Smartling vs Crowdin

Smartling and Crowdin are two of the most popular tools in the translation category, but they take different approaches to solving the same problems. Smartling, developed by Smartling (founded 2009), is described as "enterprise translation management platform with ai-powered translation memory and workflow automation.". Meanwhile, Crowdin by Crowdin (founded 2009) "collaborative localization platform for managing translations of software, websites, and apps.". In terms of overall user satisfaction, Crowdin edges ahead with a rating of 4.4/5.0, compared to Smartling's 4.3/5.0 — a difference of 0.1 points. Crowdin's strongest advantages include great for software localization, community collaboration, while Smartling is praised for enterprise-grade. Both tools are priced around Custom pricing, so cost isn't a differentiator here — the decision comes down to capabilities rather than budget. Neither tool is perfect: Smartling's main drawbacks include expensive, complex setup, while Crowdin users typically cite complex for non-developers as its biggest limitation. However, Smartling has an edge in enterprise localization, which might be the tiebreaker if that's important to you. In terms of target audience, Smartling is particularly popular among enterprises and localization teams, while Crowdin tends to attract developers and localization managers. Our verdict: Crowdin holds a slight edge, but the gap is narrow enough that both tools are worth trying. Start with the free tier of each and see which fits your workflow better.