# Smartling Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Smartling the right Translation Management solution for you? Explore 18 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/151866/Smartling/reviews --- Smartling 3.4 (18) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/151866/Smartling/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Smartling Ease of use 3.8 Customer Service 3.5 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-18 of 18 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use ayse A. translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "super" October 2, 2020 5.0 Pros I was able to translate thanks to this software, or rather to work with a company on the other side of the world, with their instructions. It was fun. Interactive. Smooth to use. Cons nothing to say, it was great experience of work Review Source VL Vivien L. Linguist Translation and Localization Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Love the ease of use" October 10, 2025 5.0 I use it a couple of times a week when working for one of my favorite translation agencies and I always get my work done super fast Pros My favorite part is the use of use is especially when it comes to inserting suggested translation, and the user in a face Cons What I don’t like about smartling is when you scroll it’s super annoying because it is not in real time. Switched from [memoQ TMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/162762/memoQ/) Company decision so it was not my choice Review Source RR Rares R. Marketing Operations Manager Hospitality Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Decent but might not be what you're looking for" March 11, 2023 3.0 Pros The platform is easy to navigate and has a user-friendly interface. We were able to upload our content and manage translations without any issues. Smartling offers a variety of translation services, and the ones we used were machine translation and human translation. This allowed us to choose the option that best suited our needs and budget. I liked some of the features like smart match or the glossary which enabled us to have a brand identity that helped in adjusting the translated content to fit our own narrative. Cons The machine translation offered by Smartling was not always accurate and required a lot of manual editing. This increased the time and effort required to complete the project. The pricing structure of translation services was not always transparent, and we ended up paying a very expensive bill, especially with the GDN function for our website. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Project Manager Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great tool for website localization (if implemented properly)" July 16, 2019 4.0 The platform has streamlined an otherwise tedious process to manage. Marketing and localization projects can be tough to keep track of without a tool like this to track all the small moving parts. Seeing the translation in layout for a website is extremely powerful. Pros Smartling makes it very easy for companies to translate their website and manage multilingual updates to their content. It requires very little maintenance after setup for the client, and is simple and straightforward on the translator's side as well. Cons Smartling doesn't require the use of some of the features that make it so powerful, such as visual context. For one of our clients, we are translating their website, and despite our best efforts, they will not share the visual context with us. Apart from the live updates, this is one of the most powerful features of the platform, and allows the translators to provide the best possible translation. Context matters, but is sadly not required. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Project Coordinator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I've had a great experience with Smartling and their customer service." June 5, 2018 4.0 Pros I like that we're able to upload all of our content with ease and pull the strings we need to authorize for translation. Overall ease of use. Cons We wish it was less expensive. The price is pretty hefty and I know we'd prefer if it wasn't so high. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Head of Localization Translation and Localization Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### ""Enterprise" sales staff" July 28, 2021 2.0 We were asked by a client to use Smartling for translations. We had heard great things (great marketing!) about Smartling from Smartling but never from any actual translators. Ultimately, Smartling is a large company with a sales staff as large as their engineering staff and they are really good at selling. But the translation software is really hard to use and many of our translators refused to use it after just 2 projects. That says a lot! We were able to convince our client to ditch Smartling and we've never agreed to use it again for any client. Pros Smartling has some great integration features for mobile app developers for very large organizations, but its cost-prohibitive and definitely not a "value". Cons The translation editor is worst-in-class. Literally every other translation editor I have used (and I have used a lot of them) works more quickly, more efficiently, and with a simpler user interface than Smartling's. It requires sales/customer service people just to set up and the limitations show that they don't really care about the translation part. They only care about integrating with the apps and selling monthly software contracts. Alternatives considered [Transifex](https://www.capterra.com/p/224043/Transifex/)[Phrase Localization Platform](https://www.capterra.com/p/276186/Phrase/)[Crowdin](https://www.capterra.com/p/163509/Crowdin/) Reason for choosing Smartling We didn't choose it, or customer did, and regretted it. Review Source Frantisek V. Freelance Translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Average CAT tool with many issues" December 19, 2018 3.0 Smartling is an average CAT tool. It does what it needs to do, but it does not have enough advanced features. You (as a translator) are not in control of the files nor TMs, but that is OK. My biggest concern is that it is very slow in comparison to other (mainly non-cloud) tools. I know that this is the price you pay for being always online, but we don’t want/need to be always online. My internet connection is good and still it lags sometimes. Working with TM is also not very user friendly, searching in TM is slow and search algorithm is not perfect. This CAT tool has a potential, but it needs to employ more features, allow the users to work offline, and give them better control of the files and TMs (not only to admins - who are often clients). If you are looking for something easy, you might give it a try. Pros Smartling is quite easy to use, not very difficult to master. Cons Very few advanced features, too slow to my liking... Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Sr International Marketing Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Poor translation quality" May 27, 2021 1.0 Pros This software is relatively easy to use and don't require much training to get used to it. Cons Their translation quality is actually really poor. Companies often make a mistake by thinking this is a localization tool but that's not the case. This tool is purely meant to translate your content and sometimes it's a purely literal translation from word a-to-z. Review Source MV Marieken V. Translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My favourite translation platform" July 23, 2022 5.0 Pros It's easy to use, it offers room for contact and questions, has a great AI and good quality translation matches Cons I like every feature of this platform that I use daily Review Source Alice Z. Freelance Translator Writing and Editing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Good product but too much complicated to use" August 17, 2022 3.0 I had some problems using the software and it took a long time to learn all the basics I needed to carry out my job. I'd prefere it to be more intuitive. Pros The product compares to other CAT-tools and offers the possibility to see original language and goal language one next to the other. Keyborad shortcuts available Cons Too many features and less intuitive than other products. Switched from [Phrase Localization Platform](https://www.capterra.com/p/276186/Phrase/) Different company Review Source VR Verified Reviewer translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Severe Vulnerability to Claiming Bots and Poor Support Response" March 27, 2026 1.0 Extremely frustrating and disappointing. Working on complex medical and specialized localization projects requires a secure, fair, and reliable platform. Smartling completely fails in this regard by ignoring blatant security flaws and allowing automated bots to hijack the entire workflow. By refusing to enforce their own compliance and security policies, they are compromising the integrity of the platform for both freelancers and enterprise clients. I strongly advise businesses to reconsider using a system that turns a blind eye to obvious API exploits and fails to protect its own project distribution environment. Pros The platform provides a standard, rather ordinary CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tool interface. It is functional enough for everyday localization and MTPE (Machine Translation Post-Editing) tasks, but there is nothing particularly outstanding or innovative about its core features compared to other established translation tools on the market. Cons The biggest issue is the complete lack of protection against automated scripts and API abuse. The project distribution (claiming) system is heavily exploited by users running bots that instantly snatch up all available tasks within a single second of publication. Honest professionals have absolutely zero chance to claim jobs manually. To make matters worse, Smartling’s technical support is entirely unhelpful. Even when provided with undeniable proof, timestamps, and logs of this obvious Terms of Service violation, they simply close the tickets without implementing any basic anti-bot measures or blocking the offending accounts. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Übersetzerin & Korrekturleserin Translation and Localization Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Mittelmäßige CAT-Funktionen / Benutzerfreundlichkeit für Übersetzer" April 19, 2023 3.0 eher mittelmäßiges Tool, eher für Websites geeignetEs tut sich entwicklungstechnisch zu wenig, um die obigen Probleme, die schon seit mind. 5 Jahren bestehen, endlich mal in den Griff zu bekommen. Pros Positiv ist, dass es in einem Browser läuft und nur selten Aussetzer hat. Allerdings braucht man eine Internetverbindung und kann nie offline arbeiten. Cons \- Schlechte Segmentierung (oft Segmente mit > 600 Wörtern statt nach Einzelsätzen)- Nichterkennung bereits vorhandener 100%-Matches (Zeitverlust/mehrfache Kosten)- Benutzerfreundlichkeit beim Umgang mit Tags- Oft nicht funktionierende Vorschau der zu übersetzenden Texte für Kontext etc., insbesondere auch bei Teilaktualisierungen von Texten sehr problematisch- Schwieriges Einheitlichhalten des TM-Inhalts- Nur sehr langsame Terminologieänderungen im TM möglich (kaum tragbar) Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Dolmetscherin & Übersetzerin Es-En-De/ Traductora e intérprete Es-En-De Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A kind of "meh" CAT tool. Very easy to use. New features are constanly being added." January 17, 2018 3.0 Good for beginners. Very intuitive and easy to use. Pros First of all, I have only used Smartling for a handful of projects at the request of a couple of clients. The software is extremely intuitive and easy to use, so if you are an absolute beginner Smartling might be a good starting point, rather than full-blown CAT tools such as SDL Trados or MemoQ. Even though it is still a bit rudimentary at the moment, new features are constantly being added. The developers are in touch with translators and keep in touch through a newsletter. Cons I find Smartling lacking important features for a professional translator, so you might want to wait until new features are added. For instance, the first time I used it didn't highlight spelling mistakes, but this functionality has now been added (among others, such as a multi-string editor). The tag-handling functionality has also been improved. Review Source aO adil O. company worker Commercial Real Estate Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "review smartling" August 5, 2021 4.0 It was a unique and useful experience, as I got distinctive and quick results through which I was able to save time to do other tasks, and this is considered very ideal for me Pros Speed ​​and ease of use, in addition to its unique feature, which is to download the entire content Cons I did not find any downsides other than the high price, but compared to the results obtained, the price is considered almost suitable Review Source BM Britt M. Translator Translation and Localization Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "User-friendly platform" May 10, 2023 4.0 I love working with Smartling, you can easily import and export many different file types, it has a great overview and many options for translating. Pros Smartling is really easy to use, even the first time I was working with it I did find all the options needed without spending hours to find out where all the buttons were. You can easily adjust your settings and preferences. Everything you need is there and easy to find. Cons The MT is not really accurate and the price is quite high. Review Source BV Bea V. Used the software for: 2+ years ### "null" September 6, 2018 5.0 Review Source kL kevin L. Designer-Marketing Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Customer service fail" February 24, 2020 2.0 Pros it works most of the time. Sometimes it doesn't and then it's hard to get any support at all. Cons Smartling does not support this product as it should. Review Source AVW Anabella Valeria W. Translator Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Smartling" December 11, 2019 4.0 I had a good experience using Smartling, but I prefer other translation softwares where I can see the whole document and not just the segment I am translating. Pros It is easy to use. I was assigned this year a project via Smartling platform and even without experience at that tie I could learn how to use it in a couple of minutes. Cons I was not able to see how the text I was translating would look like in the final document, I needed to send screenshots to the client in case of doubts. Review Source Similar Products Featured