Comparing Polyglot and Lokalise for developer teams. See how a CLI-first approach differs from Lokalise's dashboard-first workflow, plus pricing details.
Lokalise is a full-featured translation management system built around a polished web dashboard. Polyglot is a CLI-first tool that finds hardcoded strings in your codebase, translates them with LLMs, and lets you preview the results. Scan, plan, wrap and preview run locally; generated translations are reviewed in the Polyglot dashboard (automatic approval is off).
The fundamental difference is where the work starts: Lokalise centralizes translation in a browser-based editor, while Polyglot starts in your codebase and keeps the resulting catalogs in your repo.
| Feature | Polyglot | Lokalise |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcoded-string detection (AST-based) | ✓Yes | ✕No |
| AI/LLM translation | ✓Yes, built-in | ✓Yes |
| Output formats | JSON, YAML, ARB, iOS .strings, Android XML | Many |
| Local preview | ✓Yes (polyglot preview) | Via SDK integration |
| IDE integration | VS Code extension (inline diagnostics) | Editor plugins |
| CI/CD integration | ✓Yes (GitHub Action) | ✓Yes |
| CLI support | Primary interface | ✓Yes |
| API | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Web dashboard | ✓Yes (translation review) | Full-featured |
| Free tier | Free local scanning, 500 source strings (lifetime) | No (14-day trial) |
| Starting price | $0 | $149/mo (Explorer) |
| Translation memory | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Glossary support | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Screenshots/context | Local page captures (polyglot screenshot), not linked to keys | ✓Yes (linked to keys) |
| Over-the-air delivery | ✕No | ✓Yes |
Lokalise has one of the best translation dashboards on the market:
Lokalise lets you upload screenshots and link them to translation keys, so translators see exactly where each string appears in the UI. This meaningfully improves translation quality.
Their web editor lets translators see strings in a simulated version of your app. For teams working with non-technical translators, this reduces back-and-forth.
Lokalise supports translation branching that mirrors your git branches, plus task assignment and review workflows for larger teams.
Lokalise has a CLI, an API, and over-the-air delivery for mobile apps, so you can ship translation updates without an app store release.
Polyglot parses your code with tree-sitter and reports untranslated strings — JSX text nodes, string literals, component props, and API call arguments. Detection covers Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Vue, Angular, React Native and Flutter; runtime support varies by setup, and Next.js App Router with next-intl is the best-tested path. Lokalise manages strings that have already been extracted into translation files, so the finding and wrapping step is up to you.
Run polyglot scan and you see candidate untranslated strings in your project. Scanning runs locally — no file uploads or sync setup to get a first report.
A VS Code extension flags untranslated strings inline as you write code — scan-on-save, a sidebar of findings, and wrap actions you review before applying. You catch missing strings before they reach a commit.
polyglot preview shows you translations in your app locally. Lokalise's in-context preview requires installing their SDK and configuring it per project.
Polyglot's fine-tuned translation engine scored 4.96/5 across 49 languages on our June 2026 pipeline, AI-judged — reproducible benchmark.
| Polyglot Free | Polyglot Pro | Lokalise Explorer | Lokalise Growth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $49/mo ($39 annual) | $149/mo | $379/mo |
| String detection | Unlimited (local) | Unlimited (local) | N/A | N/A |
| Translation | 500 source strings (lifetime) | 10,000 source strings (lifetime) | Plan allowance | Plan allowance |
| Languages | 2 | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Contract term | None | Monthly or annual | Annual or monthly | Annual or monthly |
Lokalise doesn't have a free plan; you can start with a 14-day trial. Its cheapest plan is Explorer at $149/month, followed by Growth at $379/month, Advanced at $1,049/month, and a demo-only Enterprise tier. Check Lokalise pricing for each plan's current allowances.
Polyglot's local scanner is free. The Pro plan is $49/month ($39/month billed annually) with no contract.
Competitor pricing checked September 22, 2026.
Start in your terminal
Install the CLI, run a scan, and see exactly what you're missing. Free, no account required.