Translated captions vs. voice translation: the difference in practice

Translated captions and voice translation seem like the same thing, but they solve different problems. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right tool — and understand why, in many meetings, hearing the translation works better than reading it.

What translated captions are

Translated captions transcribe speech into text and show that text translated on screen. It’s what the native features of Teams, Meet and Zoom offer (with limits per plan and language). It works well when you want to follow along by reading what the other person says, especially if you prefer reading or you’re in an environment without audio.

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What voice translation is

Voice translation delivers the translation as audio: you hear it instead of reading. It’s what Langless does, in both directions — your speech goes out translated to the other side and their speech arrives translated to you. In a conversation where people are talking all the time, hearing is more natural than reading captions racing across the screen.

The difference in practice

• Reading vs. hearing: captions demand visual attention; voice frees your eyes for the slide, the other person’s face or your notes.
• One-way vs. both directions: captions usually show what others say; two-way voice translation lets each person speak their own language.
• Following along vs. conversing: captions are great for following along; voice is better for actually conversing.

It’s not that one is always better — they serve different goals. See how voice works inside Teams and Google Meet.

Translated captions vs. voice translation

The same difference, point by point:

How much voice translation costs

With Langless: US$ 25/month + ~US$ 0.03/min BYOK, with no markup (a ~60-minute meeting ≈ ~US$ 1.80 in minutes). The native captions in Teams or Meet may already come with your plan. See the plans.

When NOT to use Langless

If you only need to read what the other person says, in a language already covered by the native Teams or Meet plan, translated captions do the job at no extra cost. And for high-risk legal or diplomatic contexts, prefer a human interpreter. To converse by voice, in both directions, Langless is the option. See human interpreter or AI.