9 Best Translation Project Management Systems | A Critical Review [2024]

Choosing the best translation project management system for your project could be challenging. You will find many TMS system vendors who claim to provide the best localization systems. To evaluate the credibility of a localization system, you have to be very clear about your localization goals and what tools and features you want to achieve your localization objectives.

The list provided in this article will give you a general overview of the most popular localization management systems. However, the list is made based on online research and customer reviews only, which can’t beat your own experience. Before finalizing any localization management system, you should have a basic understanding of its features and capabilities, which we will be discussing in this article.

Table of Content

• Translation Project Management System– A Brief Introduction
• Best Translations Project Management Systems [2024]
  • Lokalise
    • Dominant Features
  • MarsCloud
    • Dominant Features
  • Transifex
    • Dominant Features
  • Smartling 
    • Dominant Features
  • Phrase 
    • Dominant Features
  • WPML
    • Dominant Features
  • Memsource
    • Dominant Features
  • MemoQ
    • Dominant Features
  • LingoHub
    • Dominant Features

Translation Project Management System – A Brief Introduction

It is a cloud-based translation management system that allows language service providers, translators, project managers, and enterprises to manage their translation workflow, tasks, teams, and documents in a more systematic and organized manner. Using a translation management system would speed up your translation processes and help you achieve your translation project goals in the fastest turnaround time. From generating automated translations to integrating other apps with your localization system, you will get plenty of features all in one place. Some translation management system providers also allow their users to customize their features as per their core needs. So, while choosing a translation system make sure it is providing all the required functionalities that you may need in your translation project management and execution.

Best Translations Project Management Systems [2024]

Here we are going to do a critical review of some of the most famous translation project management systems. We will compare the features, tools, and capabilities of nine different translation systems, so you can easily access the credibility of translation project management systems available online.

1. Lokalise

It is one of the leading translation management systems with amazing collaborative translation features. Lokalise is a reliable translation management tool that helps global agencies manage their team of translators more effectively. The smart collaborative features of this translation system support your translators in cooperating with other localization teams seamlessly. You can use Lokalise through Android, iOS, and the web. They have a technical team available online for your assistance. So, in case you are having any issues with system usability, you can contact their technical team right away.

Dominant Features

• It provides smart collaborative translation features.
• Easy workflow management to allow in-house and remote translation teams to work more effectively.
• Automated processes speed up things and significantly reduce the translation management workload from employees.
• Automated quality assurance features to eliminate errors and uplift the quality of translated documents.
• Smart integration option to save time and effort.
• Provide support for ticket translation to enable seamless communication between you and clients in their native language.

2. MarsCloud

MarsCloud is the fastest-growing cloud-based translation and localization management system. It is a full-service localization management system designed for language service providers, professional translators, and global enterprises to manage their localization and translation projects effortlessly. This system provides plenty of localization management features such as customized workflows, integrations, machine translations, and other collaboration tools for seamless translation project management. Moreover, clients can also access professional translators directly through their MarsCloud accounts.

Dominant Features

• Machine translation engine to manage heavy translation content loads more quickly.
• Smart integration options to save time wasted on switching between different apps and software.
• A safe digital workplace for an in-house remote team to collaborate over multiple translation projects in real time.
• Regular data analytics to track the progress of your translation projects in real time.
• Centralized translation memory to improve translation consistency throughout a translation project.

3. Transifex

It is a famous translation management system that is quite affordable compared to the other TMS systems in the list. Using this tool, you can translate almost all types of content from the website to other digital materials. You can also integrate Transifex with other CAT tools and CMSs of your choice. This tool has MT tools and translation memory that helps with keeping the brand voice consistent. Moreover, it also provides features to manage teams, check the quality of translations, and track the project progress. It always keeps you aware of the current translation project status through notifications, so you don’t miss anything. Transifex also enables automation that helps you save more time and achieve your translation project goals faster.

Dominant Features

• Operations automation to speed up the execution of your localization tasks.
• Customized workflows and optimized translation projects would reduce complicated operations and give you more clarity over things.
• Provide team collaboration tools to effectively manage your internal and external teams.
• Built-in machine translation tools to generate automated translations.
• Get regular data reports to enhance project transparency and allow you to make timely tweaks to processes whenever needed.

4. Smartling

It is an amazing TMS system that would automate your translation management processes and workflow of tasks. Using smarting, you can work on different content systems simultaneously. Smartling provides companies with quality assurance tools and other features to enhance their productivity throughout translation management operations. It is also a globally known tool that has worked with Samsung, Canva, Pinterest, Cloudflare, H&M, and other high-profile clients. However, it is an expensive system that might not be affordable for startups and small-scope businesses.

Dominant Features

• High-quality translations by professional language service providers.
• Customized workflows, operational settings, and collaborative work environment to enhance the performance of localization teams.
• Support different types of content systems, such as apps, games, websites, landing pages, social media, and a lot more.
• Provide integrations with all popular CMSs, marketing tools, and code repositories, including WordPress Drupal, Marketo, Hubspot, GitHub, etc.
• Regular data insights regarding the accuracy and quality of translated content and the overall project’s progress.

5. Phrase

It is a cheap translation management system with a friendly translator editor, API, and QA features. If you are new to translation project management and don’t want to make any major investment in any expensive TMS system then Phrase is the right choice for you. It is also a reasonable TMS system to streamline your translation workload and simplify regular translation tasks. Phrase is an easy-to-use, fast, and cost-effective TMS, which is quite suitable for small businesses, and professional linguists.

Dominant Features

• Provides a fully featured CAT tool for translators, project managers, and enterprises.
• Automation features to easily scale your business through integrations and developer tools.
• Effective team collaboration features for seamless translation project management.
• Support integration with plenty of third-party applications.
• Provide a safe and optimized work environment for translators, developers, project managers, and designers.

6. WPML

This tool may be referred to as a multilingual CMS but has a lot of functionalities that a professional TMS may provide. WPML provides various features for translation project management. It allows translators to sign up with the system and manage their translation projects directly through this system. For instance, if you want to translate your website, you can use WPML, get a translator onboard, and assign different language pairs to them. It provides all the tools and features that you may need to localize your website entirely.

Dominant Features

• You can choose to translate your site or get a third-party resource on board.
• Evaluate the website localization through the translation management dashboard.
• It allows you to embed translation media into your website.
• Support different types of content, such as games, websites, landing pages, social media, technical, etc.
• Effective evaluation of your translation tasks and assign them to suitable resources.
• Provide seamless tracking of your translation task progress in real time.

7. Memsource 

It is also a really affordable translation management solution in our list, which you might not guess by seeing the features they are offering. The client portfolio of Memsource is also very impressive, they have worked with Huawei, Uber, and Shopify. If you are looking for an AI-powered machine translation in a cost-effective way, Memsource would be the perfect choice for you. It also allows you to import your glossaries and translation memories for each task project to keep the translations relevant to your brand voice and avoid any inconsistency. If you have a desktop Memsource editor, you can also use it offline without any internet connection.

Dominant Features

• Provides well-organized and simplified translation management to give your project clarity and higher task visibility.
• Support integration to third-party apps, such as WordPress, Dropbox, Figma, Scout, HubSpot, GitHub, and a lot more.
• It has a built-in AI translation engine that allows you to generate high-quality and quick translations in seconds.
• You can integrate other MT tools, such as Google Translate, DeepL, etc. into your Memsource system.
• Effectively manage your translation memories and brand terminologies.

8. MemoQ

It is another famous translation management system that is compatible with many leading CAT tools. MemoQ provides a seamless translation workflow with smart vendor management features that allow you to have effortless translation project management. Unlike other TMS in this category, it is quite affordable and cheap. It is your choice whether you want to use the web interface or install the Windows version of it on your desktop. Using the MemoQ TMS would significantly speed up your translation processes. It also provides a collaborative environment where all internal and external localization teams can communicate with each other in real-time.

Dominant Features

• It has a user-friendly interface that leads to a great user experience.
• Provides killer terminology management features that allow translators to generate in-context and relevant brand translations.
• Get industry-specific functionalities to offer a more personalized user experience. Users can choose the industry to get a more relevant localization experience.
• Integrate your MemoQ system with a myriad of third-party applications, and add memoQ extensions.
• Supports more than 100 language and file formats.
• You can integrate more than 15 different MT engines into your MemoQ system, as it doesn’t have its own MT engine.

9. LingoHub

It is a translation management system and CAT tool designed to localize website assets, apps, and software. LingoHub is one of the leading translation management systems used by global enterprises and language service providers. It is a cloud-based translation system that specializes in optimizing your translations for websites, apps, and software. Using this system, you can work on your app translations and development at once. Software development is made simple with its intuitive interface and versatile API. You can also customize the features and specifications whenever needed. It can be synced with repositories, including GitHub, Azure, GitLab, and Bitbucket.

Dominant Features

• LingoHub online editor allows the users to edit, sort, and translate text throughout the translation project.
• It offers quick quality checks, detects changes in the text, and generates error reports based on your custom-made constraints.
• Support REST API to allow developers to integrate various applications into the system and enable a well-organized translation operation.
• You can get other team members on board and work in collaboration with them on a translation project.
• It is an all-in-one TMS that allows you to translate, manage, perform quality checks, and store finalized documents.

Final Verdict!

Using a translation management system can really make your brand localization and translation processes faster, effortless, and agile. These tools would help you achieve maximum results in less time – that too in a more cost-effective way. The list of systems provided in this article would give some basic understanding of what you should look for in a TMS system. You must also do thorough research and proper comparison between various systems to choose the right option for you.

One more thing to notice here is that a tool that has worked for someone might not work for your project, and it is totally fine. In the end, it is not just about the capability of TMS, it is more about whether or not it is compatible with your core translation needs. So, start with identifying your localization needs first, this is how you can find the best translation project management system.