If you're localizing software beyond 2-3 languages, you need a translation management system. Managing JSON files manually across 8 languages, syncing with translators over email, and tracking what's been translated in a spreadsheet doesn't scale.
The TMS market has four main players for software teams: Crowdin, Lokalise, Phrase (formerly Memsource), and Transifex. They all solve the same core problem but differ significantly in pricing, workflow, integration depth, and where they're strongest.
I've tested all four with real localization projects. Here's an honest comparison.
Quick comparison table
| Feature | Crowdin | Lokalise | Phrase | Transifex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free (open source) | $120/mo | Custom | $80/mo |
| Free tier | Yes (open source projects) | 14-day trial | 14-day trial | Free (open source) |
| GitHub/GitLab integration | Excellent | Good | Good | Good |
| CLI tool | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Machine translation engines | 10+ including custom | Google, DeepL, Amazon | 30+ | Google, Amazon |
| In-context editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Translation memory | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Over-the-air delivery | Yes (SDK) | Yes (SDK) | No | Yes |
| API access | Full REST API | Full REST API | Full REST API | Full REST API |
| Best for | Dev teams, open source | Product teams | Enterprise, agencies | Open source, community |
Crowdin
What it does well
Crowdin is the most developer-friendly TMS. Its GitHub integration is genuinely seamless: push new strings to your repo, Crowdin detects them, translators work in the Crowdin interface, and approved translations come back as pull requests. The cycle takes minutes once set up.
The free tier for open source projects is real and generous. Many major open source projects (including several large JavaScript frameworks) use Crowdin for community translations.
Machine translation engine support is broad. You can plug in Google Translate, DeepL, Amazon, Microsoft, and custom engines including Langbly. The pre-translation feature lets you automatically translate new strings with a machine translation engine, then have human translators review and correct.
Crowdin's over-the-air (OTA) delivery through their mobile and web SDKs lets you push translation updates without redeploying your app. Useful for mobile apps where app store review cycles slow down fixes.
What it doesn't do well
The user interface feels dated compared to Lokalise. The translation editor works but it's not as polished. Project organization can get messy with many files and branches.
Pricing for the paid tiers (Team plan at $50/seat/month) adds up fast with larger teams. If you have 10 team members (developers + translators + PMs), that's $500/month.
Pricing
- Free: Open source projects, unlimited strings, unlimited languages
- Team: ~$50/seat/month (minimum team size varies)
- Business: Custom pricing, additional features (glossaries, workflow automation)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, SLA, dedicated support
Lokalise
What it does well
Lokalise has the best user experience of the four. The interface is clean, fast, and intuitive. Non-technical team members (product managers, marketers) can navigate it without training.
The screenshot feature is particularly useful: upload screenshots of your app, and Lokalise visually maps strings to their location in the UI. Translators see exactly where their translations will appear, which dramatically improves context and quality.
Workflow management is strong. You can set up multi-step review processes (translate, review, approve) with role-based permissions. Good for teams that need quality gates.
Lokalise's Figma integration stands out for design teams. Import text from Figma designs, translate, and push back to Figma. This closes the gap between design and localization workflows.
What it doesn't do well
Pricing is the highest among the four. Starting at $120/month with usage-based scaling, it gets expensive quickly. Machine translation engine selection is more limited than Crowdin or Phrase.
The Git integration works but requires more setup than Crowdin's. It's functional, not seamless.
Pricing
- Start: $120/month (1,000 keys, 5 users)
- Essential: $280/month (5,000 keys, 10 users)
- Pro: $620/month (20,000 keys, 20 users)
- Enterprise: Custom
Additional keys and users cost extra. The per-key pricing model means costs scale with your product's string count, not just team size.
Phrase (formerly Memsource)
What it does well
Phrase is the most feature-complete platform, especially for enterprise needs. It combines a TMS (Phrase Strings) with a full CAT tool (Phrase TMS, formerly Memsource), giving you both developer-facing string management and professional translator tools in one platform.
Machine translation engine support is the broadest: 30+ engines including all major providers and custom integrations. The machine translation quality estimation (MTQE) feature automatically scores machine translation output and flags strings likely to need human review, which saves translator time.
For companies working with external translation agencies, Phrase's vendor management features are strong. You can assign work to different agencies by language pair, track progress, manage costs, and maintain quality metrics per vendor.
What it doesn't do well
Phrase's pricing is opaque. There's no public pricing page for most plans, and you need to contact sales for a quote. This is fine for enterprise buyers but frustrating for small teams trying to evaluate options.
The platform has grown through acquisitions (Memsource + Phrase), and the integration between the TMS and CAT tool sides occasionally feels stitched together rather than unified.
The learning curve is steeper than Crowdin or Lokalise. Phrase has more features, which means more complexity to navigate.
Pricing
- Phrase Strings: Starts around $25/seat/month (contact sales for exact pricing)
- Phrase TMS: Separate pricing for the CAT tool component
- Enterprise: Custom bundles combining both products
Transifex
What it does well
Transifex was one of the original localization platforms for software projects. It's well-established with a strong community of open source translators.
The API is clean and well-documented. If you want to build custom workflows around your TMS rather than use the built-in ones, Transifex's API makes that straightforward.
Transifex Native (their OTA delivery system) works well for mobile and web apps. You can push translation updates without app store resubmissions, similar to Crowdin's OTA.
The community translation feature is genuine. If your product has passionate users who want to contribute translations (common in gaming, open source, and community-driven products), Transifex supports this workflow out of the box.
What it doesn't do well
The interface hasn't kept pace with Lokalise or Crowdin. It's functional but feels older.
Machine translation engine options are more limited than Crowdin or Phrase. You get Google and Amazon, but adding custom engines requires more setup.
Documentation quality varies. Some features are well-documented; others require trial and error.
Pricing
- Free: Open source projects
- Starter: ~$80/month
- Growth: ~$240/month
- Scale: Custom pricing
Which TMS should you pick?
There's no universal best choice. Here's a decision framework:
Pick Crowdin if:
- You're a development-led team that values Git integration above all else
- You have an open source project (free tier)
- You want broad machine translation engine support (including custom engines like Langbly)
- Budget is a concern and you need a free or low-cost starting point
Pick Lokalise if:
- Your product and design teams need to be involved in the localization process
- User experience and interface quality matter to your team's adoption
- You use Figma and want design-to-translation workflow
- You need visual context (screenshots) for translators
Pick Phrase if:
- You're an enterprise or work with external translation agencies
- You need both a TMS and professional CAT tool
- Machine translation quality estimation (MTQE) matters for your workflow
- You need vendor management features
Pick Transifex if:
- You have a community of volunteer translators
- You want strong API-first integration with custom workflows
- You need OTA delivery for mobile apps
- You have an open source project (free tier)
Machine translation in your TMS workflow
All four platforms support machine translation as a pre-translation step. The typical workflow is:
- New strings are detected (via Git sync or manual upload)
- Machine translation engine generates first-pass translations
- Translators review, edit, and approve
- Approved translations sync back to your codebase
The quality of the machine translation engine directly affects how much work translators need to do on step 3. Context-aware translation engines produce output that needs less editing than traditional NMT engines, which means faster turnaround and lower translation costs.
The cost of the machine translation engine also matters. At $20-25 per million characters with Google or DeepL, pre-translating 100K strings across 10 languages can cost $200-500. With Langbly at $1.99-3.80 per million characters, the same job costs $20-40. When you're pre-translating regularly as part of continuous localization, these costs accumulate. See our Google Translate pricing and DeepL pricing guides for detailed cost comparisons.
Do you even need a TMS?
If you're localizing into 1-2 languages with infrequent updates, a TMS adds complexity without proportional benefit. A simple workflow works:
- Extract strings to JSON files
- Translate with a translation API
- Have a native speaker review
- Commit to your repo
A TMS becomes valuable when:
- You support 4+ languages
- Multiple people contribute translations
- You ship features frequently and need translations to keep pace
- You need translation memory to avoid re-translating similar strings
- Quality review workflows are important
For the broader context on how TMS fits into your localization process, read our localization strategy guide and software localization guide.
Bottom line
Crowdin is the safest default for development teams. It's free for open source, affordable for small teams, has the best Git integration, and supports the widest range of machine translation engines. Lokalise wins on UX. Phrase wins on enterprise features. Transifex wins on community translation.
Whichever you pick, the TMS is the orchestration layer. The translation quality comes from the machine translation engine you plug into it. Choosing a good engine saves your translators time and your company money on every string that ships.