Localazy vs Smartling

Localazy is a localization management platform from a Czech company, built mainly for developers and small product teams who want to translate apps and websites without a heavy process. Its distinctive feature is ShareTM, a shared translation memory pooled across projects, which can automatically pre-fill common strings such as button labels and system messages in many languages.

Teams upload source files through the CLI, API or integrations, and Localazy supports common formats for Android, iOS, Flutter, JSON-based web frameworks, gettext and more. Translations can come from ShareTM, machine translation engines such as DeepL and Google, in-house contributors, community volunteers or Localazy's own professional translation service, with review workflows, glossaries and screenshots for context. Plans are tiered by the number of source keys and features, starting with a free plan for small projects and moving to paid plans for growing products.

Localazy suits indie developers, startups and open-source maintainers that want affordable localization with minimal setup. It has fewer enterprise controls and integrations than Lokalise, Phrase or Crowdin, which serve large localization teams with complex workflows, and Tolgee and Weblate are open-source alternatives for teams that prefer self-hosting. For a small app expanding into a few markets, the shared memory and machine pre-translation can noticeably reduce translation cost and effort.

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.