Lokalise vs Unbabel: What are the differences?

Introduction: In this document, we will compare Lokalise and Unbabel and highlight the key differences between the two translation platforms.

1. Translation Quality: Lokalise focuses on providing high-quality professional translations while Unbabel primarily relies on a mix of machine translation and crowd workers. Lokalise's translations are done by professional translators and reviewed by language experts to ensure accuracy and fluency. In contrast, Unbabel uses machine translation for an initial translation, which is then post-edited by human reviewers. The approach taken by Lokalise results in more reliable and accurate translations compared to Unbabel.

2. Integration and Collaboration: Lokalise offers seamless integration with various platforms and tools like GitHub, Bitbucket, and various CMS platforms. This allows for streamlined translation management and collaboration between different teams. On the other hand, Unbabel has its own user interface for managing translations, which may be less flexible and integrated compared to Lokalise.

3. Translation Workflow Customization: Lokalise offers extensive customization options for translation workflows, allowing users to define specific steps and roles for different team members involved in the process. This level of customization helps to streamline the translation process and adapt it to the specific needs of each project. Unbabel, although it offers some degree of customization, may not provide the same level of flexibility as Lokalise.

4. Translation Memory and Glossary Management: Lokalise has built-in support for Translation Memory (TM) and Glossary management. TM allows for the reuse of previously translated segments, improving consistency and saving time. Glossary management ensures that specific terminology is accurately translated across projects. Unbabel may offer similar features, but the level of integration and ease-of-use may vary.

5. Pricing Model: Lokalise offers a transparent pricing model based on the number of source words to be translated. This allows for better cost control and estimation. On the other hand, Unbabel follows a subscription-based pricing model, which may not be as suitable for smaller projects or those with varying translation needs.

6. Customer Support: Lokalise provides dedicated and responsive customer support, ensuring that users can have their queries resolved in a timely manner. They offer live chat support and in-depth documentation to assist their customers. Unbabel also provides customer support, but the level of responsiveness and communication may vary.

In Summary, Lokalise emphasizes high-quality professional translations, offers seamless integration and collaboration, allows for extensive customization of translation workflows, provides robust translation memory and glossary management, has a transparent pricing model, and offers dedicated customer support. On the other hand, Unbabel relies on a mix of machine translation and crowd workers, has its own user interface, may provide limited workflow customization, and follows a subscription-based pricing model.