Smartling Reviews & Product Details

1. Clean and user-friendly interface.

2. Intuitive design for core functions—easy for new users to get started quickly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. The current default sorting on the dashboard is based on the Overall Job Due Date, which is helpful for PMs, but not ideal for linguists. For us, sorting by Task Due Date is more practical, as it helps us easily find the next most urgent task after submitting a job. It would be great if the default sorting behavior could be optimized by user role—PMs see jobs by Overall Job Due Date, while linguists see them by Task Due Date.

2. It would be helpful to have an option to automatically open the next latest-due task after submitting a job.

3. After submitting a job, the confirmation window should also display the total earnings for that job. This would make it easier to verify the pay and take a screenshot if any issue arises.

4. When leaving comments, it would be useful if the system could automatically include the target language, so reviewers know which language is rising the issue .

5. For job feedback emails, clicking through to Smartling often shows no information about string changes. Even using filters doesn’t always surface the relevant content, which makes it hard to improve based on feedback efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love using Smartling mainly for the context function, which is so helpful when translating: just one click and you can see the final result of your work to check if it really fits in context. Also, the ease of checking style guides and attached documents is unparalleled. I really appreciate the fact that I can see issues created by other linguists and they can see mine, we are able to spot and solve together any inconsistency or doubt just by looking at each other's comments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes when I open an issue targeted to the client, they reply after the translation deadline and I am not really sure how to proceed because I no longer have access to the file, that is really the only issue I have. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling offers an intuitive user interface that simplifies the translation process for both content creators and translators. The platform provides real-time collaboration tools, allowing teams to work together seamlessly across different time zones and locations. This efficiency saves time and resources, making it easier for companies to manage multilingual content at scale. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The potential drawback is the learning curve associated with mastering all of Smartling’s features. While the platform offers robust tools for managing translations, including terminology management and quality assurance checks, these features can be overwhelming for new users. Without adequate training or support, user might not fully leverage the platform’s capabilities, leading to inefficiencies. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've been working with Smartling for 8 years and have only good things to say. The Language Services team is lovely to communicate with and highly professional, while the platform has always proved very functional, intuitive and well-conceived. The software is plug-and-play, which streamlines the translation process, and the support team is always reactive and helpful. I've had the chance to collaborate with a pool of talented and seasoned linguists along the way and the whole experience is perfect balance for me as a freelancer. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

In 8 years I have not run into anything to dislike about Smartling. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've been using Smartling every day for over 5 years now, and it has been a wonderful experience. The tool is very intuitive and easy to use. Features such as machine or AI-powered translation, translation memory, glossary, and quality checks help improve productivity and ensure consistent, high-quality work. I find the Context tab extremely useful for providing accurate translations. Additionally, it allows you to submit queries, receive notifications, and even handle billing, which saves a lot of time.

In short, it's a comprehensive and reliable CAT tool, and the team's support is excellent! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Honestly, there's nothing I dislike about it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've used Smartling mainly as a project manager for over 10 years, but I’ll sometimes jump in for review or editing. The feature I appreciate the most here is the visual context. With file types like IDML (which we handle a lot) it’s helpful to actually see how the text will sit in the final design.

Smartling also provides good visibility on freelancers and where things are in progress. The platform itself is always quick and responsive, and the interface is clean, which makes it easy to onboard new translators.

Finally, the glossary feature has been improving steadily, which makes consistency a lot easier to maintain across projects. Compared to Phrase, a lot of consideration has gone into the CAT tool for freelancers, which also helps to keep them using the platform confidently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The parsing engine struggles sometimes when files are heavily segmented—like PDFs exported to Word. It doesn’t always handle them well, and we sometimes spend extra time working on fragmented strings.

As with all CAT tools, it’s also very string-focused, which can be limiting with certain file types. SRT subtitle files, for example, create issues with Asian languages where syntax doesn't flow as expected. It's not anything that other CAT tools are necessarily doing better, but I feel there could be a smoother process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love logging on and knowing exactly what I have to translate, who the client is, when it's due, and the scope and instructions... all easily available in an intuitive platform. The technology and workflow are great too. Strings, glossaries, and translation memories are clear, which makes work very enjoyable. Hitting the Submit key is very satisfying too, when everything is done and ready to go. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think there is always room for improvement when you're dealing with translation platforms. As a translator, occasionally something pops up where I say, "Ah, this workflow could be a little different here". Luckily though, Smartling is always on top of this and constantly updating and making changes to improve the platform for us. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The streamlined workflow is definitely the biggest advantage. It simplifies the entire process, from claiming new jobs to translating, reviewing, and submitting work. I also value the automatic invoicing and the fact that payments are always punctual.

The translation editor is intuitive and well-organized. All the essential features a translator needs—such as the style guide, context window, and search function—are easily accessible on the screen. It is much easier to use than a complicated desktop CAT tool.

Another great thing is the availability of the project managers. You can contact them easily by email, and they are always quick to respond and solve any problems fast. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The editor is user-friendly for small jobs, but it becomes frustratingly simple when dealing with large or split projects. It lacks the advanced control and features of a true desktop CAT tool, offering limited control over TM, glossary, and QA settings. This often makes maintaining consistency across large jobs a major challenge.

With the introduction of new AI review/post-editing jobs, the rates have drastically decreased. There is no easy way to see the exact total pay for a job before claiming it, making financial planning impossible.

With the rise of AI, translators are now expected to review rather than translate, and the daily output requirements have increased sharply, which can negatively impact quality, as there is only so much the human brain can handle in a day.

The quality of AI translations is inconsistent: While it can deliver good results for simple, low-context content, its performance drops for projects that require more customization and where consistency is key, such as larger or more technical projects. On the positive side, I have noticed that the AI output has improved over time, and with dedicated human expertise to customize and refine the models, I am confident that its quality will continue to improve rapidly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling is intuitive, reliable, and makes working on localization projects much smoother. I particularly appreciate its user-friendly interface, real-time QC feature and excellent system stability. It has greatly streamlined my daily workflow and improved collaboration across teams. A truly excellent tool for professional linguists. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It would be great if you could consider adding a feature to highlight end-user instructions directly in the workbench without clicking the specific string, or allow filtering of highlighted strings to improve review/editing efficiency.

Also, a batch-ignore function for false QC errors would be very helpful. For example, ifa verb like “messaging” is listed in the glossary, QC may incorrectly flag the noun like “messages” as an error for not matching the glossary term. Dismissing these one by one takes extra time, so the ability to ignore such cases in batch would improve efficiency. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling is one of my favorite Translation Management Platforms. I use it on a daily basis and, overall, I am very satisfied with it. Translation and proofreading projects are easy to manage, and project managers are always prompt in answering my questions, no matter the topic (project-specific, billing, or other). The machine translations provided in the Editor are above average in quality. Additionally, the Concordance Search function is user-friendly and effective. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If I have specific questions regarding a translation, it sometimes takes several days to receive a response from clients. Additionally, there is a significant number of projects consisting of only a few words. In such cases, logging in and opening the Editor often takes more time than completing the actual translation. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.