The Best Real-Time Translator for Zoom and Video Calls
Video calls with overseas colleagues and clients have become the norm, but most translators are still built for text: translating an email, a chat, a document — easy. Translating live speech on a Zoom call on the fly is a completely different task, and the available options differ a lot in what they can actually do.
The types of translators for video calls
Platform-built-in captions (Zoom, Teams) translate with noticeable lag and often cut phrases awkwardly — they're not built for live dialogue. Separate bot participants that you add to the call manually need the host's permission and show up as a visible participant to everyone. A third option is a translator that works at the audio level before it even reaches Zoom — it isn't a "participant" in the meeting, it's a layer between your microphone/headphones and the call.
How Loquora does it
Loquora works as a virtual microphone and a browser extension — meaning it's embedded at the system level, not as a separate bot in the call. That means: no need for the host to invite anyone or grant permissions, and the video platform doesn't even know translation is happening — to it, this is just another microphone. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Telegram calls, and any other WebRTC-based service.
Set up in five minutes
- Install the app or the browser extension.
- Record a voice sample (~60 seconds) if you plan to use voice dubbing rather than just subtitles.
- In Zoom's (or another service's) audio settings, select Loquora's virtual device as your microphone.
- Choose the languages — yours and the other person's, or turn on auto-detection.
- Join the meeting as usual.
Subtitles or dubbing — which to pick
If you're not ready to speak in a voice other than your own, or there are several people and dubbing each one would be complicated, turn on subtitles: incoming speech translated as text overlaid on your screen, no voice cloning required. Available on the free plan. Dubbing that keeps your own voice is a paid feature, but it's what makes the conversation feel like a normal one instead of reading translated captions.
What to look for in a call translator
- Latency: more than a couple of seconds and the conversation stops feeling live.
- Compatibility: it should work with whatever video service your team already uses, not require a separate client.
- Host permissions: if a tool needs meeting-admin rights, you won't always be able to use it — a client call, for instance.
- Privacy: your audio passes through a third-party service, so it's worth understanding how it's handled.
