---
title: "Weglot vs Polylang: automatic proxy or posts you translate"
description: "Weglot translates every page automatically and caps total words; Polylang gives each language its own post that a person translates. Prices and upkeep in 2026."
url: "https://www.langrelay.com/weglot-vs-polylang"
---

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3. Weglot vs Polylang: automatic proxy or posts you translate

ComparisonCost and buying

# Weglot vs Polylang: automatic proxy or posts you translate

Weglot translates every page automatically and caps total words; Polylang gives each language its own post that a person translates. Prices and upkeep in 2026.

[Chris Jayden](https://www.langrelay.com/about)

Founder

Published

7 October 2026

Reading time

5 min read

![An older couple dance in a town plaza at night while a boy claps and a friend plays the accordion, the bandstand's round base tiled in green and orange leaves.](https://www.langrelay.com/img/vs/weglot-vs-polylang/cover-1536.31fee94752.webp)

On this page

1. What you are managing
2. Who translates, and when
3. When the original changes
4. Review and permissions
5. What each one costs
6. A worked example: a 40-page site that keeps changing
7. Which one fits
8. Where LangRelay fits

## At a glance

- Weglot
  Translating proxy for any platform
  €15 a month
  Unique translated words across all your languages: a fixed total that does not renew. Languages and projects are capped per plan. Prices exclude VAT. Free: 2,000 words, 1 language, 1 project. Checked 7 October 2026.
  What it does well
    - Works on almost any platform: Weglot says it connects natively to more than 70 platforms, including custom-built websites.
    - Server-side translation with hreflang and translated metadata, so search engines see every language.
    - Editing tools for teams: a visual editor, translators and teammates in the dashboard, and professional translation ordered inside Weglot.
    - A free plan for up to 2,000 words, and a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
    - MCP-powered assistance in Weglot 2.0, so AI assistants can find projects, review translations and update content.
- 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.

Weglot and Polylang take opposite approaches to a multilingual WordPress site. Weglot is a hosted service: connect it and it machine-translates each page as visitors reach it, then keeps doing so as the site changes. Polylang is a free plugin that makes every language its own WordPress post and leaves the translating to a person, with DeepL available one post at a time if you buy Polylang Pro.

I build LangRelay, a third approach covered at the end. The Weglot and Polylang facts come from weglot.com, polylang.pro and their help pages, read on 7 October 2026.

## What you are managing

With Weglot on WordPress there is one post per page. Weglot's plugin creates a URL per language, such as `/fr/about/`, without creating pages in the WordPress backend, and Weglot keeps the translations in its own database. You correct them in Weglot's dashboard or its visual editor rather than in the block editor.

With Polylang, four translated languages turn one page into five linked posts. Its REST API documentation describes each translation as a separate post linked to the original. You translate and edit each one in the normal WordPress editor, and the translations stay in your own database. Polylang can serve a language from a subdirectory, a subdomain or a separate domain, in the free version too.

## Who translates, and when

Weglot translates on demand. Its help center says translations are generated progressively, when a visitor, you or a search engine opens a page in the translated language, using DeepL where it supports the pair and Google Translate or Microsoft otherwise. You can order professional translation from the Weglot dashboard as well, at extra cost.

The free Polylang plugin has no engine. Polylang Pro connects DeepL through your own API key and translates one post, page or product at a time, saving the result as a draft for someone to publish. Polylang's features page says Pro has no one-click way to translate everything, and its DeepL guide says Elementor and Divi content is not supported. DeepL bills its usage to your account.

## When the original changes

Weglot picks up new and changed text on the next visit to the translated page and translates it, adding the words to your total.

Polylang's DeepL guide says editing the original does not update its translation. You edit the translated post by hand, or regenerate it and spend DeepL credits again. Polylang Pro's synchronized posts are a separate tool: they copy an edit to the same post in the other languages, so every language shows the same content.

## Review and permissions

Weglot's help center says languages are public by default. To check translations first, you can keep a language in private mode, or turn off automatic content translation so new content waits until you approve it.

Polylang's review is the WordPress draft: DeepL output waits as a draft until someone publishes it, and a hand-written translation goes live when its author publishes it. Polylang Pro can restrict a user role to one language, so a Spanish translator only edits Spanish posts.

## What each one costs

Weglot charges for the total unique words across your languages, a limit that does not renew, with languages capped per plan. Starter is €15 a month for one language and 10,000 words; Business €29 for three languages and 50,000; Pro €79 for five languages and 200,000; Advanced €299 for ten languages and 1,000,000. Prices exclude VAT.

Polylang is free on WordPress.org with no limit on languages. Polylang Pro is a yearly licence by number of sites, excluding VAT: €99 for one, €198 for three, €297 for five and €495 for 25. Machine translation runs on your own DeepL key and its quota, and a Pro licence you do not renew keeps working without updates or support.

## A worked example: a 40-page site that keeps changing

A worked example, priced from each vendor's page on 7 October 2026. A consultancy's WordPress site has 40 pages and about 25,000 words, translated into Spanish and German. Each month the team rewrites parts of about five pages.

|  | Weglot | Polylang (free) | Polylang Pro with DeepL |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| First translation | Automatic as pages are visited; about 50,000 words | 80 posts translated by a person | 80 posts translated with DeepL, one post at a time, each published by hand |
| Plan | Business: 3 languages, 50,000 words | Free plugin | Pro for one site, plus DeepL usage on your account |
| Price listed | €29 a month, €290 a year, excluding VAT | €0 for the plugin | €99 a year, excluding VAT, plus DeepL |
| Five pages edited a month | Changed text translated on the next visit | Ten translated posts to update by hand | Ten posts to edit or regenerate, using DeepL credits again |
| As content grows | Past 50,000 words, Pro at €79 a month | More posts to translate | More posts and DeepL usage |

Weglot's Business plan holds exactly the 50,000 words this site needs, so the first new page pushes it towards Pro. With Polylang the plugin cost stays flat and the cost moves into time: someone has to keep 80 posts in step with 40 originals.

## Which one fits

Weglot fits a site that changes often, run by a team without translators that wants automatic translation with an optional approval step. It also fits a business with sites on several platforms. Polylang fits a site with few pages and someone who writes the translations, where every language should be a real WordPress post that you edit in WordPress and keep after you stop paying. Polylang also fits a budget of zero for the plugin, or a site that needs a separate domain per language without a premium plan.

## Where LangRelay fits

LangRelay translates automatically like Weglot and can keep a person in charge like Polylang. It keeps one post per page and translates what WordPress renders, theme and page-builder text included. The plugin reports an edit about a minute after you save, and only the changed 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 on the page itself, choose Ask me first. The approved translations are served from your server under `/fr/`-style paths with hreflang and a canonical per language. It gives up what Polylang gives you: a translated post in your database that you edit in the block editor. During the pilot it supports nine languages, against Polylang's unlimited and Weglot's 110-plus. Plans are on the [pricing page](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing).

The [LangRelay vs Weglot](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-weglot) and [LangRelay vs Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang) pages compare each with LangRelay. For other options, see [Polylang alternatives](https://www.langrelay.com/polylang-alternatives), [Weglot alternatives](https://www.langrelay.com/weglot-alternatives), and [WPML vs Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/wpml-vs-polylang) for the other post-per-language plugin.

## Weglot and Polylang side by side

From each vendor's own pages, on the dates in the sources below.

| Tool | DeliveryHow translated pages are servedHow the translated page reaches visitors: from your own server, through a proxy, or swapped in by the browser. | No duplicate postsWordPress: one post, no copies per languageWhether WordPress keeps one post per page, instead of a separate copy for every language. | hreflanghreflang and per-language URLsA URL per language with hreflang tags, so search engines find and index each language. | Translated slugsTranslated URL slugsURLs in the visitor’s language, like /fr/a-propos instead of /fr/about. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [LangRelay](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) | : WordPress plugin serves translated HTML from your server. A script tag works on any other site, without SEO. | : Translates the rendered page. Your posts stay as they are. | : Subdirectories (/fr/), hreflang with x-default, a canonical per language, and translated titles and meta. | Partly: Set by hand per page and language. Automatic slug translation is on the way. |
| [Weglot](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-weglot) | : Weglot’s reverse proxy and CDN serve translated HTML on a subdomain or subdirectory. A JavaScript option translates in the browser, which search engines do not see. | : The WordPress plugin creates a URL per language without creating pages in the WordPress backend. | : hreflang added automatically (x-default only by hand). Titles, meta descriptions, alt text and structured data translated. | Partly: Pro plan and up. |
| [Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang) | : WordPress plugin. A subdirectory, subdomain or separate domain per language. | No: Each translation is a separate post, linked to the original. | : hreflang tags and language-dependent meta tags. | Partly: Pro only: translates URL slugs for post types, taxonomies, categories, tags and author pages. |

| Tool | Follows editsPicks up edits to the originalWhen you edit the original page, whether the tool notices and translates what changed. | Approval stepApprove before it goes liveWhether a person can check a translation before visitors see it. | Visual editorVisual editorEditing translations on the page itself, rather than in a list of strings. | GlossaryGlossaryFixed translations for names and terms, applied every time they appear. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [LangRelay](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) | : 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. | : 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. | : Click text on the rendered page to edit, at desktop, tablet and mobile widths. | : Per-language terms, “keep as source”, and match case. Paid plans. |
| [Weglot](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-weglot) | : New and changed text is translated when a visitor or search engine opens the translated page. | Partly: With automatic content translation turned off, new content waits in a list until you approve it; then its translation shows. | : Edits translations on a preview copy of your site, with an SEO tags panel. | : “Always translate” and “never translate” rules of up to five words each. |
| [Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang) | No: Editing the original does not update its DeepL translation; you edit it by hand or regenerate it. | Partly: DeepL output is saved as a draft that a person publishes. No approval workflow found. | Not found: No front-end editor found. | Partly: Pro: choose a DeepL glossary, managed in your DeepL account. |

| Tool | Machine translationMachine translationThe machine or AI translation the tool uses. | AI reviewAI quality reviewAI that checks translations for mistakes, not only writes them. | AI assistantAI assistant in the productAn assistant inside the product that you can ask in plain language. | MCPMCP server for your own AILets your own AI assistant, such as Claude or ChatGPT, work with the tool directly. | APIAPIProgrammatic access for developers. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [LangRelay](https://www.langrelay.com/pricing) | : AI translation that follows your glossary and each language’s formality. | : 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. | : Relay, a chat agent that reads your Site’s pages and translations and drafts changes for your approval. | Planned: On the way: connect Claude or ChatGPT to your Sites. | Planned: On the way, for the Growth plan and up. |
| [Weglot](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-weglot) | : DeepL when it supports the language pair, otherwise Google Translate or Microsoft. AI Suggestions, generated with OpenAI, rephrase or shorten a translation. | Partly: In Weglot 2.0, the AI Translation Quality Checker points your team to the content that deserves a closer look. People do the review. | Not found: No built-in chat assistant found. | : Weglot 2.0 lists MCP-powered assistance: an AI assistant can find projects, review translations and update content. Plans and setup are not published. | : REST API with an API key. Which plans include it is not published. |
| [Polylang](https://www.langrelay.com/langrelay-vs-polylang) | Partly: Pro only: DeepL with your own API key, one post, page or product at a time. Not for Elementor or Divi content. | Not found: No AI review found. | Not found: No AI assistant found. | Not found: Not found on polylang.pro. | Partly: Pro only: REST API support for languages and translations. |

- 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

Weglot

- [www.weglot.com/solutions/weglot-2-for-web-agencies](https://www.weglot.com/solutions/weglot-2-for-web-agencies) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [developers.weglot.com/api/reference](https://developers.weglot.com/api/reference) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/59-total-number-translated-words](https://support.weglot.com/article/59-total-number-translated-words) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/technical-presentation](https://www.weglot.com/technical-presentation) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/402-can-i-choose-my-translation](https://support.weglot.com/article/402-can-i-choose-my-translation) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/130-translations-exceptions](https://support.weglot.com/article/130-translations-exceptions) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/406-how-to-manage-automatic-translations](https://support.weglot.com/article/406-how-to-manage-automatic-translations) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/293-how-does-weglot-manage-the-seo](https://support.weglot.com/article/293-how-does-weglot-manage-the-seo) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/148-can-i-translate-my-urls](https://support.weglot.com/article/148-can-i-translate-my-urls) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [developers.weglot.com/wordpress/getting-started](https://developers.weglot.com/wordpress/getting-started) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/409-how-to-use-the-visual-editor](https://support.weglot.com/article/409-how-to-use-the-visual-editor) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/pricing](https://www.weglot.com/pricing) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/product/ai-translation-quality](https://www.weglot.com/product/ai-translation-quality) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/documentation/available-languages](https://www.weglot.com/documentation/available-languages) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/integrations](https://www.weglot.com/integrations) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com](https://www.weglot.com/) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/features](https://www.weglot.com/features) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/238-what-is-the-private-mode](https://support.weglot.com/article/238-what-is-the-private-mode) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/266-how-to-disable-automatic-translations](https://support.weglot.com/article/266-how-to-disable-automatic-translations) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [www.weglot.com/integrations/translation-plugin-for-wordpress](https://www.weglot.com/integrations/translation-plugin-for-wordpress) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/105-weglot-multiple-websites](https://support.weglot.com/article/105-weglot-multiple-websites) (checked 7 October 2026)
- [support.weglot.com/article/198-how-to-order-professional-translations](https://support.weglot.com/article/198-how-to-order-professional-translations) (checked 7 October 2026)

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[Weglot, Pricing](https://www.weglot.com/pricing)weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
2. 02[Weglot Help Center, What is the number of translated words and how is it calculated?](https://support.weglot.com/article/59-total-number-translated-words)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
3. 03[Weglot, Technical presentation](https://www.weglot.com/technical-presentation)weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
4. 04[Weglot developer docs, WordPress getting started](https://developers.weglot.com/wordpress/getting-started)developers.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
5. 05[Weglot Help Center, What is the private mode?](https://support.weglot.com/article/238-what-is-the-private-mode)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
6. 06[Weglot Help Center, How to manage automatic translations](https://support.weglot.com/article/406-how-to-manage-automatic-translations)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
7. 07[Weglot Help Center, Can I translate my URLs?](https://support.weglot.com/article/148-can-i-translate-my-urls)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
8. 08[Weglot Help Center, How to order professional translations](https://support.weglot.com/article/198-how-to-order-professional-translations)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
9. 09[Weglot Help Center, Translation exceptions](https://support.weglot.com/article/130-translations-exceptions)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
10. 10[Weglot, Available languages](https://www.weglot.com/documentation/available-languages)weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
11. 11[Polylang on WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/)wordpress.org, checked 7 October 2026
12. 12[Polylang, Features](https://polylang.pro/features/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
13. 13[Polylang, Pricing](https://polylang.pro/pricing/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
14. 14[Polylang, Polylang Pro pricing](https://polylang.pro/pricing/polylang-pro/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
15. 15[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
16. 16[Polylang documentation, REST API](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/developers/rest-api/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
17. 17[Polylang documentation, How to manage language capabilities in Polylang Pro](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/how-to-manage-language-capabilities-in-polylang-pro/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
18. 18[Polylang documentation, Synchronized posts](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/synchronized-posts/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
19. 19[Polylang documentation, Translating URL slugs](https://polylang.pro/documentation/support/guides/translating-urls-slugs/)polylang.pro, checked 7 October 2026
20. 20[Weglot Help Center, How can I use AI Suggestions to edit my translations?](https://support.weglot.com/article/402-can-i-choose-my-translation)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
21. 21[Weglot Help Center, How to use the Visual Editor](https://support.weglot.com/article/409-how-to-use-the-visual-editor)support.weglot.com, checked 7 October 2026
22. 22[Weglot, Integrations](https://www.weglot.com/integrations)weglot.com, 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 you are managing
2. Who translates, and when
3. When the original changes
4. Review and permissions
5. What each one costs
6. A worked example: a 40-page site that keeps changing
7. Which one fits
8. Where LangRelay fits

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- Weglot
- Polylang
- translation plugins

## Keep reading

- Alternatives
  ### [Weglot alternatives: six options and who each one fits](https://www.langrelay.com/weglot-alternatives)
  Six Weglot alternatives for WordPress and other platforms, with the prices their own sites listed on 7 October 2026 and the kind of site each one suits.
- Alternatives
  ### [Polylang alternatives when manual translation gets slow](https://www.langrelay.com/polylang-alternatives)
  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.
- 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.

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)
