If your company runs its documents in Zoho Writer and its chat in SalesIQ, Zoho Translate shows up right where you work. It covers more than 60 languages, handles text, images, audio, and documents, and comes from a vendor that takes privacy seriously.
The catch is that most teams don't live in one suite. Lexibird is a dedicated AI translator that works the same whatever software sits around it. The differences that matter most: Lexibird works across your existing tools without an integration project, and it gives your team shared glossaries and a choice of AI models across more than 200 languages for text.
At a glance
| Lexibird | Zoho Translate | |
|---|---|---|
| Text translation languages | 200+ | 60+ |
| Translation engine | Claude, GPT, or Gemini models, or Auto | Zoho's in-house technology; Apple on-device models on supported devices |
| Where you use it | Web, macOS and Windows apps, Chromium browser extension | Zoho Translate app, plus Zoho Writer and SalesIQ |
| Document translation | Upload PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or Excel files, layout preserved | Inside Zoho Writer, saved as a new document |
| Images | OCR on uploads and on-screen region capture | Camera scanning of printed text |
| Audio | Transcribe recordings, dictate, listen at adjustable speed | Audio translation, voice input, text-to-speech |
| Privacy | Zero data retention on Business, on by default; SAML/OIDC single sign-on | No data selling or ad-based business model |
What is Lexibird?
Lexibird is a translator that isn't attached to any suite, so it fits a help desk, a CRM, or a supplier portal equally well. Your team chooses between leading AI models, shares glossaries in one workspace with admin and member roles, and handles documents, screenshots, and recordings in the same place.
What is Zoho Translate?
Zoho Translate is Zoho's translation app for text, audio, images, scanned documents, and live conversations in more than 60 languages. Zoho is building it into products such as Writer and SalesIQ, and on recent Apple systems it uses Apple's on-device Foundation Models to better understand context.
1. Works wherever your team already works
Zoho's translation is strongest when the content already lives in Zoho. Most teams also spend their day in other places: a help desk, a shared inbox, a supplier portal, a Notion page.
Lexibird doesn't need to be connected to any of them. Say a ticket arrives in Portuguese in your help desk. With the browser extension, the agent highlights the message, hits Ctrl+Shift+E (Cmd+Shift+E on a Mac), and reads it in English in a side panel next to the ticket. For a supplier spreadsheet open in a desktop program, the agent copies a cell and calls up the desktop app with one shortcut. Nothing to configure, no IT project.
2. Translations that keep the tone of the original
Zoho Translate decides how your text is translated. Lexibird lets you choose between Claude, GPT, and Gemini model families, or let Auto pick, and set a formal or informal tone.
Picture a sales rep following up with a prospect in Germany. A literal translation of "Just circling back on this" comes out awkward or abrupt. A leading model turns it into a polite, natural nudge in formal German. If the phrasing still isn't right, try another model and compare. Premium models are available on paid plans.
3. Documents from any source
In Zoho, document translation happens inside Writer. That works for files your team writes there, but much of what needs translating arrives from outside: a supplier's PDF contract, a partner's PowerPoint deck, an Excel product catalog.
Lexibird's document translation takes those files as they arrived, along with saved Outlook emails. Drop in the whole set at once, up to 40 MB per file, and the translated versions keep their original layout. Uploads are deleted after 24 hours.
4. One set of terms for the whole team
When marketing calls your product tier "Studio" and support calls it "Pro edition," customers notice. Lexibird's glossaries let you settle that once: define "Studio" as the approved term, and every text translation from sales and support uses it. The AI model receives the terms as context, so they fit naturally into each sentence. A term list already kept in a spreadsheet can be uploaded instead of retyped.
5. Privacy built into the plan
Zoho has earned its reputation for privacy, and that counts in its favor. Lexibird's Business plan adds controls aimed at companies. Zero data retention is on by default: a customer's ticket is handed only to AI providers that discard it after translating, and if no such provider can respond, Lexibird returns an error rather than sending the text somewhere else. The same rule applies in the web app, desktop app, and extension, and single sign-on with SAML or OIDC and domain verification lets IT manage access.
Which one should you choose?
If your team works almost entirely inside Zoho Writer and SalesIQ, or needs live conversation translation on Apple devices, Zoho Translate is the natural fit.
Choose Lexibird if you want:
- Help desk tickets and supplier portals translated without waiting for a Zoho integration
- Follow-ups that sound polite in German, with another model to try if they don't
- Contracts and decks from outside partners, not just files written in Writer
- One approved name for every product tier, used by sales and support alike
- Customer text that AI providers don't keep
Get started with Lexibird and invite your team to a shared workspace.
