AI translation vs an interpreter
An interpreter or AI translation? Often both.
Choosing between a human interpreter and AI translation for your church? Voclyn covers many languages at once, while an interpreter brings judgment that software doesn’t have.
You can keep your interpreter for one language and let Voclyn cover the rest.
See it
Every language at once.
Without a pause for an interpreter: three speakers, a Bible reading, the big screen and two phones, each in its own language. Press play.
An interpreter and Voclyn at a glance
We make Voclyn, so read this as a vendor’s view. The wage comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, checked on 29 October 2026.
| Checked 29 Oct 2026 | A human interpreter | Voclyn |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | A volunteer’s time, or a wage: a US median of $28.93 an hour | Free, then $69, $99 or $249 a month (C$99, C$139, C$349). Free has no time limit |
| Languages | One for each interpreter | 100+ languages, detected at the front even mid-sentence; speaker detection; AI voice (TTS) |
| How people follow | Listening from the stage, or on headset receivers | The church’s QR code or link, in the browser: no app, no account. Captions, or an AI voice on paid plans |
| Judgment | Understands humour, prayer and a pastoral moment | AI translation, labelled AI on every phone |
| Bible readings | Rendered on the spot, or read from a Bible the interpreter brings | Scripture lock: when the pastor names a passage and reads it, English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin readers see the BSB or KJV, Reina-Valera 1909, 개역한글 or 和合本 (神 or 上帝 edition), as the church chooses, marked “Published text · not AI” |
| Names and church words | Known well when the interpreter belongs to your church | A church glossary for speech recognition and translation, starting from your tradition’s words |
| Big screen | Speech only, so nothing for a screen | Paid plans: up to three languages on the projector, a lower third in ProPresenter, captions in OBS |
| Each Sunday | A person ready for each language, and someone to cover | A laptop or an old phone at the sound desk |
What a person does better
- Meaning, not just words. A person hears what a sentence is for (a joke, a lament, a word of comfort) and says it that way.
- Prayer and pastoral moments. An interpreter can pray with someone, and knows when to stop. At Voclyn’s desk, a private moment hides captions on every phone and nothing is saved.
- Conversation. An interpreter can help a visitor at the door, over coffee or in a meeting with the pastor. Voclyn carries the service one way.
- No phone needed. Members without a smartphone, Wi-Fi or data can still follow.
- Sign language. Deaf members who sign need a sign-language interpreter. Captions help people who read, but they don’t replace signing.
Voclyn labels every translation AI, and we publish what we have measured, with the method, on our quality page.
What an interpreter costs
Often the interpreter is a bilingual member who volunteers, so the cost is their time, every week. Where a church pays, the median wage for interpreters and translators in the US was $28.93 an hour in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure leaves out self-employed interpreters, who set their own rates.
At that median, 2 hours of interpreting each Sunday comes to about $58 a week, or about $250 a month, for one language. Three languages need three people. For long stretches, the BLS notes, interpreters may work in pairs or small teams.
Voclyn is one price for the whole church: Free, then $69, $99 or $249 a month (C$99, C$139, C$349), with no cap on listeners. Headset systems and their 2026 prices are in our equipment guide.
Every Sunday, someone has to be there
An interpreter is a person, with a family, a cold and holidays. A service in three languages needs three people ready every Sunday, and someone to cover for each of them. That, more than the money, is often what decides it.
An interpreter on stage who speaks after each sentence also doubles the time: a 45-minute sermon becomes about 90 minutes. Interpreting into headsets keeps the pace, but needs a transmitter, a receiver for each listener and a quiet place for the interpreter to work.
The hybrid: keep your interpreter, add Voclyn
Keep the interpreter you have for your largest language group, and let Voclyn cover everyone else, the projector and the livestream. Nothing about the service has to change on the first Sunday.
- An interpreter on stage. Voclyn captions whoever speaks, the interpreter included. In rooms without Cantonese, each voice gets its own colour rail on the phones (“Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”), so readers can tell the pastor from the interpreter.
- The pastor alone on phones. Leave the interpreter’s microphone out of the mix you send to Voclyn.
- An interpreter on headsets. That channel stays as it is; Voclyn listens to the mixer, not the transmitter.
Which to choose
- Keep a person for prayer ministry and pastoral care, for members without a phone, and for Deaf members who sign.
- Use Voclyn for languages no volunteer can cover, for the projector and the livestream, and for Sundays when your interpreter is away.
- Use both when you have a good interpreter for your largest group and newcomers who speak other languages.
Questions
What churches ask.
Something else on your mind? Write to us at hello@voclyn.com.
Often nothing but a volunteer's time. A paid interpreter in the US earned a median $28.93 an hour in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; self-employed interpreters set their own rates. Each language needs its own interpreter.
For following the sermon in languages nobody on your team speaks, it can. For prayer, counselling and pastoral moments, keep a person. You can do both: the interpreter for one language, Voclyn for the rest.
Try it with your own pastor: the demo on our site runs the same system. Every translation is labelled AI, the glossary teaches it your names and church words, and Bible readings in five languages come from a published Bible. We publish what we have measured, with the method.
Yes. It captions whoever speaks, the interpreter included, and in rooms without Cantonese each voice gets its own colour on the phones. To show only the pastor, leave the interpreter's microphone out of the mix sent to Voclyn.
At the desk, a private moment hides captions on every phone and nothing is saved. Service audio is never stored.
Not for Voclyn: people use their own phones, and earbuds if they want to listen. Keep a few receivers or an interpreter for members without a smartphone.
Keep your interpreter. Reach everyone else.
Connect a laptop to the mixer and print the QR code; nothing about Sunday has to change. 30 days of the Church plan free, no card.
Your first month is on us: the Church plan, normally $99 a month, with unlimited listeners, translation hours and AI voiceover. No card; then choose a plan, or stay on Free.