In this guide · 7 sections
Short answer
Use DeepL (paid plan) for whole documents with glossaries and layout kept, Google Cloud Translation for high-volume or website translation by API, and ChatGPT Business for emails, chats and rewriting tone. Avoid free personal accounts for confidential files, and have contracts checked by a person.
DeepL vs Google Translate vs ChatGPT at a glance
All three handle English and Chinese, Malay and most major languages. The differences are in workflow, pricing model and data terms.
DeepL
From US$8.74/month (annual)
- Dedicated translator with file translation that keeps layout
- Glossaries and shared style rules on Team and above
- No data training on paid plans
- Team plan adds admin and single sign-on
Best for: Manuals, product sheets and recurring documents.
Google Translate / Cloud Translation
Free web; API US$20 per million characters
- Free web translator handles common office files
- Translate document built into Google Docs
- API with 500,000 free characters a month
- Cloud API content not used for training
Best for: Websites, apps and high-volume automated translation.
ChatGPT
Business US$20/user/month (annual)
- Translates, summarises and rewrites tone in one step
- Follows instructions on names, terms and audience
- Business plan: no training on your data by default
- Long documents may need formatting fixed
Best for: Emails, chats, marketing copy and internal drafts.
Pricing compared (October 2026)
Prices below are from each vendor's own pages as of October 2026. DeepL shows Singapore prices in US dollars.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| DeepL Free | US$0 | 50,000 characters and 1 file a month, up to 5 MB |
| DeepL Individual | US$8.74/month annual, US$10.49 monthly | 300,000 characters, 3 files a month, 1 glossary |
| DeepL Team | US$28.74/user/month annual, US$34.49 monthly | 1,000,000 characters per user, 20 files, 5 glossaries, SSO |
| DeepL Business | US$57.49/user/month annual, US$68.99 monthly | Unlimited characters (fair use), 100 files, translation memory |
| Google Translate (web) | Free | Files up to 10 MB in .docx, .pdf, .pptx, .xlsx |
| Google Cloud Translation (NMT) | First 500,000 characters free, then US$20 per million | Document translation US$0.08 per page |
| ChatGPT Business | US$20/user/month annual, US$25 monthly | Minimum 2 seats; company-owned accounts |
Our ChatGPT Business price guide covers the ChatGPT plans in more detail.
Document formats, layout and glossaries
For business documents, keeping the layout and using your terms consistently often matters more than small quality differences.
- DeepL translates whole files and returns the same format; Team and Business plans add bulk file translation, shared glossaries and style rules, and Business adds translation memory. Glossaries allow up to 1,000 entries per language pair on Team.
- Google Translate on the web translates .docx, .pdf, .pptx and .xlsx files up to 10 MB, and PDFs of up to 300 pages, according to Google's help page. Google Docs has a built-in Translate document option that creates a translated copy in Drive. Glossaries and custom models are available through Cloud Translation Advanced.
- ChatGPT accepts uploaded files and can follow a glossary you paste into the prompt, but it is not a layout-preserving translator. Expect to copy text back into your template for long or designed documents.
Data handling and privacy terms
The free consumer versions are fine for public text. For anything confidential or containing personal data, use a plan with clear business terms.
| Service | Training on your content | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DeepL paid plans | No data training (listed on every paid plan) | Team and Business add admin controls and SSO |
| Google Cloud Translation API | Google says it does not use content you send to train or improve its translation | Text held briefly in memory to translate; covered by Cloud Data Processing Addendum |
| ChatGPT Business and Enterprise | Not used for training by default | Company owns accounts; see OpenAI's business privacy page |
| Free or personal accounts | Terms vary; may be used to improve services | Avoid for confidential or personal data |
Put this in your staff AI policy: which tools are approved, and what must never be pasted in. Our ChatGPT at work policy guide has a template that covers the PDPA side.
Which to use for websites, contracts, product sheets and chats
Match the tool to the job.
| Job | Best fit | Human check? |
|---|---|---|
| Website pages in a second language | DeepL or Cloud Translation, then a fluent editor | Yes, before publishing |
| Contracts and legal notices | Professional translator, using an AI draft if useful | Always |
| Product sheets and manuals | DeepL with a glossary | Spot-check terms and numbers |
| Customer emails and chats | ChatGPT Business or DeepL | Sender reads before sending |
| Reading incoming foreign-language mail | Any of the three | Not usually |
| Automated translation in an app or form | Google Cloud Translation API | Monitor samples regularly |
For Chinese-English work specifically, our best AI for Chinese-English translation guide shows what published benchmarks say about quality.
Do it yourself or get help?
Picking a tool and writing a glossary is something you can do in an afternoon. Run the same three documents through each tool and ask a fluent colleague to compare them blind.
If you want translation built into your workflow, such as incoming enquiries translated and routed to the right person, our Workflow Automation service (S$390 per workflow, paid upfront) connects Google Cloud Translation or DeepL to your forms, inbox or CRM.
Frequently asked questions
For business documents, DeepL's paid plans offer glossaries, layout-preserving file translation and team controls, which many teams prefer. Google Translate is free on the web and its Cloud API is cheap at volume, with glossaries in the Advanced edition. Quality at the top is close, so test your own documents.
Yes, especially for emails, chats and marketing text, because it can translate and adjust tone in one step and follow instructions about names and terms. It is less suited to long designed documents, since it does not preserve layout like DeepL or Google's document translation. Use a business plan for confidential content.
As of October 2026, DeepL shows Singapore prices in US dollars: Individual US$8.74 a month billed annually, Team US$28.74 per user a month and Business US$57.49 per user a month, or more if billed monthly. A free version allows 50,000 characters and one file a month.
The paid Google Cloud Translation API states that Google does not use your content to train its translation features, and text is held only briefly to translate it. For the free web version, check Google's consumer terms and avoid confidential or personal data. Follow your company's AI and PDPA policy.
You can use AI to produce a first draft or to understand a contract, but anything you sign or rely on legally should be checked or translated by a qualified human translator. Legal terms, obligations and numbers are where small translation errors can have large consequences.