Softwr

Translation · head to head

wxrks vs Phrase

wxrks logo

wxrks

Translation

Translation platform formerly called Bureau Works, priced by processed words per year with unlimited seats and a real free tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Phrase logo

Phrase

Translation

A flexible platform with product capacities that scale with your team

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only wxrks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: wxrks connectors are marked as billed separately on the pricing page with no rate published anywhere, so the integration that justifies buying the platform carries a cost you cannot discover until you ask.; Phrase business and Enterprise tiers require contacting sales for pricing
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which wxrks and Phrase actually diverge.

Attributes where wxrks and Phrase differ
AttributewxrksPhrase
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer year by processed word volumesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Translation).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in wxrks

  • Published price ladder
  • Unlimited user seats
  • Four parallel meters
  • Published overage rates
  • Marketplace
  • Repository and design connectors

Only in Phrase

Nothing recorded that wxrks does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

wxrks

  • A team that needs to model localisation cost from published numbers rather than sit through a sales cycle to get a figurenot Phrase
  • Content operations with many occasional reviewers, since seats are unlimited and only analytics users are chargednot Phrase
  • Developer-led localisation pulling strings from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket rather than a content management systemnot Phrase
  • Small teams and side projects that can live inside 60,000 words a year on the permanent free tiernot Phrase

Phrase

  • Software localizationnot wxrks
  • Translation managementnot wxrks
  • Multi-language content deliverynot wxrks

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

wxrks

  • Connectors are marked as billed separately on the pricing page with no rate published anywhere, so the integration that justifies buying the platform carries a cost you cannot discover until you ask.
  • Four separate meters run in parallel and any one of them can be exhausted while the others have headroom, so a workload heavy on API calls or AI tokens can force a plan upgrade long before the word allowance is touched.
  • Word allowances are annual rather than monthly, so a single large launch early in the term can consume most of the year and leave the remaining months on overage rates.
  • The marketplace is promoted as a way to reach agencies and translators, but whether the vendor takes a commission and how linguists are paid is not disclosed anywhere on the public site.
  • The company rebranded from Bureau Works in March 2026, so existing documentation, third-party guides, integration listings and internal references still carry the old name, and the vendor is small with no disclosed funding behind it.

Phrase

  • Business and Enterprise tiers require contacting sales for pricing
  • Multimedia localization (Phrase Studio) is a paid add-on across all plans

Pricing, plan by plan

wxrks

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 60,000 processed words per year
    • 2,300 API calls
    • 300,000 stateless AI tokens
  • Starter$38/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 1 million words per year
    • 38,000 API calls, 5 million AI tokens, 330,000 MT words
  • Boutique$180/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 3.2 million words per year
    • 122,000 API calls, 16 million AI tokens, 1 million MT words
  • Clockwork$470/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 9.6 million words per year
    • Overage at 0.0005 USD per word

Phrase

On request
  • Freelancer$27/month
    • 1 TMS Seat
    • 200K managed words
    • Annual billing
  • Software UI/UX$525/month
    • 15 Strings seats
    • 1M managed words
    • Developer Portal with APIs
  • Team$1245/month
    • Unlimited TMS Seats
    • 20 Strings Seats
    • 1.2M Strings Managed Words
  • Business$null/mo
    • Unlimited TMS Seats
    • 150 Strings Seats
    • 3M Strings Managed Words

Which should you pick?

Choose wxrks if

  • You need published price ladder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want unlimited user seats.
wxrks review

Choose Phrase if

Nothing in the data separates Phrase from wxrks on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Phrase review

Questions people ask

Is wxrks or Phrase better?
Neither clearly leads. wxrks starts at Free and Phrase at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, wxrks or Phrase?
wxrks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for wxrks and On request for Phrase.
Does wxrks or Phrase run on more platforms?
wxrks runs on Web, API. Phrase runs on Web.
Can I use wxrks for free?
Yes. wxrks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Phrase starts at On request.
What is wxrks best used for?
wxrks is most often used for a team that needs to model localisation cost from published numbers rather than sit through a sales cycle to get a figure, content operations with many occasional reviewers, since seats are unlimited and only analytics users are charged, developer-led localisation pulling strings from github, gitlab or bitbucket rather than a content management system, small teams and side projects that can live inside 60,000 words a year on the permanent free tier. Of those, a team that needs to model localisation cost from published numbers rather than sit through a sales cycle to get a figure and content operations with many occasional reviewers, since seats are unlimited and only analytics users are charged are not what Phrase is typically brought in for.
What can wxrks do that Phrase cannot?
wxrks covers Published price ladder, Unlimited user seats, Four parallel meters, Published overage rates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

wxrks: Is this still Bureau Works?

Yes. The company rebranded to wxrks on 23 March 2026 and bureauworks.com redirects to wxrks.com. The legal entity is Bureau Translations Inc.

Phrase: What is the lowest-cost Phrase plan?

The Freelancer plan starts at $27/month when billed annually, including 1 TMS Seat and 200K managed words.

Source
wxrks: Is the free plan permanent?

Yes. It allows 60,000 processed words a year along with API call, AI token and machine translation allowances, and unlimited user seats. A fourteen day trial of paid features is offered separately.

Phrase: Does Phrase offer a free trial?

Yes, Phrase offers a 14-day free trial of Enterprise features across all plan types.

Source
wxrks: What happens when I exceed the word allowance?

You pay a published per-word overage rate, from 0.0009 USD on Starter falling to 0.0003 USD on the largest plans, rather than being cut off.

Phrase: What are the per-seat costs for higher Phrase tiers?

The Team plan ($1,245/month) provides unlimited TMS seats and 20 Strings Seats. Business and Enterprise plans have unlimited seats but require custom quotes for pricing.

Source
wxrks: Do connectors cost extra?

The pricing page states connectors are billed separately but publishes no rate. Get the figure in writing before signing, because it is the one unbounded item in an otherwise transparent price list.

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