TranslateDesk vs Lingpad: Which Intercom Translation Tool Do You Need?
TranslateDesk translates Help Center articles. Lingpad translates live chat conversations. We compare features, use cases, and pricing to help you choose the right tool.
TranslateDesk Team
Author
Both TranslateDesk and Lingpad appear when you search for Intercom translation. But they solve completely different problems.
The short answer: TranslateDesk translates your Help Center articles. Lingpad translates your live chat conversations. If you need multilingual self-service content, choose TranslateDesk. If you need agents to communicate with customers in real-time, look at Lingpad.
Different Products, Different Problems
Here's the core distinction:
| Aspect | TranslateDesk | Lingpad |
|---|---|---|
| What it translates | Help Center articles | Live chat conversations |
| When it translates | Before customers arrive | During the conversation |
| Who uses it | Content/Knowledge teams | Support agents |
| The goal | Multilingual self-service | Real-time agent communication |
These aren't competing products. They're complementary tools for different parts of your multilingual support strategy.
When You Need TranslateDesk
You need Help Center translation (TranslateDesk) when:
- You want customers to self-serve in their language. Instead of chatting with support, customers find answers in their native language.
- You have 10+ articles that rarely change. Static content that needs to exist in multiple languages.
- You're scaling self-service before scaling your team. Cheaper than hiring multilingual agents.
- You want to reduce support ticket volume. Every article read is a ticket prevented.
How TranslateDesk Works
- Connect your Intercom Help Center
- Select articles and target languages
- Translate with DeepL (or review/edit first)
- Publish directly to Intercom
- Get alerts when source articles change so you know which translations need updates
Key feature: Stale content detection. When your English articles change, TranslateDesk shows you exactly which translations are now outdated and what changed.
When You Need Lingpad
You need conversation translation (Lingpad) when:
- Your agents speak one language, customers speak another. Real-time translation bridges the gap.
- You're handling high-volume support in multiple regions. Agents can respond without learning new languages.
- Speed matters. Customers get instant responses, not "let me find someone who speaks Spanish."
- You want to hire for skill, not language. Expand your hiring pool.
How Lingpad Works
- Connect your Intercom Inbox
- Customer messages arrive in any language
- Lingpad translates to agent's language
- Agent responds in their language
- Lingpad translates back to customer's language
Key feature: Real-time translation with glossary and tone controls for brand consistency.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | TranslateDesk | Lingpad |
|---|---|---|
| Help Center articles | ✅ Core feature | ❌ Not supported |
| Live chat translation | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Core feature |
| Stale content detection | ✅ Yes | N/A |
| Translation engine | DeepL | Proprietary AI |
| Glossary support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Formatting preserved | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Languages supported | 100+ | 120+ |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | Minutes |
Translation Quality
TranslateDesk uses DeepL, consistently ranked as the highest-quality machine translation engine, especially for European languages. DeepL is purpose-built for translation accuracy.
Lingpad uses proprietary AI trained on "billions of human-translated words." For real-time conversation, speed matters as much as perfect accuracy, and Lingpad is optimized for that balance.
For Help Center articles (permanent, public-facing content), DeepL's precision matters. For live chat (ephemeral, conversational), speed and context matter more.
Pricing
TranslateDesk
- Free to start: 5 translation credits included
- Pay-as-you-go: Credit packs from $79/100 translations
- Volume discounts: Better per-translation rates at higher volumes
Lingpad
- Pay-as-you-grow: Based on usage (characters, words, or tickets)
- Custom pricing: Contact for enterprise plans
The pricing models align with use cases. Help Center translation is project-based (translate once, maintain as needed). Conversation translation is ongoing and scales with support volume.
Do You Need Both?
Many multilingual SaaS companies use both approaches:
Self-service (TranslateDesk):
- Translate Help Center to reduce ticket volume
- Customers find answers in their language
- Content team maintains translations
- 70-80% of support queries deflected
Live support (Lingpad or similar):
- Handle complex issues that require human touch
- Agents communicate in any language
- Support team scales without hiring multilingually
The math often works out: invest in self-service translation first (lower ongoing cost), then add conversation translation for the 20-30% of issues that need a human.
The Bottom Line
Choose TranslateDesk if you want to translate your Intercom Help Center so customers can self-serve in their language. Stale content detection keeps translations current without manual tracking.
Choose Lingpad if you need agents to communicate with customers in real-time across language barriers. It won't help with Help Center content.
Consider both if you're building a full multilingual support strategy. Self-service deflects volume, and live translation handles the rest.
Related Resources
- Intercom Translation: Complete guide to translating your Intercom Help Center
- Does Intercom Support Translation?: Understanding what Intercom offers natively vs. what requires third-party tools
- Getting Started with Multilingual Support: How to plan your multilingual strategy
Ready to translate your Help Center? Start with TranslateDesk with 5 free translations. No credit card required.
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