RuneManga vs manga-image-translator compared
The open-source manga-image-translator next to RuneManga: self-hosting or a hosted web app, translators, colorizer, cost and privacy.
Short answer
manga-image-translator is a widely used open-source pipeline: free, very configurable, with many translators and a colorizer, and you usually install and run it yourself; its official online demo (Cotrans) translates one image at a time. RuneManga runs the same kind of pipeline as a hosted web app: nothing to install, fewer options.
| Feature | RuneManga | manga-image-translator |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | One you run yourself: a local web UI and an API. The README also links an official online demo, the Cotrans site, where you paste or drop one image at a time. |
| 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 extension. A userscript (Cotrans) translates images on Pixiv, X, Misskey and Calckey, and does not work on every site. |
| 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. | Mainly Japanese as the source, with Chinese, English, Korean and others; about two dozen target language codes. |
| 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. Inpainting models (such as LaMa) remove the text and a renderer sets the translation, including one made for manga into English. |
| Colorize | SoonPlanned, not available yet. The colorizer is in development. | Yes, an optional colorizer (mc2). |
| 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: DeepL, ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Papago and others with your own keys, or offline models such as Sugoi, NLLB and M2M100. Google is listed as temporarily disabled. |
| 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). You pay for your own hardware and for any translation API you use. |
| 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 machine, so pages stay with you. Text leaves it only if you choose 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 do not want to install Python, PyTorch or a Docker image of about 15 GB.
- You have no CUDA graphics card, or you want to translate from a phone or a borrowed computer.
- You want a working default with no settings to tune.
When manga-image-translator is the better fit
- You want full control: the detector, the inpainter, the renderer and the translator are all options.
- You want everything offline on your own hardware.
- You want to script batch jobs or build on the API in your own tools.
- You want a colorizer today.
Questions
Is RuneManga built on manga-image-translator?
No. RuneManga runs its own pipeline and keeps a license record for every model it uses. Both follow the same broad steps that most tools in this space share: find the text, read it, erase it, translate, set it back.
Do I need a GPU for manga-image-translator?
It can run on a CPU, but a CUDA graphics card makes it much faster. RuneManga's GPUs are on our side, so your device does not matter.
Which gives better results?
It depends on the settings you choose there and on the page. Try the same page in both.
Sources
Facts checked on October 29, 2026 from each tool's own pages and store listings. Something out of date? Write to [email protected].