Best Church Translation Apps in 2026: An Honest Comparison
· By the Sermon Translate team
The best church translation app depends on how many languages you need, whether people read on their own phones or on one screen, and how you want to pay. Voco, Breeze Translate, Kaleo and Glossa list far more languages, and several list unlimited listeners, while Sermon Translate covers 11 languages at a low cost per hour and is the only one listing automatic Bible verse popups, AI sermon notes and Fuzhounese captions.
Which church translation apps did we compare?
We looked at eight apps that churches use to put a live sermon into other languages: Sermon Translate (our own app), Kaleo, Selah Translate, Hope Translator, Glossa, Voco, Breeze Translate and MirrorCaption. All of them turn the preacher's spoken words into translated text, and most list a way to show that text on phones or through presentation and streaming software.
Every competitor fact below is listed on their website, checked September 2026. Prices change, so check each site before you decide. Where a number could not be worked out from what a company publishes, the table says so rather than guessing. We make Sermon Translate, so we have tried hard to give the other apps real credit and to name our own limits plainly.
How do church translation apps compare on price and trial?
| App | Entry price | Hours included | Cost per hour | Free trial | Notable strengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sermon Translate | $19.99/month (Basic) | 12 hours | About $1.67 (Standard: about $1.13) | 15 minutes, one time, no card | Bible verse popups, AI sermon notes, conversation mode, Fuzhounese captions |
| Kaleo | $24/month (Starter) | 5 hours | About $4.80 | Four hours | Unlimited listeners on every plan, 150+ languages on Unlimited, trained on theological words |
| Selah Translate | $29/month (Basic) | 20 hours, one language at a time | About $1.45 (Professional: about $1.23) | 1 hour, no card | Unlimited audience, OBS, vMix and ProPresenter, transcripts saved |
| Hope Translator | $19.99/month (Stream Starter) | 5 hours, 2 languages, 10 listeners | About $4.00 | Free plan: 30 minutes a month, 5 listeners | OBS and ProPresenter captions, a free monthly allowance |
| Glossa | $5/hour per language (pay as you go) | Pay as you go, or 25 hours for $99/month | About $3.96 on Standard | 4 hours | 100+ languages, unlimited listeners, custom glossary |
| Voco | £24/month (Starter) | One main weekly service | Not sold by the hour | 7 days, no card | 200+ languages, unlimited attendees, custom glossary, right-to-left Farsi |
| Breeze Translate | $3/week captioning, $8/week Basic | Weekly pricing | Not sold by the hour | Try free this Sunday, no card | Nearly 200 languages, works with ProPresenter, EasyWorship, Proclaim, OBS, vMix |
| MirrorCaption | €5.99/month (Personal) | 10 hours | About €0.60 | 1 hour | Low personal price, €99 one time for 200 hours; Chrome only |
What do the other apps do well?
- Language breadth: Voco lists 200+ languages, Breeze Translate nearly 200, Kaleo 150+ on its Unlimited plan and Glossa 100+. If your church needs a language outside Sermon Translate's 11, one of these is the better choice.
- Unlimited listeners: Kaleo, Selah Translate, Glossa and Voco list unlimited listeners or audience on their plans, so a whole congregation can follow on phones without extra accounts.
- Longer trials: Kaleo offers four hours, Glossa 4 hours, Voco 7 days and Breeze Translate a free Sunday. That is much more time to test than our 15 minutes.
- Presentation software: Selah Translate, Glossa, Hope Translator, Voco and Breeze Translate all list OBS or ProPresenter support, and Breeze also lists EasyWorship and Proclaim.
- Simple budgeting: Breeze Translate charges by the week, which can be easier to plan for a church with one Sunday service.
Where does Sermon Translate fit?
Sermon Translate is built around the sermon itself. When the preacher clearly names a passage, such as John 3:16, the verse appears in the reader's language and chosen Bible version. None of the other seven apps list automatic Bible verse popups, AI sermon notes or a two-person conversation mode on their websites. It is also the only one listing Fuzhounese captions.
- Cost per hour: Basic works out to about $1.67 an hour and Standard to about $1.13. One stream covers all languages, so you pay for the audio transcribed, not per language.
- Up to 5 languages at once on one screen with Multiple mode, and a Subtitles screen with a transparent OBS browser source.
- A church glossary for names of elders, ministries and doctrinal terms, applied to every translation.
- Careful Bible wording: Traditional Chinese captions with Chinese Union Version names, formal Korean preaching register, and Persian Old Version terms in Farsi.
- Extra hour packs that carry over month to month, from $3.00 for 1 hour to $44.99 for 20 hours.
What are Sermon Translate's real limits?
- 11 languages, compared with 100+ or 200+ at several other apps.
- No unlimited listeners on one account. Each listener's own phone needs its own account unless the church adds the QR Code Join add-on for $10 a month. The whole room can still read one shared screen with no extra accounts.
- The shortest free trial in this list: 15 minutes, one time.
- Text captions only. There is no spoken audio output, so it is not a replacement for an interpreter for people who need to hear the translation.
- It needs an internet connection and does not work offline.
How should a church choose a translation app?
- List the languages you need today, including the preacher's language. If any is missing from an app's list, stop there. Sermon Translate's list is on the languages page.
- Decide where people will read. If most listeners will use their own phones, look for unlimited listeners or a join code. If the room will read one projector or livestream, listener counts matter much less.
- Decide how much Bible support you want: verse popups, Bible book names in each language, a glossary for your church's names and terms.
- Pick the budget model that fits your schedule. Per hour suits churches with several services, per week suits one Sunday service, and per language pricing gets expensive when you add languages.
- Test with your real sound feed during a real service before you commit, whichever app you try.
Next step
Start the free 15-minute trial of Sermon Translate on the device you would use on Sunday, with your real audio and the languages your congregation reads. Then compare it side by side with one or two of the apps above. Our comparison page and pricing page have the details you will need.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best church translation app?
There is no single best app for every church. If you need many languages, Voco, Breeze Translate, Kaleo and Glossa list far more, and Kaleo, Glossa and Voco also list unlimited listeners. If you want Bible verse popups, AI sermon notes and a low cost per hour in 11 languages, Sermon Translate fits well.
Which church translation app has the most languages?
Among the apps we checked in September 2026, Voco lists 200+ languages and Breeze Translate nearly 200. Sermon Translate supports 11.
Is there a free church translation app?
Hope Translator lists a free plan with 30 minutes a month and 5 listeners. Sermon Translate has no free unlimited plan; it offers a one-time 15-minute free trial with no credit card.
Do listeners need an account to read Sermon Translate on their phones?
Yes, unless the church adds QR Code Join for $10 a month, which lets anyone read live captions in their phone browser with no account. Everyone can also read one shared screen without an account.
Sources
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