Does DeepL Work in China?

Is DeepL blocked in China?

Not completely, but it isn’t reliable either. GreatFire, which tests websites from mainland China, gets different results for different DeepL addresses:

• www.deepl.com: GreatFire answers “Yes” to whether it opens from mainland China. Its last test was on October 4, 2026.
• www.deepl.com/translator: also “Yes”. Its last test was on October 8, 2026.
• deepl.com, without the www: “Sometimes”. GreatFire calls access unreliable. Its last test was on October 18, 2026.
• www.deepl.com/en/translator, the English translator page: “Sometimes”. Its most recent test, on July 26, 2026, found interference.

GreatFire revised its verdicts for www.deepl.com and the translator page. It says that since late August 2026, refused connections have also shown up on routes with no other sign of interference, so it no longer counts them as evidence of blocking. Before the change, both pages read partly disrupted. GreatFire rates the deepl.com domain as a whole as mixed. Its tests cover DeepL’s web addresses, and we couldn’t confirm which of them DeepL’s apps connect to.

Travelers’ reports are mixed too, though most of the ones we found say DeepL works without a VPN. They’re individual accounts, not tests.

• In July 2026, a user on r/chinalife called DeepL “basically the replacement for google translate” and said it “works without vpn” and can translate photos and screenshots.
• In April 2026, a commenter on r/chinatravel listed DeepL among the apps to set up for China and said it “works without VPN”.
• In November 2025, a commenter on r/chinatravel said DeepL needs no VPN and that their company’s Chinese branches use it for projects outside China.
• In October 2025, a commenter on r/goChinaTrip said Google Translate doesn’t work without a VPN or eSIM, but “DeepL works fine”.

Others disagree. In April 2026, a Reddit user told a traveler on r/travelchina that DeepL “is not work in China” and suggested Microsoft Translator instead. Trip.com, which sells eSIMs, says in a June 2026 guide that “in China you need a VPN to use it.” Because the reports disagree, we list DeepL as unreliable.

Access has changed before. In a February 2024 review on Apple’s China App Store, a longtime user wrote that the previous version of the app had translated without a VPN, only a little more slowly. With the new version, they said, the app didn’t work at all without one.

Is DeepL available in China?

Yes, the free version. DeepL’s iPhone app is listed in Apple’s App Store in mainland China as DeepL 翻译 (DeepL Translate), from DeepL SE, and it’s free to download.

Mainland China isn’t on DeepL’s list of restricted territories. That page, last updated in May 2025, lists the places where DeepL reserves the right to restrict its services because of sanctions, export controls or other rules: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and occupied regions of Ukraine.

DeepL’s paid plans are another matter. DeepL’s list of countries and regions where you can buy them includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but not mainland China. That limit comes from DeepL, not from China’s firewall. The list was last edited in February 2026. It doesn’t say whether a plan you buy elsewhere works while you travel in mainland China, and we couldn’t confirm that.

DeepL translates from Chinese and into both simplified and traditional Chinese, and its language list includes Cantonese.

Use DeepL offline or translate documents

DeepL’s help center describes no offline translation mode. It says you need to be connected to the internet to use the desktop app, and the one offline feature it describes for the mobile apps is Favorites.

• Favorites work offline. In the iPhone and Android apps, translations you save as Favorites open anytime, even offline. You need a DeepL account. A free account can save up to 15, and DeepL Pro users can save as many as they like. Favorites stay on the device where you saved them.
• File translation needs an account. It translates whole documents and keeps their formatting, on the DeepL website, in the Mac and Windows apps, in DeepL for Outlook and through the API. The mobile apps translate PDF, Word and PowerPoint files too. With a free account, each Word, PowerPoint or PDF file can be up to 5 MB and 100,000 characters, and you can’t edit the translated file.

Translate the documents you’ll need before you fly.

Translation apps that work in China

Baidu Translate, Microsoft Translator and Pleco work in China without a VPN, according to China Navigators, a travel site. Shanghai’s government also recommends Apple Translate and WeChat’s built-in translation. Install at least one as a backup to DeepL:

• Baidu Translate. Shanghai’s government says it translates photos and speech, for reading menus, having conversations and finding your way. China Navigators says it runs on Baidu’s Chinese servers, so no VPN is needed. Its offline pack covers text, and camera mode needs a connection.
• Microsoft Translator. China Navigators says it isn’t blocked by China’s firewall and works in airplane mode once you download the Chinese language pack. Trip.com’s guide notes that it supports Cantonese.
• Apple Translate. It comes preinstalled on iPhones with iOS 14 or later. Shanghai’s government says you can download languages to use it offline, and scan text with the camera on iOS 15 or later.
• WeChat. Its chats have built-in translation, and it can translate photos with Chinese text that people send you, Shanghai’s government says. See WeChat in China.
• Pleco. A Chinese dictionary app that works online and offline, according to Shanghai’s government. China Navigators says it’s for looking up individual characters and words, not translating whole sentences.

Google ended Google Translate in mainland China in October 2022, citing low usage, VOA reported. Shanghai’s government notes that Google Translate’s downloaded language packs work without an internet connection. For the other apps to set up, see apps to download before going to China.

With a roaming eSIM or VPN

A roaming eSIM or a VPN gets your data past China’s firewall, which helps on days when DeepL won’t load. An eSIM that routes your data abroad carries it to a gateway outside mainland China. Airalo, which sells eSIMs, says blocked sites then open without a VPN, as long as you use the eSIM’s data rather than hotel Wi-Fi. A VPN does the same on any connection, including hotel Wi-Fi. See eSIM or VPN for China, VPNs that work in China and VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China.

If DeepL won’t load over your VPN, DeepL’s help center says a VPN or proxy server might be blocking its requests. It suggests trying another browser, clearing your cache and cookies, and turning off browser extensions such as ad blockers. Read Is a VPN legal in China? before you go.