GrandkinsThe best video call app with real-time translation for families
What actually matters in a family translation app
- Both directions, live. Turn-taking translator apps kill conversation. You want each person to hear a translated voice, with captions, while the call flows.
- Your languages, actually covered. Many tools stop at a few widely spoken languages. If your family speaks Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Punjabi or Urdu, check the list before anything else.
- Any phone on either end. Grandparents keep the phone they have. If the translation only works when both people own the same brand, it won't get used.
- Easy for the least technical person. Joining should not need an email address or a password they'll forget.
- Family speech, not meeting speech. Translations should carry warmth and the respectful forms elders expect.
- Privacy by design. Family calls are intimate. They shouldn't be recorded.
How the kinds of options compare
Everyday chat and video apps
Great at connecting the call; the language barrier stays. Some have begun adding live translation for a few major languages, usually needing particular devices or settings on both ends, and Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu are mostly missing.
Translator apps you pass back and forth
Fine in person at a market. On a family video call it means holding a second phone, taking turns, and losing the thread.
Translation earbuds and handheld devices
Hardware you have to buy, charge and teach, on both ends. Better suited to travel than to a weekly call with grandma.
Grandkins
Built for one job: family calls across a language gap. Live two-way translation (a translated voice plus captions) in 36 languages in any pairing, one-to-one and group calls, translated voice, video and text messages between calls, a family group chat, picture books you can read together on a call, and no recordings. Everyone joins the same app; grandparents use a 6-letter code instead of an email and password.
Common questions
What makes Grandkins different from translation added to a big-name app?
Coverage and focus: 36 languages in any pairing, including Indian languages that are rarely covered elsewhere, working between iPhone and Android, with translation tuned for family speech.
Does everyone in the family need the app?
Yes, everyone uses the same Grandkins app, but only the organizer signs in with an email. Everyone else joins with a 6-letter code. For a relative who only joins now and then, anyone on a call can send a guest link that opens that one call in a web browser.
Can it also translate messages, not just calls?
Yes. Voice, video and text messages arrive translated, as text and as a spoken translation in the reader's language.
How many family members does one plan cover?
Up to 15 people. Starter is $9.99 a month or $99 a year with 100 translated minutes a month; Family is $14.99 a month or $149 a year with 200; Family Plus is $19.99 a month or $199 a year with 300. One plan covers the whole family, and every family starts with a free trial: 14 days or 60 translated minutes, whichever comes first.
Which languages are covered?
English, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, Khmer, Nepali and Swahili, in any pairing.
Try it with your own family
Setup takes a few minutes: add your family, pick each person's language, and send each of them a 6-letter code. Plans start at $9.99 a month for the whole family, and every family starts with a free trial of 14 days or 60 translated minutes.
Start your family's free trial