Smartling
Website translation tools
Translation management software
Localization software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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Pay-as-you-go
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Free version
Small
Medium
Large
- Retail and wholesale
- Education and training
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
What is Smartling
Smartling is a cloud-based translation management system (TMS) used to manage localization workflows for websites, web apps, mobile apps, and digital content. It supports teams that need to coordinate translation across multiple languages, content sources, and stakeholders, including product, marketing, and localization teams. The platform combines workflow automation, translation memory and terminology management, and integrations/connectors to common content repositories. It also provides options for human translation services and machine translation management within the same environment.
Broad integration and connector options
Smartling provides connectors and APIs designed to pull content from common CMS, marketing, and product content sources and push translations back to the originating system. This reduces manual file handling compared with tools that rely primarily on import/export. The integration approach supports continuous localization for frequently updated web and app content.
Workflow automation and governance
The platform supports configurable workflows with roles, approvals, and quality checks to control how content moves from ingestion through translation and review. This is useful for organizations with multiple reviewers, regional stakeholders, or compliance requirements. Compared with lighter website translation tools, it offers more structured process control and auditability.
Centralized linguistic assets management
Smartling includes translation memory, glossary/terminology, and style guidance capabilities to improve consistency across channels and teams. These assets can be applied across projects to reduce repeated translation effort and standardize brand language. This is a core capability expected in enterprise localization software and is typically more robust than basic website-only translation layers.
Enterprise complexity and setup effort
Implementing connectors, workflows, and linguistic assets often requires upfront configuration and ongoing administration. Teams with simple needs (e.g., translating a small marketing site) may find the operational overhead higher than lighter tools. Successful rollout typically depends on having a dedicated localization owner or admin.
Cost can be high at scale
Pricing for enterprise TMS platforms commonly scales with usage (such as words, projects, languages, or service levels), which can become significant for high-volume content. Organizations may also incur additional costs for professional services, premium connectors, or managed translation services. This can be less cost-effective for smaller teams compared with simpler translation tools.
UI and reporting may require training
Because the product covers multiple workflows and stakeholders, users may need training to use job setup, review tools, and reporting effectively. Some teams may prefer more streamlined interfaces for translators or reviewers depending on their process. Reporting and analytics can require configuration to align with internal KPIs and content structures.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Free to Start (permanently free) | Basic workflow, user & project management; drag-and-drop; CAT tool with visual context; Translation Memory (180 days); essential reporting & automated quality checks. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing (contact sales) | Everything in Core plus fully customizable workflows, unlimited TM storage, advanced reporting, LQA Suite, AI/MT services, and ability to bring your own translators. |
Usage-based translation services (official site disclosures): Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (per-word / per-character for some MT providers) Example/starting costs (official site):
- Machine translation: from $0.0075 per word (listed on Smartling plans page, localized copy).
- AI translation: from $0.06 per word (localized copy).
- AI-assisted human translation: from $0.12 per word (localized copy).
- Human translation: from $0.20 per word (localized copy).
- Smartling marketing/overview page states a starting cost of $0.005 per word in some contexts (official marketing/overview). Notes: Pricing for human/agency work is typically set via rate cards and fuzzy-match profiles (discounts for TM matches); many features and add-ons (Global Delivery Network/web proxy, connectors, Customer Success/managed services) are quoted via sales. See Smartling help center for rate cards, fuzzy match profiles, and cost-estimate behavior.
Seller details
Smartling, Inc.
New York, NY, USA
2009
Private
https://www.smartling.com/
https://x.com/smartling
https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartling/
