# Locize — Translation & Localization

Locize by inweso GmbH holds a panel rating of 3/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-11-02. Provenance: UK / wider Europe; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: inweso GmbH (https://www.locize.com/)
- Category: [Translation & Localization](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): UK / wider Europe
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-06 · evaluated 2026-11-02 · oldest source captured 2026-11-01

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: inweso GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Data hosting: Default not stated; pages mention Ireland [S2]
- Free plan: Yes, per the vendor’s own page [S5]
- Starting price: “STARTER $7 /mo billed monthly” (vendor’s words) [S5]

## The panel's verdict

Locize, a Swiss translation management platform from inweso GmbH, earned persona-weighted totals of 6.7 to 6.9 from five judges, while the in-house document translator came in at 0.0 — the bench's sharpest split. That zero traces to the vendor's own documentation: the service generally handles keys and values and does not preserve original file structure, so no Word or PDF document comes back with its layout. The judges working in software strings scored machine translation, workflow and review, integrations and formats, content confidentiality and sovereignty at 7, citing XLIFF through 2.2, gettext, JSON and YAML coverage, a REST API, CLI, GitHub Actions and a 28-tool MCP server with CDN delivery that needs no redeploy, and machine translation and AI that can be switched off entirely or run on the buyer's own keys. Pricing transparency sits lowest at 5-6: seven tiers are public from Free at $0 /mo to ENTERPRISE at $199 /mo billed monthly, but volume limits are documented only for the free tier. Portability and exit splits 7 against 6; we found no public information on a self-hosted edition.

**Speaks for it:**
- Software-string format coverage runs from XLIFF 1.2 through 2.2 to gettext, JSON, YAML, Android, iOS strings and xcstrings, resx, Laravel and Fluent, served by a REST API, CLI, GitHub Actions, webhooks and a 28-tool MCP server
- Machine translation and AI can be switched off entirely, or run on your own provider keys or a self-hosted OpenAI-compatible endpoint, keeping the data flow under your own contract
- Every AI translation carries a quality-estimation confidence score with a stated reason, and low-confidence output becomes a pending review instead of being saved silently
- The data chain is documented: Swiss contracting entity inweso GmbH, hosting on AWS in Ireland, encrypted disaster-recovery copies on BunnyCDN Storage in the EU under vendor-held offline keys, and a published DPA under Swiss law
- Prices are public and flat monthly — Free at $0 /mo up to ENTERPRISE at $199 /mo billed monthly — with a 14-day full-feature trial and no credit card required

**Held against it:**
- The vendor states the original file structure is not preserved, so no Word or PDF document comes back with its layout
- Volume limits are documented only for the free tier, and we found no public information on paid-tier inclusions, overage handling or AI-credit pricing
- We found no public information on connectors for CMS or shop systems, office or browser add-ins, a public status page or documented API limits
- The certifications shown are the AWS hosting provider's rather than the vendor's own, and we found no public information on a vendor-held ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certificate
- We found no public information on a self-hosted or on-premise edition of the product or on a documented migration path from named competitors

**Best for:**
- You localize software strings — JSON, YAML, XLIFF, gettext, Android or iOS — and want CI/CD delivery with a CLI, GitHub Actions and CDN updates that ship without a redeploy
- You handle confidential strings: machine translation and AI can be switched off entirely, or run under your own provider keys or a self-hosted OpenAI-compatible endpoint, keeping the data flow under your own contract
- You are a European buyer who wants the chain in writing: a Swiss contracting entity, hosting on AWS in Ireland, encrypted disaster-recovery copies on BunnyCDN Storage in the EU, and a published DPA under Swiss law with Zurich jurisdiction
- You want AI pre-translation with guardrails: glossary terms in every AI request, a style guide per language, and low-confidence AI output routed into human review before it goes live

**Avoid if:**
- You translate contracts or other office documents (Word, PDF) and need the original layout back — the vendor states the original file structure is not preserved and only keys and values are handled
- You rely on the Pro CDN and must keep every delivery hop inside the EU — published translations on the Pro CDN go out through AWS CloudFront with edge locations in the United States and worldwide
- You need the vendor's own ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certificate for procurement — the certifications shown are the AWS hosting provider's rather than the vendor's own
- You must budget a large catalogue before committing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Localization Manager | The App Developer | The In-House Document Translator | The Data Protection Officer | The E-Commerce Marketer | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Machine translation & AI quality | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Translation memory, terminology & review workflow | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Integrations, file formats & developer tools | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Confidentiality of translated content | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Data export, portability & self-hosting | 3/5 | 3/5 | 0/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 |
| European sovereignty | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 0/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3/5 | 3/5 | 0/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3.5/5** | **3.5/5** | **0/5** | **3.5/5** | **3.5/5** | **3.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Localization Manager** (v1.0): Runs localization for a Hamburg software company whose product, help centre and marketing site ship in fourteen languages, with two agencies and a pool of freelancers. Every release brings a few thousand new strings and a deadline. Wants one translation memory and termbase across all content, machine translation that respects the glossary, review steps per language, QA checks that stop a broken placeholder before it ships, and cost and progress per vendor in one view.
- **The App Developer** (v1.0): Lead developer of a web app and two mobile apps at a Vienna start-up, with strings in JSON, xcstrings and Android XML. Has hand-merged translation files once and will not do it again. Wants a CLI and a GitHub sync that opens pull requests, over-the-air updates so a typo fix does not need an app store release, an API that does everything the interface does, and ideally an open-source edition they could run themselves if the vendor changes course.
- **The In-House Document Translator** (v1.0): Works in the legal and export team of a machine builder in Baden-Württemberg with customers in France, Italy, Poland and China. Translates contracts, operating manuals and supplier correspondence every day, with no translation management system and no wish for one. Needs translations that read like the company wrote them, the company's terms kept through a glossary, Word and PDF files back with their layout intact, and a written promise that a draft contract is not kept or used to train anything.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Data protection officer of a health insurer whose staff translate letters to members, HR documents and internal guidelines. Found a free translator in the proxy logs and had to explain to the board what had been pasted into it. Reads the terms before the feature page: how long texts are kept, whether they train a model, which engines and LLM providers a platform passes them to, who the subprocessors are and where, and whether the contract names a European entity.
- **The E-Commerce Marketer** (v1.0): Runs marketing for a Shopify shop selling cycling apparel from Munich, live in German and English and due in French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish before the spring season. Has no developer and no translator on staff. Wants product pages, checkout and emails translated in days, a way to fix a bad product name by hand, multilingual SEO that search engines index, and a monthly price that does not double when the catalogue grows.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "human quality" on an engine nobody has evaluated in public, "we never store your data" next to a TMS that forwards every segment to three LLM providers, and a translation memory built over six years that could only leave as a spreadsheet. Reads that a product is "enterprise-grade secure" and asks how long the text is kept, which models it reaches, and whether the memory and termbase export as TMX and TBX — and what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- AI transparency: Article 50(4) EU AI Act · yes · yes [S6]
- Anthropic bedrock EU: yes · AWS Ireland · no [S7]
- Anthropic contract: Anthropic Ireland, Limited · no [S7]
- Anthropic DPA deletion: yes · 30 [S7]
- Audit rights: yes · yes · yes [S8]
- Audit trail pro: 1 year with Pro retention [S17]
- Backups encrypted at rest: yes · yes [S17]
- Backups geo redundant: yes · yes [S17]
- Backups not public: no [S17]
- Breach notification: without undue delay · yes [S8]
- Breach notification 72h: 72 [S7]
- CCPA: yes [S6]
- DPA: FADP · GDPR · yes [S2]
- DPA: yes [S3]
- DPA: yes · yes [S1]
- DPA: GDPR · FADP · yes [S6]
- DPA available: yes · yes [S18]
- Dpiassistance: yes [S8]
- Dsr assistance: Controller · yes [S8]
- Employee access: Only a few selected Locize employees have secure, limited access to data stores if necessary [S16]
- Encryption: authenticated encryption · TLS [S16]
- GDPR fadp: yes · yes · yes [S2]
- Legislation list: UK Data Protection Act 1988 (DPA) · EU GDPR 2018 · Australian Privacy Act 1988 (APA) · Swiss FADP · CCPA 2018 [S7]
- No selling personal info: no [S7]
- Optional services opt out: yes [S8]
- Payments pci: yes · Stripe · yes [S9]

**Data**
- Aggregated use: no customer/project/individual identification, no translation content, no personal data · yes [S6]
- Bunnycdn snapshot retention: 4-5 [S7]
- Content removal notice: 10 [S6]
- Deletion after cancellation: customer · yes [S6]
- Deletion period: 20 [S8]
- Ownership: yes [S6]
- Restore overwrite: yes [S17]
- Return or deletion: delete or return all Personal Data [S8]
- Self service account deletion: no remaining project access and not last org administrator · yes [S7]

**Hosting**
- Aws certifications: PCI DSS Level 1 · ISO 27001 · FISMA Moderate · HIPAA · SAS 70 Type II [S7]
- Business correspondence: Switzerland · Hostpoint AG [S2]
- Cdn: AWS CloudFront · BunnyCDN · yes [S9]
- Company: Switzerland [S1]
- Data residency: yes · Ireland · AWS [S2]
- Data residency: AWS Ireland · Switzerland · EEA [S8]
- Default region: Ireland [S16]
- Disaster recovery bunnycdn: EU · BunnyCDN Storage · yes [S7]
- Disaster recovery storage: disaster recovery · BunnyCDN Storage (EU) · yes · yes [S9]
- Https only: yes [S7]
- Notifications: Amazon SES on AWS [S2]
- Origin: Swiss-made TMS [S3]
- Pro cdn provider: AWS CloudFront · United States and worldwide [S16]
- Provider: Ireland · Amazon Web Services (AWS) [S9]
- Region: Ireland · Amazon Web Services [S7]
- Standard cdn provider: BunnyCDN · global · EU-based [S16]
- Swiss made: Swiss-made TMS [S18]
- Transfer mechanism: adequacy decisions · EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework · Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework · EU Standard Contractual Clauses [S8]
- Worker region: eu-west-1 · AWS · no [S11]

**Integrations**
- All format bulk metadata: "all" format includes namespace, tags, context, maxCharacters columns [S14]
- API: API documentation section listed in docs navigation [S15]
- API needs review: needsReview · https://api.locize.app/update/<projectId>/<version>/<lng>/<namespace> [S12]
- API review constraints: review proposals enabled for language · replace [S12]
- API review flag: create review proposal instead of direct write · review=true [S12]
- Cdn realtime: yes [S1]
- Cdn types: CDN offered in Standard vs. Pro types per docs navigation [S15]
- Cli: CLI documentation section listed in docs navigation [S15]
- CSV ignore marker: ###ignore### [S14]
- CSV import reuse: recommended to reuse previously exported files on import [S14]
- Custom formats via email: requests for additional formats via email [S14]
- Export all zip: "all" format or zip export for whole project [S14]
- Export language specific: language/namespace specific export via filter [S14]
- Figma plugin: Figma Plugin documentation section listed in docs navigation [S15]
- File formats: File formats documentation section listed in docs navigation [S15]
- File formats supported: multiple import/export translation file formats [S14]
- Format android: Android resource string [S14]
- Format CSV xlsx: CSV · XLSX [S14]
- Format fluent: Fluent [S14]
- Format gettext po: gettext po [S14]
- Format json flatten: JSON flatten [S14]
- Format json nested: JSON nested [S14]
- Format laravel: Laravel PHP [S14]
- Format properties: .properties [S14]
- Format resx: resx [S14]
- Format strings: .strings [S14]

**Legal**
- CCPA terms: CCPA terms page listed in site navigation [S15]
- Company: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S3]
- Company: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S18]
- Company: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S17]
- Company name: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S14]
- Copyright: 2026 · inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S4]
- Copyright entity: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S9]
- Copyright entity: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S13]
- Copyright holder: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S16]
- Copyright holder: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S12]
- Data controller: inweso GmbH · Seezelgstrasse 57, 8595 Altnau, Switzerland · Switzerland · CHE-412.131.272 [S7]
- Documents: Terms · Privacy · DPA (GDPR/FADP) · CCPA terms [S9]
- DPA: DPA page listed in site navigation [S15]
- DPA change notice: in app notification · email · 14 [S8]
- Entity: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S2]
- Entity: 2026 · inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S1]
- Entity: inweso GmbH · Switzerland [S6]
- Entity: inweso Ltd liab. Co. [S15]
- Governing law: Swiss law [S8]
- Governing law: Swiss law [S6]
- Jurisdiction: revFADP · Switzerland · September 2023 [S2]
- Jurisdiction: Zurich · Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne [S8]
- Jurisdiction: Swiss Federal Supreme Court, Lausanne · Zurich [S6]
- Operating entity: yes [S9]
- Policy change notice: 14 [S7]

**Pricing**
- AI credits: credits_included_in_paid_plans [S11]
- Auto renewal: yes · no [S6]
- Backups fixed monthly no per file: yes · no · no [S17]
- Backups monthly billing: monthly · yes [S17]
- Backups standard plan: daily or weekly · 365 days of history · all versions & namespaces · weekly · 25 snapshots · 1 selectable version [S17]
- Billing model: recurring monthly subscription · monthly anniversary of initial subscription date [S6]
- Cancellation channel: in-app Billing tab · support@locize.com [S6]
- Downgrade keeps snapshots: yes [S17]
- Enterprise price: 199 · monthly [S5]
- Flat monthly: flat monthly · no · no [S1]
- Free plan: yes · 0 [S5]
- Free plan: Free plan forever, or any paid plan [S1]
- Free trial: 14 · no [S2]
- Free trial all plans: yes · 14 [S5]
- Free trial no card: no [S1]
- Growth price: 49 · monthly [S5]
- No plan deleted: project deleted if no plan selected after trial [S5]
- Price change notice: 10 [S6]
- Professional plus price: 149 · monthly [S5]
- Professional price: 99 · monthly [S5]
- Refund partial: no [S6]
- Refund policy: yes [S6]
- Start trial cta: yes [S2]
- Starter plus price: 19 · monthly [S5]
- Starter price: 7 · monthly [S5]

**Product**
- Administration features: User management · Organizations · 2-factor authentication · Multi-Tenant · Notifications · Backups [S3]
- Agency pairing: yes [S2]
- AI bulk start: recommended rollout: one language, native sample check, then roll out [S11]
- AI mt: yes [S1]
- AI own keys: yes · yes [S1]
- AI qe score: yes · no [S11]
- AI review: AI Review and EU AI Act Article 50 Review Workflow listed in workflow docs section [S15]
- AI review existing: AI Review audits existing translations and queues doubted ones as proposals or marks [S12]
- AI review feature: existing translations of any origin · yes [S10]
- AI translation providers: OpenAI · Gemini · Mistral · Anthropic · DeepL · yes · yes [S3]
- AI translation providers: Google Translate · MyMemory · DeepL · Open AI · Gemini · Mistral AI · Anthropic · Lara Translate AI [S7]
- API authentication: yes · yes [S9]
- Article50 compatibility: supports EU AI Act Article 50(4)-compatible review workflow [S12]
- Automatic translation: Automatic Translation listed in workflow docs section [S15]
- Automatic translation workflow: automatic translation workflow translates new keys as they arrive, with context and scoring [S11]
- Automation: Detect missing keys, automate sync, manage translations at scale [S3]
- Autotranslate review: bypass · autotranslatereview=true [S12]
- Backup download zip: all namespace JSON files for the run · yes [S17]
- Backup frequency by plan: daily · weekly · weekly only [S17]
- Backup restore levels: version · language · namespace [S17]
- Backup runner daily: daily [S17]
- Backup scope: yes · yes · yes [S17]
- Backups: Backups listed in administration docs section [S15]
- Backups enable addons: Backup plans enabled in Add-ons section of organization's Projects tab [S17]
- Backups overview: Automatic backups of namespaces; browse, download as ZIP, restore any version/language/namespace [S17]

**Subprocessors**
- Amazon ses: Amazon SES (AWS) · outbound email delivery [S7]
- Anthropic: Anthropic (Claude) · internal support/engineering assistance · no [S7]
- Cloudflare dns: Cloudflare · DNS provider and website hosting [S7]
- Gemini: Gemini (Google Cloud AI) · no [S7]
- Google analytics: Google Analytics · website user interaction tracking [S7]
- Gravatar: Gravatar · avatar photos [S7]
- Hostpoint email: Hostpoint AG · business email hosting · Switzerland [S7]
- Liability: yes [S8]
- List location: privacy policy [S8]
- Stripe: Stripe · billing gateway · no [S7]
- Youtube: YouTube · embedded videos · yes [S7]

**Support**
- Change notification: email · in-app [S6]
- Downtime notice: website · 30 [S6]
- Termination notice: 10 · yes [S6]
- Trial duration: 14 · no [S1]
- Vulnerability reporting: support@locize.com · yes [S9]

190 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize

## Questions

### Is Locize European?

Yes, though not from the EU. whats-best.ai classifies Locize as UK / wider Europe.

### Where does Locize store data?

The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Ireland as hosting location, per [the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/14761).

### Does Locize have a free plan?

Yes. Locize has a free plan, per [the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/14776).

### What are the best alternatives to Locize?

As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates [SimpleLocalize (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/simplelocalize), [LILT (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/lilt) and [Phrase Localization Platform (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/phrase) highest among the other 12 Translation & Localization products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [SimpleLocalize](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/simplelocalize) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Locize alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 subprocessors fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 3 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.locize.com/ (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S2] Company page (Swiss ownership): https://www.locize.com/swiss-made-tms (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S3] Documentation: https://www.locize.com/docs (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S4] Documentation (MCP integration): https://www.locize.com/docs/integration/mcp (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S5] Pricing page: https://www.locize.com/pricing (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S6] Terms of service: https://www.locize.com/terms (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S7] Privacy policy: https://www.locize.com/privacy (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S8] Data processing agreement (dpa): https://www.locize.com/dpa (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S9] Security / trust page: https://www.locize.com/security (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S10] Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/quality-estimation (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S11] Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/guides/using-ai-translation-effectively (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S12] Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/review-workflow (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S13] Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/translation-memory (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S14] Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/integration/file-formats (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S15] Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/integration (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S16] Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/general-questions/what-do-i-have-to-consider-if-my-translation-texts-may-contain-confidential-information (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S17] Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/docs/backups (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S18] Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://www.locize.com/file-formats/tbx-utx (checked 2026-11-01)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Locize — Translation & Localization", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/software/translation/locize

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1308?target=page