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Translation · head to head

Gengo vs Transifex

Gengo logo

Gengo

Translation

Human translation marketplace and API, priced per word from $0.06, owned by Lionbridge since 2019

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Transifex logo

Transifex

Translation

Turn localization into a background process, not a resource drain

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Transifex has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Gengo it is not a fit for specialised legal, medical or literary translation, since the crowdsourced model is built for higher-volume, lower-complexity content.; Transifex word-based scaling creates unpredictable costs beyond base subscription
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gengo and Transifex actually diverge.

Attributes where Gengo and Transifex differ
AttributeGengoTransifex
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer wordsubscription
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Gengo

  • Standard and Pro quality tiers
  • Developer API
  • No minimum spend
  • Crowdsourced translator network
  • Bulk file upload
  • CMS and platform integrations

Only in Transifex

Nothing recorded that Gengo does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Gengo

  • An e-commerce seller translating product listings into multiple languages without a minimum spend requirementnot Transifex
  • A company integrating the Gengo API into a content pipeline to automatically route text for human translationnot Transifex
  • A support team needing occasional human-translated responses without committing to Unbabel’s enterprise minimumnot Transifex
  • A publisher needing straightforward, transparently priced human translation for shorter, lower-stakes contentnot Transifex

Transifex

  • Software localization and translation managementnot Gengo
  • Multi-language content platformsnot Gengo
  • Translation team collaboration and workflowsnot Gengo

Where each one falls short

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

Gengo

  • It is not a fit for specialised legal, medical or literary translation, since the crowdsourced model is built for higher-volume, lower-complexity content.
  • Quality consistency depends on which individual translator from the crowdsourced network is assigned, which can vary more than a dedicated agency relationship would.
  • Turnaround, while fast for its category, is still meaningfully slower than a machine translation API, since every job requires a human to complete it.
  • Since being acquired by Lionbridge in 2019, Gengo’s product direction is now set within a much larger localisation company’s priorities rather than as an independent business.
  • Per-word pricing, while transparent, is still substantially more expensive per unit of content than a machine translation API, so it is a poor fit for translating very large volumes of low-stakes content.

Transifex

  • Word-based scaling creates unpredictable costs beyond base subscription
  • AI words restricted to annual plans only for some tiers
  • Vague collaborator limits (10, 30, 100) with broad definitions
  • Custom Enterprise+ pricing not published
  • Separate AI words and MT words add-ons create additional costs

Pricing, plan by plan

Gengo

On request
  • Standard$0.06/month
    • Human translation, $0.06 per word starting rate
    • No minimum spend or setup fee
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Higher-quality tier, rate varies by language pair and content type
    • Human translation with additional review

Transifex

Free
  • Starter$160/month
    • Unlimited projects and files
    • Translation Memory
    • Online editor
  • Starter Annual$1620/year
    • Same features as monthly Starter, paid annually for $135/month equivalent
  • Growth$236/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Advanced capabilities
    • 60,000 AI words per year on annual plans
  • Growth Annual$null/year
    • Starting at $200/month equivalent with usage-based scaling

Which should you pick?

Choose Gengo if

  • You need standard and pro quality tiers.
  • You also want developer api.
Gengo review

Choose Transifex if

  • You want to start without paying.
Transifex review

Questions people ask

Is Gengo or Transifex better?
Neither clearly leads. Gengo starts at On request and Transifex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gengo or Transifex?
Transifex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Gengo and Free for Transifex.
Does Gengo or Transifex run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Transifex for free?
Yes. Transifex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gengo starts at On request.
What is Gengo best used for?
Gengo is most often used for an e-commerce seller translating product listings into multiple languages without a minimum spend requirement, a company integrating the gengo api into a content pipeline to automatically route text for human translation, a support team needing occasional human-translated responses without committing to unbabel’s enterprise minimum, a publisher needing straightforward, transparently priced human translation for shorter, lower-stakes content. Of those, an e-commerce seller translating product listings into multiple languages without a minimum spend requirement and a company integrating the gengo api into a content pipeline to automatically route text for human translation are not what Transifex is typically brought in for.
What can Gengo do that Transifex cannot?
Gengo covers Standard and Pro quality tiers, Developer API, No minimum spend, Crowdsourced translator network.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gengo: Is Gengo machine translation or human translation?

Human translation. It should be compared with Unbabel, not with Google Translate, Microsoft Translator or Amazon Translate, which are machine translation APIs.

Transifex: Does Transifex have a free plan?

Yes, Transifex offers a free trial at app.transifex.com/signup with no credit card required.

Source
Gengo: Is there a minimum spend?

No, Gengo publishes per-word pricing with no minimum spend or setup fee, unlike Unbabel’s enterprise-gated rate structure.

Transifex: What's the starting price for a paid plan?

The Starter plan costs $160 per month USD (or $135 per month on annual billing, $1,620 per year). It includes unlimited projects, translation memory, online editor, and collaboration tools.

Source
Gengo: Who owns Gengo?

Lionbridge, a larger localisation and AI data services company, acquired Gengo in January 2019.

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