dict.cc vs GoldenDict

dict.cc is an online dictionary for looking up translations across language pairs, including English-German and English-French. The web dictionary is free for private and business use. Its vocabulary is maintained by volunteers, and users can suggest, correct, and confirm translations; correcting entries does not require registration. The maker says its Android and iPhone or iPad apps provide the complete vocabulary offline. The vocabulary database is also available as a downloadable text file for personal use. For Mac, the download page lists a third-party dictionary plugin for Mac OS X 10.5 and later, with separate downloads for 10.5 and 10.6. The FAQ provides code for adding a search field or an iframe translation box to another website. However, automated server-side parsing is not allowed, and the FAQ says no API is available or planned. The privacy page says cookies are used for settings, vocabulary lists, and login status; registered-user details, postings, and vocabulary trainer lists are stored permanently.

GoldenDict is a dictionary lookup program for finding words across installed dictionary sources, websites, and other applications. It supports Babylon BGL, StarDict, dictd, ABBYY Lingvo DSL, and Lingvo audio archives. Web lookups can use Wikipedia, Wiktionary, other MediaWiki sites, and websites configured through URL templates. Hunspell morphology provides word stemming and spelling suggestions, while pronunciation lookup can use Forvo or indexed audio directories. A scan popup can show a translation for a selected word in another application; global hotkeys can open GoldenDict or translate clipboard text. Dictionary articles are displayed through WebKit with formatting, color, images, and links. The original program is free software under the GNU GPLv3+ license, with offline access. The Windows installer does not include local dictionaries, which users download separately. GoldenDict-ng adds Anki integration, a dark theme, Xapian full-text indexing, and support for dictionaries larger than 4 GB. Its builds are for Windows and macOS, with packages for some Linux and Unix distributions; it requires Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or macOS 13 or later.