WPML Microsoft Translator Integration – How to Translate Your WordPress Site With Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Translator Was Our Pick for Lowest-Cost Machine Translation. Today, PTC Delivers Better Value.

For years, Microsoft Translator was the WPML engine to pick when cost was the main constraint – the lowest per-word price among the machine-translation engines, with wide language coverage. That made it a natural fit for very large sites (catalogues, directories, news archives) where the translated word count ran into the millions and quality could be reviewed afterwards or simply accepted as good-enough.

That trade-off looks different today. PTC translates dramatically better – our measured quality study benchmarks PTC against DeepL (the strongest of the older machine-translation engines) at PTC 90.0 vs DeepL 77.7 on the same source content, with roughly 18× fewer issues per page. Microsoft Translator sits below DeepL on the dimensions we tested. Microsoft is priced at 75% off the PTC rate in WPML – the largest discount, reflecting the largest quality gap – and we recommend it only for sites already running on it where translation is being treated as bulk machine translation.

For sites that care about reading the way the original was written (so visitors don’t bounce off translations that read as machine output), the cost-per-word delta is no longer the right comparison. PTC translations can usually go live without further human review; Microsoft translations need one. The cost of a review pass tends to exceed the per-word savings.

Why PTC Translates Better

PTC is built for full-page contextual translation, not segment-by-segment machine translation:

• It knows your site and your audience. Before translation starts, you describe what your site is about and who it’s for. PTC uses that as context on every translation.
• It learns from your edits. When you correct a translation, PTC spots the pattern and offers to apply the same rule across every page that needs it – see How PTC learns your brand voice and translates like you do. Microsoft Translator doesn’t notice when an edit recurs, and every Microsoft translation starts from scratch.
• It applies your glossary. Brand names, product terminology, and the way you spell things stay consistent across translations. Microsoft Translator doesn’t apply WPML’s glossary.
• It comes with a translation quality guarantee. If a PTC translation falls short, we fix it or refund the words. Microsoft Translator has no equivalent guarantee.

Because of that quality gap, PTC translations can usually go live without further human review. Microsoft Translator translations need a review pass before publishing – the translation quality study walks through the kinds of issues that pass by unnoticed.

How to Switch From Microsoft Translator to PTC on an Existing Site

Switching engines takes about a minute. Existing translations stay exactly as they are; the change only affects new translation requests.

1. Go to WPML > Settings > AI Translation.

2. In the Translation engine section, click Switch to a different engine and pick Private Translation Cloud (PTC). Save.

3. Fill in Context and target audience at the top of the AI Translation page – product or site name, a short description of what the site is about, and your target audience. PTC reads this on every translation, so the more accurately it describes your real site, the better the translations come back.

From the next translation request onward, content goes through PTC. To re-translate pages Microsoft Translator already translated, send them through the Translations Dashboard again – pages that have grown beyond the word count you originally paid for get charged under the Translate Everything Automatically pricing rules; pages within their original size are free.

How to Use PTC on a New Site

On a new WPML site, PTC is the default after the Setup Wizard. You don’t need to switch engines – you just configure PTC’s context.

1. Go to WPML > Settings > AI Translation.

2. Fill in Context and target audience. The page shows a translation-context preview that’s exactly how PTC reads your instructions, so edit until it accurately describes your site.

3. Pick what PTC does after translating – publish directly, hold for review, or publish-and-mark-for-review.

4. Turn on Translate Everything Automatically on the Translations Dashboard, and PTC translates the whole site in the background. You publish in one language; readers see your site in theirs.

That’s it. No engine setup, no Azure subscription to configure, no per-engine pricing decisions.

Setting Up Microsoft Translator With WPML

If you’ve decided to stay on Microsoft Translator, the setup is unchanged from earlier WPML versions.

1. Add the Languages You Want to Translate Into

   Microsoft Translator supports 130+ languages – the widest coverage of any engine in WPML. Add the languages you need in WPML’s language settings.

2. Pick Microsoft Translator as the Translation Engine

   Go to WPML > Settings > AI Translation. In the Translation engine section, click Switch to a different engine and pick Microsoft. Save.

3. Send Content to Translation

   Go to WPML > Translations > Dashboard, select the content you want to translate, choose Translate automatically, and click Translate.

4. Review Translations Before Publishing

   Microsoft Translator doesn’t translate with site-level context and doesn’t learn from your edits, so reviewing before publishing is the safer default. Use the Advanced Translation Editor to edit any segment that needs work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my existing Microsoft Translator translations disappear if I switch to PTC?

No. Switching engines only affects new translation requests. Pages already translated by Microsoft Translator stay exactly as they are until you re-translate them.

Does Microsoft Translator cost the same as PTC?

Microsoft Translator is priced at 75% off the PTC rate – the largest discount among the WPML engines. The free words included with every WPML plan apply to either engine. See how AI translation pricing works for the full table.

Does Microsoft Translator learn from the way I edit translations?

No. Microsoft Translator is a segment-by-segment machine-translation engine – every translation starts from scratch. PTC is the only WPML engine that learns from your edits and applies your glossary.

Is there a translation quality guarantee for Microsoft Translator?

No. WPML’s translation quality guarantee applies to PTC only.

Is Microsoft Translator the cheapest way to translate a very large site?

On per-word cost alone, yes – Microsoft is the lowest-priced engine in WPML. But for most sites the right comparison includes the cost of reviewing and editing the translations before publish. PTC translations can usually go live without that pass, which often makes PTC the cheaper choice in total when reviewer time is counted.