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Translation · head to head

POEditor vs Smartling

POEditor logo

POEditor

Translation

Localisation management billed by string count with unlimited contributors

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 POEditor has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: POEditor the quota counts every string on the account, including obsolete terms from retired features, so cost creeps upward unless someone deliberately prunes projects.; 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: POEditor covers String based billing, Smartling covers Visual context CAT editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which POEditor and Smartling actually diverge.

Attributes where POEditor and Smartling differ
AttributePOEditorSmartling
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by string countquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, 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 POEditor

  • String based billing
  • Format coverage
  • API and webhooks
  • Machine translation
  • Contributor roles

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.

POEditor

  • Software with many target languages and a volunteer or community translator poolnot Smartling
  • Development teams that want new strings pushed from continuous integration and translations pulled back automaticallynot Smartling
  • Small companies that cannot justify per seat pricing for translators who work occasionallynot Smartling
  • Open source projects that qualify for the free plan and need real workflow rather than a spreadsheetnot Smartling

Smartling

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

Where each one falls short

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

POEditor

  • The quota counts every string on the account, including obsolete terms from retired features, so cost creeps upward unless someone deliberately prunes projects.
  • Several projects share one account quota, so a team can be pushed into a higher tier by work in an unrelated repository.
  • There is no in-context or visual editor, so translators guess at where a string appears and length or gender errors surface only after a build.
  • Quality assurance checks are basic compared with the larger platforms, with no configurable rule sets or enforced terminology gates.
  • The company is small, support is email based, and there is no self-hosted or on-premises option, which rules it out where data residency is contractually fixed.

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

POEditor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Around 1000 strings
    • Unlimited contributors and languages
    • Open source projects can apply for a free plan
  • Start$14.99/month
    • Higher string quota
    • API access
    • Translation memory
  • Plus$29.99/month
    • Larger string quota
    • Repository integrations
    • Webhooks
  • Premium$59.99/month
    • Large string quota across all projects
    • Priority support

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 POEditor if

  • You need string based billing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want format coverage.
POEditor 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 POEditor or Smartling better?
Neither clearly leads. POEditor 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, POEditor or Smartling?
POEditor has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for POEditor and On request for Smartling.
Does POEditor or Smartling run on more platforms?
POEditor runs on Web. Smartling runs on Web, API.
Can I use POEditor for free?
Yes. POEditor has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Smartling starts at On request.
What is POEditor best used for?
POEditor is most often used for software with many target languages and a volunteer or community translator pool, development teams that want new strings pushed from continuous integration and translations pulled back automatically, small companies that cannot justify per seat pricing for translators who work occasionally, open source projects that qualify for the free plan and need real workflow rather than a spreadsheet. Of those, software with many target languages and a volunteer or community translator pool and development teams that want new strings pushed from continuous integration and translations pulled back automatically are not what Smartling is typically brought in for.
What can POEditor do that Smartling cannot?
POEditor covers String based billing, Format coverage, API and webhooks, Machine translation. 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

POEditor: Does it charge per translator?

No. Contributors and languages are unlimited on every plan. Only the total string count is billed.

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.

POEditor: Is there a free plan for open source?

Yes, open source projects can apply for a free plan, which is why many community translated applications use it.

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.

POEditor: Does it support in-context translation?

No. Translators work from the string list and any comments or screenshots you attach, not from a live preview.

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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