Smartling Reviews & Product Details

I have been working almost daily with Smartling since 2019, initially through an agency and, after its closure, directly for Smartling since September 2024. I work both as a translator and as an editor, revising machine translations, and occasionally I take on assignments for other tasks. I am part of many fixed teams, so I regularly translate for the same clients. This is not only more pleasant for me (because you get to know the style guide, the products, the glossary, etc. after a while), but it also benefits the quality.

The volume of work is good and ranges from tiny jobs with fewer than ten words to jobs with several tens of thousands of words. The PMs are friendly and usually respond quickly. The CAT tool is very responsive, which I like. In my experience, MemoQ and Phrase are somewhat slower. Of course, there are always bugs that change every few months and can be more or less annoying. Nevertheless, the CAT tool is my favorite, and I wish I could use it for projects for other clients as well. In particular, the search function works better than the competition.

Thanks to the Live Invoice, where jobs appear a few minutes after submission, you always have a good overview of the monthly earnings. Only jobs that are done on an hourly rate basis appear on the last day of the month. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The PMs sometimes have unrealistic expectations about how many words can be completed in a given time. Sometimes I am contacted about urgent projects that absolutely must be completed urgently, but in most cases, there is no Rush Premium for this.

The CAT tool has some bugs (strings rearrange themselves when you switch pages, so that half of the strings on the page are already loaded, etc.). Previously, you could highlight text and drag it to the next string to copy it there. This hasn't been possible for about two years and is sorely missed.

Validation matches are only paid at half the normal word rate, but often do not require only half the effort. If a translator only receives half the word rate, they logically have to work twice as fast to achieve the same hourly rate. Therefore, no research or inquiries are made for validation matches. In my opinion, the system for detecting which strings should be validation matches does not work very well, and if the translator does not want to pay the price for this (in the form of a lower hourly rate), the customer does so through poorer quality in these strings. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling is a very good, user-friendly translation platform, and it is an excellent tool for translators. As a freelance translator, I'm extremely satisfied with Smartling. It provides good customer support in terms of term clarification issues, and PMs are always ready to help with any questions. It also offers new and interesting opportunities for job expansion. The new feature to make previously-opened issues visible is very good. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AI input sometimes interferes with previously-translated, client-approved and published strings, especially when TMs are very large and for specific clients. However, I think this is something that is still developing and will probably be fixed in the future, so that AI becomes an asset rather than an obstacle. At this early stage, the introduction of AI has resulted in lower rates for linguists, even though we often need to work more for the sake of consistency with previously translated content for specific customers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The work is always secured on the online platform, and access to standard translation tools and materials (TBs and TMs) is quick and straightforward. All the necessary features are available, and it's possible to ask questions directly to managers and clients, both of whom help support translation projects. Overall, I find it much simpler and intuitive to use compared to other, more traditional tools or platforms, whether they are online or offline. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

This might be a minor issue, but when I export documents for review using my own software, I occasionally notice that the output document scrambles the strings. This makes the review process for the linguist a bit more challenging. Additionally, it would sometimes be helpful to have the option to discuss certain topics with fellow translators, especially when working on different parts of the same project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling has been an outstanding platform for managing my translation and localization needs. The interface is intuitive, making it easy for both project managers and translators to collaborate seamlessly. I especially appreciate the automation features and integrations, which save us significant time while ensuring consistency across all of our content. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

During quality checks, false positive warnings sometimes occur, which I need to flag before continuing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It really feels like a next-gen CAT tool. Everything integrates well and intuitively. I really dislike going back to Trados or MemoQ now. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are 4 things that I dislike:

1. When I hover over a glossary term in the source near the top of the page, the pop-up disappears behind the top pane (job briefing, context, etc.). This requires me to scroll up to see the glossary entry. It would be much more practical if the popup appeared over the top pane instead of disappearing behind it.

2. I'm not a fan of the billing page. It's very hard to check exactly how much I'm getting paid per job, because each job is split into the various weights and no total per job is stated. The quickest way to keep track of the per-job pay is to refresh the billing page a couple of minutes after completing a job and writing down the difference of the total. There should definitely be a more practical/automated way of doing this.

3. The most important one, but likely a client-side issue: the fact that segments aren't usually organized in the same order as in the underlying document. This removes context, and when sentences are split into multiple segments, and then not shown in the correct order, it costs everyone a lot of time communicating back and forth about the context of each partial sentence, especially if there's no screenshot available in the context pane showing the full sentence.

I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but I thought I would mention it anyway because solving it would result in the largest quality and efficiency improvement, in my opinion. If this is strictly a client-side issue, I would urge all clients to keep segments in the correct order as much as possible for optimal quality and efficiency, and to provide screenshots in the context pane whenever possible.

4. This is also a client-side issue, but because it's such a frequent one, I thought I would include it too. Perhaps clients can be urged to pay closer attention to this. It's about the context added per segment in the translation pane. The information entered there is often entirely useless. Especially when no screenshot is available in the context pane. This is causing a large portion of messages back and forth with clients, so making these entries more relevant to the translator would greatly improve efficiency and overall quality. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find Smartling's cloud-based nature incredibly beneficial because it ensures that my work is secure while also being easily accessible and shareable with my team. The configurable workflows are a standout feature, enabling us to seamlessly handle some translation jobs internally while efficiently coordinating with external vendors for others. Additionally, the glossary management function is invaluable for maintaining brand consistency and enhancing the quality of machine translation/AI translations. These features collectively elevate the overall translation process, making Smartling a crucial tool in managing our multilingual communications effectively. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find the navigation a bit clumsy, as I often end up with multiple Smartling tabs open and lose track of them, which disrupts my workflow. Additionally, some settings are quite opaque and resemble a black box, limiting my ability to fully configure things to my liking, such as Smartling Translate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been collaborating with Smartling for several years. What I appreciate most is the stability and reliability of the platform, which provides a clear and organized interface for managing translation work. Equally important is the support from the project managers, who are consistently responsive, attentive, and ready to assist whenever needed. This combination of a solid platform and professional, approachable PMs makes collaborating with Smartling a smooth and dependable experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One aspect that could be improved is the platform’s speed when handling very large projects, as it can occasionally feel slow. Overall, the interface is clear and functional, but optimizing performance for bigger workloads would enhance the user experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One of the standout aspects of Smartling is its highly intuitive and linguist-friendly layout. This is a rare and invaluable feature in the localization industry, where many tools tend to prioritize project management functionalities over usability for translators. Smartling, however, strikes an impressive balance, ensuring that linguists can work in a streamlined and efficient environment without unnecessary complexity. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I did experience an issue at one point with strings being chopped, which caused some inconvenience in the translation process. However, the good news is that the Smartling team acted very quickly to resolve the issue, demonstrating their commitment to improving user experience and addressing concerns efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. Ease of Use and Accessibility

It’s simple to start working anytime and anywhere, which is perfect for managing tasks on the go. There’s no complicated setup—just log in and get to work.

2. Speed and Performance

Smartling is faster than other platforms, saving translations quickly even in areas with poor internet. This reliability in low-bandwidth environments is a big advantage.

3. User-Friendly Interface

The interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to navigate and focus on translation work without distractions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. Task Disappearance and History Access

Occasionally, tasks with content that’s already saved disappear before the submission deadline, which disrupts workflow, and I’m unable to control this or include it in the invoice.

2. Translation Subject Categories and Word Count

I’d like to see the average translation speed, topics and corresponding word counts of past translation jobs, as well as an overview of my overall past workload. This feature would help me track progress and better manage future projects.

3.Delay in Email Notifications

There’s a slight delay in email notifications when tasks are posted, which can affect timely responses and project management. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been working as their translator for quite some time. The platform is clean, easy to use, and packed with helpful features such as automatic glossary checking and a solid AI engine, while still remaining uncluttered. Payments are automatic and seamless—probably the best payment system in the industry. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The language I translate into, Thai, is not fully supported by the platform, as it erroneously flags a large number of Thai sentences as containing spelling errors. This is merely an inconvenience since I can easily ignore these alerts. Otherwise, there are no real downsides to working with Smartling. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.