Tipword
If you searched the Mac App Store for Google Translate, you found nothing, because Google doesn’t make one. The apps that show up are unofficial wrappers. You can still use Google’s translation on a Mac in four ways.
The short answer
There’s no official Google Translate app for Mac. Google offers Translate on the web at translate.google.com, in Chrome, and as apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. Downloads called “Google Translate for Mac” on download sites are made by other people.
1. Use it in your browser
Open translate.google.com in Safari or Chrome. You can type or paste text, upload a document, or translate a whole website. In Chrome, Google can also offer to translate any page you visit.
2. Put it in your Dock like an app
In Safari on macOS 14 or later, open translate.google.com and choose File › Add to Dock. You get a Google Translate icon that opens in its own window, like an app. It’s still the website, so it needs the internet.
3. Unofficial apps: be careful
Some apps on GitHub and download sites wrap the Google Translate website in a Mac window. Some are fine, but they aren’t from Google, may stop working when the website changes, and a .dmg from an unknown source can carry anything. If you use one, prefer open-source projects you can check.
4. Use Google’s engine inside a Mac app
Several Mac apps can use Google’s translation engine with your own Google Cloud key. Tipword is one of them: for 34 languages that Apple doesn’t translate, such as Swedish, Greek, Hebrew and Czech, it uses Google with your key. Hold ⌥ Option, point at a word anywhere on your Mac, and Google’s translation appears beside it.
- Your key, your account: Google’s first 500,000 characters a month are free.
- Only the word you point at is sent to Google, not the page.
- It works in any app, including on words in images and videos.
How to add your Google key to Tipword
- In the Google Cloud console, create a project, or pick one you have. Google asks for a billing account even for the free allowance.
- Turn on the Cloud Translation API for that project.
- Under APIs & Services › Credentials, create an API key. Restrict it to the Cloud Translation API.
- In Tipword, open Settings › License, find Google Translate and click Add Key…, then paste it.
Tipword keeps the key in your Mac’s Keychain and sends it only to Google. Google’s own setup guide has screenshots of each step.
Or skip Google: Apple’s built-in translator
macOS has its own translator. Select text, Control-click and choose Translate, or translate a page in Safari. On macOS 15 or later, 20 languages translate on your Mac without the internet. Tipword uses the same engine for those 20, so you only need a Google key for the rest. See offline translation on Mac.
Your options, compared
| Option | Price | Works offline | In any app |
|---|---|---|---|
| translate.google.com | Free | No | No, copy and paste |
| Safari “Add to Dock” | Free | No | No, copy and paste |
| Apple Translate menu | Free | Yes, macOS 15+ | Where you can select text |
| Tipword | $12 once | 20 languages | Yes, point at any word |
Comparing with DeepL too? Read the DeepL alternatives for Mac.
Questions
Is there an official Google Translate app for Mac?
No. Google makes Translate for the web, Chrome, iPhone, iPad and Android, but not for Mac.
Can I install Google Translate on a MacBook?
Not as a real app. In Safari you can choose File › Add to Dock on translate.google.com to get an app-like window.
Does Tipword use Google Translate?
For 34 languages, yes, with your own Google Cloud key. The other 20 use Apple’s engine on your Mac.
Does Google Translate work offline on Mac?
No. Offline Google Translate is only in the phone apps. On a Mac, Apple’s engine translates offline on macOS 15 or later.