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Lokalise Alternatives

Localization & TranslationFree tier available
Visit Lokalise
PlanMonthlyAnnual
Free trialFree—
Start$165.00/mo$1,680.00/yr
Essential$320.00/mo$3,240.00/yr
ProMost popular$990.00/mo$9,960.00/yr

Verdict

Lokalise is the leading localization platform for software teams with strong Figma + GitHub + Slack integrations. Start at $140-$165 monthly covers 5K key-locales; Essential at $270-$320 covers 20K; Pro at $830-$990 covers 40K + SSO. Where alternatives win: Phrase bundles Strings + TMS at competitive pricing, Crowdin offers free OSS tier with $50-$450 paid tiers, Weglot is website-translation focused at €15-€199 monthly, Localazy is AI-translation at $45-$190, Smartling is enterprise standard at $1K-$5K monthly, and Transifex offers free OSS tier with $70-$220 paid tiers.

By Subrupt EditorialPublished Reviewed

Localization platforms emerged because translating software requires more than spreadsheet-and-email workflows: continuous translation as code ships, translator tooling, glossary plus translation memory, machine translation as draft, screenshots for context, and review workflows. Lokalise launched in 2017 with Figma plus GitHub integration; Phrase (formerly PhraseApp) entered with Strings plus TMS bundle; Crowdin (2009) targeted OSS plus continuous localization; Weglot focused on website-translation pricing model; Smartling targeted enterprise; Transifex went OSS-friendly. The 2024-2026 wave saw AI machine translation become higher quality and dramatically cheaper.

Pricing math: a SaaS with 10K source strings translated to 5 languages on Lokalise Essential pays $270-$320 monthly. Same on Phrase Strings Pro at $615 monthly is more expensive. Crowdin Pro at $50 monthly with 10K source words is the cheapest credible option. Weglot Business at €49 monthly covers small websites. Localazy Pro at $45 monthly covers 5K source strings. The right choice depends on workflow shape: software teams pick Lokalise or Phrase; OSS projects pick Crowdin or Transifex free tier; websites pick Weglot; ecommerce often picks Lokalise or Smartling.

Pick by your shape. Strings + TMS bundle: Phrase. OSS-friendly with free tier: Crowdin. Website-translation focused: Weglot. AI-translation focused: Localazy. Enterprise standard with translation services: Smartling. OSS-friendly with free tier alternative: Transifex.

Affiliate disclosure: Subrupt earns a commission when you switch to a service through our recommendation links. This never changes the price you pay. We only recommend services where there's a real cost or feature advantage for you, and our picks are based on the data on this page, not on which programs pay the most.

Quick pick by use case

If you only have thirty seconds, find your situation below and skip to that pick.

If your team needs Strings + TMS bundle in one platformPhrasePhrase Strings Lite at $135/mo covers 1K strings with TMS integration; Strings Pro at $615/mo covers 50K strings + branching.If your project is open source or you want a free OSS tier with broad integrationsCrowdinCrowdin Free for Open Source is fully free; Pro at $50/mo covers 10K source words with GitHub + Figma + Slack.If your priority is website translation with WordPress + Shopify + WebflowWeglotWeglot Free covers 2K words; Starter at €15/mo covers 10K words; Business at €49/mo adds custom subdomain + URL translation.If you want AI-driven machine translation at cheap entryLocalazyLocalazy Free covers 1K source strings; Pro at $45/mo covers 5K strings with AI machine translation + glossary.If your enterprise needs translation services bundled with TMSSmartlingSmartling Standard at $1K-$5K/mo covers TMS + machine translation + workflows; Premium adds translation services + dedicated CSM.

At a glance: Lokalise alternatives

Quick comparison across pricing floor, best fit, and switching effort. Tap a row to jump to the full pick.

Our picks for Lokalise alternatives

#1

Phrase

Free tierHigh switching effort

Best for Strings + TMS bundle

Try Phrase

Phrase Free Trial covers 14 days; Strings Lite at $135 monthly covers 1K strings with standard translation memory; Strings Pro at $615 monthly covers 50K strings with branching plus custom workflows plus API plus Slack plus Figma; Enterprise covers Phrase TMS plus Strings bundle with SSO plus audit plus dedicated CSM. The differentiator vs Lokalise is the TMS-plus-Strings bundle: where Lokalise focuses on software-strings translation, Phrase covers both software strings (Phrase Strings) and document/marketing translation (Phrase TMS) in one platform. For teams localizing both software AND marketing content (websites, emails, docs), Phrase removes the multi-vendor coordination Lokalise-only setups face. The trade vs Lokalise: smaller Figma plugin polish, similar price.

Strengths

  • +Strings + TMS bundle in one platform
  • +$135/mo Strings Lite competitive
  • +Branching + custom workflows on Pro
  • +Strong fit for mixed software + marketing translation

Trade-offs

  • −Smaller Figma plugin polish than Lokalise
  • −Similar price (no clear cost edge)
  • −Strings Pro at $615 vs Lokalise Essential $270
Free Trial
14 days
Strings Lite
$135/mo, 1K strings
Strings Pro
$615/mo, 50K + branching
Enterprise
Custom (~$2K/mo)
Migration steps
  1. Sign up at phrase.com (14-day trial).
  2. Migrate Lokalise projects to Phrase Strings.
  3. Configure GitHub + Figma + Slack integrations.
  4. Run parallel for 60-90 days before cancelling Lokalise.

Not for: Phrase is the wrong fit for teams who only need software-strings translation; staying with Lokalise is correct for that.

Paid plans from $135.00/mo

#2

Crowdin

Free tierMedium switching effort

Best for OSS-friendly with free tier

Try Crowdin

Crowdin Free for Open Source is fully free for OSS projects with standard translation memory plus glossary plus 200+ integrations; Pro at $50 monthly covers 10K source words with machine translation plus screenshots plus GitHub plus Figma plus Slack; Team at $170 monthly covers 60K source words with custom workflows plus branching plus API plus Salesforce; Business at $450 monthly covers 300K source words with SSO plus RBAC plus audit. The differentiator vs Lokalise is the free OSS tier: where Lokalise charges $140+ monthly, Crowdin is fully free for open-source projects. For OSS-heavy organizations (developer tools, libraries), Crowdin is the natural choice. The trade vs Lokalise: less polished Figma plugin, smaller customer base in commercial SaaS.

Strengths

  • +Free for OSS projects
  • +$50/mo Pro is half Lokalise Start
  • +200+ integrations including GitHub + Figma
  • +Strong fit for OSS-heavy orgs

Trade-offs

  • −Less polished Figma plugin
  • −Smaller commercial customer base
  • −Source-word pricing differs from Lokalise key-locale model
Free OSS
Fully free for open-source
Pro
$50/mo, 10K source words
Team
$170/mo, 60K + branching
Business
$450/mo, 300K + SSO
Migration steps
  1. Sign up at crowdin.com (free for OSS or paid trial).
  2. Migrate Lokalise projects to Crowdin.
  3. Configure GitHub + Figma + Slack integrations.
  4. Run parallel for 60-90 days before cancelling Lokalise.

Not for: Crowdin is the wrong fit for teams who depend on Lokalise's specific Figma plugin polish or established commercial relationships; staying with Lokalise is correct for those.

Paid plans from $50.00/mo

#3

Weglot

Free tierLow switching effort

Best for website translation focus

Try Weglot

Weglot Free covers 2K words plus 1 language; Starter at €15 monthly covers 10K words plus 1 language with WordPress plus Shopify plus Webflow; Business at €49 monthly covers 50K words plus 3 languages with custom subdomain plus URL translation; Pro at €199 monthly covers 200K words plus 5 languages with multi-domain plus multi-shop. The differentiator vs Lokalise is the website-translation focus: where Lokalise targets software strings, Weglot targets website translation with auto-detection plus URL routing plus SEO-friendly subdomain handling. For Shopify ecommerce, WordPress publishers, and Webflow brand sites, Weglot is purpose-built where Lokalise's software focus does not fit. The trade vs Lokalise: not for software localization, smaller customer base in SaaS.

Strengths

  • +Website-translation purpose-built
  • +WordPress + Shopify + Webflow native
  • +Auto-detect + URL routing + SEO subdomains
  • +€15/mo Starter affordable

Trade-offs

  • −Not for software string localization
  • −Smaller SaaS customer base
  • −EUR pricing fluctuates vs USD
Free
2K words + 1 language
Starter
€15/mo, 10K words
Business
€49/mo, 50K + 3 languages
Pro
€199/mo, 200K + 5 languages
Migration steps
  1. Sign up at weglot.com (free 2K words).
  2. Configure CMS integration (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow).
  3. Pair with Lokalise for software localization; Weglot for website.

Not for: Weglot is the wrong fit for software-strings localization; staying with Lokalise is correct for software.

Paid plans from $17.00/mo

#4

Localazy

Free tierMedium switching effort

Best for AI-translation focused

Try Localazy

Localazy Free covers 1K source strings; Pro at $45 monthly covers 5K source strings with AI machine translation plus glossary plus API plus standard integrations; Business at $190 monthly covers 50K source strings with branching plus custom workflows plus premium integrations plus audit; Enterprise covers SSO plus dedicated tenancy with custom integrations plus dedicated CSM. The differentiator vs Lokalise is the AI machine translation focus: where Lokalise treats machine translation as one feature among many, Localazy positions AI MT as the primary value with quality-tuning for software contexts. For teams who rely heavily on machine translation as draft (then human review), Localazy's AI-tuned MT often produces higher-quality output than generic Google Translate or DeepL. The trade vs Lokalise: smaller customer base, less mature integration ecosystem.

Strengths

  • +AI-tuned machine translation
  • +$45/mo Pro affordable
  • +Free up to 1K source strings
  • +Strong fit for MT-heavy workflows

Trade-offs

  • −Smaller customer base than Lokalise
  • −Less mature integrations
  • −MT quality variable on niche domains
Free
1K source strings
Pro
$45/mo, 5K strings + AI
Business
$190/mo, 50K + branching
Enterprise
Custom (~$1K/mo)
Migration steps
  1. Sign up at localazy.com (free 1K strings).
  2. Test AI machine translation quality on representative content.
  3. Migrate Lokalise projects to Localazy.
  4. Cancel Lokalise if Localazy covers your AI-MT-heavy workflow.

Not for: Localazy is the wrong fit for teams who want established Figma + GitHub integration depth; staying with Lokalise is correct for those.

Paid plans from $45.00/mo

#5

Smartling

High switching effort

Best for enterprise translation services

Try Smartling

Smartling Standard at $1K-$5K monthly covers TMS plus machine translation plus workflows with Adobe plus WordPress plus Salesforce; Enterprise at $5K-$15K monthly covers multi-language plus custom workflows with SSO plus audit plus RBAC; Premium covers multi-region plus dedicated tenancy with translation services plus dedicated CSM. The differentiator vs Lokalise is the bundled translation services: Smartling offers human translation services (in-house translators across 100+ languages) bundled with TMS, where Lokalise requires separate translation vendor relationships. For Fortune 500 enterprises managing 20+ language localization with ongoing human translation needs, Smartling removes the multi-vendor coordination. The trade vs Lokalise: 5-10x the cost, longer onboarding, requires enterprise commitment.

Strengths

  • +Bundled translation services included
  • +TMS + MT + workflows in one
  • +Adobe + Salesforce + WordPress integrations
  • +Established 2009 with Fortune 500 customers

Trade-offs

  • −5-10x cost vs Lokalise
  • −Longer onboarding (3-6 months)
  • −Enterprise-only positioning
Standard
Custom (~$1K-$5K/mo)
Enterprise
Custom (~$5K-$15K/mo)
Premium
Custom (~$25K/mo)
Strength
Translation services bundled
Migration steps
  1. Schedule call with Smartling (4-8 weeks discovery).
  2. Configure TMS workflows + translation services.
  3. Migrate Lokalise projects to Smartling.
  4. Run parallel for 90+ days before cancelling Lokalise.

Not for: Smartling is the wrong fit for SMB or mid-market without translation services need; staying with Lokalise is correct for those.

Paid plans from $3,000.00/mo

When to stay with Lokalise

Stay with Lokalise if your localization workflow uses its GitHub plus Figma plus Slack integrations, your translation memory plus glossary covers production strings, or your Pro tier covers your key-locale count. The picks below address Phrase TMS bundle, OSS-friendly Crowdin, website-translation Weglot, AI-translation Localazy, enterprise Smartling, and Transifex with OSS-friendly tier.

5 Alternatives to Lokalise

PhraseFree tier

Phrase starts at $135.00/mo vs Lokalise Pro at $990.00/mo

From $135.00/mo

Save $855.00/mo ($10,260.00/yr)

Switch to Phrase
CrowdinFree tier

Crowdin starts at $50.00/mo vs Lokalise Pro at $990.00/mo

From $50.00/mo

Save $940.00/mo ($11,280.00/yr)

Switch to Crowdin
WeglotFree tier

Weglot starts at $17.00/mo vs Lokalise Pro at $990.00/mo

From $17.00/mo

Save $973.00/mo ($11,676.00/yr)

Switch to Weglot
LocalazyFree tier

Localazy starts at $45.00/mo vs Lokalise Pro at $990.00/mo

From $45.00/mo

Save $945.00/mo ($11,340.00/yr)

Switch to Localazy
Smartling

Smartling from $3,000.00/mo

From $3,000.00/mo

Switch to Smartling

Price Comparison

Compared against Lokalise Pro ($990.00/mo)

Continue your research

Phrase alternativesCrowdin alternativesWeglot alternativesLocalazy alternativesSmartling alternatives

How we picked

Localization platform alternatives split along three vectors: workflow scope (software-strings vs marketing-TMS vs website-translation), audience (SMB SaaS vs OSS projects vs ecommerce vs enterprise), and pricing model (per-key-locale vs per-source-word vs per-language vs translation-services-bundled). Picks below address each combination.

Pricing pulled from each vendor's site on the review date. We score on cost-at-volume for representative SaaS workloads (5K-50K source strings translated to 5-10 languages), integration depth (Figma, GitHub, Slack, CMS), translation memory + glossary quality, and operational lift to migrate. We weight against tools whose advertised pricing excludes essential features (branching, screenshots, custom workflows) at the entry tier.

Update history1 update
  • Initial published version with 5 picks.

Frequently asked questions about Lokalise alternatives

Why use a localization platform instead of Excel + email translators?

Three reasons: (1) continuous localization - software ships continuously; manual Excel workflow breaks at any cadence; (2) translation memory plus glossary - reuse of past translations saves 30-60% in ongoing translation costs; (3) developer integrations - GitHub plus Figma integrations let translators see context, where Excel hands strings out of context. For teams with more than 1K source strings or more than 2 target languages, dedicated platforms typically pay back in time saved within 3-6 months.

When does Lokalise's pricing become problematic?

Math: Lokalise Essential at $270-$320 monthly for 20K key-locales is $3.5K-$4K annually; Pro at $830-$990 for 40K key-locales is $10K-$12K annually. Crowdin Pro at $50 monthly is roughly 1/6 the cost. Localazy Pro at $45 is similar. The crossover where Lokalise's Figma plus GitHub integration depth justifies the premium is typically: established commercial SaaS with continuous localization workflow tied to Figma design cycles. For OSS projects or simpler workflows, Crowdin or Localazy are typically better cost.

How do I evaluate machine translation quality across these tools?

Three factors: (1) source-language quality - English, French, Spanish, German are well-supported across all tools; non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean) vary; (2) domain specialization - generic MT works for marketing copy; software strings with technical terminology need translation memory plus glossary; (3) latency - all tools support real-time MT with sub-second response for under 1K characters. Test MT quality on representative content before committing. Localazy specializes in MT quality; Crowdin and Lokalise are competitive on standard languages.

What about open-source localization tools (Weblate, Pootle, Transifex Native)?

Weblate is GPL-3 OSS for self-hosting, used by KDE, Debian, and Fedora. Pootle is BSD OSS but no longer actively developed. Transifex Native is closed-source. Self-hosting Weblate works for OSS projects with strong DevOps capacity. Most commercial SaaS find managed platforms (Crowdin Pro, Lokalise) pay back vs DevOps maintenance time. The crossover where self-hosting wins is typically: dedicated platform engineering team plus strict data residency requirements.

How do I integrate localization with Figma design workflow?

Lokalise has the most polished Figma plugin (push strings from Figma to Lokalise, pull translations back into Figma for design review). Phrase has a competing Figma plugin. Crowdin has a Figma plugin but less polished. Localazy and Weglot do not have native Figma plugins. For design-heavy localization workflows (UX writers and designers iterating in Figma), Lokalise or Phrase are the only credible choices. For developer-led localization (strings extracted from code), Crowdin and Localazy are competitive.

SE

About the author: Subrupt Editorial

The team behind subrupt.com. We track subscriptions, surface cheaper alternatives, and publish comparisons where the score formula is on the page so you can recompute it yourself. We do not claim 30,000 hours of testing. What we claim is live pricing from our database, a transparent composite score, and honest savings math against a category baseline.

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