DeepL

DeepL is an AI translation and writing tool that's handy for reading foreign-language sources and drafting text in another language. The free tier covers light coursework, and paid plans raise the character and document limits.

Best for: Reading sources in languages you don't speak

What you get

• Free version: 50,000 characters/month plus 1 document translation/month (files up to 5 MB)
• Individual plan is $8.74/mo billed annually (monthly billing costs more, ~$10.40/mo) and adds 300,000 chars/month + 3 documents/month (up to 30 MB)
• Paid plans include a 30-day free trial, cancel anytime
• No student or education discount as of mid-2026; listed prices are USD and vary by region, so check their site

How students use it

• Translate foreign-language papers and primary sources for research
• Draft messages in another language and check the register with DeepL Write
• Translate whole PDFs while keeping the document layout