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Guide

How to get live translated captions in Zoom

August 1, 2026

Zoom can caption a meeting and, with a paid add-on, translate it. If you do not have that add-on, here is how to read a Zoom call in your own language in real time.

Zoom’s translated captions are a paid add-on

Zoom offers automated captions broadly, but translated captions are a separate paid feature that an account owner or admin has to buy and enable. On personal or free Zoom accounts, translation is not available.

Use a browser extension on Zoom web

If you join Zoom in the browser — the web client at app.zoom.us — a translation extension can hear the meeting tab and show translated subtitles as an overlay. This works without the paid add-on and without admin rights.

Open the call in Zoom on the web, start the extension, choose your languages, and captions appear on your screen only.

Steps

• Install a captions extension such as Trippi from the Chrome Web Store.
• Join the Zoom meeting in your browser (Join from your browser, not the desktop app).
• Open the extension, set “I hear” and “Show me” to your languages.
• Press Start — read the translated overlay as people speak.

Desktop Zoom app vs the web client

A browser extension captures the audio of a browser tab, so it covers the Zoom web client. The desktop Zoom app runs outside the browser and is not covered yet — join in the browser to use a tab-based translator.

Free to start

Trippi has a free daily allowance and an unlimited Pro plan; no card is needed to start. Compare on the pricing page, or see the other platforms it covers — Meet and Teams.