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Translation · head to head

Gengo vs Weglot

Gengo logo

Gengo

Translation

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Weglot logo

Weglot

Translation

Make your website multilingual in minutes

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Weglot 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.; Weglot free plan is capped at 2,000 words and a single language
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gengo and Weglot actually diverge.

Attributes where Gengo and Weglot differ
AttributeGengoWeglot
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 Weglot

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 Weglot
  • A company integrating the Gengo API into a content pipeline to automatically route text for human translationnot Weglot
  • A support team needing occasional human-translated responses without committing to Unbabel’s enterprise minimumnot Weglot
  • A publisher needing straightforward, transparently priced human translation for shorter, lower-stakes contentnot Weglot

Weglot

  • E-commerce store translation into multiple languages instantlynot Gengo
  • Government website content accessibility in native languagesnot Gengo
  • Educational institution information in student/parent native languagesnot Gengo
  • International website reach for marketing teamsnot Gengo
  • Custom web application translation with media file supportnot 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.

Weglot

  • Free plan is capped at 2,000 words and a single language
  • Starter plan at $17 per month is limited to 1 language; reaching 3 languages requires the $32 per month Business plan
  • Word caps scale by tier from 10,000 on Starter up to 5,000,000 on the $769 per month Extended plan, with Enterprise priced on request beyond that

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

Weglot

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2000 words
    • 1 language
  • Starter$17/month
    • 10000 words
    • 1 language
  • Business$32/month
    • 50000 words
    • 3 languages
  • Pro$87/month
    • 200000 words
    • 5 languages
    • Professional translator access

Which should you pick?

Choose Gengo if

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

Choose Weglot if

  • You want to start without paying.

Questions people ask

Is Gengo or Weglot better?
Neither clearly leads. Gengo starts at On request and Weglot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gengo or Weglot?
Weglot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Gengo and Free for Weglot.
Does Gengo or Weglot run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Weglot for free?
Yes. Weglot 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 Weglot is typically brought in for.
What can Gengo do that Weglot 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.

Weglot: What is Weglot's pricing model?

Weglot offers seven tiers from free ($0/month with 2000 words, 1 language) to Enterprise (custom pricing). The Pro plan at $87/month includes 200,000 words and 5 languages with professional translator access.

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.

Weglot: Does Weglot offer a free trial?

Yes, all plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Users can test the platform before committing to a paid plan.

Source
Gengo: Who owns Gengo?

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

Weglot: What discount does Weglot offer for annual subscriptions?

Subscribe annually to receive 2 months free, effectively discounting your annual cost by one-sixth. You only pay the difference when upgrading plans mid-billing cycle.

Source
Weglot: How does Weglot handle over-limit usage?

When accounts exceed their plan's word limit, Weglot sends email notifications. An auto-upgrade feature is available to automatically move to the next tier without service interruption.

Source
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