How to use a translator in VRChat: voice and chatbox

VRChat does not translate speech. What people call a translator for VRChat is a separate Windows app that sits between your microphone and the game, or between the game’s audio and your ears. This guide covers both directions, the two ways a translation can reach other people (chatbox text and a spoken voice), and the setup for each.

Does VRChat have auto translate?

No. As of September 2026, the settings list on VRChat’s wiki has no translation or caption option, and none of the 2026 release notes up to 2026.3.2 add one. A “Live Translation” request on VRChat’s feedback board, posted in April 2025, has four votes and no staff reply.

VRChat does provide two official hooks that outside tools use:

The chatbox, a text bubble above your avatar that other programs can write to through OSC (Open Sound Control).
The microphone list in the audio settings, where you can pick any recording device Windows offers, including a virtual one.

Tools built on these hooks run outside the game. They do not modify the VRChat client.

Translating what you say: chatbox text or spoken voice

There are two ways to deliver your translated words, and they suit different situations.

	Chatbox text	Spoken voice
How it reaches VRChat	An OSC message to the chatbox	Audio through a virtual microphone
What other people get	Text above your avatar	A synthetic voice in their language
What you set up	Enable OSC	Install a virtual audio cable, change the mic in VRChat
Main limits	144 characters, latest message only, invisible to people who have limited chatbox visibility	Runs a little behind your speech, and a mistake cannot be re-read
Cost	Several free tools	Free tools that need more setup, and paid services

Text is the easier place to start and it costs nothing. Voice reaches people who are not looking at you or who have chatboxes turned off.

Set up chatbox translation

Start VRChat and open the Action Menu (R on a keyboard, or hold the menu button on a VR controller).
Go to Options, then OSC, and turn on Enabled.
Install a text tool from the list further down. Choose the language you speak and the language to translate into.
Select your real microphone in the tool.
Say a short sentence and look above your avatar. If nothing shows, check that “Show Own Chatbox” is on in VRChat’s chatbox settings.

The OSC chatbox guide covers the limits and the troubleshooting steps.

Set up spoken translation

Install a virtual audio cable such as VB-CABLE and restart the PC. Some translator apps install it for you.
In the translator app, keep your real microphone as the input. The app plays the translated voice into the cable’s playback side, “CABLE Input”.
In VRChat, open the Main Menu and go to Settings, then Audio & Voice. Under Microphone, use Change Device to select “CABLE Output”.
Use Test Microphone in the same section to record a short clip and hear what others will hear.
Unmute yourself in VRChat and speak.

The virtual microphone guide explains the two sides of the cable and the faults people usually hit.

Translating what you hear

Understanding other people is a separate job from being understood. A tool captures the game’s audio output, recognizes the speech, translates it, and shows captions or speaks the result. It hears one mixed stream, so several people talking at once, or music in the world, makes the result worse.

These are the options we checked, as of September 2026:

VRCT has a feature called Speaker2Log that transcribes the audio of the output device you select and, with translation on, shows the original and translated text in its window. Its docs point out that it transcribes all audio on that device, not just VRChat. VRCT also has an overlay mode for VR headsets, which requires SteamVR or a compatible VR runtime.
VRCLT shows translated subtitles for other people’s speech and supports a SteamVR overlay. It needs your own API key for the translation engine you pick.
TalkFerry has an Understand mode that shows live captions in your language in a small always-on-top panel, and can also speak the translation in your headphones. It cannot tell speakers apart, and it uses minutes faster than translating your own voice. The panel is a desktop window, so it is not visible inside a VR headset by itself.

The free text tools and what they are good at

These free tools send translated speech to the chatbox. The details below come from each project’s own pages, read in September 2026.

VRCT (GitHub and Booth, open source) sends typed or spoken messages to the chatbox with translation. Its default translation engine is a local model that, according to its docs, works offline and needs no API key, at the cost of more system resources. It can also use online engines such as Google or DeepL. Pick it if you want translation that stays on your PC, or captions inside a headset.
Kikitan Translator (GitHub, MIT license) translates your speech to the chatbox. It also has a transcription mode that sends what you say as it is, which its README suggests for people who prefer not to speak in VRChat.
TeaTalk (beta, Windows) translates or transcribes your speech into the chatbox with no account and no API key. Its site says speech recognition runs on your PC by default and only the text goes to a Microsoft or Google translation service. By default it transcribes nothing while you are muted in VRChat.

If text is enough for the people you talk to, one of these may be all you need.

For a spoken voice there are open-source tools too. TTS Voice Wizard is a free app that turns speech into text and then into speech and plays it through a virtual cable. Its translation feature works with a DeepL key, Azure, or its Voice Wizard Pro subscription. VRCLT plays a translated voice through VB-CABLE using your own API key. Our comparison of translators for VRChat goes through them side by side.

Where TalkFerry fits

TalkFerry is one option for the spoken side. It is a Windows app that sends a translated voice through VB-CABLE and also writes the translation to the chatbox. Translation runs in the cloud, so it needs an internet connection but no GPU and no API key. The voice is synthetic, not a copy of yours, and it runs about one to two seconds behind you.

It is not free beyond the first 5 minutes. After that you buy minute packs in the Android app, with no subscription.

On privacy: audio is streamed through TalkFerry’s server to Google Gemini. TalkFerry does not record or store audio or transcripts, but while it runs on Gemini’s unpaid tier, Google may use the content to improve its products and human reviewers may read or listen to it. Do not use it for anything confidential.

TalkFerry is an independent product, not affiliated with VRChat, and it is not a mod. See using TalkFerry in VRChat for the details.

Common problems

Nothing appears above your avatar. OSC is off, or your own chatbox is hidden. Check Options, then OSC, in the Action Menu, and “Show Own Chatbox” in the chatbox settings.
You see your text but others do not. Each user decides whose chatboxes they see: their own, friends only, or everyone. You cannot change that from your side.
People hear your normal voice, or silence. VRChat is still using your real microphone, or the wrong side of the cable. The microphone in VRChat must be “CABLE Output”.
The translation is wrong. Machine translation can be wrong, incomplete or delayed. Short, complete sentences without slang help. Do not rely on it for anything safety-critical.
You play on a standalone Quest. A virtual cable is a Windows driver, so voice tools need VRChat running on a Windows PC. TalkFerry has no Quest-standalone app.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Does VRChat have a built-in translator?

No. As of September 2026, VRChat's settings and 2026 release notes list no voice translation or caption feature, and a Live Translation request on its feedback board has no staff reply. You need a separate app.

Does VRChat auto translate the chatbox?

No. The chatbox shows whatever text is sent to it. Any translation happens in an outside tool before the text reaches VRChat.

Is there a free translator for VRChat?

Yes. VRCT, Kikitan Translator and TeaTalk are free tools that put translated text in the chatbox. TalkFerry, which speaks the translation, includes 5 free minutes and then uses paid minute packs.

Do I need a powerful PC to translate in VRChat?

It depends on the tool. Tools that run speech or translation models on your PC use more of its resources, while cloud tools such as TalkFerry do the work on a server and need an internet connection instead.

We make TalkFerry, one of the tools mentioned here. Software changes quickly: check each tool’s own page before you rely on a detail. Found a mistake? Write to support@talkferry.com.