Select the options that apply to you and we'll show you some suitable CAT tools:
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| Description: |
A cloud-based translation management platform built for marketing and export teams at mid-sized manufacturers translating catalogues, datasheets, and brochures into multiple languages, without a dedicated localisation team. |
| Type: |
Translation Management System, CAT tool |
| Suitable for: |
Documents — InDesign, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, XLIFF, JSON, SRT, and more |
| Who Uses It: |
Manufacturing marketers and technical writers, graphic design agencies, publisheres, e-learning content creators |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud |
| Highlights: |
- Very easy to use, minimal training required
- Organise and manage your project files using folders, just like in Google Drive
- Supports InDesign, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, JSON, HTML, XLIFF files directly (11 compatible file formats), returned in their original format
- Quick Revisions: when a document changes, only the new or edited text needs retranslating, not the whole file again
- Translation Memory and a shared Glossary keep terminology consistent across every translator on a project
- AI translation with DeepL, Google Translate, or ChatGPT available
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| Pricing: |
Project Pass from €95 for a single project (up to 5 documents, AI translation included, no subscription), or the Workspace Plan from €289/month for ongoing translation needs. See our full guide to computer-assisted translation without a localisation team. |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Users love how intuitive and easy it is to use the software with collaborators, as well as the responsive support team.
- While initially known for its InDesign translation features, the tool has since expanded its capabilities to Microsoft Office documents and other file formats.
Read all reviews on G2 | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of Redokun on YouTube
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| Description: |
A cloud-based AI-powered localization/translation platform combining a CAT tool, translation management, and a marketplace of 500,000+ freelance linguists, aimed at businesses and LSPs needing end-to-end content translation, creation, and QA. |
| Type: |
Cloud Translation Management System / CAT tool with marketplace |
| Suitable for: |
Documents, marketing and website content, structured files, ongoing multilingual content workflows |
| Who Uses It: |
Marketing/localization teams, LSPs, in-house translators, freelance translators (via marketplace) |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Built-in freelancer marketplace (500,000+ linguists)
- Translation memory matches are unmetered on every paid plan
- Usage-based "Smartwords" allowance model rather than flat per-seat pricing
- Unlimited users on all paid plans
- Named a Leader in G2's Fall 2026 grids for computer-assisted translation and localisation grids
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| Pricing: |
Adapt from $1,200/year, scaling through Accelerate ($24,000/year) and Anticipate ($60,000/year) to a custom Autonomous tier, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
15-day free trial, including API access |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for ease of use, centralized workflow (translation + PM + payments in one place), strong support. Common complaints: freelancer payment delays (60+ days reported), inconsistent AI translation quality, steep jumps between pricing tiers.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.6/5, 167 reviews) | Capterra (4.5/5, 140 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Smartcat on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A desktop-and-cloud CAT tool made by RWS (formerly "SDL Trados Studio" before RWS dropped "SDL" post-2020 merger), widely used by professional translators, LSPs, and enterprise localization teams as an industry-standard translation productivity tool. |
| Type: |
CAT tool and Translation Productivity Software (desktop + cloud editors) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, and more), structured and technical files, professional translation projects |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance translators, LSPs, enterprise localisation teams |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Both — Windows-only desktop app plus browser-based editors, including Trados Go |
| Highlights: |
- Latest release "Trados Studio 2026," with AI features via an integrated "Language Weaver Pro" add-on
- Widely described as the industry standard many agencies require
- Real-time collaboration, AI review, and quality-scoring on Team/Business tiers
- Offered as annual subscription and, on some business tiers, perpetual license
- Enterprise tier includes 26 workflow templates and fully customizable workflows
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| Pricing: |
From £24/month (Trados Go) up to £34–408/month or /year on freelance, Team, Business, and Enterprise tiers, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
14 days on freelance plans; also offered on Pro, Team, and Business tiers |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Valued for translation memory, feature richness, segment-level review, and industry-standard status. Criticized for high cost, performance issues/crashes on large files, a cluttered/dated interface, and Windows-only limitation.
Read all reviews on G2 (listed as “Trados,” 4.0/5, 154 reviews) | Capterra (4.3/5, 88 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Trados Studio on YouTube
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Image obtained from ALL PC World
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| Description: |
A desktop/cloud CAT tool from memoQ (Kilgray) — the individual-translator-focused product within the broader memoQ TMS suite — used for translation, editing, and terminology/translation-memory management. |
| Type: |
CAT tool (individual desktop-plus-web licence, part of the wider memoQ TMS platform) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents, structured and technical files, individual and small-team translation projects |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance and individual translators (the separate memoQ TMS product serves LSPs and enterprise teams) |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Both — desktop application plus a web-based online editor |
| Highlights: |
- Subscription-only licensing, with no perpetual-licence option
- Monthly or annual subscription, same features on both
- 24/7 support included on every tier
- Part of the wider memoQ TMS product line (Starter, Essential, Professional, Enterprise)
- Reviewers note strong stability relative to some competitors
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| Pricing: |
€396/licence/year (or €44/licence/month), see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
14-day trial, no payment details required |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for intuitive design, strong TM/terminology tools, responsive support, and stability. Criticized for a steep learning curve on advanced features, a web version seen as lagging the desktop app, a cluttered UI, and no native Mac support.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.5/5, 132 reviews — mostly for memoQ broadly, not this specific edition) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a review of memoQ on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A cloud localization/translation management platform built for product and engineering teams, managing software UI strings, app, and website localization with deep dev-tool integrations. |
| Type: |
Cloud localisation platform and translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
App localization, website/UI strings, software products; documents to a lesser extent |
| Who Uses It: |
Product managers, developers, and localisation managers at SaaS and tech companies |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only (web platform, plus CLI, API, and SDKs) |
| Highlights: |
- Unlimited translator and reviewer seats, and hosted words, on every paid plan
- Priced on processed words and the number of advanced (manager/developer) seats
- Integrations with GitHub, Figma, Jira, and 14+ other tools
- AI-powered translation and translation memory built in
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| Pricing: |
From $149/month (Explorer) up to $1,049/month (Advanced), or a custom Enterprise tier. Monthly or yearly billing. see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
14 days, no credit card required, on all plans |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for ease of use, responsive support, and integrations (GitHub, Figma, Jira). Criticized for tedious key/tag/screenshot management, shallow glossary functionality, and costly Figma-integration tiers.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.7/5, 763 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of Lokalise on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A cloud translation management platform combining AI/machine translation, a self-service portal, and managed translation services, for businesses needing document/content localization with optional professional linguist review. |
| Type: |
Cloud translation management system and CAT tool |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (including PDF), website localisation widget content, business content needing team review |
| Who Uses It: |
Business teams and LSPs wanting a mix of self-service AI translation and outsourced professional translation |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Free self-service tier: 15,000 words/month for one user
- Website localisation widget included from the free tier up
- AI applies client-specific terminology and style automatically
- Higher tiers add API, integrations, SSO, and supervised AI workflows
- Optional paid outsourcing to Text United's own professional translators
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| Pricing: |
Self-Service FREE €0/mo (15,000 words, 1 user); Self-Service TEAM €150/mo (100,000 words, 10 users); OnePlatform €780/mo (500,000 words, unlimited users); OneEnterprise = custom, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Free self-service tier; trials also offered on paid tiers |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for customer service and machine-translation quality. Some reviewers note occasional slowness, and pricing that feels steep for smaller teams.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.3/5, 58 reviews) | Capterra (4.7/5, 53 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Text United on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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|
| Description: |
A cloud localization/translation management platform for product and marketing teams. Acquired by XTM International in January 2025. |
| Type: |
Cloud localisation platform and translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
Software and app strings, website content, marketing content, developer-driven localisation |
| Who Uses It: |
Product teams, marketing teams, developers, and localisation managers |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Acquired by XTM International in January 2025; confirmed still active and independently marketed as Transifex
- Unlimited projects and files, even on the entry Starter tier
- Included AI-translation word allowances that scale by tier
- 46+ listed integrations
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| Pricing: |
Starter from $160/mo (monthly) or $135/mo (annual), 10 collaborators; Growth from $236/mo (monthly) or $200/mo (annual), 30 collaborators, scales with word volume; Enterprise+ = custom, 100 collaborators, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Free to start, no credit card required — see current terms |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for ease of use, GitHub/GitLab integrations, real-time sync, and TM/glossary consistency. Criticized for pricing steep for smaller teams, slowdowns on large files, cumbersome permission management, weak mobile experience.
Read all reviews on G2 (listed as “XTM Transifex,” 4.2/5, 723 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of Transifex on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A cloud localization management platform for software/product teams, providing AI-assisted translation, translation memory, and developer-tool integrations for app/website string localization. |
| Type: |
Cloud localisation platform and translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
App localisation, software UI strings, website content |
| Who Uses It: |
Product and engineering teams, localisation managers at tech companies |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Priced on “linguistic credits” (word-based usage) rather than flat per-seat fees
- Unlimited seats included, even on the entry Starter plan
- Bitbucket and Azure DevOps integrations at Team tier and above, plus GitHub and GitLab
- Enterprise tier offers on-premises availability and enterprise SSO/SCIM
- Up to 12% discount for annual billing
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| Pricing: |
Starter €45/month (100k credits, ~15k words/month); Team €115/month (500k credits, ~75k words/month); Pro €345/month (1M credits, ~150k words/month); Enterprise = custom. USD/GBP also offered, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
14 days, no credit card required |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for intuitive interface, responsive support, GitHub/GitLab integrations. Criticized for a recent UI redesign seen as more confusing/buggy, inadequate search/filtering, and pricing seen as expensive for smaller teams.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.5/5, 72 reviews) | Capterra (4.6/5, 78 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of LingoHub on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
An AI-powered translation and localization management platform combining automation with human review, for translating and managing content across websites, apps, and documents. |
| Type: |
Cloud translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF), websites, mobile apps, software strings, design files, subtitles |
| Who Uses It: |
Marketing teams, engineering teams, localisation professionals, and enterprises |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Visual context editor shows translations in place on the page or screen
- Translation memory and glossary/terminology management built in
- Design plugins for Adobe and Sketch, alongside CI/CD integration for engineering teams
- On-Demand, pay-per-document option alongside subscription tiers
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| Pricing: |
Basic from $200/month billed annually (50,000 hosted words), Pro from $800/month billed annually (300,000 hosted words), or a custom Enterprise/On Demand tier, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Not advertised on the pricing page; On Demand allows pay-as-you-go with no commitment |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for intuitive interface, strong TM/glossary tools, visual context feature. Criticized for a "dated" UI requiring many clicks, inconsistent AI translation quality, higher/unexpected enterprise pricing.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.4/5, 709 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of Smartling on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
An enterprise AI-powered language/localization platform formed from the 2023 Memsource–Phrase merger, offering translation management, AI orchestration across MT engines/LLMs, and multimedia/software localization. |
| Type: |
Localisation platform and translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
Websites, software and app strings, games, video (subtitling and dubbing), enterprise documentation |
| Who Uses It: |
Localisation managers, developers, and marketers at enterprises |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud, API-first |
| Highlights: |
- AI-powered orchestration routes content across multiple machine-translation engines and LLMs
- Automated quality evaluation and scoring
- Multimedia localisation (dubbing, subtitles) alongside software and web localisation
- Formed from the 2023 Memsource–Phrase merger
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| Pricing: |
Team plan from $1,245/month billed annually (20 seats), Software UI/UX plan from $525/month billed annually (15 seats), or custom Business/Enterprise tiers, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
14-day free trial across plans |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for intuitive navigation, efficient TM/terminology workflows, responsive support. Criticized for inconsistent AI translation accuracy, high/rising pricing, occasional slowness on large files.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.5/5, 1,327 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Phrase on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
An AI-powered cloud localization platform for managing translation of software, websites, apps, and games, with deep developer-tool integrations. |
| Type: |
Localisation platform and translation management system |
| Suitable for: |
Software applications, mobile apps, websites, video games, marketing materials, technical documentation |
| Who Uses It: |
Development-led teams, from small teams to large enterprises |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- Deep developer-tool integrations for automatic content sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
- AI Assistant and a choice of machine-translation engines
- Free tiers for Open Source and Academic projects
- CDN for Translations add-on (free up to 1M requests/10GB transfer)
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| Pricing: |
Paid tiers scale with word volume — see current pricing for exact figures |
| Free Trial: |
Free plan available; 14-day trial of the Team plan; 30-day Enterprise trial; 30-day money-back guarantee |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for ease of use, collaboration/integration features (especially GitHub), translation quality. Criticized for a cluttered/confusing interface, steep learning curve, pricing steep for freelancers/small teams.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.4/5, 729 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of Crowdin on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A no-code website translation and multilingual SEO tool that automatically detects and translates site content via AI, with a layer for human refinement. |
| Type: |
No-code website translation and multilingual SEO tool (not a general document CAT tool) |
| Suitable for: |
Website content only — product pages, blog posts, metadata |
| Who Uses It: |
E-commerce stores, marketing agencies, and organisations translating a website rather than documents |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud SaaS, no code required |
| Highlights: |
- Visual editor shows in-context translations directly on the live site
- Automatically detects and translates new content as the site updates
- Multilingual SEO built in, including hreflang tags and translated URLs
- Access to professional human translators from the Business tier up
- 70+ native integrations, including WordPress, Shopify, and custom-built sites
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| Pricing: |
Free $0/mo (2,000 words, 1 language); Starter $17/mo or $170/yr (10,000 words, 1 language); Business $32/mo or $320/yr (50,000 words, 3 languages); Pro $87/mo or $870/yr (200,000 words, 5 languages); Advanced $329/mo or $3,290/yr (1,000,000 words, 10 languages); Extended $769/mo or $7,690/yr (5,000,000 words, 20 languages); Enterprise = custom, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Freemium (2,000 words/1 language) plus a stated 14-day trial period |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for fast setup, the visual editor, highly responsive support. Criticized for pricing that escalates quickly with word count, and MT quality needing manual correction.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.7/5, 763 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Weglot on YouTube
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Image obtained from Weglot
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| Description: |
A cloud-based translation management system for localizing software strings, websites, apps, and games, combining AI translation with human/team collaboration. |
| Type: |
Cloud translation management system (string-based localisation tool) |
| Suitable for: |
Mobile apps, websites, video games, marketing copy, general software strings |
| Who Uses It: |
Software and product teams |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only, EU-hosted |
| Highlights: |
- String-based (not word-based) pricing model
- Free tier: 1,000 strings, unlimited projects and contributors
- REST API for automating localisation pipelines, plus Git integrations
- Free for Open Source projects with OSI-approved licences
- Contributors on others' projects incur no charge
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| Pricing: |
Free tier at $0/month (1,000 strings); paid tiers scale with string volume — see current pricing for exact figures |
| Free Trial: |
Automatic 10-day trial, no credit card required, plus a permanent free tier |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for a simple, intuitive interface, REST API automation, Git integrations. Criticized for clunky user/access management, aggressive tier jumps, and a desire for better in-context translation views.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.5/5, 93 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of POEditor on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A secure, document-first AI translation management platform for organizations (education, healthcare, enterprise, government, LSPs) needing controlled, compliant translation of files rather than casual web text. |
| Type: |
Translation management system (document-focused, AI-assisted) |
| Suitable for: |
Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Workspace files, scanned docs (OCR), subtitles, XLIFF, JSON, XML, audio/video (30+ file types) |
| Who Uses It: |
Education, healthcare, enterprise, government, and LSP organisations needing controlled, compliant document translation |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud (web app); a companion mobile app, PairaVoice, is also offered |
| Highlights: |
- Multi-engine AI translation (PairaphraseGPT, DeepL, Google, Microsoft), selectable per job
- Formatting preservation for translated documents
- Security and access controls for sensitive or regulated content
- LSP Partner Program tier for agencies managing client work
- Side-by-side language comparison view
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| Pricing: |
Bronze $3,420/yr (1–2 users, 600,000 words/yr, 2 MT engines, Word/Excel/PPT); Silver $5,988/yr (up to 5 users, 12M words/yr, 5 MT engines incl. ChatGPT/PairaphraseGPT, 30+ file formats); Gold $10,200/yr (up to 15 users, 25M words/yr, all AI features); Custom/Enterprise = custom; LSP Partner Program $7,500/yr (25 seats), see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Not stated on the pricing page — confirm directly |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for multi-engine flexibility, time savings, responsive support. Criticized for formatting problems (corrupted lists, unwanted bold/italic, layout issues in PowerPoint/Excel) needing manual cleanup.
Read all reviews on Capterra (4.3/5, 25 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Pairaphrase on YouTube
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Image obtained from Capterra
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| Description: |
TransPerfect's enterprise language intelligence/translation management platform suite, covering TMS, website, app-string, and media localization for large global brands, combining AI (TowerLLM orchestration) with managed human review. |
| Type: |
Enterprise translation management system and localisation platform (product suite) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents and workflow, websites, mobile and software strings, regulatory content, media and subtitles |
| Who Uses It: |
Large enterprises — marketers, content authors, and IT teams — in e-commerce, finance, life sciences, and media |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud-based enterprise platform |
| Highlights: |
- Modular product suite (TMS, Web, Strings, Media, and more) rather than a single tool
- TowerLLM: a model-agnostic AI layer routing across machine-translation and LLM engines
- Backed by TransPerfect's human linguist and LSP network
- Repeatedly recognised in G2's translation-management-system research reports
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| Pricing: |
Not publicly listed — contact sales for a quote |
| Free Trial: |
Not offered — enterprise, sales-led model |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for intuitive interface, broad integrations, translation quality, support responsiveness. Criticized for high/unclear costs ("skyrocketing costs"), slow performance on large files, complex initial implementation.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.5/5, 193 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of GlobalLink on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2k
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| Description: |
An AI-powered translation management system (TMS) for enterprise localisation teams, part of the broader XTM platform (which also includes Transifex for software localisation, Rigi, and XTRF for LSP operations). |
| Type: |
Translation management system (Cloud TMS) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents, websites, software and app strings, marketing content |
| Who Uses It: |
Enterprise localisation and globalisation teams, large brands, and LSPs |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud only |
| Highlights: |
- 60+ pre-built connectors and integrations, plus API access
- AI-powered post-editing and machine-translation quality scoring
- Customisable, automated translation workflows with translation memory and terminology management
- Modular product family (TMS, Platform, XTRF, Rigi, Video Creation Cloud) sold separately or combined
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| Pricing: |
Not publicly listed — contact sales or book a demo |
| Free Trial: |
Not stated — demo/consultation only, no self-serve trial advertised |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised for strong customer support, TM/terminology tools, integrations. Criticized for a confusing/outdated interface, escalating costs at scale, MT/AI features seen as lagging competitors.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.3/5, 145 reviews) | Capterra
🎥 Watch a demo of XTM Cloud on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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| Description: |
A free, open-source CAT tool for professional and volunteer translators, providing translation memory, fuzzy matching, and glossary support across 30+ file formats. |
| Type: |
CAT tool (desktop, open source) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (Office, HTML, XML, and more), software/app string files, subtitles |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance and volunteer translators, small LSPs |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux — Java-based) |
| Highlights: |
- Completely free and open source, with no restrictions on use, copying, or modification
- Fuzzy matching and translation memory leverage
- Runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Actively developed — latest version 6.1.1, released September 2026
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| Pricing: |
Free (open-source licence) |
| Free Trial: |
N/A — free indefinitely |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Valued as free, stable, reliable, with strong TM/fuzzy-matching. Interface repeatedly called outdated relative to paid tools, with weaker project-management features.
Read all reviews on G2 (3.7/5, 16 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of OmegaT on YouTube
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Image obtained from OmegaT
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| Description: |
A feature-rich desktop CAT tool for freelance translators, offering AI/MT integration, smart autocompletion, and cross-compatibility with other CAT tools' file formats. |
| Type: |
CAT tool (desktop) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, InDesign, PDF, and more) |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance and independent professional translators |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Desktop only (Windows, macOS, Linux); licence permits use on 2 computers |
| Highlights: |
- Built by a translator, with AI and machine-translation integration
- Smart autocompletion with one-click text insertion
- Reads and writes files compatible with Trados, memoQ, and Wordfast
- Free indefinite use available, with size limits on translation memory and glossary
- Team collaboration via TM server functionality
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| Pricing: |
One-time perpetual licence €200, or an annual subscription at €80/year, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Freemium — free indefinite use with translation-memory/glossary size limits; full features unlocked by purchase |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- No G2 or Capterra listing exists for this tool. On ProZ, reviewers describe it as simple and stable, built by a translator who understands translators' needs, though some note difficulty importing files from other CAT tools.
Read reviews on ProZ
🎥 Watch a demo of CafeTran Espresso on YouTube
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Image obtained from CafeTran Espresso
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| Description: |
A free, open-source, browser-based CAT tool combining translation memory and machine translation to maximize match rates; developed with Translated S.r.l. as a key partner. |
| Type: |
CAT tool (browser-based, open source) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents uploaded for MT-assisted post-editing; also supports outsourcing via Translated's marketplace |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance translators, small businesses and agencies, students |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Cloud (browser-based) only — no offline mode |
| Highlights: |
- Free and open source (LGPL licence), with code on GitHub
- Built-in machine translation with multiple engines and accuracy levels
- Translation memory and glossary support to boost match rates
- Collaborative/team features for outsourcing projects
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| Pricing: |
Free |
| Free Trial: |
N/A — free tool |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Liked for a clean/minimal interface and free access, especially by freelancers/students. Noted downsides: requires an internet connection (no offline mode), memory/crash issues, over-segmentation, and privacy concerns about uploading client files externally.
Read all reviews on G2 (4.0/5, 13 reviews)
🎥 Watch a demo of Matecat on YouTube
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Image obtained from Wikipedia
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| Description: |
A platform-independent, standalone desktop translation-memory tool for translators, LSPs, and corporations; part of the wider Wordfast family (Classic, Anywhere, Server). |
| Type: |
CAT tool (desktop, standalone) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents across many formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and specialised translation file types) |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance translators (notably Mac users), LSPs, corporate translation departments |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Desktop (Windows 64-bit, macOS, Linux) |
| Highlights: |
- One of few CAT tools with native macOS support
- Batch processing across multiple file formats
- Transcheck feature for automated consistency and QA checking
- Bundled "Wordfast Translation Studio" combines Pro + Classic licenses
- Discounted pricing tier for developing economies
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| Pricing: |
Wordfast Pro $480 standard / $240 developing-economies; Wordfast Classic $480 standard / $260 developing-economies; Wordfast Translation Studio (bundle) $580 standard / $290 developing-economies; Wordfast Server = custom. All USD, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
Available via the Wordfast site |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- Praised as more affordable than Trados or memoQ, with an easier learning curve and native macOS support. Reviewers recommend trying the free entry-level Wordfast offerings before committing to Pro.
Read all reviews on Capterra (4.3/5, 31 reviews) | G2 (4.0/5, 3 reviews — small sample)
🎥 Watch a demo of Wordfast Pro on YouTube
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Image obtained from G2
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 alt=“swordfish-translation-editor”> |
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| Description: |
An XLIFF-based, standards-driven CAT tool made by Maxprograms, supporting 50+ file formats and multiple TM/MT engine integrations for professional translators and LSPs. |
| Type: |
CAT tool (desktop) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents (Office, InDesign, DITA, HTML, JSON, and 50+ other formats) |
| Who Uses It: |
Freelance and independent professional translators, small LSPs valuing open-standards workflows |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Desktop (Windows, macOS; source available on GitHub for other platforms) |
| Highlights: |
- Built around open standards (XLIFF, TMX) to avoid vendor lock-in
- Supports 50+ file formats
- Multiple machine-translation integrations (DeepL, Google, Azure, ModernMT), plus AI assistants
- File compatibility with Trados, memoQ, and Wordfast Pro
|
| Pricing: |
One-year subscription, $140, see current pricing |
| Free Trial: |
30-day free trial via an evaluation key request |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- No G2 or Capterra listing exists for this tool. On ProZ, reviewers praise its cross-platform support, low cost, and developer support, though terminology databases can't be edited directly in the app.
Read reviews on ProZ
🎥 Watch a demo of Swordfish on YouTube
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Image obtained from Maxprograms
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 |
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| Description: |
A long-established (30+ years) translation-memory and localisation tool from STAR Group (Switzerland), for corporate localisation departments, project managers, and LSPs handling multilingual, multi-format projects. |
| Type: |
CAT tool and localisation platform (desktop, with flexible licensing including SaaS options) |
| Suitable for: |
Documents, software localisation, video subtitling |
| Who Uses It: |
Corporate localisation departments, project managers, translation agencies |
| Cloud or Desktop: |
Both — STAR Group offers on-site, floating, time-limited, and SaaS licensing |
| Highlights: |
- Multi-format, multilingual translation memory built around context rather than sentence-by-sentence matching
- Morphological support in 80+ languages
- AI and machine-translation integrations, including Amazon, DeepL, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI
- Integrated terminology management via TermStar
- Network installation and flexible licensing (perpetual, subscription, floating, SaaS)
|
| Pricing: |
Not published by STAR Group — a reseller lists the plain “Professional” edition from $2,860 perpetual, but the exact “Professional+” edition and price are unconfirmed; contact STAR Group for a quote |
| Free Trial: |
30-day free evaluation licence |
| What Reviewers Say: |
- No G2 or Capterra listing exists for this tool, and no independent scored review summary was found.
See ProZ’s comparison page
🎥 Watch a demo of Transit NXT on YouTube
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FAQ
What is the most used CAT tool?
Depending on the type of work, different CAT tools suit different needs. In this list we've shared some of the most popular and most-used CAT tools.
Is Google Translate a CAT tool?
The short answer is no, Google Translate is not a CAT tool but a machine translation provider. CAT tools offer advanced features in addition to machine translation suggestions.
What are CAT tools for translators?
CAT tools for translators are tools that assist translators when translating documents and help them translate documents faster, and more efficiently.
Are there free CAT tools?
Yes, there are free CAT tools. Only some of them are: Across, MateCat, and OmegaT.
Ultimately, no amount of research and reviews can beat your own user experience. Most CAT tools can be tried for free, so definitely make full use of that!
If curious to learn more - here's a detailed guide about cat tools.
