Translate offline: no internet, no server
On a plane, abroad without data, behind a strict office network — or simply because your text is nobody else's business. Download a language once, and Kalila translates with the internet switched off.
Why offline translation is also private translation
A translator that works with Wi-Fi off cannot be sending your text anywhere: the translation runs on your device. That is how every part of Kalila works. The internet is used only to download language files — the same files for everyone — and updates.
Three ways to translate offline with Kalila
1. In any browser, without installing anything
- Open kalila.app/translate while you are online.
- Pick your languages and translate a sentence: the language file downloads once (about 40 MB for a language and English) and is kept in your browser.
- Now go offline. In that open tab, everything you type is translated on your device, without the internet.
Good to know: keep the tab open. Reloading the page still needs the internet today; the downloaded languages stay in your browser, so they don't download again.
2. In Chrome, Edge or Brave: the Kalila extension
Translate selected words with a dictionary card, whole web pages and video subtitles. The extension's engine runs in your browser, about 60 languages, each downloaded once and then available offline.
3. On your Mac: Kalila in the menu bar
Kalila for Mac uses Apple's on-device translation: 26 languages, downloaded once in System Settings or from Kalila's Download button. After that, translation, dictionary cards and pronunciation work offline, in any app — select text and press ⌃⌥T.
What works offline, and what doesn't
| Offline | |
|---|---|
| Translating text you type or paste | Yes, in all three |
| Translating web pages and subtitles | Yes, in the extension (the page itself must already be loaded) |
| Dictionary cards and pronunciation | Yes, in the Mac app and the extension |
| Downloading a new language | No — this needs the internet once |
| Opening kalila.app/translate for the first time | No — it needs the internet |
Before you travel
- Download every language you will need while you still have Wi-Fi: each is about 40 MB with English, about twice that between two other languages.
- Test it: switch on airplane mode and translate a sentence.
- On a phone, open kalila.app/translate and keep the tab open.
Questions
Is offline translation as good as online?
For everyday text in the common languages it is good. Large cloud translators run bigger models and can be better on some language pairs and on long, nuanced text — but they need the internet and they receive your text.
How much space do the languages take?
In the browser, about 40 MB for a language and English. You can delete them on kalila.app/translate with one click. Apple's languages on the Mac are managed in System Settings → General → Language & Region → Translation Languages.
Which languages work offline?
58 languages on kalila.app/translate, about 60 in the browser extension, and 26 in the Mac app — all of them offline once downloaded.
Does it cost anything?
No. Kalila is free, with no account and no limits.