Crowdin vs Lokalise: Which One Should You Choose in 2026?
When I started researching localization platforms, Crowdin and Lokalise were the two names that came up everywhere. Both had great reviews, impressive feature lists, and were used by major companies. But which one was right for our team?
I spent 3 months testing each platform extensively, implementing them in real projects, and measuring the results. Here's my honest comparison and the surprising conclusion I reached.
Quick Overview
Feature | Crowdin | Lokalise |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $50/month | $120/month |
| Setup time | 2-4 hours | 1-2 hours |
| File management | Required | Required |
| Translation quality | Excellent | Excellent |
| Team collaboration | Excellent | Excellent |
| Integrations | 100+ | 50+ |
| Best for | Enterprise teams | Mid-size teams |
Crowdin: The Enterprise Powerhouse
What I Loved
1. Extensive Integrations Crowdin integrates with everything—GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Jira, Figma, Slack, and 100+ other tools. If you use it, Crowdin probably integrates with it.
2. Advanced Workflows The approval workflows are sophisticated. You can set up multi-level approvals, assign different roles, and create complex approval chains. Perfect for enterprise teams with strict quality control requirements.
3. Translation Memory Crowdin's translation memory is powerful. It learns from your translations and suggests similar phrases, saving time and ensuring consistency.
4. Quality Assurance Built-in QA tools check for issues like missing translations, inconsistent terminology, and formatting errors.
What I Didn't Like
1. Steep Learning Curve Crowdin has so many features that it can be overwhelming. It took our team weeks to become proficient.
2. File Management Overhead Like all file-based platforms, managing translation files was a constant chore. Sync issues, missing keys, and file conflicts were regular occurrences.
3. Pricing Starting at $50/month, it's expensive for small teams. The pricing scales quickly as you add features and users.
4. Slow Sync Times Syncing files with our repository took anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on file size and network conditions.
Lokalise: The Developer-Friendly Option
What I Loved
1. Beautiful UI Lokalise has one of the best interfaces I've seen. It's intuitive, modern, and a pleasure to use.
2. Fast Setup Setup took about half the time compared to Crowdin. The onboarding process is smooth and well-designed.
3. Great for Mobile Lokalise excels at mobile app localization. Their mobile SDKs are well-documented and easy to implement.
4. Strong Collaboration The collaboration features are excellent. Comments, tasks, and user management work seamlessly.
What I Didn't Like
1. Higher Starting Price At $120/month for the Starter plan, it's significantly more expensive than Crowdin for small teams.
2. Fewer Integrations While the integrations they have are good, there are fewer options compared to Crowdin.
3. File Management Required Like Crowdin, you still need to manage translation files, which means all the associated overhead.
4. Limited Free Tier The free plan is very limited—you can't really use it for anything beyond testing.
The Hidden Costs of Both Platforms
What nobody tells you about is the hidden costs of using file-based platforms like Crowdin and Lokalise:
Developer Time
Our developers spent 15-20% of their time managing translation files instead of building features. Over 6 months, that's thousands of dollars in wasted developer time.
Sync Issues
Both platforms had sync issues occasionally. Files wouldn't sync properly, keys would get duplicated, and translations would be lost. Each issue required debugging and manual fixes.
Maintenance Overhead
Keeping translation files in sync across multiple languages and features is a full-time job. Someone needs to ensure all keys are present, translations are complete, and formatting is correct.
Deployment Delays
Every translation update requires a new app build and deployment. For critical fixes, this could mean hours or days of delay.
The Better Alternative: AutoLocalise
After testing both Crowdin and Lokalise, I discovered AutoLocalise—a completely different approach that eliminates all the downsides of file-based platforms.
What Makes AutoLocalise Different
1. No Translation Files AutoLocalise doesn't use files at all. You just wrap your app with the SDK, and translations happen automatically. No file management, no sync issues, no overhead.
2. Instant Updates When you update a translation, it's instant. No rebuilds, no redeployments, no waiting.
3. Minimal Developer Overhead Our developers now spend less than 2% of their time on localization, compared to 15-20% with Crowdin/Lokalise.
4. Affordable Pricing Starting at just $9/month, it's a fraction of the cost of Crowdin or Lokalise.
AutoLocalise vs Crowdin vs Lokalise
Feature | AutoLocalise | Crowdin | Lokalise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translation files | ❌ None | ✅ Required | ✅ Required |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | 2-4 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Update speed | Instant | 5-30 minutes | 5-15 minutes |
| Developer overhead | ~2% | ~20% | ~15% |
| Sync issues | ❌ None | ✅ Occasional | ✅ Occasional |
| Monthly cost | $9 | $50+ | $120+ |
Decision Framework
Here's a simple framework to help you choose:
Choose Crowdin if:
- ✅ You have a large team (20+ translators)
- ✅ You need complex approval workflows
- ✅ You require extensive integrations
- ✅ You have dedicated localization staff
- ✅ Budget is not a concern
- ✅ You're managing millions of words
Choose Lokalise if:
- ✅ You have a mid-size team (5-20 people)
- ✅ You prioritize UI/UX
- ✅ You're building mobile apps
- ✅ You want strong collaboration features
- ✅ You're okay with file management
- ✅ Budget is moderate
Choose AutoLocalise if:
- ✅ You're a small team (1-10 developers)
- ✅ You want simplicity and speed
- ✅ You hate file management
- ✅ You want instant updates
- ✅ You're budget-conscious
- ✅ You prefer automation over manual processes
Real-World Example: Our E-commerce App
Let me share a real example from our e-commerce app:
With Crowdin:
- Added new product category feature
- Updated 15 JSON files with new keys
- Uploaded to Crowdin (5 minutes)
- Waited for sync (10 minutes)
- Assigned translations (2 hours)
- Waited for completion (3 days)
- Downloaded files (5 minutes)
- Committed to repo (2 minutes)
- Rebuilt and deployed (15 minutes)
- Total time: ~3 days
With AutoLocalise:
- Added new product category feature
- Translations appeared automatically (instant)
- Customized a few translations in dashboard (5 minutes)
- Total time: ~5 minutes
Cost Comparison Over 6 Months
| Cost | AutoLocalise | Crowdin | Lokalise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription | $54 | $300 | $720 |
| Developer time | $600 | $6,000 | $4,500 |
| Translation services | $3,200 | $3,200 | $3,200 |
| Total | $3,854 | $9,500 | $8,420 |
My Honest Recommendation
After extensive testing with all three platforms, here's my honest recommendation:
For 90% of teams, AutoLocalise is the best choice.
Why? Because:
- It's 10x faster to set up
- It eliminates file management overhead
- It's 70-80% cheaper
- Updates are instant
- Developer overhead is minimal
Choose Crowdin only if: You're a large enterprise with complex localization needs, dedicated staff, and budget is not a concern.
Choose Lokalise only if: You're a mid-size team who values UI/UX and is okay with file management and higher costs.
Choose AutoLocalise if: You want simplicity, speed, and affordability without sacrificing translation quality.
Try It Yourself
Don't just take my word for it. Try AutoLocalise for yourself:
- Sign up for a free trial
- Install the SDK (takes 5 minutes)
- See your app automatically translate
- Compare the experience to Crowdin or Lokalise
FAQ
Q: Is AutoLocalise as good as Crowdin or Lokalise?
A: In terms of translation quality, yes. The difference is in the workflow—AutoLocalise is file-free and instant, while Crowdin and Lokalise require file management and have sync delays.
Q: Can I migrate from Crowdin or Lokalise to AutoLocalise?
A: Yes, and it's easier than you think. Since AutoLocalise doesn't use files, you don't need to migrate anything. Just install the SDK and you're done.
Q: Does AutoLocalise support all the features of Crowdin and Lokalise?
A: AutoLocalise focuses on what matters most: fast, accurate translations without file management. For most teams, this is all you need. If you need enterprise features like complex approval workflows, Crowdin might be better.
Q: How does the translation quality compare?
A: All three platforms use industry-leading translation engines. The quality is comparable. The difference is in the workflow and speed.
Q: Can I use my existing translators with AutoLocalise?
A: Yes. You can export translations from AutoLocalise and have your translators work on them, or use AutoLocalise's dashboard for collaborative translation.
Final Thoughts
After testing Crowdin, Lokalise, and AutoLocalise extensively, the clear winner for most teams is AutoLocalise. It's faster, cheaper, and simpler without sacrificing translation quality.
Crowdin and Lokalise are great platforms, but they're built for a different era—an era where file management and sync delays were acceptable. Today, there's a better way.
If you're tired of managing translation files, waiting for syncs, and paying for features you don't use, give AutoLocalise a try. It might just transform your localization workflow like it did for ours.