Lokalise vs Crowdin vs LangCtl: Which Translation Tool Should You Choose?

Choosing a translation management system is one of those decisions that seems simple until you’re three months in and realize you’ve outgrown your tool—or you’re paying for features you’ll never use.

We’ve used Lokalise, Crowdin, and several other platforms across different client projects. Eventually, we built our own tool (LangCtl) to address gaps we kept encountering. This comparison is based on real experience, not just feature lists.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Lokalise	Crowdin	LangCtl
Starting Price	$120/mo	Free (OS), $40/mo	Free tier, $29/mo
CLI Tool	Good	Good	Excellent (core focus)
AI Translation	Yes (extra cost)	Yes (extra cost)	Included
Self-hosted	No	Enterprise only	No
Open Source	No	No	No
Free Tier	14-day trial	Open source projects	1,000 keys

Lokalise: The Enterprise Standard

Lokalise is what most people think of when they hear “translation management.” It’s polished, well-documented, and packed with features.

What Lokalise Does Well

Visual editing: Their in-context editor is genuinely useful. Translators can see exactly where text appears in your app.

Integrations: Figma, Sketch, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket—Lokalise connects to everything. Their Adobe XD and Figma plugins are particularly good for design-to-development workflows.

Mobile SDK: Over-the-air translation updates for iOS and Android without app store releases. This is a killer feature for mobile teams.

Workflow automation: Complex review workflows, quality checks, and automation rules that enterprise teams need.

Where Lokalise Falls Short

Pricing: $120/month for the basic team plan. Add machine translation costs (per word), and it adds up fast. A 50,000-word project with machine translation could cost $500+ for initial translation alone.

Overkill for small teams: If you’re a 3-person startup, you’re paying for features you’ll never touch. The UI, while powerful, can feel overwhelming.

CLI is secondary: The CLI works, but it feels like an add-on rather than a core part of the experience. Some operations still require the web UI.

Best For

Teams with budget (Series A+ startups, enterprises)
Mobile apps needing OTA updates
Organizations with dedicated localization managers
Projects with complex approval workflows

Crowdin: The Community-Powered Option

Crowdin has been around since 2009 and built its reputation on open-source project support. Their community features are unmatched.

What Crowdin Does Well

Open source support: Completely free for open-source projects. This has made it the default choice for many OSS tools.

Translator marketplace: Access to 100,000+ translators. If you need human translation, Crowdin can connect you with vetted professionals.

File format support: Crowdin handles almost every format imaginable—from standard JSON to specialized game localization formats.

Translation memory: Cross-project translation memory helps maintain consistency and reduce costs.

Where Crowdin Falls Short

Dated interface: The UI works but feels like it’s from 2015. Navigation isn’t intuitive, and some features are buried in unexpected places.

Slow with large files: We’ve experienced significant slowdowns with projects over 10,000 keys. The editor can become laggy.

Per-word pricing for MT: Like Lokalise, machine translation costs extra. For AI-powered workflows, this adds up.

Enterprise lock-in: Some features (like self-hosting) are locked to enterprise tiers with custom pricing.

Best For

Open source projects (free!)
Teams needing professional human translators
Projects with uncommon file formats
Organizations already invested in the Crowdin ecosystem

LangCtl: The Developer-First Approach

Full disclosure: we built LangCtl. But we built it because we genuinely couldn’t find what we needed. Here’s an honest assessment.

What LangCtl Does Well

CLI-first design: This is our core differentiator. The CLI isn’t an afterthought—it’s the primary interface. Everything you need happens in the terminal:

# Scan codebase for translation keys
langctl scan ./src

# Check translation progress
langctl status

# Push new keys
langctl push

# Pull translations
langctl pull

AI translation included: No per-word charges. AI translation is part of your plan. For teams doing rapid iteration, this matters.

Predictable pricing: Flat monthly fee. No surprise bills because you added 10,000 words or invited two new team members.

Framework-aware scanning: The CLI understands Angular, React, Vue, and other frameworks. It finds your translation keys automatically.

Where LangCtl Falls Short

Newer product: We don’t have years of polish like Lokalise. Some edge cases might not be handled yet.

No OTA mobile updates: Not yet. This is on our roadmap but not available today.

Smaller community: No marketplace of translators. You bring your own or use AI translation.

No self-hosted option: Cloud-only for now.

Best For

Developer teams who live in the terminal
Startups needing predictable costs
Projects where AI translation is “good enough” (MVPs, internal tools)
Teams using Angular, React, or Vue

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Early-Stage Startup

You’re a 3-person team building an MVP. You need 4-5 languages to test international markets.

Our recommendation: LangCtl

You don’t need enterprise workflows or translator marketplaces. You need fast iteration with predictable costs. AI translation gets you to “good enough” for market testing.

Scenario 2: Open Source Project

You maintain a popular OSS tool and want community-contributed translations.

Our recommendation: Crowdin

Free for open source, and their community features are designed exactly for this use case.

Scenario 3: Funded Startup with Mobile Apps

You’ve raised Series A, have a dedicated product team, and ship iOS/Android apps that need instant translation updates.

Our recommendation: Lokalise

The OTA SDK alone is worth the price. You can push translation fixes without waiting for app store approval.

Scenario 4: Enterprise with Complex Workflows

You have a localization team, multiple approval stages, and integrate with design tools.

Our recommendation: Lokalise or Phrase

Enterprise workflows are their specialty. The cost is justified by the time saved.

Scenario 5: Agency Building Client Projects

You build apps for clients, each needing translation support.

Our recommendation: LangCtl

Per-project pricing without per-seat costs means you can manage multiple client projects without costs scaling linearly.

The Migration Question

Already using another tool? Here’s what migration looks like:

From Lokalise/Crowdin to LangCtl:

Export translations as JSON
Initialize LangCtl in your project
Import existing translations
Update your CI/CD to use langctl pull

Most migrations take a few hours, not days.

From LangCtl to Lokalise/Crowdin: Same process in reverse. Your translations are your data—we don’t lock you in.

Making Your Decision

Questions to ask yourself:

What’s your budget? If you’re cost-constrained, LangCtl or Crowdin (if OSS) make sense.
Do you need mobile OTA? If yes, Lokalise is probably worth the premium.
How important is CLI workflow? If you want everything in the terminal, LangCtl is designed for this.
Do you need human translators? Crowdin’s marketplace is unmatched.
How complex are your approval workflows? Enterprise tools handle this better.

Try Before You Commit

All three tools offer ways to test:

Lokalise: 14-day free trial
Crowdin: Free for open source, trial for others
LangCtl: Free tier with 1,000 keys (langctl.com)

We’d recommend trying at least two options with a real (small) project before committing. The “feel” of the tool matters as much as the feature list.

Have questions about choosing a translation tool? We’ve helped teams evaluate and migrate between platforms. Get in touch—we’re happy to share more specific recommendations based on your setup.