RuneManga vs BallonsTranslator: hosted or desktop
BallonsTranslator, the open-source desktop editor, next to the RuneManga WebApp: setup, translators, editing, cost and privacy compared.
Short answer
BallonsTranslator is a free desktop workbench for people who want to correct every bubble by hand after the machine pass: inpainting, a rich text editor and a long list of translators, including offline ones. RuneManga is a hosted, one-button translator for reading: nothing to install and nothing to edit.
| Feature | RuneManga | BallonsTranslator |
|---|---|---|
| WebApp upload | Yes. Add images, a folder, a ZIP, a CBZ or a PDF (50 to 500 pages at once depending on the plan, 20 MB each), correct the result in Edit mode, and download single pages, a ZIP or one PDF. | No. It is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux. |
| Browser extension | Yes, in the Chrome Web Store (Chrome, Brave, Opera) and Edge Add-ons; a Firefox version is in review. It translates pages right on the sites you read: an R button per page, Auto mode while you scroll, show original, Translate an area, Edit image and a ZIP of the page's translations. | No. |
| Languages | From Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English and six more languages (or auto-detect) into 89 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and French. Arabic and Thai output is experimental. | Text recognition for Japanese, English and Korean; translation paths such as Japanese to English and to Chinese, plus what your chosen translator supports. |
| Bubble-aware typesetting | Yes. Lettering in speech bubbles, caption boxes and text on the art is erased, the background filled in and the translation fitted in its place. Sound effects stay as drawn. Edit mode, in the WebApp and the extension, lets you move, restyle and rewrite the text. | Yes, and editable: inpainting (AOT, PatchMatch, LaMa), then a what-you-see-is-what-you-get text editor with fonts, presets and effects. |
| Colorize | SoonPlanned, not available yet. The colorizer is in development. | Not mentioned in the project's README. |
| Translation engine | RuneLingua, our own AI translator for manga dialogue, on every plan, Free included. A few languages it does not cover well yet use another translation service. You can also connect your own AI key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, xAI or OpenRouter). | Your choice: Google, DeepL, Papago, Sugoi (offline, Japanese to English), Sakura and other offline models, or any OpenAI-compatible model. |
| Pricing | Credits, 1 per page. Free at $0: 20 credits a day, claimed on the site, plus 30 once at sign-up that never expire. Supporter ($2.99, 1,000 a month), Pro ($4.99, 2,500) and Ultimate ($9.99, 5,000) are on sale now, with packs of 1,000, 2,500 or 6,000 credits that never expire. | Free and open source (GPL-3.0). |
| Privacy and retention | Pages are processed on RuneManga's servers; only the text found on the page goes to the translation engine. Jobs are deleted about an hour after they finish and are not used for training. | Runs on your computer. Text leaves it only if you pick an online translator. |
| Sign-up needed | Yes for the WebApp: a free sign-in with Google, Discord or an emailed link, no card. | No. |
When RuneManga is the better fit
- You want to read, not edit: add pages, press one button, download.
- You do not want to install Python or set up a graphics card.
- You want to translate from a phone or a computer you cannot install software on.
When BallonsTranslator is the better fit
- You are translating your own comic or a licensed project and want to fix every line and font by hand.
- You want to work offline with local models.
- You want to pick a translator, such as DeepL or an LLM, and export the text to a Word document.
Questions
Is BallonsTranslator hard to install?
It has an installer script for each system and a packaged Windows build. A graphics card speeds it up but is optional.
Can I edit a RuneManga result?
Not in the WebApp yet. The result is a normal PNG, so you can retouch it in any image editor.
Do both remove the original text?
Yes. Both erase the lettering and fill in the background before setting the translation.
Sources
Facts checked on October 29, 2026 from each tool's own pages and store listings. Something out of date? Write to [email protected].