Translating in spreadsheets vs Redokun: when to move on
A spreadsheet works well for a short list of terms in one or two languages. When you're copying a whole catalogue into rows and pasting 8 language columns back into InDesign, Redokun does that work for you, and keeps your existing translations.
Translate a few times a year? Project Pass: one project, one price.
Translate regularly? The Workspace Plan.
When a spreadsheet is enough, and when it isn't
The number of target languages you deal with, your translation frequency, and the types of documents you produce will determine which works best for you.
A spreadsheet is enough if you:
Redokun is the better fit if you:
Redokun vs a spreadsheet workflow: key differences
Redokun
Spreadsheet workflow
Getting text out of the document
Upload the file. Text is extracted automatically
Copy each line into a row by hand
Getting translations back in the document
Download the file in its original format, with the layout intact
Paste each translation back into the layout, once per language
Several translators at once
One shared Web Editor
Possible in Google Sheets or Excel online
Consistent terminology
A Glossary applied to every segment
A separate list, checked by hand
Reusing past translations
Translation Memory suggests matches automatically
Search old files manually
A spec change
Quick Revisions: only new or changed segments need to be translated
Find the changed rows and update every language column
AI translation
DeepL, Google Translate, and ChatGPT, built in
Paste into a separate AI tool, then back again or use Copilot
Progress across languages
Dashboard by document and by language
Count the empty cells
Cost
Project Pass for one-off translation projects from €95, or the subscription (Workspace Plan) from €289/month
The software is free. The cost is your time
Where a spreadsheet is stronger: it's free, everyone already knows it, and for a short list of strings it's faster to set up than any tool.
Redokun earns its place when you work with design-heavy documents and need to regularly translate them into more than 3 langugages. See full pricing
Your translations live in spreadsheets, but the rest of your workflow doesn't.
The work happens in between.
You copy each line of the catalogue into a row for your translators or agency. When the translations come back, you paste them into the document, one language at a time. Then a spec changes, and you find the right rows in 8 columns and do it again.
It works. But the time goes into moving text, not into the translation itself.
And because each project gets its own spreadsheet, the same term can end up translated three different ways.
What if your spreadsheet becomes your Translation Memory in Redokun?
Import your existing translations.
Import your terminology.
Upload the source document itself.
Invite translators and Pre-translate
What Redokun does in place of the copy and paste
The text comes out of your document without copying
Upload your InDesign, Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file. Redokun splits it into segments for your translators, keeping each one linked to its place in the layout.
Start your 14-day free trial today
The translation goes back in without pasting
Download each language as a finished file, with the same design and formatting as your original. Redokun is an Adobe Technology Partner, and InDesign files come back ready for a final check
See how Automatic File Formatting work
Every translator uses the same Glossary
Add part names, safety terms, and brand language once. The Glossary applies to every segment and every language, so a term cannot drift between spreadsheets.
Learn how Glossary works
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. You can import an Excel file of existing translations as a Translation Memory, and Redokun reuses those translations when you pre-translate the entire document, using AI.
For a short list of terms in one or two languages, yes. It starts costing time when you're copying text out of a designed document, pasting translations back in for several languages, and repeating that every time the document changes.
Yes. If your content is itself a spreadsheet, such as a price list or a spec table, upload the .xlsx file and download it translated in the same format.
A formula such as GOOGLETRANSLATE gives you a machine translation in the cell next to your text. You still copy the text in and paste the result back into your document. Redokun works on the document itself, applies your Glossary and Translation Memory, and lets translators review before you download the finished file.
No. You invite them by email, and they translate in the browser. If a translator or agency prefers their own tools, you can export the phrases and import their work back in.
If you have one document now, buy Project Pass and upload it the same day. For ongoing work, create a free account and start your 14-day trial of the Workspace Plan.