01
Detect what kind of PDF it is
On upload, BluTranslate reads the page count and checks whether the pages carry a text layer or are images of text. You see the page count and the settings before you confirm; nothing is charged until you do.
Trusted by leading teams worldwide
Industry-specific Translation Accuracy
Our AI understands the nuances of different industries, ensuring that your specialized terminology and context are translated accurately every time. From financial documents to legal contracts, technical manuals to medical reports - Blu Translate delivers precision that matters to your business.
Precise Format Retention
Translate your PDF files without losing your formatting. Pictures, charts, tables, legal numbering - everything stays exactly where it should be. Blu Translate keeps everything intact, ensuring that you get accurate translations while maintaining the original visual structure and professional appearance.
How BluTranslate translates a PDF
A PDF is a page description, not a document: the text sits in positioned fragments, and a scanned PDF has no text at all. BluTranslate recovers the document first, which is why the result keeps its layout.
02
Recover the text and the structure
Text-based PDFs are parsed into an editable layout. Scanned pages go through OCR, which captures reading order and block geometry, where each heading, paragraph and table sits, before any translation starts.
03
Translate with your terms locked
The engine works on the recovered text with your glossary applied as a constraint: defined terms, entity names and do-not-translate items come out the same on every page and in every file of the set.
04
Rebuild the page and hand it back
The translated text is placed back over the original layout, so tables, numbering, headers, footers and images keep their positions. Download it as PDF, Word or PowerPoint, or as a bilingual file with the original alongside.
| Element of the PDF | What BluTranslate does with it |
|---|---|
| Tables and financial statements | Rebuilt as tables, with rows and columns in place, so a translated statement can still be read line by line against the source. |
| Headers, footers, footnotes and page numbers | Kept in position on every page. |
| Numbered clauses, cross-references and lists | Clause numbering and cross-references stay part of the document instead of being flattened into prose. |
| Images, charts and diagrams | Left in place. Text inside a graphic is not touched in standard mode; image mode re-renders the graphic in the target language and is charged at 5 credits a page instead of 1. |
| Fonts and styling | Brand fonts and styling remain part of the document. |
| Scanned pages | Two OCR modes. Text mode returns a clean, text-only document built from the recognised text. Overlay mode places the translation back over the original scan, so stamps, seals and letterheads stay visible. The returned PDF carries a searchable text layer. |
| Pages you do not need | Choose a page range such as 1-3,5 and only those pages are translated and charged. |
| Bilingual review copy | Original and translation side by side, or the translation directly under the original, for checking against the source in one document. |
Get your translations in minutes
Upload, choose the languages, download. Most PDFs come back in about two minutes, scanned files included.
Step 1
Upload a document
Drag and drop a PDF of up to 100 MB. Scanned files work too.
Step 2
Select the language direction
Pick a source language and one or more targets, then choose your translation engine.
Step 3
Download translated PDF
Translate your file and download it with tables, charts and numbering where they were.
Supported PDF types and outputs
Text-based and scanned PDFs go through the same workflow, up to 100 MB per file, and come back in the format the next reviewer needs.
Text-based PDFs
PDFs exported from Word, PowerPoint, InDesign or a browser, with a selectable text layer.
Scanned PDFs (with OCR)
Image-only PDFs from a scanner or a phone camera. Choose text mode or overlay mode; printed text scanned at 300 dpi gives the cleanest result.
PDFs with images, charts and tables
Reports, statements and decks saved as PDF. Visual elements stay in place, and tables come back as tables.
Large and multi-page documents
Up to 100 MB per file, the same limit for scanned and native PDFs. Translate a page range if you only need part of a long file.
Bilingual output
Original and translation side by side, or the translation under each original block, for review against the source.
PDF, Word or PowerPoint out
Download the same finished translation as PDF, Word or PowerPoint. The conversion happens at download time and does not use extra credits.
Keep terminology consistent
across every PDF
At scale the failure is never one bad word. It is the same word rendered two ways across a document set assembled by four people over three weeks. Your glossary applies as a constraint on the engine, not a suggestion to it, so page 1 and page 400 agree, and so do twelve PDFs from the same matter.
How the glossary works on a PDF
- Lock the terms that matter. Defined terms, entity names and units come out identical throughout the file. An entry can differ by language pair: the right term in Traditional Chinese for Taiwan is frequently not the right term in Simplified Chinese.
- Protect what must not change. A do-not-translate list keeps company and product names, tickers, citations, trademarks and internal acronyms exactly as written in the source.
- Apply it to scans and the API too. Terms are enforced on text recovered by OCR exactly as on native files, and on every PDF sent through the translation API. Lists are scoped per workspace, with no cap on entries on any plan.
- Start from your own approved work. BluTranslate extracts candidate terms from documents you have already signed off and brings you a draft to accept or reject line by line.
What a glossary can lock in a translated PDF
| What you lock | Result in the translated PDF |
|---|---|
| Defined terms such as “Agreement” or “Net Asset Value” | Your approved rendering every time it appears, in every file in the workspace |
| Company names, product names, tickers, acronyms | Left untranslated |
| Regional variants, such as Traditional Chinese for Taiwan | Each language pair keeps its own entry |
| Currency and unit symbols, statute and case citations | Kept in the form your reviewers expect, on every page |
One list, applied on every occurrence: reviewers check meaning, not terminology.
Translate PDFs across the world’s most used languages
120+ languages and regional variants, including Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, with the layout preserved.
English - Spanish
English - French
English - German
English - Chinese
English - Japanese
English - Portuguese
+ more language pairs supported
View all languagesEnterprise-grade security
for your PDFs
Contracts, statements and evidence files are the PDFs people most need translated. BluTranslate protects every file and gives your security team the evidence it asks for.
Encrypted in transit and at rest
Files are encrypted in transit and protected with AES-256 encryption at rest, and the processing region can be pinned to one you choose from those available.
Deleted within 24 hours
Uploaded and generated files are deleted automatically within 24 hours. Stricter retention controls are available for enterprise deployments, including single-tenant, your own cloud and on-premise.
Never used for training
Your PDFs, your corrections and your glossary content are not used to train Bluente’s models or any third-party shared model.
Which certifications apply to PDF translation? ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 Type I and GDPR-ready contracting
Every PDF translated on BluTranslate is processed under Bluente’s ISO/IEC 27001 information-security management system and covered by its SOC 2 Type I report, which assesses the design of controls for security, availability and confidentiality. For documents subject to the GDPR, Bluente provides GDPR-ready contracting: a Data Processing Agreement, EU Standard Contractual Clauses and a documented sub-processor chain for cross-border processing review.
- Is my PDF encrypted while it is being translated?
- Yes. Files are encrypted in transit and protected with AES-256 encryption at rest. Uploaded and generated files are deleted automatically within 24 hours, and stricter retention controls are available for enterprise deployments.
- Can Bluente use my PDFs to train its models?
- No. Your documents, your corrections and your glossary content are not used to train Bluente’s models or any third-party shared model, and files are not retained for training or reuse.
- Can my PDFs stay in one region?
- Yes. The processing region can be pinned to one you choose from those available, and enterprise deployments can keep documents inside your own cloud or network.
Why not a free PDF translator?
Free tools translate the words in a PDF. The difference is what comes back.
| Free online translators | BluTranslate | |
|---|---|---|
| What comes back | Translated text, often as one long stream; tables, columns and captions have to be rebuilt by hand | A translated PDF with tables, numbering, headers, footers and images where they were |
| Scanned pages and text in images | Usually skipped, or returned untranslated | OCR built in, in text or overlay mode; the returned PDF is searchable |
| File size and length | Tight caps on file size and page count; long files have to be split and reassembled | Up to 100 MB per file; translate a page range if you only need part of a file |
| Terminology | Whatever the engine picks, page by page | Glossary applied as a constraint on every occurrence, in every PDF in the set |
| Review | Original and translation in two different windows | Bilingual output, side by side or stacked, plus PDF, Word or PowerPoint downloads |
| Confidentiality | Depends on the tool and its terms | Deleted within 24 hours, never used for training, ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 Type I |
How BluTranslate speeds up
PDF translation workflows
A 30-page PDF report that takes an agency a week comes back from BluTranslate in about two minutes, at under $0.60 a page instead of $38 to $75, in any of 120+ languages, with the layout intact. Your team reviews a finished draft instead of rebuilding one.
| Metric | Agency or manual route | BluTranslate draft, reviewed by your team |
|---|---|---|
| Time to translate a 30-page PDF (about 7,500 words) | 5 to 8 working days of translation alone, at 1,000 to 1,500 words a day for legal or technical text, plus the time to rebuild the layout afterwards | About 2 minutes on average per document |
| Cost per page (250 words) | $38 to $75 at typical professional rates of $0.15 to $0.30 per word | Under $0.60 per page; 5 free pages to start, no credit card |
| Cost of the same 30-page PDF, one language | $1,125 to $2,250 | Under $18 |
| Scanned PDFs | Retyped, or run through a separate OCR tool, before translation can start | OCR built in, in text or overlay mode, at the same 1 credit per page as a text PDF |
| Formatting | Layout rebuilt after translation, usually by converting the PDF to Word and back | Translation placed back over the original layout; PDF, Word or PowerPoint output; bilingual side by side or stacked |
| Terminology | Style guide plus manual QA, linguist by linguist | Glossary applied on every occurrence, in every PDF in the set |
~90%
Time saved
Around 90% of the time of an agency workflow, from upload to reviewed draft
~70%
Cost saved
Around 70% of the cost of an agency workflow at list price, before volume pricing
2 min
Average turnaround
Per document, in any of 120+ languages, with formatting preserved
“A Must-Have tool for legal professionals. It saves valuable time with precise translations & maintains formatting!”
“Since we started using Blu Translate, I’ve seen significant boost in our productivity!”
PDF Translation FAQ
Can I translate scanned PDFs?
Yes. Scanned PDFs go through OCR first, and you choose between two modes. Text mode returns a clean, text-only document built from the recognised text. Overlay mode places the translation back over the original scan, so stamps, seals and letterheads stay visible. The returned PDF carries a searchable text layer. Printed text scanned at 300 dpi gives the cleanest result; handwriting is the most error-prone case and should always be checked by a person.
What is the maximum PDF size I can upload?
100 MB per file, on every plan, and scanned PDFs are not capped lower than native ones. The page count is shown before you confirm, and you can translate a page range such as 1-3,5 so that only those pages are translated and charged.
Does the translated PDF keep its formatting?
Yes. The translation is placed back over the original layout, so tables, headers, footers, footnotes, numbering, cross-references and images stay where they were, and brand fonts remain part of the document. Text inside images is left as it is in standard mode; image mode re-renders the graphic in the target language at 5 credits a page.
What format does the translated file come in?
PDF by default. The same finished translation can also be downloaded as a Word or PowerPoint file, and as a bilingual document with the original alongside, either side by side or stacked. Format conversions happen at download time and do not use extra credits.
How accurate is PDF translation?
Up to 95% on legal language, measured against a customer’s own reference set rather than a public benchmark. A glossary closes most of the rest, and the bilingual output makes the review step fast. Anything filed, signed or published should keep a human review.
How long does a PDF take to translate?
About two minutes per document on average, and most PDFs come back within minutes even for large files. Scanned PDFs take a little longer because OCR runs before translation.
How much does PDF translation cost, and is there a free version?
You get 5 free pages when you sign up, with no credit card required. After that, the Starter pack is $12 one-time and the Professional plan is $20 per user per month, at under $0.60 per page; Business plans are typically 40% less per page. Standard and scanned modes cost 1 credit per page; image mode costs 5.
Which languages can I translate a PDF into?
120+ languages and regional variants, including Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Vietnamese and Thai, and variants such as Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French and Latin American Spanish.
Does my glossary apply to PDFs and scans?
Yes. Terms are enforced on text recovered by OCR exactly as on native files, and on PDFs sent through the API. Lists are scoped per workspace and have no cap on entries on any plan.
Is my PDF data secure during translation?
Yes. Files are encrypted in transit and at rest with AES-256, deleted within 24 hours, and never used to train models. Bluente holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification and a SOC 2 Type I report, and the processing region can be pinned.
Can I translate several PDFs at once?
Yes. Batch processing lets you upload several documents and translate them together, and one upload can produce several target languages.
Can I edit the translation afterwards?
Yes. Download the translation as a Word file to edit it, or use the bilingual layout to check it against the source page by page. Corrections you make are not used to train shared models.