Translation · head to head
Microsoft Translator vs Smartling
Microsoft Translator
Translation
Azure AI Translator, priced at $10 per million characters for standard text translation with volume commitment discounts available
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Smartling
Translation
Enterprise translation management sold alongside first-party language services priced per word
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Translator has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Translator published free-tier detail is thinner than Google’s or Amazon’s clearly stated character allowances, making it harder to estimate cost from public documentation alone.; 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: Microsoft Translator covers Text translation API, Smartling covers Translation memory.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Translator and Smartling actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Translator | Smartling |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Per million characters | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Windows | Web, 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 Microsoft Translator
- Text translation API
- Document translation
- Speech translation
- Custom Translator
- Microsoft Translator app
- Volume commitment pricing
Only in Smartling
- Translation memory
- Visual context CAT editor
- Configurable workflows
- First-party language services
- Linguistic quality assurance
- Connectors and API
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft Translator
- A developer already building on Azure who wants translation billed through the same cloud account as other servicesnot Smartling
- An enterprise with high, predictable translation volume that negotiates a commitment-tier discountnot Smartling
- A Microsoft 365 organisation using built-in document and Teams translation without a separate integration projectnot Smartling
- A team needing speech translation as part of a broader Azure AI Speech deploymentnot Smartling
Smartling
- A company that wants one supplier answerable for both the translation platform and the quality of the translated outputnot Microsoft Translator
- Marketing sites where a translator needs to see the rendered page, not a spreadsheet of strings, to get tone and length rightnot Microsoft Translator
- Replacing a platform vendor plus several separate agencies with a single contract and a single invoicenot Microsoft Translator
- Content operations at a volume where per-word rates are the dominant cost and the tooling fee is noisenot Microsoft Translator
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Microsoft Translator
- Published free-tier detail is thinner than Google’s or Amazon’s clearly stated character allowances, making it harder to estimate cost from public documentation alone.
- Translation quality for major language pairs is broadly comparable to Google Translate and Amazon Translate, so there is little functional differentiation beyond price and Azure ecosystem convenience.
- Commitment-tier discounts require a negotiated minimum spend, so smaller developers without predictable volume do not get Microsoft’s most competitive published rate.
- Custom Translator model training and management add operational complexity beyond simple API calls, requiring parallel training data the buyer must supply and maintain.
- Adopting it while already using a different primary cloud (AWS or Google Cloud) means managing a second cloud billing relationship purely for translation, which is administratively unappealing for some teams.
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
Microsoft Translator
Free- Microsoft Translator (consumer app)Free
- Free text, voice and camera translation
- Azure AI Translator (standard)$10/month
- $10 per million characters translated
- Free tier for limited monthly volume
- Azure AI Translator (commitment tier)$undefined/month
- Discounted per-character rate for a committed minimum monthly volume, quoted by Microsoft
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 Microsoft Translator if
- You need text translation api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
- You also want document translation.
Choose Smartling if
- You need translation memory.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want visual context cat editor.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Translator or Smartling better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Translator 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, Microsoft Translator or Smartling?
- Microsoft Translator has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Translator and On request for Smartling.
- Does Microsoft Translator or Smartling run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Translator runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. Smartling runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Microsoft Translator for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Translator has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Smartling starts at On request.
- What is Microsoft Translator best used for?
- Microsoft Translator is most often used for a developer already building on azure who wants translation billed through the same cloud account as other services, an enterprise with high, predictable translation volume that negotiates a commitment-tier discount, a microsoft 365 organisation using built-in document and teams translation without a separate integration project, a team needing speech translation as part of a broader azure ai speech deployment. Of those, a developer already building on azure who wants translation billed through the same cloud account as other services and an enterprise with high, predictable translation volume that negotiates a commitment-tier discount are not what Smartling is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Translator do that Smartling cannot?
- Microsoft Translator covers Text translation API, Document translation, Speech translation, Custom Translator. Smartling covers Translation memory, Visual context CAT editor, Configurable workflows, First-party language services.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Microsoft Translator: How does Microsoft’s per-character price compare to Google’s?
Microsoft charges $10 per million characters for standard translation, about half Google’s $20 NMT rate.
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.
Microsoft Translator: Is there a free tier?
Yes, for limited monthly volume, though Microsoft publishes less specific detail on the exact allowance than Google or Amazon do.
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.
Microsoft Translator: Can I get a discount for high volume?
Yes, through commitment-tier pricing negotiated with Microsoft for a minimum monthly spend.
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.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Translator
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