POEditor vs Smartcat
POEditor and Smartcat are both translation & localization tools. POEditor is aimed at developers and small businesses, while Smartcat is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. POEditor costs less, from $20/mo versus $100/mo for Smartcat. Only POEditor has a free plan.
String-based localization platform for apps, sites and games
AI translation platform with a built-in marketplace of linguists
| Pricing | Freemium · $20 | Paid · $100 |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $100/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | 10 days | 15 days |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise | Enterprise, Small businesses, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | — · 2012 | US · 2016 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose POEditor if
Small to mid-size software teams and open-source projects that want affordable, string-based localization with Git sync and crowdsourcing.
- Priced by strings, so adding translators or developers costs nothing extra
- Free plan is enough for small apps and hobby projects
- Wide file format support including PO, JSON, ARB and XLIFF
Look elsewhere if: Enterprises needing heavy vendor management, in-context design review or advanced automation (Phrase, Lokalise, Crowdin).
Choose Smartcat if
Marketing, product and L&D teams that translate high volumes into many languages and want AI plus vetted human reviewers in one place.
- AI translation and human review hiring live in one workspace
- Unlimited seats make it easy to invite reviewers and stakeholders
- Translation memory matches and repetitions are free
Look elsewhere if: Developer teams focused on app string localization (Lokalise, Crowdin) or buyers wanting a cheap monthly plan for occasional translation (DeepL).
POEditor vs Smartcat pricing
POEditor
- Free$0Up to 1,000 strings; unlimited projects
- Start$20/mo$17/mo billed yearly; 3,000 strings
- Plus$60/mo$51/mo billed yearly; 10,000 strings
- Premium$160/mo$136/mo billed yearly; 30,000 strings
- Enterprise$260/mo$221/mo billed yearly; 100,000 strings, more on request
Smartcat
- Adapt$1,200/yrUnlimited users, 100K Smartwords, 1 workspace
- Accelerate$24,000/yrUnlimited users, 1M Smartwords, 1 workspace
- Anticipate$60,000/yrUnlimited users, 2M Smartwords, 2 workspaces
- AutonomousCustom6M Smartwords, 7 workspaces
POEditor · Key features
- Git sync with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps repositories
- Machine translation through Google, Azure AI Translator and DeepL
- Connect OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or Amazon Bedrock for AI translation
- Translation memory, glossaries and automated quality checks
- Order human translation from Gengo or TextMaster inside projects
- Public join links for crowdsourcing translations from users and volunteers
Cons
- Interface feels dated next to Lokalise or Crowdin
- Costs climb quickly when many languages multiply your string count
- Machine translation beyond 10,000 free characters needs paid packages
Smartcat · Key features
- AI translation into 280+ languages with translation memory reuse
- AI Coworkers for translation, content updates, review and QA
- Marketplace of 500,000+ linguists and 5,000+ agencies
- Single invoice and automatic cost calculation for hired vendors
- Glossaries and terminology control shared across projects
- Connectors for WordPress, Webflow, Contentful, Figma and GitHub
Cons
- No free plan and no monthly billing; plans are annual only
- Large price jump from $1,200 to $24,000 a year
- Smartword metering takes time to understand and forecast
POEditor vs Smartcat: FAQ
Which is cheaper, POEditor or Smartcat?
POEditor starts at $20/mo and Smartcat at $100/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do POEditor and Smartcat have a free plan?
POEditor has a free plan. Smartcat has no free plan, a 15-day free trial.