Best for
Best for software and game teams, including open-source projects, that translate continuously with a mix of staff, vendors and community volunteers.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Translation & Localization Comparison
Crowdin vs. Smartling
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for larger companies that want translation software and the translators behind it from a single vendor.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Crowdin | Smartling |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Pro from 50 US Dollar Amount from the plan data on Crowdin's pricing page, which names no billing period for it. Crowdin bills monthly or annually (annual gives two months free), excluding VAT. Crowdin Enterprise is billed annually only. | Not stated |
| Free trial | Free plan; 14-day trial of Team, 30-day trial of Crowdin Enterprise with Business plan features | Core plan is described as free to start; trial length not stated |
| API | Yes, API and CLI, plus an official MCP server | Yes, APIs and SDKs, plus an official MCP server |
| Languages | 300+ languages | Not stated |
| Hosting | Not stated | Customer data housed in Amazon Web Services locations across the globe |
| Language coverage | 300+ languages | Hundreds of languages and locales |
| Files and formats | 100+ file formats | JSON, XML, YAML, HTML, Markdown and Gettext PO, iOS strings and Android XML, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF, InDesign IDML, SVG, and SRT and VTT subtitles |
| Machine, human or both | Both. 40+ machine translation engines including DeepL and Google Translate, AI translation with your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Azure AI keys, and human translation through Crowdin Language Services or the agency marketplace | Both. 20+ large language models and machine translation engines through the AI Hub, and human translation from a network of 4,000+ linguists; Enterprise customers can also bring their own translators |
| Glossary and terminology | Yes, glossaries, style guides and translation memory, with glossary terms highlighted in the editor | Yes, translation memory (kept 180 days on Core, unlimited on Enterprise), customizable glossaries and style guides on Enterprise, and terminology connectors for Lexeri, Quickterm and TermWeb |
| Review and collaboration | Online editor with proofreading and approval, optional LQA grading against MQM, LISA and SAE J2450, a workflow editor, and custom workflows on Crowdin Enterprise | CAT and transcreation tools with visual context, in-platform communication, automated quality checks, linguistic quality assurance with a quality dashboard, and fully customizable workflows on Enterprise |
| Integrations and connectors | 700+ apps and integrations, among them GitHub, GitLab, Figma, WordPress, Unity and Notion | 50+ integrations, among them Adobe Experience Manager, Contentful, Sitecore, WordPress, Shopify, GitHub, Figma, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk and Jira |
| Data handling and privacy | ISO/IEC 27001 certified, adheres to GDPR, runs on AWS with processing restricted to specific countries; Business Associate Agreement for HIPAA data; SAML SSO, 2FA and an IP allowlist | SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS Level 1, HITRUST and HIPAA, GDPR with customizable DPAs, and ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and ISO 17100 among its certifications; customer data housed on AWS |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| MCP-ready | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | GitHub, GitLab, Figma, WordPress, Unity, Notion | more entries Adobe Experience Manager, Contentful, Contentstack, Sitecore, Drupal, Storyblok, Sanity, Webflow, WordPress, WPML, Shopify, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Figma, Sketch, Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Marketo Engage, Braze, HubSpot, Oracle Eloqua, Salesforce, Zendesk, Intercom, ServiceNow, Jira, Slack, Google Drive, Zapier |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Free trial Crowdin Free plan; 14-day trial of Team, 30-day trial of Crowdin Enterprise with Business plan features Smartling Core plan is described as free to start; trial length not stated
- API Crowdin Yes, API and CLI, plus an official MCP server Smartling Yes, APIs and SDKs, plus an official MCP server
- Language coverage Crowdin 300+ languages Smartling Hundreds of languages and locales
- Files and formats Crowdin 100+ file formats Smartling JSON, XML, YAML, HTML, Markdown and Gettext PO, iOS strings and Android XML, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF, InDesign IDML, SVG, and SRT and VTT subtitles
- Machine, human or both Crowdin Both. 40+ machine translation engines including DeepL and Google Translate, AI translation with your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Azure AI keys, and human translation through Crowdin Language Services or the agency marketplace Smartling Both. 20+ large language models and machine translation engines through the AI Hub, and human translation from a network of 4,000+ linguists; Enterprise customers can also bring their own translators
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Crowdin
Strengths
- Unlimited translators and proofreaders on every paid plan
- Free licences for open-source and academic projects
- Over 50 automated QA checks catch placeholder, tag and length errors
- Very large marketplace of apps and integrations
Limitations
- Enterprise edition is billed annually only
- Plan limits are counted in hosted words, which multiply with every target language
Smartling
Strengths
- Translation software and human translation services are bought together
- Per-word rates for machine, AI and human translation are published
- Long certification list, including HITRUST and PCI DSS Level 1
- Large connector catalogue for marketing, commerce and content systems
Limitations
- No plan price is published for either plan
- Translation memory is kept for only 180 days on Core
- Custom workflows, glossaries and style guides are reserved for Enterprise
Plans
Pricing
Crowdin
- Free Free All essential features for translators; open-source projects are welcome.
- Pro 50 US Dollar Private projects with unlimited translator seats. Billing period not named in the plan data; excluding VAT.
- Team 150 US Dollar Adds managers who upload files, invite people and connect integrations. 14-day free trial.
- Team+ 450 US Dollar Own private organization, project groups and workflow automation.
- Crowdin Enterprise Not stated Billed annually only. 30-day free trial with all Business plan features.
Smartling
- Core Not stated For individuals and small teams; described as free to start. Translation services are charged per word, from 0.0075 US Dollar for machine translation to 0.20 US Dollar for human translation.
- Enterprise Not stated For companies and large teams; no price published.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Crowdin
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Smartling
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
Reviews are not published yet. The form on a tool's page works and reaches us, but nothing from it appears on this site, so no score here is based on a review. The rules below are the ones that will apply once reviews go live.
Every review is read by a person before it appears. We require a working email address and use it to come back to the author, so a review has a reachable sender rather than being anonymous. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, we pay nothing and offer nothing for a review, and we accept none that was bought or incentivised.
What we cannot do is verify a purchase. There is no shop here and no account, so whether the author really used the tool rests on what they tell us, plus the plausibility of what they write. We say so rather than implying a check that does not exist.
A vendor cannot have a review removed, cannot buy one, and cannot have one changed. Paid placement and a paid listing have no effect on which reviews appear or on any score.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Crowdin https://crowdin.com · checked against the official source on 2026-10-22
Smartling https://www.smartling.com · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.