At a glance
| Copy-paste into a translator app | LINE's built-in translate | KrubKa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effort per message | Copy, switch apps, translate, paste back | Tap a message and choose translate | None — it's automatic |
| Who sees the translation | Only you | Only the person who taps | Everyone in the chat |
| Chats with one person | Every message by hand | One message at a time | Every message, both ways — invite KrubKa into the chat |
| Group chats | Every message by hand | One message at a time | Every message, both ways |
| Polite Thai endings (ครับ/ค่ะ) | Not something you choose | Not something you choose | Set once, applied to your messages |
| Languages | Many | Many | English ↔ Thai only |
| Price | Free | Free | Free for 50 a month; Unlimited $4.99/month |
When copy-pasting is fine
For the odd message — a delivery driver, a one-off question to a shop — a translator app is all you need. It gets tiring when the conversation is ongoing: every message is several steps, and only you ever see the translation.
When LINE's own translate is enough
If you mostly need to understand an occasional Thai message, LINE's translate works without adding anything. It translates one message at a time, on request, for whoever taps it, and what's available depends on your LINE version, device and region.
When a translator bot makes sense
When you talk to the same people every day — a partner, their family, a landlord, a work group — a bot in the chat removes the friction for both sides: nobody copies anything and everyone reads the conversation in their own language. General translator bots support many languages and suit groups that mix several. KrubKa does one pair, English ↔ Thai, and spends all its effort on Thai that sounds natural and polite.
Questions
Do the other people in the chat need anything?
No. With KrubKa nobody else installs an app or makes an account.
Is KrubKa free?
Free for 50 translations a month. KrubKa Unlimited is $4.99/month or $39.99/year and covers the groups you're in too.