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Language Reactor Alternatives for Safari, iPhone, iPad and Android

#languagelearning #a11y #productivity #tutorial

Language Reactor runs in Chrome and Edge. Here is what to try on Safari, Firefox, iPhone, iPad or Android, and for audio no extension covers.

Summary

  • Language Reactor is described as a Chrome and Edge extension for Netflix and YouTube, so Safari, iPhone, iPad and Android readers need another tool.
  • Trancy's own page lists Safari, Firefox and mobile browsers, so check its store listing for your browser and site before paying.
  • Netflix's own Audio & Subtitles menu needs no install, but its help page describes choosing a single subtitle language.
  • On a Mac, Vocena captions any app's audio with a translation under each line. Translation is paid. On iPhone, other apps' audio needs iOS 27.

Pick by situation

  • Safari on a Mac, or Firefox on any computer: try Trancy's extension. Its list of Language Reactor alternatives names both browsers.
  • A browser on iPhone, iPad or Android: Trancy again, which says it has mobile versions. Confirm in the store before you pay.
  • One subtitle language on Netflix with nothing to install: Netflix's own Audio & Subtitles menu.
  • Audio from any app, or a site no extension handles: Vocena on a Mac, with a translation under each line.

What Language Reactor covers

Language Reactor started as Language Learning with Netflix. Wikipedia's entry calls it a browser extension and website that changes how subtitles appear on Netflix and YouTube, and names Chrome and Microsoft Edge as its browsers. Safari, Firefox, iPhone, iPad and Android are not in that description.

An encyclopedia entry can be behind the product, so read Language Reactor's own FAQ before you give up on it. If you are on Chrome or Edge and only one streaming site is missing, the tools below still apply to that site.

Trancy and the other extensions

Trancy is the one to try on Safari or Firefox, because its own comparison lists Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Brave and Arc, with bilingual subtitles on YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Udemy, Coursera, TED and edX. That page is Trancy describing itself and its rivals. Open its Safari or Firefox listing and check that both your browser and your streaming site are named there before you pay for anything.

The same page also lists eJoy Learning, Migaku, Immersive Translate, VoiceTube, Toucan and Readlang. Trancy describes Migaku as aimed at Japanese and Korean learners who review with SRS (spaced-repetition) flashcards, Immersive Translate as web-first translation, and Readlang as a reader for articles and ebooks. Those labels come from a competitor, so read each product's own page for browsers and sites. An extension that doesn't name your streaming service isn't worth installing.

iPhone, iPad and Android

Trancy says its mobile extension covers iOS Safari and iPad, Firefox on Android, and Edge Mobile. An extension acts on web pages in its own browser, so it can't add a second subtitle line inside a video app such as the Netflix app. If you watch in an app, use the next two sections.

For the captions each device builds in, see our guide to live captions on every device.

Netflix and YouTube without an extension

Netflix's help page on subtitles and audio says to tap or click the screen on a computer or phone, then choose Audio & Subtitles. On a TV you press up or down on the remote, and on Apple TV you swipe up or press the up arrow. You pick from the languages shown or choose Other.

The page describes choosing a subtitle language and says nothing about showing two at once. Two lines at once is what the extensions add. If you are learning the language the show is in, setting the subtitles to that same language gives you reading practice with no install, as long as the title offers it.

For YouTube, start with the subtitle menu in the player. If the translated subtitle you want is missing, our guide to YouTube auto-translate problems goes through the checks.

Captions for any app's audio

Extensions read a streaming site's subtitles. Vocena listens to the sound instead. On a Mac (macOS 15.5 or later) it captions whatever app is playing, whether that is a streaming app, a browser tab, a course player or a podcast, and puts a translation under each line. The captions can sit in a floating window over your other apps.

Live captions are free and have no time limit. Translation is paid: the website sells a one-time purchase and a monthly subscription. By default recognition and Apple's system translation run on the Mac and don't upload your audio. Cloud models upload audio, and only if you choose them.

Because Vocena recognizes the speech itself, its wording can differ from the subtitle file a service ships. If you want that exact text, an extension suits you better. Vocena's Watching scene is set up for this kind of viewing: it listens to system audio and shows the translation under each line. It also has AI buttons that explain how a line is used or pick out vocabulary. They run only when you press them, and they are paid features. The one-time purchase uses Apple Intelligence on your own device, so your device has to support it. The subscription uses cloud models. The Mac version is a download from Vocena's website, not from the Mac App Store.

The iPhone and iPad app needs iOS or iPadOS 26 or later. On iPhone, captions for another app's audio need iOS 27 on a physical device, and picture-in-picture keeps the captions floating over the video app. Without iOS 27, use the browser extensions above.

For other Mac apps that caption system audio, see our guide to live caption apps for Mac.

Sources and checks

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