Smartling Review

Smartling is a powerful translation management platform designed for enterprises looking to expand their global reach and efficiently manage multilingual content. It solves the challenges of translating and localizing content across multiple languages and markets by providing a centralized system for automating translation workflows, collaborating with translation teams, and gaining insights through analytics.

Smartling's cloud-based platform is ideal for marketing, localization, and development teams who need to deliver localized experiences to international customers at scale. It streamlines the entire localization process by integrating with popular content platforms, enabling visual context for translators, and leveraging AI and machine translation to speed up the translation process.

One of Smartling's standout features is its Global Delivery Network, which simplifies website localization by allowing businesses to translate their sites without modifying the underlying code. This proxy-based solution enables the rapid deployment of multilingual web content.

With Smartling, enterprises can improve the efficiency and consistency of their translations, reduce manual work through automation, and make data-driven decisions using the platform's comprehensive analytics. By connecting content across teams and systems, Smartling helps businesses break down language barriers and engage global audiences more effectively.

For companies serious about succeeding in international markets, Smartling provides the tools and expertise needed to optimize and scale localization efforts. Its all-in-one platform empowers teams to manage translation projects with ease, ensuring high-quality multilingual content delivery and a stronger global brand presence.

Smartling: What Is the Product?

Smartling is a cloud-based translation management platform that helps businesses translate and localize their content across multiple languages and markets. It provides automated translation workflows, integrations with various content platforms, and analytics to streamline the localization process for global companies.

What Are Smartling's Main Features?

Smartling is built for businesses looking to expand their global reach and efficiently manage multilingual content. It helps marketing, localization, and development teams overcome language barriers and deliver localized experiences to international customers.

Translation Management System

Smartling's core Translation Management System (TMS) centralizes and automates the translation process. It provides a unified platform for managing content across multiple projects, languages, and teams. The TMS includes features like workflow automation, translation memory, and quality assurance tools to improve efficiency and consistency.

Visual Context

Smartling offers visual context tools that allow translators to see exactly how translations will appear in the final product. This feature helps translators understand the context of the content they're working on, leading to more accurate and culturally appropriate translations.

Data Analytics

The platform provides comprehensive data analytics and reporting capabilities. Users can track translation progress, costs, and quality metrics in real-time. These insights help businesses optimize their localization strategies and make data-driven decisions.

Integrations

Smartling offers numerous integrations with popular content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and marketing tools. These integrations allow for seamless content flow between Smartling and other systems, reducing manual work and streamlining the localization process.

AI-Powered Translation

Smartling incorporates AI and machine translation capabilities to speed up the translation process. Users can leverage machine translation for initial drafts or less critical content, while still having the option for human review and editing to ensure quality.

Global Delivery Network

Smartling's Global Delivery Network (GDN) is a proxy-based solution that allows businesses to translate websites without changing their underlying code. This feature simplifies website localization and enables rapid deployment of multilingual content.

Smartling Pricing

• Smartling offers two main plans, covering both basic translation needs and more robust enterprise-scale solutions. Pricing includes optional machine translation at rates as low as $0.0075 per word, AI translations for $0.06 per word, AI human translation at $0.12 per word, or professional human translation for $0.20 per word. The platform includes project management, workflow customization, and add-on integrations (e.g., CMS, marketing automation, eCommerce). Learn more at https://www.smartling.com/plans.

Core

Ideal for individuals or small teams looking to translate business documents. Includes basic workflows, access to pre-built integrations, and 180 days of Translation Memory storage.

Enterprise

Designed for larger organizations needing advanced workflows, fully customizable reporting, unlimited Translation Memory, and robust linguistic tools. This tier also supports bringing your own translators and top-of-the-line LQA capabilities.

Smartling Capterra Review Summary

Smartling receives mixed reviews on Capterra, with users generally finding it adequate but not exceptional. The tool is praised for its ease of use but criticized for lacking advanced features.

• Link to Reviews

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Good for basic translation management
• Offers room for contact and questions
• "It's easy to use, it offers room for contact and questions, has a great AI and good quality translation matches." - User review from July 23, 2022

Cons

• Lacks advanced features
• Limited control for translators
• Steeper learning curve for a comprehensive solution
• "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 ..." - User review from Capterra

Smartling would be suitable for businesses needing basic translation management with an easy-to-use interface. However, it may not be ideal for professional translators or companies requiring more advanced translation features and control.

Smartling G2 Review Summary

Smartling receives generally positive reviews on G2, with users praising its user-friendliness and fast loading times. However, some users note issues with translation accuracy and consistency.

Link to Reviews

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Fast loading times
• Excellent customer support
• "Smartling is an excellent tool, so user-friendly and very fast loading times. I am extremely happy with it." - Source

Cons

• Inconsistent translation quality
• Issues with translation memory usage
• "The system is far from perfect in translation and translation memory usage." - Source

Smartling appears to be a good fit for businesses seeking a user-friendly translation management tool with strong customer support. However, companies requiring highly accurate and consistent translations may need to consider alternatives or implement additional quality control measures.

Reddit Review Summary

Sentiments about Smartling are generally mixed, with users acknowledging both strengths and limitations. While some find it to be a competent translation management tool, others point out areas where it falls short compared to alternatives.

Pros

• Pleasant user interface and sensible features
• Effective for managing translations across multiple platforms

"They are pretty good but if you have content translated outside their platform it's kinda a pain to incorporate." - Reddit user

Cons

• Difficulty incorporating translations from outside the platform
• UI limitations compared to other translation memory software

"The UI of all these TM software tools sucks. Typing in a little box feels like I am writing on a napkin or post it note." - Reddit user

Smartling appears to be a solid choice for businesses needing to manage translations across multiple platforms, but may not be ideal for translators who require more advanced features or flexibility in incorporating external translations.

Smartling

• LinkedIn URLSmartling is an AI-powered translation management platform with over 25,000 followers on LinkedIn. The company is recognized as a top translation management system by CSA Research and G2. Their cloud-based platform offers AI-powered content and workflow management, performance dashboards, and cost estimating features to help companies grow globally faster.

Smartling's TrustPilot Reviews

The TrustPilot reviews for Smartling are generally positive, with users praising its efficiency and user-friendly interface. However, there are some mixed opinions regarding customer support and pricing.

Link to Reviews

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Efficient translation management
• Streamlines localization processes
• Integration capabilities

"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." Source

Cons

• Pricing concerns for some users
• Occasional customer support issues
• Learning curve for complex features

"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, but the price was relatively high." Source

Smartling would be an excellent choice for businesses looking to streamline their translation and localization processes, especially those with complex websites or marketing materials. However, smaller companies or those with limited budgets might find the pricing challenging.

Who Smartling Is Best For

Smartling is an ideal solution for mid-sized to large enterprises that need to efficiently manage and automate their translation and localization processes across multiple platforms and content types. It caters especially well to fast-growing global companies looking to accelerate their international go-to-market efforts.

The platform is best suited for marketing, product, support, and localization teams that need to collaborate seamlessly to deliver multilingual content at scale. Smartling's automation capabilities, customizable workflows, and robust analytics empower these teams to streamline the end-to-end localization process while maintaining high quality.

For marketing teams, Smartling integrates with popular CMS, marketing automation, and eCommerce platforms, enabling them to easily manage multilingual websites, product descriptions, ad copy, emails, and more. Product teams can leverage Smartling's API and mobile SDKs to localize web and mobile apps efficiently.

Larger organizations with dedicated localization teams will appreciate Smartling's advanced linguistic tooling, quality assurance features, and ability to bring their own translation vendors. The platform scales well to support high-volume, complex localization needs.

However, very small businesses or individuals with basic translation requirements may find Smartling's feature set to be overkill. Professional translators looking for a standalone CAT tool with deep editing capabilities might prefer other options as well.

Overall, Smartling is a powerful and flexible platform that caters to the diverse needs of enterprise go-to-market teams operating in multiple geographies and languages. Its sweet spot is helping larger companies automate and optimize their localization processes to reach global audiences faster.

Final Thoughts

Smartling is a robust translation management platform that empowers enterprises to optimize and scale their localization efforts. Its comprehensive feature set, automation capabilities, and seamless integrations make it an ideal solution for fast-growing global companies looking to accelerate their international go-to-market strategies.

While Smartling may be overkill for small businesses with basic translation needs, it excels at helping larger organizations streamline their end-to-end localization processes. By enabling collaboration across marketing, product, support, and localization teams, Smartling ensures the efficient delivery of high-quality multilingual content at scale.

With its advanced linguistic tooling, customizable workflows, and robust analytics, Smartling provides the flexibility and insights needed to adapt to diverse localization requirements. As businesses expand into new geographies and languages, Smartling's platform scales alongside them, supporting their global growth objectives.

For enterprises serious about engaging international audiences and building a strong global brand presence, Smartling is a top choice. Its all-in-one platform simplifies the complexities of localization management, allowing go-to-market teams to focus on delivering exceptional multilingual experiences to their customers worldwide.