
Why It’s Sweet
PopTranslate is more than a utility; it’s a rethinking of how translation should work in the macOS ecosystem. With AI-powered features and a design philosophy rooted in simplicity and speed, it transforms the way you interact with multilingual content.
Here’s what makes it special:
- Instant Pop-Up Translation: Just select text anywhere—browser, PDF, email, chat—and a customizable popup shows the translation right there. No switching windows. No interruptions.
- AI Powerhouse: Choose between multiple AI engines including OpenAI, Gemini, and Claude, and compare translations in real time.
- AI Explain, Rewrite & Define: Get instant explanations of complex phrases, grammar fixes for writing, or definitions—all powered by AI.
- OCR Image Translation: Need to translate unselectable text from an image or scanned document? Snap a screenshot and let PopTranslate handle it.
- Replace in One Click: Translate and seamlessly replace your original text with the translated version—perfect for emails, reports, and cross-lingual writing.
- System-wide support: Works everywhere on your Mac—Mail, Safari, Messages, Pages, PDFs, iBooks, Slack, and more.
What the Developer Says
PopTranslate began as a simple Safari extension created by its developer to help his wife translate web content effortlessly. Over time, it evolved into a full-featured macOS app powered by cutting-edge AI technology.
“PopTranslate was designed with two clear goals in mind: being AI First and providing a seamless native macOS experience.”
For a deeper dive into the story behind PopTranslate, you can read their full blog post here.
How PopTranslate Works
After a quick setup (including connecting to your own OpenAI, DeepL, or Gemini API keys), PopTranslate runs quietly in your menu bar. When you highlight any text, a keyboard shortcut (default: ⌃⌥T) triggers the magic: a lightweight popup shows the translation, along with options to rewrite, define, or explain what you’re reading.
You can even customize the UI and behavior—choose your default target language, tweak the shortcut, and tailor the popup menu’s appearance. It’s translation, done the Mac way.
A user case for email translation
macOS users who deal with multilingual email know the pain:
- No built-in translation in Apple Mail
- Time-consuming copy/paste workflows
- Terminology mistranslations that lose context
PopTranslate changes the game by letting you read and respond to international emails in your native language—without leaving the Mail app. With a quick shortcut, you can translate, rewrite, or replace text right inside your draft.
What People Are Saying
PopTranslate has quietly built a loyal following among power users and international communicators:
“The fastest way I’ve found to translate emails without jumping between apps.”
— Product Hunt comment“This really should be built into macOS.”
— Reddit /r/macapps user
Users especially praise its smooth UI, multi-engine support, and the Replace feature that speeds up multilingual email replies and content editing.
What’s Next
The PopTranslate roadmap is packed with thoughtful improvements:
- iOS Companion App: Bringing the same native translation flow to your iPhone and iPad.
- Offline Translation Support: Using on-device LLMs to work without an internet connection.
- Deeper Ecosystem Integration: Extensions for Safari, Notes, Mail, and other native apps.
- Customization and Automation: Trigger translations with custom shortcuts, presets, or even AppleScript integrations in future builds.
The vision is clear: PopTranslate is becoming more than a utility—it’s evolving into a lightweight AI language assistant that adapts to your workflow.
What’s the Price
The core app is free to use, simply go official website, download and sign up to unlock 10 free translations daily.
To unlock advanced features, PopTranslate offers a Pro Subscription with two flexible plans:
Pro (Monthly): $1.99 USD per month
- Access to advanced AI models: OpenAI, Gemini
- OCR Translation with AI
- Translation in Pop Window
- Comparison between AI translations
- AI-Powered Text-to-Speech
- Advanced AI features: Explain, Rewrite
Pro (Yearly): $14.99 USD per year (Save 38% off the monthly plan)
- Includes all features of the Pro Monthly plan.
The Bottom Line
PopTranslate is a Mac-native translation tool that actually respects your time and workflow. Whether you’re reading foreign-language content, translating documents, or writing multilingual emails, it brings the power of AI into your daily life—quietly and smartly.
It’s requires macOS 14 or newer, dive deep from https://poptranslate.app/