The short answer
Live captions in Google Meet are free for everyone, but they only write down what is said, in the language being spoken. Reading the call in another language needs translated captions, which Google's help page lists for four Workspace editions and Google AI Pro for Education. A personal Gmail account is not on that list, and neither are Google's consumer AI plans.
Google's newer Speech Translation speaks a translation over the speaker's voice, but Google documents it for English paired with only six languages, one eligible person has to switch it on for the whole meeting, and there is a 90 minute limit per meeting.
Fraze is a Mac and Windows app that reads the call audio your computer is already playing and shows translated subtitles beside it. No bot joins, nobody else enables anything, and both steps run on your machine.
Turn on live captions in Google Meet
Join the call on a computer
Open the meeting at meet.google.com.
Click Turn on captions
The button sits at the bottom of the call. Google's help page says the captions appear only for you.
Set the spoken language
Google's translated captions page gives the path: More options, then Settings, then Captions, then Language of the meeting. Google lists more than 80 caption languages and regional variants, most of them marked beta.
That is captioning, not translation: a Spanish meeting gives you Spanish text. Two other features change the language.
Translated captions, and who has them
Translated captions rewrite the live captions into a language you pick. Google's help page lists them for Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Google AI Pro for Education. It still shows Enterprise Starter, marked available until 30 June 2025, but Google's premium features table does not tick that edition, so do not count on it. That table shows no translated captions for Google One or the consumer Google AI plans either.
To turn them on, open More options, then Settings, then Captions. Select the language of the meeting, switch on Translated captions, then pick the language you want to read. Google lists 69 languages to translate to or from, and says the feature is still rolling out.
Whose plan counts? The help page does not say. Google's Workspace Updates blog said in June 2024 that participants can use translated captions when the meeting is organized by someone on an eligible edition. So if the option is missing, check the organizer's plan as well as your own.
Speech Translation, the newer feature
- An eligible person opens Meeting tools, picks Speech translation, chooses the language pair and enables it for everyone.
- Each person then sets the language they speak, the language they want to hear, and allows their own voice to be translated.
- Only one language pair can be active, and changing it changes it for everyone.
- Google's page says there is a 90 minute limit per meeting, that translations lag by a few seconds, and that it does not work in live streams or recordings.
- Its troubleshooting list says it may not work when the host is not on an eligible account, when the host's admin has turned it off, or when a participant is on a phone or under 18.
Speech Translation plays a translated voice over the speaker instead of showing text, in a voice that copies the speaker's tone and cadence. Google's help page lists it for Google AI Pro, Google AI Ultra, Workspace Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Frontline Plus, AI Pro for Education and AI Expanded Access, and says translation is available between English and French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.
Where each option stops
| Who gets it | Languages | Who it is for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live captions | Everyone, free | 80 plus, same language only | Only you |
| Translated captions | Listed Workspace plans | 69, text only | Only you |
| Speech Translation | Listed AI and Workspace plans | English and six others | Everyone in the call |
| Fraze | Anyone, any account | About 50 to or from English | Only you |
Three things leave you stuck: a personal or lower tier account, a language pair Google does not offer, or a rule that the audio may not leave your machine. Fraze listens and translates on your own computer, so nothing is uploaded, and after the first download of language files it works with Wi-Fi off.
Read a Meet call with Fraze instead
Pick system audio
Fraze listens to what your computer plays, so it hears the Meet tab the same way you do. On a Mac you can pick one app.
Pick the two languages
Choose the language being spoken and the language you want to read. Fraze understands 25 European languages, more on macOS 26 or later, and translates about 50 languages to or from English. Other pairs go through English. The first time you use a language, Fraze downloads what it needs.
Read along
Lines appear about half a second to a second after a speaker pauses. A small caption window can float over the call, and the transcript is saved on your computer to export later.
Be clear about what this is. Fraze translates the call for you alone. Everyone else sees nothing and hears nothing different. It does not speak your words back in another language, and there are no summaries. In some places you have to tell people before you transcribe a conversation.
When Google's own option is the better pick
- Everyone needs to follow along, not just you. Meet's features are there for every participant who has access. Fraze only helps the person running it.
- You want the others to hear you in their language. Speech Translation does that and Fraze does not.
- Your language is on Google's list and your plan includes it. Then it costs nothing extra and there is nothing to install.
- You need a summary or a shared link. Fraze has neither. Verli, the cloud sibling at verli.app, has both, but the audio goes to the cloud.
Fraze is for the other calls. The first 30 minutes are free on every account, with no card. After that it is $29.99 once or $2.99 a month, both unlimited, because the work happens on your computer and there is no meter to run.
Questions
How do I turn on live captions in Google Meet?
Join the call, then click Turn on captions at the bottom of the screen. To change the meeting language, open More options, then Settings, then Captions. Google's help page says captions are available to all users and show only for you.
Does Google Meet have live translation?
Yes, in two forms. Translated captions show the call as text in another language. Speech Translation plays a translated voice over the speaker. Google documents both for specific paid plans, not for every account.
Is Google Meet live translation free?
Captions are free for all users. Translation is not: Google lists both translated captions and Speech Translation only for paid plans. Once an eligible person has turned Speech Translation on, Google's steps have every participant set their own languages.
Can I get Google Meet translated captions on a free account?
Not in your own meetings, going by Google's lists. The help page lists translated captions only for certain Workspace editions and Google AI Pro for Education. Google's blog has said participants can use them when the organizer is on an eligible edition, so you may see the option in someone else's meeting. Fraze translates the call audio on your computer whatever account you use.
Which languages does Google Meet translate?
Google's translated captions page lists 69 languages to translate to or from. Speech Translation is narrower: Google lists English paired with French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Will other people in the call see anything?
No. Fraze is a normal app on your computer. It does not sign in to Meet or appear in the participant list, the host enables nothing, and the subtitles are on your screen alone.