Google Translate PDF: Limits, Errors and Keeping the Layout

Google Translate can translate a PDF for free on a computer: open translate.google.com, click Documents, upload the file and download the translation. It stops at 10 MB and 300 pages, it does not translate scanned pages, and it is not available on a phone. This guide covers the Google Translate PDF steps, the limits behind the most common errors, and what to do when the result has to keep its tables and columns, for example with the OpenImmersive PDF translator (openimmersive.ai).

How to translate a PDF with Google Translate

These are the steps in Google's document translation help page:

1. On a computer, go to translate.google.com.
2. At the top, click Documents.
3. Choose the language to translate from (or Detect language) and the language to translate to.
4. Click Browse your computer and pick the PDF.
5. Click Translate, wait, then click Download translation.

The same page accepts .docx, .pptx and .xlsx files.

Google Translate PDF limits

Google Translate PDF translation has these limits:

Limit	Google Translate (documents)
File size	Up to 10 MB
PDF length	300 pages or less
Formats	.pdf, .docx, .pptx, .xlsx
Phone or small screen	Not available
Scanned pages and text in images	Kept in the output but not translated
Price	Free

Source: Google Translate Help, "Translate documents & websites" (checked November 5, 2026). For larger jobs Google points to its paid Cloud Translation API.

Why Google Translate won't translate your PDF

Common reasons a Google Translate PDF job fails:

• The file is over 10 MB. Compress the PDF, or split it into smaller files and translate them one at a time.
• The PDF is over 300 pages. Split it by chapter.
• You are on a phone. Google says document translation is not available on smaller screens or mobile.
• The pages are scans or photos. There is no text layer to translate, so the scanned pages come back unchanged. You need OCR first: export the pages as images and use an image translator, which reads the text before translating it.
• The PDF needs a password to open. Unlock it with the password in your PDF app before uploading it again.

If a Google Translate PDF finishes but looks wrong, review the layout. Translated text can be longer than the original, so it may overflow a table cell or push a column down. Check tables, captions and headers before you send the file on.

When the layout has to stay

For a quick read, Google Translate is hard to beat: it is free and takes up to 300 pages. When the translated PDF has to look like the original, for a report, a manual or a contract you will share, check the tables and columns closely. If they shift, try a translator that rebuilds each page.

The OpenImmersive PDF translator works page by page and is designed to preserve tables, images and columns. Review important layouts before sharing the result:

• Files: text-based PDFs up to 50 MB and 200 pages.
• Languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese or Turkish.
• Free: the first 3 pages each day, with no account. The rest of a longer file is paid, and the price is shown before you pay.
• Papers: an academic paper mode keeps equations, figures and references in place when translating into Simplified Chinese.
• Privacy: uploaded PDFs and translations are deleted from our servers within 24 hours.

It does not translate scanned PDFs either; use image translation for those.

	Google Translate	OpenImmersive PDF translator
Free allowance	Whole file, up to 300 pages	First 3 pages a day
Largest file	10 MB, 300 pages	50 MB, 200 pages
Output languages	Google Translate's languages	8
Phone browser	Not available	Works in the browser
Scanned pages	Not translated	Not accepted; use image translation

FAQ

Is Google Translate PDF translation free? Yes, for files up to 10 MB and 300 pages on a computer.

Can I translate a PDF with Google Translate on my phone? No. Google's help page says document translation is not available on smaller screens or mobile.

Why are some pages still in the original language? They are probably scanned images. Run them through OCR, for example image translation, then translate the text.

How do I get past the Google Translate PDF size limit? Split or compress it for Google Translate, or upload it to the PDF translator, which takes files up to 50 MB. For whole books, see translating a large PDF.

For ebooks, see how to translate an EPUB to English.