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Translation · head to head

OmegaT vs Smartling

OmegaT logo

OmegaT

Translation

Free, open source desktop CAT tool under the GPLv3, maintained by a volunteer community rather than a company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Smartling logo

Smartling

Translation

Enterprise translation management sold alongside first-party language services priced per word

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OmegaT has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: OmegaT there is no commercial support contract available, so a business relying on it for critical work has only community forums to fall back on when something breaks.; Smartling translation memory is retained for only 180 days on the Core tier, so the asset that would make a future migration cheap expires on the plan most likely to be used by a team testing the water.
  • They diverge on capability: OmegaT covers Glossary support, Smartling covers Visual context CAT editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OmegaT and Smartling actually diverge.

Attributes where OmegaT and Smartling differ
AttributeOmegaTSmartling
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, API

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 OmegaT

  • Glossary support
  • Wide format support
  • Project-based workflow
  • Machine translation plugin support
  • Cross-platform desktop app

Only in Smartling

  • Visual context CAT editor
  • Configurable workflows
  • First-party language services
  • Linguistic quality assurance
  • Connectors and API

Both cover

  • Translation memory

What people use each for

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

OmegaT

  • A freelance translator who wants translation memory and fuzzy matching without paying for a Trados or memoQ licencenot Smartling
  • A small language service provider standardising on a free tool for individual translators before investing in a shared TMSnot Smartling
  • A translator working with files from clients using commercial CAT tools, leveraging Okapi’s format support for compatibilitynot Smartling
  • A developer or power user who wants to inspect, modify or extend the tool since it is open source under the GPLv3not Smartling

Smartling

  • A company that wants one supplier answerable for both the translation platform and the quality of the translated outputnot OmegaT
  • Marketing sites where a translator needs to see the rendered page, not a spreadsheet of strings, to get tone and length rightnot OmegaT
  • Replacing a platform vendor plus several separate agencies with a single contract and a single invoicenot OmegaT
  • Content operations at a volume where per-word rates are the dominant cost and the tooling fee is noisenot OmegaT

Where each one falls short

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

OmegaT

  • There is no commercial support contract available, so a business relying on it for critical work has only community forums to fall back on when something breaks.
  • It lacks the cloud-hosted, real-time collaborative project management features of commercial TMS platforms like memoQ or Smartling.
  • The interface is a Java desktop application with a dated look and feel compared with modern web-based CAT tools, which affects onboarding speed for new users.
  • Release cadence and feature development depend on volunteer contributor availability rather than a company roadmap, so some requested features take a long time to arrive, if ever.
  • Machine translation integration requires configuring third-party API keys (Google, DeepL) separately, adding setup steps a commercial all-in-one tool would handle natively.

Smartling

  • Translation memory is retained for only 180 days on the Core tier, so the asset that would make a future migration cheap expires on the plan most likely to be used by a team testing the water.
  • The platform subscription is not published while the per-word service rates are, so you can model the variable cost precisely and cannot model the fixed cost at all until you have been through a sales sizing exercise.
  • The vendor earns on words routed through it, so the commercial relationship rewards volume flowing to Smartling rather than volume being avoided through better reuse of existing memory.
  • Per-word pricing multiplies by target language, so adding a market to a product that ships in twelve languages costs a thirteenth of the current translation bill rather than a marginal amount.
  • Minimum contract term, minimum annual spend and whether individual connectors carry their own charge are all absent from the public site, so three of the numbers that determine total cost only appear inside a proposal.

Pricing, plan by plan

OmegaT

Free
  • OmegaTFree
    • Full CAT tool functionality, GPLv3 licensed
    • No paid tier, no vendor support contract available

Smartling

On request
  • Core$undefined/year
    • Subscription price not published
    • Basic workflow, user and project management
    • Browser CAT editor with visual context
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Subscription price not published
    • Fully configurable dynamic workflows
    • Translation memory with unlimited storage
  • Language services, charged separately per word$undefined/year
    • Machine translation from 0.0075 USD per word
    • AI translation from 0.06 USD per word
    • AI translation with human review from 0.12 USD per word

Which should you pick?

Choose OmegaT if

  • You need glossary support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want wide format support.
OmegaT review

Choose Smartling if

  • You need visual context cat editor.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want configurable workflows.
Smartling review

Questions people ask

Is OmegaT or Smartling better?
Neither clearly leads. OmegaT starts at Free and Smartling at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OmegaT or Smartling?
OmegaT has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OmegaT and On request for Smartling.
Does OmegaT or Smartling run on more platforms?
OmegaT runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Smartling runs on Web, API.
Can I use OmegaT for free?
Yes. OmegaT has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Smartling starts at On request.
What is OmegaT best used for?
OmegaT is most often used for a freelance translator who wants translation memory and fuzzy matching without paying for a trados or memoq licence, a small language service provider standardising on a free tool for individual translators before investing in a shared tms, a translator working with files from clients using commercial cat tools, leveraging okapi’s format support for compatibility, a developer or power user who wants to inspect, modify or extend the tool since it is open source under the gplv3. Of those, a freelance translator who wants translation memory and fuzzy matching without paying for a trados or memoq licence and a small language service provider standardising on a free tool for individual translators before investing in a shared tms are not what Smartling is typically brought in for.
What can OmegaT do that Smartling cannot?
OmegaT covers Glossary support, Wide format support, Project-based workflow, Machine translation plugin support. Smartling covers Visual context CAT editor, Configurable workflows, First-party language services, Linguistic quality assurance. Both handle Translation memory.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OmegaT: Is OmegaT really free, with no paid version?

Yes, it is fully free and open source under the GPLv3, with no commercial edition or vendor support contract sold alongside it.

Smartling: Is there a free plan?

The Core tier is advertised as free to start, but translation memory is kept for only 180 days on it and any production deployment is a quoted subscription. Treat it as an evaluation route, not a plan.

OmegaT: Who maintains OmegaT?

A volunteer open source community, not a company; this differs from MateCat, which is developed and hosted by the company Translated.

Smartling: What does the platform actually cost?

Smartling does not publish it. The published figures are per-word service rates. Expect an annual subscription sized against your content volume, workflows and language count, quoted after a scoping call.

OmegaT: Can it open files from Trados or Wordfast?

Yes, via the bundled Okapi Filters plugin, which supports SDLXLIFF, TTX, TXML and many other commercial CAT tool formats.

Smartling: Can I use Smartling with my own translators?

Yes, the platform works with your own vendors and freelancers. You then pay for software and forgo the services revenue the pricing model is built around, which weakens your negotiating position on the subscription.

Smartling: What happens to my translation memory if I leave?

Translation memory is exportable, but on Core it only covers the previous 180 days, so leaving after two years on the entry tier means most of the asset is already gone.

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