Real-time voice translation for YouTube on your Mac. Run by Apple's on-device intelligence. No cloud, no awkward auto captions.
macOS 26.2+, Apple Silicon, 10 languages.
The problem
Auto captions hallucinate names. Auto-dubbed titles are surreal. The "translate" track for Japanese or Korean videos is often unwatchable. If you study a language, YouTube's machine track actively works against you.
Reddit users with the exact pain:
"Auto translate is ruining YouTube for bilingual users and learners."
r/LearnJapanese, 549 upvotes
"YouTube subtitles cover the actual translation of what is being said by saying that it's a foreign language."
r/mildlyinfuriating, 963 upvotes
VoiceLeap fixes the audio layer. Hear the video in your language, in real time, while it plays.
How it works
Set source (the language in the video) and target (the one you want to hear). Switch any time.
VoiceLeap captures the audio your Mac is playing. No browser plugin. No copy paste. Works on YouTube and any app that plays sound.
Translated audio plays through your speakers within seconds. Keep the original for context or mute it. Your choice.
Listen mode
Hear the original voices. See the translation as overlay text. Good for language learners who want exposure to the source language.
Hear the video in your language only. Best for following content where you do not need the source audio. Background-listen to foreign podcasts while working.
Languages
English, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian.
Watching K-drama? Tokyo cooking channels? Spanish news? Portuguese gaming streams? They all work.
Privacy
Translation runs on the macOS on-device intelligence stack. No upload, no cloud server, no API key, no training data shared. The Mac does the work locally.
That matters if you watch sensitive content, work in a regulated industry, or just do not want a third party logging what you watch.
FAQ
No. VoiceLeap captures your Mac's system audio. The video can play in any browser, the YouTube app, or any other app. There is no extension to install.
Yes. Live audio is treated the same as any other audio source. Translation runs in real time as the stream plays.
YouTube auto-dub depends on the uploader enabling it and on YouTube's models. Quality varies a lot. VoiceLeap does the translation on your Mac, so it works on every video, including ones where auto-dub is disabled or absent. You also control the source and target language each time.
On Apple Silicon (M1 or later), the translation stack uses the Neural Engine and stays out of the way. You can keep working in other apps while VoiceLeap runs in the background.
Yes. Anything that plays audio through your Mac can be translated, including Netflix shows, Spotify podcasts, VLC files, and meeting apps.
Every feature is unlocked free for 7 days with no credit card. After that, Standard is $29 per year and Standard Lifetime is a one-time $49. See pricing.
Download VoiceLeap and try a Japanese cooking channel, a Korean stream, or a Spanish podcast in under a minute.
macOS 26.2+, Apple Silicon required.