LILT vs Smartling

LILT is an enterprise translation and localization platform from San Francisco, founded in 2015 by Spence Green and John DeNero, NLP researchers from Stanford and Berkeley. It began with adaptive machine translation that learns from each linguist edit and has since become an agentic AI platform that routes content through AI models and, where needed, human subject-matter experts. Customers include Canva, Intel, Lenovo and US defence agencies.

The platform is split into modules: Translate for projects, Assist for AI agents that automate review and workflows, Verify for accuracy checks, Connect for integrations and an MCP server that brings LILT translation into ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. It connects to more than 100 systems such as Contentful, AEM, Salesforce and Zendesk, and can run LILT's own models or a customer's LLM. Certifications cover SOC 2 Type II, ISO 9001 and ISO 17100, with private, on-prem and air-gapped deployment. Business, Enterprise and Government plans are all quote-based.

LILT fits large companies and public bodies that translate high volumes of product, support and marketing content and need quality guarantees or strict data control. It has no self-serve plan or public pricing, so it is overkill for small sites. Smartling is a broader translation management system with a vendor marketplace, Phrase offers self-serve TMS tiers, and DeepL is the cheap option for raw machine translation without human review.

LILT raised a Series D in mid-2025. Buying tip: ask how human review is priced versus platform fees, since MCP usage is quoted separately.

Smartling is an enterprise translation management platform founded in 2009 and based in New York. It combines translation software, AI and machine translation, and managed language services from professional linguists, so large companies can localize websites, apps, documents, marketing and support content through one vendor.

Content flows in through connectors for CMSs, code repositories, marketing tools and support platforms, or through the Global Delivery Network, a proxy that translates websites without code changes. Translators work in a CAT tool with visual context that shows strings as they appear on the page, translation memory, glossaries and automated quality checks. AI translation with human review options, workflow automation and cost and quality reporting help teams decide which content needs full human translation and which can be machine-translated. A free Core plan covers the basics, Enterprise is custom priced, and translation is billed per word.

Smartling fits enterprises with high-volume, multi-language content and a need for one accountable partner. Enterprise contracts are expensive, and the platform is more complex than small teams need. Lokalise and Crowdin are better for product teams that localize app strings continuously, Phrase covers both software and document workflows, and Weglot is far simpler for translating a single website. Teams already working with a language services provider may prefer a tool-only option such as XTM or Trados.