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Microsoft Teams Live Captions — AI Translation in 50+ Languages
Add AI-powered live captions and real-time translation to any Microsoft Teams meeting in under two minutes. Live Subtitles works on every Microsoft 365 license tier — including free Teams — captures system audio without admin approval, and supports 50+ languages, with the original and translated lines on screen at the same time.
Why Teams' built-in captions aren't enough for global teams
Microsoft has invested heavily in Teams captioning, but the feature ships with three structural constraints that hit international teams hard:
- Translated captions are license-gated. Live translated captions require Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, Business Standard, or Business Premium. Frontline, Basic, and free Teams users see English captions only — even in meetings where most participants speak another language.
- Limited language pairs. Teams supports about 31 languages for translated captions, and the matrix of source-target pairs has gaps. Cantonese, Ukrainian, Hindi, and several Southeast Asian languages are missing or one-directional.
- Organizer-controlled. Translated captions are configured per meeting by the organizer. In external meetings or vendor-hosted calls, you can't change the setting.
Live Subtitles works around all three by running locally and capturing Teams' audio output, so license tier, host permission, and meeting type don't matter. Other participants see a normal Teams call.
What Live Subtitles adds to Teams
Dual subtitles for cross-language meetings
See the speaker's exact words and your translation on the same overlay. For non-native speakers in technical meetings, the original line preserves precision (numbers, technical terms, proper nouns) while the translation handles the natural-language part. This is especially valuable in legal review calls, client onboarding, and cross-border M&A discussions.
50+ languages, beyond Teams' supported list
Live Subtitles covers all major European, Asian, and Middle Eastern languages, including pairs Teams doesn't translate natively. Examples: Korean ↔ Japanese (only via English in Teams), Hindi ↔ Arabic, Polish ↔ Ukrainian. All directions are direct, so nuance isn't lost in a relay translation.
Sub-second latency
Captions appear in roughly 600–900 ms — faster than Teams' native translated captions on Premium tiers, which average 1–2 seconds. For real-time decision-making meetings, the latency difference is felt directly.
No admin policy change
Because Live Subtitles is a desktop app (not a Teams add-in), it doesn't go through the Teams admin center, doesn't require IT approval, and doesn't trigger compliance reviews about new connected apps. It's the same risk profile as installing Notion or Spotify on your laptop.
Setup: 4 steps, ~2 minutes
- Install Live Subtitles. Download from the Microsoft Store on Windows or the Mac App Store. Free trial, no credit card.
- Set audio source to System Audio. The app handles loopback automatically on Windows 10/11 and macOS 13+ — no driver installation, no admin rights needed for setup.
- Pick languages. Select the meeting language (auto-detect works for mixed-language calls) and your preferred caption language. Enable dual subtitles to see the original plus translation simultaneously.
- Join the Teams meeting. Open Teams in the desktop app or browser and click the meeting link. Captions appear in a floating overlay over the Teams window — drag it where you want, and it remembers position across meetings.
Native Teams captions vs Live Subtitles
| Feature | Teams built-in captions | Live Subtitles |
|---|---|---|
| Works on free Teams / Frontline / Basic | English captions only | Yes, all languages |
| Translated captions | E3/E5/Business Standard+ required | Free trial, then $7/mo |
| Language coverage | ~31 languages, gaps in pairs | 50+ languages, any direction |
| Dual subtitle display | No — single track | Original + translation simultaneously |
| Works without IT/admin involvement | Some settings policy-controlled | Local app, no admin policy |
| Latency | ~1–2 s typical | ~600–900 ms |
| Customize font, color, position | Limited | Full control |
| Privacy | Audio sent to Microsoft cloud | Processed for caption only; no transcript stored unless exported |
Real-world use cases
Microsoft 365 enterprises without E5
Many enterprises run on E3 or Business Premium and don't have Premium translated-caption add-ons. Their international teams need translation now, not after the next license renegotiation. Live Subtitles is a per-seat purchase that doesn't touch the corporate Teams license.
All-hands and town halls with global audiences
Town halls broadcast to thousands of employees across 20+ countries. Native Teams translated captions force every viewer to watch the same translation. With Live Subtitles, each viewer picks their own caption language locally, so a Tokyo employee sees Japanese while a Berlin employee sees German on the same broadcast.
External-facing meetings
Vendor calls, client onboarding, and partner syncs are organized by the other side. You can't change their meeting settings, but you still need to follow nuanced discussions in a second language. Live Subtitles handles this without the host knowing.
Education and training
Universities running Teams for Education and corporate L&D teams use Live Subtitles to make lectures accessible to non-native students. Each student picks the caption language matching their first language, and the lecturer's session needs no special configuration.
Tips for the best caption quality in Teams
- Disable Teams' noise suppression only if it's causing audio dropouts in Live Subtitles. Default suppression usually helps caption accuracy.
- Use the Teams desktop app over the browser when possible — audio routing in the desktop client is more stable for system-audio capture.
- Set the source language explicitly for pre-recorded all-hands or training videos. Auto-detect adds 200–400 ms and occasionally guesses wrong on similar languages (Spanish vs Portuguese).
- Lock the overlay position (Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows) before high-stakes meetings so a stray click doesn't move it.
- Save profiles for recurring meetings. One profile per language pair lets you switch in one click between, say, EN→DE for engineering and EN→ES for go-to-market syncs.
Pricing and free trial
Live Subtitles is a single subscription — $7/month or $69/year for Windows, macOS, and iOS combined. The free trial includes the full feature set: dual subtitles, all 50+ languages, transcript export. There's no per-seat enterprise pricing yet, so each user buys their own license. For larger rollouts (50+ seats), contact help@live-subtitles.com.
Start free trial — Microsoft Store
FAQ
Does Microsoft Teams have free live translated captions?
Translated captions require Microsoft 365 E3/E5/A3/A5/Business Standard or Business Premium, plus Teams Premium add-on for some directions. Live Subtitles works on any tier including free Teams, in 50+ languages.
Can I add captions without changing the admin policy?
Yes. Live Subtitles is a local desktop app, not a Teams add-in. It doesn't go through Teams admin center and doesn't require IT approval.
Does it work in Teams Webinars and Live Events?
Yes — it captures whatever your computer plays, so 1:1 calls, channel meetings, scheduled meetings, webinars, and Live Events all work the same way.
How fast is the captioning?
~600–900 ms typical, faster than Teams' native translated captions on Premium tiers (~1–2 s).
Can I record meetings with captions in the recording?
Live Subtitles doesn't record meetings — Teams does, with the appropriate license. The Live Subtitles overlay won't be in the recording, but you can export the transcript separately.
Is this a Teams add-in?
No. It's a standalone Windows/macOS app. It doesn't install into Teams or appear in the Teams App Bar.
Can I share the captions I see with the rest of the meeting?
By default captions are local to your machine. To share, drag the overlay into a shared screen during a presentation — everyone in the share will see it.