Google Meet captions, translation and speech: languages at a glance
Google Meet has several language features that are easy to mix up. Captions show what is said, in the same language. Translated captions turn that text into another language. Speech translation changes the spoken audio. Here is how they compare, using the facts from Google's help pages and from Clozo.
| Feature | Languages | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Meet live captions (same language as spoken) | 88 languages and regional variants, 62 marked beta | Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts |
| Meet translated captions | Translation to or from 69 listed languages | Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Google AI Pro for Education; rolling out gradually |
| Meet speech translation (spoken, not text) | English with Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or Italian; one pair per meeting | Google AI Pro/Ultra, Business Standard/Plus, Enterprise Standard/Plus, Frontline Plus, Google AI Pro for Education; 90-minute limit per meeting |
| Clozo (translated captions in Chrome) | 76 target languages; every language Meet can caption as the spoken language | Anyone with a free Google account; free plan has 15 minutes of translation a day |
Sources: Google's caption help page for the 88 languages, and its translated captions and speech translation pages for the plans and pairs. Google may change these, so check the current lists in your own meeting.
How to set the Google Meet captions language in a call
This is the base step for every other option. Meet captions one spoken language at a time, and it uses the language you choose.
- Join your call on meet.google.com.
- Click Turn on captions at the bottom of the screen, or press c. Captions turn on only for you.
- Open More options > Settings > Captions.
- Under Language of the meeting, choose the language people are speaking, not the one you want to read.
- Optional: under "Customize your captions" you can change font, font size, font color and background color.
If you can't find your language in the list, it is not one of Meet's caption languages, and no tool that reads Meet's captions can work around that. Scroll the list once before you give up, because regional variants are listed separately.
How to translate Google Meet into your language with Clozo
If Meet can caption the spoken language, Clozo can show the translation in yours. It reads Meet's captions in your browser and has the text translated. It does not listen to audio, and no bot joins the call.
- Add Clozo to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. You need Chrome 116 or newer on a computer.
- Join a call on meet.google.com. Clozo turns Meet's captions on by itself (the setting "Turn on captions automatically" is on by default).
- The first time, click Agree and translate. Until you agree, Clozo shows captions but translates nothing, and nothing is sent anywhere.
- Check that Meet's caption language matches what people speak (see the steps above). Clozo detects the spoken language from the caption text, so you only pick the language to translate into.
- Choose your target language in the yellow pill's menu if the default is wrong. By default Clozo translates into your browser's language.
The original and the translation appear one under the other, with the speaker's name, about a second after each sentence ends. In the display settings you can switch between Both and Translation only, pick one of four text sizes, and move the captions to the top or anywhere you drag them. Only you see the translation. Details are on how Clozo works.
Google Meet translation languages without Clozo
Clozo is not the only route, and depending on your plan it may not be the one you need. Here are the alternatives, in fairness.
Meet's translated captions
If the meeting is organized by a user with an eligible Google Workspace edition, participants can use translated captions. Go to More options > Settings > Captions > Language of the meeting, turn on Translated captions, then pick the language to translate to. Google lists 69 languages for this and says the feature is gradually rolling out, so it may not be available to you yet. It is not included in Business Starter, Workspace Individual, Education Fundamentals and several other plans, nor in Google One plans.
Meet's speech translation
This translates speech into another language in a voice like the speaker's. It covers English with Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or Italian, one pair per meeting, and has a 90-minute limit per meeting. It is useful if you want to listen rather than read, but the language choice is narrow.
Chrome's Live Caption and Live Translate
On Windows and Mac, Chrome's own Live Caption (Chrome settings > Accessibility) creates captions for audio in Chrome, including video calls, processed on your device. Its Live Translate option translates those captions; for that, the captions are sent to Google. You choose the language under "Translate to".
In short: if your plan includes Meet's translated captions and your language is on the list, start there. If it doesn't, or you join other people's meetings as a guest, Clozo is the option that needs only a free Google account.
Google Meet transcription languages and the live transcript
"Transcription" can mean two different things in Meet.
- Meet's own transcripts are available on specific plans (for example Business Standard/Plus and Enterprise plans), are started from Meeting tools > Transcribe > Start transcription, and are saved in the organizer's Google Drive. Since March 26, 2026, Meet checks the spoken language once per meeting for transcripts, notes and recorded captions, and suggests changing the meeting language if it doesn't match. That check is limited to certain languages and plans.
- Clozo's live transcript opens from the pill menu with Open live transcript. It appears in Chrome's side panel with speaker, time, original and translation for each entry. You can use Search and Copy. Export as TXT or PDF is part of Pro. The transcript is kept only in the browser's memory and disappears when Chrome closes.
In both cases, the language you set for the meeting is what the text is based on. A wrong caption language means a wrong transcript.
Common problems with Google Meet languages, and honest limits
The captions are nonsense
Almost always the caption language doesn't match the spoken language. If people speak Spanish and Meet's captions are set to English, the captions and the translation make no sense. Open More options > Settings > Captions and change Language of the meeting. In Clozo's pill menu, Captions in the wrong language? explains the same fix.
The meeting switches between languages
Meet captions one language at a time, so change the caption language whenever the main language changes. Clozo follows whatever Meet captions.
Translated captions don't appear in Meet's settings
Your plan, or the organizer's plan, may not include them, or the feature may not have reached your account yet. Clozo doesn't depend on that.
Translation stopped in the middle of the call
On Clozo's free plan you get 15 minutes of translation a day, renewed at midnight UTC. Only minutes in which something is translated count. You get a warning with 2 minutes left, and when they are used up, Meet's original captions stay visible. Pro costs €6.99 a month or €59 a year and includes 50 hours a month; see pricing.
What Clozo can't do
- It works only in Google Meet in Chrome on a computer, not in Zoom, Teams, Webex, Meet's mobile apps, Firefox or Safari.
- It translates text captions; it doesn't speak, record, or write summaries, and Meet's chat is not translated.
- It can only translate what Meet captions. Accents, crosstalk, background noise, names and jargon limit caption quality, and machine translation can contain mistakes.
- The translation arrives about a second after a sentence ends, not word by word.
Clozo sends only the caption text for translation, never audio, video, names or meeting links. Please tell other participants that you are using translated captions, and don't use it in confidential meetings. More in privacy in short.
Questions and answers
How many languages does Google Meet support for captions?
On a computer, Meet's live captions list 88 languages and regional variants, 62 of them marked beta. Check the list under More options > Settings > Captions in your own meeting, as Google may change it.
Does Google Meet offer translated captions on every plan?
No. Google lists translated captions for Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Google AI Pro for Education, covering 69 languages, and says it is gradually rolling out. Clozo works with a free Google account and offers 15 free minutes of translation a day.
Can Google Meet detect the spoken language by itself?
Since March 26, 2026, Meet checks the spoken language once per meeting for transcripts, notes and recorded captions, and suggests a change if it doesn't match, but only for certain languages and plans. Otherwise, set the caption language yourself.
Which languages can Clozo translate Google Meet into?
Clozo translates into 76 target languages and works with every language Google Meet can caption as the spoken language. You only choose the language to translate into; the spoken language is detected from the captions.