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Translation · head to head

Pontoon vs Smartling

Pontoon logo

Pontoon

Translation

Mozilla open source localisation platform that you host yourself

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 Pontoon has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Pontoon there is no hosted commercial edition, so adopting it means running Django, PostgreSQL and a task queue yourself and keeping them patched.; 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: Pontoon covers Repository sync, 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 Pontoon and Smartling actually diverge.

Attributes where Pontoon and Smartling differ
AttributePontoonSmartling
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb, 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 Pontoon

  • Repository sync
  • Suggest and approve workflow
  • Fluent support
  • Machine translation suggestions
  • Contributor statistics

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.

Pontoon

  • Open source projects with volunteer translator communities across many localesnot Smartling
  • Organisations that must keep translation data on their own infrastructurenot Smartling
  • Projects using Mozilla Fluent where commercial tools have partial or no supportnot Smartling
  • Replacing a per seat translation platform where contributor count, not word volume, drives the billnot Smartling

Smartling

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

Where each one falls short

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

Pontoon

  • There is no hosted commercial edition, so adopting it means running Django, PostgreSQL and a task queue yourself and keeping them patched.
  • No vendor support and no service level agreement exist, so an outage during a release freeze is your engineering problem alone.
  • The roadmap serves Mozilla localisation needs first, and features outside that scope are unlikely to be built for you.
  • Format coverage is narrow next to commercial systems: it is strong on PO and Fluent, weak on document formats such as InDesign or complex XML.
  • Because you host it, security and compliance evidence such as an external audit report does not exist, so any assurance your customers need has to be produced by your own team.

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

Pontoon

Free
  • Open source, self-hostedFree
    • No licence fee and no per contributor charge
    • You provide hosting, database and maintenance
    • Machine translation billed by whichever engine you connect

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 Pontoon if

  • You need repository sync.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want suggest and approve workflow.
Pontoon 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 Pontoon or Smartling better?
Neither clearly leads. Pontoon 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, Pontoon or Smartling?
Pontoon has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pontoon and On request for Smartling.
Does Pontoon or Smartling run on more platforms?
Pontoon runs on Web, Self-hosted. Smartling runs on Web, API.
Can I use Pontoon for free?
Yes. Pontoon has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Smartling starts at On request.
What is Pontoon best used for?
Pontoon is most often used for open source projects with volunteer translator communities across many locales, organisations that must keep translation data on their own infrastructure, projects using mozilla fluent where commercial tools have partial or no support, replacing a per seat translation platform where contributor count, not word volume, drives the bill. Of those, open source projects with volunteer translator communities across many locales and organisations that must keep translation data on their own infrastructure are not what Smartling is typically brought in for.
What can Pontoon do that Smartling cannot?
Pontoon covers Repository sync, Suggest and approve workflow, Fluent support, Machine translation suggestions. 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

Pontoon: Is there a paid hosted version?

No. Mozilla runs an instance for its own projects. Anyone else deploys their own.

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.

Pontoon: What does it actually cost?

Server hosting, engineering time to operate it, and whatever machine translation engine you connect. There is no licence fee.

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.

Pontoon: Is it suitable for a commercial product?

Only if you have infrastructure staff and mostly software string formats. Document translation and vendor support are missing.

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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