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Translation & Localization

Lokalise

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Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: 1 of 6 dimensions proven

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Lokalise, Inc. · lokalise.com

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Lokalise: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai Lokalise: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

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Lokalise at a glance

Vendor
Lokalise, Inc.
Headquarters
Incorporated in United States source, captured 1 Nov 2026
Data hosting
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Free plan
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Lokalise 3/5, the mean of 6 judges. Lokalise, a localization platform, scores highest on the translation pipeline: machine translation, workflow and review, and integrations and formats cluster at 7-8 — 95 API endpoints, Git sync with branching on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure Repos, and fourteen QA checks whose Error level blocks saving. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 2 Nov 2026. all sources

Lokalise alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Data Protection Officer

Weighted verdict

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.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Data Protection Officer

Panel median The Data Protection Officer This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Data Protection Officer
Machine translation & AI quality 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Translation memory, terminology & review workflow 4 of 5 3.5 of 5
Integrations, file formats & developer tools 4 of 5 3.5 of 5
Confidentiality of translated content 3.5 of 5 3 of 5
Data export, portability & self-hosting 2.5 of 5 2 of 5
European sovereignty 3 of 5 3 of 5
Pricing transparency 2.5 of 5 2.5 of 5

Machine translation & AI quality

How this is scored

What the machine translation does and how well it is controlled: the languages and language pairs covered, the engine (own neural or LLM model, or a choice of third-party engines such as DeepL, Google, Microsoft or an LLM), glossaries and formality applied during translation, document translation that keeps the layout (Word, PowerPoint, PDF, InDesign), custom or adaptive models trained on the customer's own translations, automatic quality estimation or scoring, and published evaluations of translation quality.

0 — No machine translation of any kind, and no way to connect an engine.

3 — Machine translation is offered or one engine can be connected; languages, glossary use and quality controls are basic or not described.

5 — Machine translation for the major European and world languages with the list published, glossaries applied during translation, a formality or tone setting, document translation that keeps formatting for common office formats, and either an own engine or a choice of several named engines.

8 — Custom or adaptive models that learn from the customer's translation memory or corrections, automatic quality estimation per segment with a threshold that routes weak segments to human review, LLM-based translation with style guides and context, engine selection per language pair stated, and a published quality evaluation with its method.

10 — Translation quality that an organisation can measure and steer: evaluations against named benchmarks or blind human review published with their method, quality estimation calibrated and explained, custom models with their training data and isolation documented, and every machine-translated segment traceable to the engine, model version and glossary that produced it.

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The Data Protection Officer

The engines are named — Google Translate and DeepL — and Pro AI routes dynamically across the GPT, Claude and Gemini families with glossaries, style guides, screenshots and translation memory as context. Scoring against MQM criteria runs on every translation in real time and routes high-confidence strings to publish while flagging the rest for human review, and custom profiles adapt via retrieval over the customer's own translations rather than fine-tuning, which the documentation says is not supported. The published quality figures (a 92% acceptance rate versus roughly 60% with a single LLM) come without a stated evaluation method, which is what holds this below the top levels for me. 2 3 12 13

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Translation memory, terminology & review workflow

How this is scored

How translation is managed as an ongoing process: translation memory with fuzzy matches, a termbase or glossary managed centrally, style guides, review and approval stages, automated QA checks (placeholders, tags, length, terminology, punctuation), an in-context or visual editor, screenshots and context for translators, tasks and deadlines, roles per language, and ordering or inviting human translators and agencies inside the product.

0 — No management of translations at all; text goes in and comes out with nothing stored or reviewed.

3 — Translations can be edited or a glossary kept; translation memory, review stages and QA checks are basic or not described.

5 — A translation memory reused across projects, a central glossary, at least one review or approval stage, automated QA checks for placeholders and terminology, comments and screenshots for context, and roles that limit translators to their languages.

8 — Configurable multi-step workflows with automation rules, an in-context or visual editor for apps or websites, QA checks configurable per project with blocking rules, style guides applied by the AI, translation memory and termbase shared across projects with penalties and priorities, vendor or agency management with ordering inside the product, and progress and cost reporting per language.

10 — A translation process an enterprise runs on: workflows per content type with conditional routing on quality scores, linguistic quality assessment with a named framework (MQM or similar), termbase with approval workflow and forbidden terms, full revision history per segment, and productivity and quality metrics per translator and vendor.

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The Data Protection Officer

Translation memory is shared across team projects with a minimum match percentage for inline suggestions and 100% matches applied automatically, next to a shared glossary, style guides, review and verified statuses, chained tasks with key locks, and in-context editors for web and mobile. Fourteen QA checks are configured at project level with three escalation levels, and the error level blocks saving in the editor. I found no public information on a termbase approval workflow or per-translator productivity metrics, and the documentation itself states that classic machine translation engines use neither glossary terms nor memory entries. 2 6 12 14 15

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Integrations, file formats & developer tools

How this is scored

How content gets in and out: the file formats supported (XLIFF, PO, JSON, YAML, Android XML, iOS strings and xcstrings, Office documents, InDesign), a REST API and CLI, SDKs and over-the-air updates for apps, Git repository sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) and CI pipelines, connectors for CMS, shop and design tools (WordPress, Contentful, Shopify, Figma), browser and office add-ins, webhooks, and a JavaScript snippet or proxy for website translation.

0 — No documented way to get content in or out except typing or pasting by hand.

3 — File upload and download or a basic API; formats, repository sync and connectors are basic or not described.

5 — A documented REST API, a list of supported file formats covering the common software and document formats, sync with at least one Git host or CI, and connectors or plugins for several named CMS, shop or design tools.

8 — A CLI and SDKs for named platforms, over-the-air updates for mobile or web apps, Git sync with branching, webhooks, connectors for the main CMS, shop, design and support tools, office or browser add-ins, a public status page, and API limits documented.

10 — Integration that scales across an organisation: an API covering every function of the product with versioning and SDKs, an app or connector framework third parties build on, continuous localization in CI with pull requests opened automatically, and every connector documented with its limits and the fields it syncs.

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The Data Protection Officer

The developer surface is broad: a REST API with 95 documented endpoints and an in-page test console, a CLI, ten SDKs, over-the-air updates for iOS, Android and Flutter plus a public OTA API, Git sync with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure Repos including branching, 33 webhooks, connectors across CMS, design, support and marketing tools, and even an MCP server. The documentation states there are no API endpoints for managing translation memories, and I found no public information on office or browser add-ins or documented API rate limits. 3 5 14 16 17

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Confidentiality of translated content

How this is scored

What happens to the text a customer translates: whether source and target texts are stored and for how long, deletion after translation, whether customer content is used to train the vendor's or a third party's models, which machine translation and LLM providers a TMS sends text to and whether that can be restricted or switched off, encryption in transit and at rest, single sign-on, roles and audit logs, and certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) with their scope. Where the text is processed is scored under sovereignty.

0 — Customer texts are stored indefinitely and used for the vendor's own purposes, or no statement on data handling exists at all.

3 — The product is described as secure or GDPR-compliant and a privacy policy exists; retention of translated texts, model training and third-party engines are basic or not described.

5 — A documented statement that customer texts are not used to train models, retention or deletion of translated texts stated, the third-party engines or LLM providers named, encryption in transit and at rest, single sign-on on a business tier, and a data processing agreement offered.

8 — Texts deleted immediately after translation or after a retention period the customer sets, third-party AI processing switchable per project or account, zero-retention terms with the named LLM providers, audit logs, granular roles, ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification stated with its scope, and a private or dedicated deployment option.

10 — Confidentiality that can be verified: an on-premise or customer-controlled deployment, customer-managed encryption keys, every subprocessor that sees content listed with its role, independent audit reports available, and every data flow of a translation request documented end to end.

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The Data Protection Officer

My core concern: the AI statement says customer content may be used to improve Lokalise's services unless the customer opts out through the AI Addendum, so training on our member letters is default-on rather than forbidden — although third-party LLM providers are barred from training, with the OpenAI and Anthropic agreements cited. Retention of translated texts is not stated as customer-controlled: the privacy policy gives six-to-ten-year statutory and three-year limitation periods for personal data generally, and the terms say user content may be deleted on termination. The rest is genuinely strong — engines and LLM families named, an AI subprocessor list published with services, data processed, retention periods and regions, identifiers masked before model calls, no cross-customer prompt pooling, TLS 1.2 in transit and AES-256 at rest, SSO, audit logs kept twelve months, and SOC 2 Type II plus ISO 27001 and 27017. 8 9 10 13 18 19

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Data export, portability & self-hosting

How this is scored

Whether translation assets stay the customer's and can leave with them: export of translation memory and termbase in open formats (TMX, TBX, XLIFF, CSV), export of all projects and files, import from another TMS, an API that can read every asset, the return or deletion of data on termination, open-source code and a self-hosted or on-premise edition.

0 — Translations cannot be exported; they exist only in the vendor's interface or engine.

3 — Translated files can be downloaded; export of translation memory and glossary, import and termination terms are basic or not described.

5 — Translation memory exportable as TMX and glossary as TBX or CSV, all project files downloadable, import of translation memory and glossaries from another tool, and an API that reads translations and keys.

8 — Complete export of every asset (memory, termbase, files, comments, history) in open formats, a documented migration path from named competitors, the data returned or deleted on termination under stated terms, and a self-hosted or on-premise edition with its own documentation.

10 — The customer owns the assets end to end: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, a complete export another tool can import without loss, and the deletion of every copy on termination documented.

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The Data Protection Officer

Translation memory exports as TMX on higher-tier plans with a 100MB limit and TMX-only support, project snapshots and language file exports exist, and the REST API reads translations and keys. I found no public information on glossary export in TBX or CSV, on export of comments and revision history, or on a documented data return at termination beyond a clause that content may be deleted. Only the command-line tool is published as open source; I found no public information on a self-hosted edition of the platform. 3 5 9 14 21

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where texts are translated, stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, machine translation engines, LLM providers, CDN for over-the-air delivery, support and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; translated texts often hold personal data and trade secrets, so the whole chain counts, including the engines a TMS calls. A self-hosted edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.

0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.

3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.

5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (machine translation or LLM providers, CDN, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.

8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations including the engines and LLM providers, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every text on the customer's own servers.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting, engine and every subprocessor, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.

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The Data Protection Officer

The contract names Lokalise, Inc., a Delaware corporation, governed by Delaware law with exclusive jurisdiction in Delaware courts — no European entity appears in the terms, which is where I have to start. The captured pages give different indications on where data lives: the security pages state customer data is processed on EU-based AWS infrastructure, while the privacy policy says personal data may be stored and processed in any country of operations, including the United States, with the Data Privacy Framework as the stated transfer safeguard. Credit where due: an AI subprocessor list is published with services, data processed, retention periods, regions and provider-training treatment, and ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and SOC 2 Type II are stated — a well-documented chain under an American seat. 7 8 9 11 18 19

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per tier by characters, words, keys, hosted words or seats, what happens when the volume exceeds the tier, the number of users, projects and languages included, which features (machine translation volume, AI credits, SSO, integrations, API access) cost extra, the free tier and its limits, the self-hosted edition and its support, minimum term and setup.

0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.

3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with volume, seats or features is unclear.

5 — Tiers are public with their price per volume band and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (overage, extra seats, machine translation or AI volume, SSO, connectors) is unpriced or "on request".

8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (characters, words, keys, seats), overage handling stated, add-ons and AI credits priced, the self-hosted edition's cost or licence stated, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.

10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given volume, seat count and feature set, with every add-on, setup, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.

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The Data Protection Officer

Three tiers are public at $149/mo, $379/mo and $1049/mo with annual billing, with seats, languages, projects, integrations, automations, hosted words and processed-word volumes listed per tier, a free 14-day trial without credit card, and machine translation orders at $0.001 per word. What I cannot compute: Enterprise is contact sales, extra seats on the mid tiers are on demand, Pro AI word bundles are quoted only from a starting volume, and I found no public information on overage handling, minimum term or VAT treatment. 6 13

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European sovereignty — proven facts

1 of 6 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Hosting location Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Hosting options Not determined — uncited Report an error
Open source Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data processing agreement Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Transfer impact assessment Not determined — uncited Report an error

Questions about Lokalise

Is Lokalise European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies Lokalise as Rest of world. Its vendor, Lokalise, Inc., is incorporated in United States, per the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026.

Where does Lokalise store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

Does Lokalise have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

What are the best alternatives to Lokalise?

As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates SimpleLocalize (3.5/5), LILT (3.5/5) and Phrase Localization Platform (3.5/5) 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 (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Lokalise alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

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Sources (21)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Features page (AI translation) lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Features page (for developers) lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Integrations page lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  5. 5 API documentation developers.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  6. 6 Pricing page lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Legal notice lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Privacy policy lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Terms of service lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  10. 10 Data processing agreement (dpa) lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Security / trust page lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  13. 13 Machine translation & AI quality — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  14. 14 Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  15. 15 Translation memory, terminology & review workflow — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  16. 16 Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  17. 17 Integrations, file formats & developer tools — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  18. 18 Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  19. 19 Confidentiality of translated content — found from sitemap lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  20. 20 Data export, portability & self-hosting — found from sitemap docs.lokalise.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  21. 21 Code repository (open-source licence) — found from the homepage github.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →