Microsoft Teams Translator: Live Translated Subtitles

THE QUICK ANSWER

What is a Microsoft Teams translator?

A Microsoft Teams translator turns speech in a Teams meeting into subtitles in another language as people talk. Microsoft offers live translated captions with eligible licenses such as Teams Premium, and availability depends on your organization's settings. A browser extension such as MeeLang is the alternative when you don't have that license, use a personal account, or join meetings hosted by another organization.

MeeLang gives you Teams live translation on your side of the call. Open the meeting in Teams on the web in Chrome, choose the language you want to read, and MeeLang listens to the meeting audio in that tab, detects the spoken language automatically, and shows live translated subtitles over the call. Other participants don't install anything, and nothing joins the meeting.

HOW IT WORKS

How to translate Microsoft Teams meetings in real time

Browser extension translating live Teams audio into bilingual subtitle cards

Install MeeLang for Chrome
Add the extension from the Chrome Web Store. You can start without a card, an account, or a meeting bot.
Join the meeting in Teams on the web
Open the Teams meeting link in Chrome and choose “Continue on this browser”. Work and school meetings open at teams.microsoft.com or teams.cloud.microsoft, personal ones at teams.live.com.
Choose your subtitle language
Pick the language you want to read. Translated subtitles appear over the meeting, and the bilingual transcript stays in your browser.

Install Chrome extension

WHAT YOU SEE IN THE CALL

Follow both languages while people are still talking

Original speech and its translation stay together, so you can check meaning without losing the flow of the meeting.

Quarterly Planning · Microsoft Teams LIVE

LS

Lukas SchmidtGerman to English

Die neuen Zahlen sehen besser aus als erwartet.

ENThe new numbers look better than expected.

USE CASES

Where a Microsoft Teams translator helps most

Use live translated subtitles whenever language differences would otherwise slow down a Teams meeting or leave someone behind.

Cross-border team syncs

Follow project updates and decisions with colleagues in other countries without asking everyone to switch to one language.

TEAM MEETINGS

Customer and partner calls

Join meetings hosted by customers, suppliers, or partners and understand every speaker, even when you're a guest in their tenant.

EXTERNAL MEETINGS

Training and onboarding

Read translated explanations during onboarding, enablement, and internal training while the presenter is still talking.

TRAINING

Interviews and one-on-ones

Keep up with nuanced answers in interviews and one-on-ones, then review the original and the translation side by side.

INTERVIEWS

COMPARE YOUR OPTIONS

Teams live translation: built-in captions or a Chrome extension?

Both approaches translate a Teams meeting as it happens. The practical difference is the license you need and where the translation runs.

Teams live translated captions

Built into Teams, but available only with eligible Microsoft 365 licenses such as Teams Premium, and subject to your organization's and the meeting organizer's settings.

BUILT INTO TEAMS

MeeLang translated subtitles

Runs as a Chrome extension in your own browser. It works on personal and work accounts, in your own meetings or someone else's, and no bot appears in the participant list. It works in Teams on the web rather than the desktop app.

WORKS IN YOUR BROWSER

COMMON QUESTIONS

Microsoft Teams translation FAQ

Does Microsoft Teams have live translation?

Teams offers live translated captions with eligible licenses such as Teams Premium, depending on your organization's settings. MeeLang is another option: a Chrome extension that shows real-time translated subtitles in any Teams meeting you open on the web, without a Premium license.

Can I get Teams live translation without Teams Premium?

Yes. MeeLang provides Teams live translation through a Chrome extension, so you don't need Teams Premium or any other Microsoft 365 add-on. It works in work, school, and personal Teams meetings that you open on the web.

How do I translate a Microsoft Teams meeting in real time?

Install the MeeLang Chrome extension, open the Teams meeting link in Chrome, and choose “Continue on this browser”. Once you've joined, pick the language you want to read and MeeLang shows live translated subtitles over the call.

Does MeeLang work with the Teams desktop app?

Not yet. MeeLang runs inside Chrome, so it works with Teams on the web — teams.microsoft.com and teams.cloud.microsoft for work and school accounts, and teams.live.com for personal accounts.

Can I use MeeLang with a free or personal Teams account?

Yes. MeeLang works in personal Teams meetings at teams.live.com as well as work and school meetings, and it doesn't need any Microsoft 365 license.

Will a translation bot join my Teams meeting?

No. MeeLang works in your browser tab and never joins the meeting as a participant, so nobody sees a translation bot in the participant list.

Is MeeLang free for Teams meetings?

Yes, to start. Sign in with Google and you get 30 free translation minutes a month, with no payment details required. The Pro plan includes 600 minutes a month, and your minutes work across every supported meeting platform and YouTube.

Which languages can I translate Teams meetings into?

MeeLang translates into 30+ languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Vietnamese, Thai, Russian, Hindi, and Arabic. You don't need to pick the spoken language — MeeLang detects it automatically.