DeepL vs ChatGPT: which is better for translating texts and documents?

Two different tools

DeepL is a translation service: you enter text on the left or upload a document and get the translation on the right. It also offers glossaries, which let you fix how particular technical terms are translated, as well as browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

ChatGPT is a chatbot that also translates. There is a dedicated page for this called ChatGPT Translate, which OpenAI says covers more than 40 languages. According to the industry news site Slator it launched in January 2026; OpenAI has not given an official launch date. The difference lies in how you use it: you can ask ChatGPT to make a translation more formal, simpler or more fluent, ask why a word was translated a certain way, and keep adjusting the text. According to Slator, ChatGPT Translate passes such requests on to the normal chat.

Our assessment: DeepL is built for pure translation, ChatGPT for a conversation about a text.

What is free and what the paid plans cost (as of October 2026)

DeepL: according to its pricing table, the free version allows 50,000 characters a month, one document a month up to 5 MB and one glossary with five entries per language pair. The Individual plan costs 7.49 euros a month billed annually, including VAT. It offers 300,000 characters, three documents a month up to 30 MB and translation of whole web pages. Team costs 24.99 euros and Business 49.99 euros per person per month, also billed annually and including VAT. The page does not show a monthly price directly; DeepL says annual billing saves 16 percent.

ChatGPT: according to OpenAI, text chats on the free version are unlimited, subject to abuse protection, but file uploads are limited. Go costs 8 euros and Plus 23 euros a month on the pricing page opened from Germany, both with more uploads.

For occasional text translation you pay nothing with either. For several documents a month you need a paid DeepL plan.

Privacy for documents

DeepL free: according to its privacy policy, DeepL processes your texts and translations on the free version for a limited period to train and improve its systems. DeepL says processing runs on its own infrastructure in the European Economic Area. Important: according to DeepL, you may not translate texts containing personal data of any kind on the free version at all; that is only allowed with a Pro subscription. This already covers ordinary letters or emails with names and addresses.

DeepL Pro: according to DeepL, your data is not used for training. DeepL says it stores texts and results only as long as technically necessary and deletes them afterwards. These are the provider's own statements; DeepL points to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications.

ChatGPT: OpenAI may use your chats for training; you can switch this off in Data controls. Switching off training deletes nothing, though: according to OpenAI, regular chats stay in your history. If you give feedback, for example thumbs up or down, the whole conversation may still be used for training. According to OpenAI, Temporary Chats are not used for training but are kept for up to 30 days. Ads may appear on the Free and Go plans; OpenAI says it does not share chats with advertisers.

Our assessment: for confidential documents DeepL Pro is the clearer route, because DeepL says it excludes training there by default and it does not depend on a setting.

Quality: what is proven and what is not

DeepL advertises that in blind tests with professional translators in March 2026 it beat GPT-5.2 in all 16 language pairs tested. That is the provider's claim about its own tests, not an independent review.

Independent studies mostly cover single language pairs and older models. A study published in 2025 on Chinese tourism texts found ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) ahead of DeepL on fidelity, fluency and cultural appropriateness. The authors themselves note that this cannot be generalised to other language pairs.

Our assessment: we found no current independent comparison for German and other European languages. So try both with a typical text of your own. For both: mistakes are possible, especially with technical terms and numbers.

Who should use which?

The following is an editorial recommendation, not our own test.

DeepL fits if you regularly translate documents, want to translate whole files such as Word documents, need fixed technical terms or handle confidential papers. For the last case, use a Pro plan.

ChatGPT fits if you want not only to translate but also to adapt the text: phrase it more simply, make it more polite, ask grammar questions or draft a letter directly in the foreign language. If you already use ChatGPT, you do not need a second subscription for this.

For holidays, short messages or a menu, the free version of either service is enough, though with DeepL only for texts without personal data.