OmegaT
Free open-source desktop CAT tool for professional translators
About
OmegaT is a long-running open-source computer-aided translation tool written in Java, so it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It offers translation memory in TMX format, glossary lookup, fuzzy matching, and support for 50+ file formats including Office documents, HTML, and Trados files. It can pull in machine translation from Google, Microsoft, Apertium, and others as suggestions.
It is completely free with no paid tier, though the interface feels dated and it requires a Java installation.
What it can do
- Translation memory (TMX) and fuzzy matching
- Glossaries in CSV and TBX formats
- 50+ supported file formats
- MT suggestions from multiple engines
- Team projects with unlimited translators
Setup
- Download OmegaT from omegat.org (bundles with or without Java).
- Install Java if your package needs it, then launch OmegaT.
- Create a new project and set source and target languages.
- Copy source files into the project's source folder.
- Translate with TM and glossary matches, then create translated files.
Prerequisites
Java runtime (or the bundled installer); your source documents.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 7/10
Scored 7/10 (metrics tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Free open-source CAT tool (GPL), Java-based, runs on Windows/macOS/Linux; 50+ file formats; TMX/TBX standard support (ProZ comparison); Community-maintained since the early 2000s; ~1.5M downloads cited at EmacsConf 2021; Interface feels dated; requires Java installation - stated limitations. License: GPL open source.
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 7.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 7.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 9.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 6.0/10
- · Free open-source CAT tool (GPL), Java-based, runs on Windows/macOS/Linux
- · 50+ file formats; TMX/TBX standard support (ProZ comparison)
- · Community-maintained since the early 2000s; ~1.5M downloads cited at EmacsConf 2021
- · Interface feels dated; requires Java installation - stated limitations
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.