--- title: "Polylang alternatives when manual translation gets slow" description: "Five Polylang alternatives for sites that publish often, with prices dated 7 October 2026 and a worked example of a year of new posts in three languages." url: "https://www.langrelay.com/polylang-alternatives" --- 1. [Home](https://www.langrelay.com/) 2. [Compare](https://www.langrelay.com/best-website-translation-software-compared-2026) 3. Polylang alternatives when manual translation gets slow AlternativesCost and buying # Polylang alternatives when manual translation gets slow Five Polylang alternatives for sites that publish often, with prices dated 7 October 2026 and a worked example of a year of new posts in three languages. [Chris Jayden](https://www.langrelay.com/about) Founder Published 7 October 2026 Reading time 5 min read ![A baker hands bread to a sailor at a harbour of pastel houses, the quay paved in green and orange leaf tiles and a solar-sail boat moored behind.](https://www.langrelay.com/img/alternatives/polylang-alternatives/cover-1536.4d3d789945.webp) On this page 1. What Polylang leaves to you 2. The five alternatives 3. WPML: keep the model, automate the work 4. TranslatePress and LangRelay: stop duplicating posts 5. Linguise and GTranslate: hand it to a service 6. A worked example: a year of new posts 7. Moving off Polylang ## At a glance - Polylang WordPress plugin, one post per language €99 a year A yearly licence priced by number of sites. Machine translation runs on your own DeepL API key and its quota. Free: Polylang on WordPress.org, with no limit on the number of languages. Checked 7 October 2026. What it does well - A free plugin with no limit on the number of languages, and 900,000+ active installations on WordPress.org. - A subdirectory, subdomain or separate domain per language, in the free version too. - Translations are ordinary WordPress posts, linked to the original. - A Pro licence that is not renewed keeps working, without updates or support. - Pro exports and imports XLIFF files for outside translators. Polylang is free, has no limit on languages and gives every translation its own WordPress post. It does not translate for you: the free plugin leaves translation to people, and Polylang Pro adds DeepL one post, page or product at a time, on your own DeepL API key. On a site that publishes a few pages a year, that is little work. On a site that publishes every week, the translated posts pile up, and the five alternatives below are for that kind of site. I make LangRelay, which is one of the five. Facts about Polylang and the other vendors are as their own pages stood on 7 October 2026. ## What Polylang leaves to you For a site that publishes often, three points from Polylang's own documentation matter. Polylang's DeepL guide says editing the original does not update its DeepL translation; you edit the translation by hand or generate it again. Polylang Pro's synchronized posts copy an edit across languages, which keeps the same content in each post rather than translating it. Polylang's features page also says Pro has no one-click way to translate the whole site, and its DeepL integration does not work with Elementor and some other page builders. On a store, WooCommerce needs the Polylang for WooCommerce add-on, from €99 a year, which works with the free Polylang or with Pro. Polylang Pro itself costs €99 a year for one site, €198 for three, €297 for five and €495 for 25, excluding VAT. A switch also gives things up. Polylang's free version supports a subdirectory, subdomain or separate domain per language, translations are ordinary WordPress posts, and a Pro licence that you stop renewing keeps working without updates or support. ## The five alternatives | Alternative | What changes compared with Polylang | Price from, as listed | Who it is for, summed up from its own site | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WPML | Still a post per language, with automatic translation that picks up edits | Multilingual CMS, €99 a year for three sites with 22,500 AI words | Businesses and web agencies building multilingual WordPress sites | | TranslatePress | One post, translated on the page, with a front-end editor in the free plugin | Personal, €99 a year with 50,000 AI words | Anyone translating a WordPress site, working from the front end | | Linguise | Hosted; translates the whole site once you apply its key | START, $15 a month per domain | Website owners and agencies who want a whole site translated automatically | | GTranslate | Hosted proxy priced by language, no word meter on paid plans | Custom, $12 a month for one language; Startup, $25 for all | Any HTML website that should be multilingual | | LangRelay | One post, edits reported by the plugin; live by default; free checks hold pages with untranslated text, the wrong language or a changed price; or approve each page first | Free plan; paid plans on [/pricing](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) | WordPress sites that keep changing | ## WPML: keep the model, automate the work If you like having a WordPress post for each language, WPML keeps that model. With Translate Everything Automatically on, WPML picks up new posts and edits and translates them with its PTC engine, which can hold drafts for a Translation Manager first, as WPML's AI translation settings describe. Its Multilingual Blog plan, at €39 a year, does not include AI translation, so the comparison with Polylang Pro starts at Multilingual CMS. The [WPML vs Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/wpml-vs-polylang) page compares the two in full. ## TranslatePress and LangRelay: stop duplicating posts Both translate the page WordPress renders, so a new post is one post, whatever the number of languages. TranslatePress translates strings on a live preview of the page and, with automatic translation on, translates new text the first time a visitor opens it in a language. It counts AI words per word and per language against a quota that comes with each yearly licence. LangRelay's plugin reports a new or edited post about a minute after you save it, and only the new text is translated. By default a translation goes live as soon as it is ready, and free checks hold a page with untranslated text, the wrong language or a changed price. To approve every page yourself, in a grid or in a visual editor that shows the page at desktop, tablet and mobile widths, choose Ask me first. During the pilot it supports nine languages, where Polylang sets no limit, so check yours first. ## Linguise and GTranslate: hand it to a service A hosted service takes translation out of WordPress. Linguise's install guide says the whole site is translated in every chosen language once the API key is applied, and it bills source words times languages per domain. GTranslate's paid plans have no word or page-view limit, within fair use: its terms treat recurring traffic above 100,000 translated page hits in 24 hours as excessive. Neither stores translations in your WordPress database, and I found no approval step for single translations on either vendor's site. ## A worked example: a year of new posts Take a blog that publishes eight 1,000-word posts a month in English and translates them into three languages. That is 24,000 words of translation a month, or 288,000 in a year. This is a worked example, priced from each vendor's page on 7 October 2026. With Polylang, it is 24 translated posts to create each month, by hand or with DeepL one at a time, plus whatever DeepL bills your account. With WPML on Multilingual CMS (€99 a year, excluding VAT), the 22,500 included AI words cover most of the first month, leaving about €3 of pay-as-you-go. WPML prices pay-as-you-go in monthly volume bands, so a full 24,000-word month comes to about €55, and the lowest price reached in a month carries over to the next three months as the starting price, which brings later months to about €47 each. These figures assume the included words do not count toward the bands; WPML's pricing page does not say. With TranslatePress, Personal's 50,000 AI words last about two months. A year of this blog needs 288,000 AI words. Personal plus three of TranslatePress's 100,000-word packs (€24 each, bought from your account page) gives 350,000 words for €171; Developer includes 500,000 for €349 a year. With GTranslate's Startup plan the bill is $25 a month however much you publish, within fair use. With LangRelay, the 24,000 words come out of a monthly allowance that renews, so on a plan whose allowance covers them, the cost stays the same each month for the same output. The [pricing page](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) has each plan's allowance. ## Moving off Polylang Polylang's translated posts stay in your database whichever way you go. With WPML you keep a post per language. With a one-post tool, the new tool translates the originals again, and you can unpublish the old translated posts once the new language paths are live. Set redirects from the old translated URLs if they differ. For the full head-to-head with LangRelay, see [LangRelay vs Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang). The [WPML alternatives](https://www.langrelay.com/wpml-alternatives) page covers the same choice from the WPML side. ## Polylang and LangRelay side by side From each vendor's own pages, on the dates in the sources below. | Capability | [LangRelay](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) | [Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang) | | --- | --- | --- | | Delivery and SEOHow translated pages reach visitors and search engines. | | | | How translated pages are servedHow the translated page reaches visitors: from your own server, through a proxy, or swapped in by the browser. | Yes:WordPress plugin serves translated HTML from your server. A script tag works on any other site, without SEO. | Yes:WordPress plugin. A subdirectory, subdomain or separate domain per language.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/features/) | | WordPress: one post, no copies per languageWhether WordPress keeps one post per page, instead of a separate copy for every language. | Yes:Translates the rendered page. Your posts stay as they are. | NoEach translation is a separate post, linked to the original.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/rest-api/) | | hreflang and per-language URLsA URL per language with hreflang tags, so search engines find and index each language. | Yes:Subdirectories (/fr/), hreflang with x-default, a canonical per language, and translated titles and meta. | Yes:hreflang tags and language-dependent meta tags.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/features/) | | Translated URL slugsURLs in the visitor’s language, like /fr/a-propos instead of /fr/about. | PartlySet by hand per page and language. Automatic slug translation is on the way. | PartlyPro only: translates URL slugs for post types, taxonomies, categories, tags and author pages.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/translating-urls-slugs/) | | Workflow and reviewWhat happens when content changes, and who decides what goes live. | | | | Picks up edits to the originalWhen you edit the original page, whether the tool notices and translates what changed. | Yes:The WordPress plugin reports an edit about a minute later, and only the new text is translated. Other sites can call a change hook from their CMS or deploy. | NoEditing the original does not update its DeepL translation; you edit it by hand or regenerate it.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/) | | Approve before it goes liveWhether a person can check a translation before visitors see it. | Yes:When you choose Ask me first. By default pages go live as they are ready, and free checks hold a page with untranslated text, the wrong language or a changed price. Legal pages, pricing pages and sweeping changes always wait for you. | PartlyDeepL output is saved as a draft that a person publishes. No approval workflow found.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/) | | Visual editorEditing translations on the page itself, rather than in a list of strings. | Yes:Click text on the rendered page to edit, at desktop, tablet and mobile widths. | Not foundNo front-end editor found. | | GlossaryFixed translations for names and terms, applied every time they appear. | Yes:Per-language terms, “keep as source”, and match case. Paid plans. | PartlyPro: choose a DeepL glossary, managed in your DeepL account.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/) | | AI and integrationsHow much of the work AI takes on, and how you reach it. | | | | Machine translationThe machine or AI translation the tool uses. | Yes:AI translation that follows your glossary and each language’s formality. | PartlyPro only: DeepL with your own API key, one post, page or product at a time. Not for Elementor or Divi content.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/) | | AI quality reviewAI that checks translations for mistakes, not only writes them. | Yes:Relay reviews any page you ask it to, the way a language expert would, quoted in AI credits first. It reviews legal pages, pricing pages and sweeping changes on its own while you have AI credits. | Not foundNo AI review found. | | AI assistant in the productAn assistant inside the product that you can ask in plain language. | Yes:Relay, a chat agent that reads your Site’s pages and translations and drafts changes for your approval. | Not foundNo AI assistant found. | | MCP server for your own AILets your own AI assistant, such as Claude or ChatGPT, work with the tool directly. | PlannedOn the way: connect Claude or ChatGPT to your Sites. | Not foundNot found on polylang.pro. | | APIProgrammatic access for developers. | PlannedOn the way, for the Growth plan and up. | PartlyPro only: REST API support for languages and translations.[Source, checked 7 October 2026](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/rest-api/) | - No · Not offered - Partly · With a limit - Planned · Announced, not shipped - Not found · Not on the vendor’s own pages when we checked - Yes · Included ### Where the table comes from Polylang - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/rest-api/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/rest-api/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/features/](https://polylang.pro/features/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/translating-urls-slugs/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/translating-urls-slugs/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/pricing/polylang-pro/](https://polylang.pro/pricing/polylang-pro/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/](https://polylang.pro/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/pricing/](https://polylang.pro/pricing/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-manage-language-capabilities-in-polylang-pro/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-manage-language-capabilities-in-polylang-pro/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/synchronized-posts/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/synchronized-posts/) (checked 7 October 2026) - [polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/polylang-cli/](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/polylang-cli/) (checked 7 October 2026) Product names and logos belong to their owners; shown to identify them for comparison, no affiliation or endorsement. ## Sources The pages this one cites, with the day each was read. 1. 01[Polylang on WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/)wordpress.org, checked 7 October 2026 2. 02[Polylang, Features](https://polylang.pro/features/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 3. 03[Polylang, Pricing](https://polylang.pro/pricing/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 4. 04[Polylang, Polylang Pro pricing](https://polylang.pro/pricing/polylang-pro/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 5. 05[Polylang documentation, How to use DeepL machine translation with Polylang Pro](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-use-deepl-machine-translation-with-polylang-pro/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 6. 06[Polylang documentation, Synchronized posts](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/synchronized-posts/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 7. 07[WPML, Purchase](https://app.wpml.org/purchase)app.wpml.org, checked 7 October 2026 8. 08[WPML documentation, Automatic translation pricing](https://wpml.org/documentation/automatic-translation/automatic-translation-pricing/)wpml.org, checked 7 October 2026 9. 09[WPML documentation, Translating posts and custom post types](https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/posts-and-custom-post-types/)wpml.org, checked 7 October 2026 10. 10[TranslatePress, Pricing](https://translatepress.com/pricing/)translatepress.com, checked 7 October 2026 11. 11[TranslatePress on WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/translatepress-multilingual/)wordpress.org, checked 7 October 2026 12. 12[TranslatePress documentation, TranslatePress AI](https://translatepress.com/docs/automatic-translation/translatepress-ai/)translatepress.com, checked 7 October 2026 13. 13[Linguise, Prices](https://www.linguise.com/prices/)linguise.com, checked 7 October 2026 14. 14[Linguise documentation, Install Linguise on WordPress](https://www.linguise.com/documentation/linguise-installation/install-linguise-on-wordpress/)linguise.com, checked 7 October 2026 15. 15[GTranslate, Home and plans](https://gtranslate.io/)gtranslate.io, checked 7 October 2026 16. 16[GTranslate, Terms of service](https://gtranslate.io/terms)gtranslate.io, checked 7 October 2026 17. 17[WPML documentation, AI translation settings](https://wpml.org/documentation/customizing-wpml/ai-translation-settings/)wpml.org, checked 7 October 2026 18. 18[Linguise, Home](https://www.linguise.com/)linguise.com, checked 7 October 2026 19. 19[Polylang, Polylang for WooCommerce pricing](https://polylang.pro/pricing/polylang-for-woocommerce/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 20. 20[Polylang, Home](https://polylang.pro/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026 [Chris Jayden](https://www.langrelay.com/about) Founder, LangRelay Chris Jayden is the founder of LangRelay. Chris has worked on websites of every size, from large e-commerce stores to small sites with a handful of pages, and started LangRelay after years of translating them the hard way. On this page 1. What Polylang leaves to you 2. The five alternatives 3. WPML: keep the model, automate the work 4. TranslatePress and LangRelay: stop duplicating posts 5. Linguise and GTranslate: hand it to a service 6. A worked example: a year of new posts 7. Moving off Polylang Share - [Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.langrelay.com%2Fpolylang-alternatives) - [Share on X (opens in a new tab)](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.langrelay.com%2Fpolylang-alternatives&text=Polylang%20alternatives%20when%20manual%20translation%20gets%20slow) See it on your site A 30-minute walkthrough on one of your pages. [Book a demo](https://www.langrelay.com/book-a-demo) - Polylang - translation plugins - WordPress ## Keep reading - Comparison ### [WPML vs Polylang: two post-per-language plugins compared](https://www.langrelay.com/wpml-vs-polylang) WPML and Polylang both store each language as its own WordPress post. How their prices, machine translation, review and WooCommerce support differ in 2026. - Alternatives ### [WPML alternatives: five plugins and services compared](https://www.langrelay.com/wpml-alternatives) WPML alternatives for WordPress, from Polylang to hosted services, with dated prices and a worked example of what editing a translated page costs in each. Book a demo ## See LangRelay on your own site Book 30 minutes with the team. We translate one of your pages live and walk through review, publishing and multilingual SEO. [Book a demo](https://www.langrelay.com/book-a-demo)[See pricing](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing)