DeepL Alternative for Academic PDFs: Keep Layout, Equations and Tables

Short answer: DeepL is a strong general-purpose translator that also translates documents, and for a simple PDF, a Word file or a slide deck it may be all you need. Academic Translate is narrower: it is built for research papers, theses and textbooks, where two-column layouts, equations, tables and figure captions have to survive the translation. If your file looks like that, translate one page with both and compare.

Last updated 10 October 2026.

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DeepL and Academic Translate, side by side

What each tool is built for. DeepL details come from DeepL's own pages; where they do not say, we say so rather than guess.

Feature Academic Translate DeepL
Built for Research papers, theses, textbooks, technical documents General-purpose text and document translation
File types PDF only, up to 100 pages per upload PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML, SRT and TXT, according to DeepL
Page layout Each translated page is rebuilt on the original page design: columns, figures, captions and page numbers stay in place DeepL states that it preserves the formatting and layout of the original design
Equations Formulas are left untranslated and re-typeset as LaTeX; equation numbers stay with them Not specifically documented for academic equations. Test your own file.
Tables Cells are translated in place Test your own file.
Output PDF, and a LaTeX project (.zip) that opens in Overleaf See DeepL's documentation
Review Original and translation shown side by side See DeepL's documentation
Languages 30+ See DeepL's list of supported languages
Price 50 free pages a month for verified accounts, plus 5 welcome pages. Packs from $2.99 (650 pages); monthly plans from $5.90 (1,500 pages). Failed pages are not charged. Free and paid plans; document limits depend on the plan. See DeepL's pricing.
File retention Uploads and results are deleted automatically 24 hours after upload See DeepL's privacy policy

DeepL vs Academic Translate: common questions

Straight answers, including where DeepL is the better choice.

For one kind of file, yes: PDFs of papers, theses and textbooks with equations, tables and multi-column pages. It is not a general replacement. It does not translate Word, PowerPoint or Excel files, and it does not translate pasted text.
Yes. DeepL lists PDF among the file types it translates and states that it preserves the formatting and layout of the original design. How well that works on a page with equations and tables depends on the file, so test one page.
Formulas are not translated. They are kept as formulas and re-typeset as LaTeX, so the symbols, the structure and the equation numbers stay as they were. Inline formulas inside a sentence are protected the same way.
Yes. Besides the translated PDF you can download a LaTeX project (.zip) that opens in Overleaf, so you can correct the translation in the source.
Verified accounts get 50 pages every month, plus 5 welcome pages on first sign-in. Beyond that, one credit is one translated page, and pages that fail to translate are not charged.
Uploaded files and translated results are deleted automatically 24 hours after upload. Download the result before then.