Weglot vs TranslatePress: hosted words or a yearly licence

On a WordPress site, Weglot and TranslatePress look alike from the outside. Neither creates a post per language, both give each language its own URL such as /fr/about/, and both fill in a translation the first time someone opens a page in that language. The difference is where the translated text ends up and how you pay for it. Weglot keeps translations in its own database and sells a cap on the total words your site holds. TranslatePress writes them into tables in your WordPress database and sells a yearly licence with a quota of AI words.

I build LangRelay, which is also a WordPress plugin; it comes up near the end. The Weglot and TranslatePress facts below are from their own sites, read on 7 October 2026.

Where the translations live#

Weglot's technical presentation says translations are stored in Weglot's database. On WordPress, its plugin creates a URL for each language without creating pages in the WordPress backend and returns the translated content on those URLs. On other platforms Weglot's reverse proxy and CDN do the serving, through a subdomain or subdirectory integration. That is why one Weglot account can cover a Shopify store and a WordPress blog alike; Weglot lists integrations for WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace and Framer.

TranslatePress saves each translated string in its own database tables and keeps one post per page. Your site serves the translations itself. Its FAQ says that when a licence expires, the plugin keeps working as configured, without TranslatePress AI, new features or downloads. TranslatePress is WordPress only; TranslatePress for Shopify is listed as a separate product.

How each one counts and charges#

Weglot counts unique translated words across all your languages: its help center's example is an 8,000-word site in three languages, about 24,000 words. The total is a fixed limit that does not renew, and each plan also caps languages. Starter (€15 a month or €150 a year) allows one language and 10,000 words; Business (€29, or €290 a year) three languages and 50,000 words; Pro (€79, or €790) five languages and 200,000 words. Starter and Business cover one website and Pro up to three. Weglot's prices exclude VAT.

TranslatePress sells a yearly licence by number of sites. Personal is €99 a year for one site with 50,000 AI words, Business €199 for three sites with 200,000, and Developer €349 for unlimited sites with 500,000. Each licence and each renewal includes its quota. AI words are counted per word, per language, and unused words carry over while the licence is active. More words can be bought from your account page, 100,000 for €24. Every paid plan includes the Multiple Languages add-on, so there is no language cap, and the SEO Pack.

Translating on the first visit#

Both tools translate lazily. Weglot's help center says translations are generated progressively, when a visitor, you or a search engine opens a page in the translated language. TranslatePress's AI docs say a TranslatePress AI translation is made the first time a visitor opens the content in that language, and then stored in the database.

After you edit a page, both treat the change the same way. TranslatePress's FAQ says an edited string counts as new and needs translating again; with automatic translation on, that happens on the next visit to the page in that language. Weglot translates new and changed text on the next visit too, and adds it to your word total.

Checking before it shows#

Weglot gives you three switches. Its help center says languages are public by default, but you can keep a language in private mode, hide automatic translations per language so only edited or professional ones show, or turn off automatic content translation so new content waits for your approval.

TranslatePress's AI page says of new content: "You won't need to manually review or translate it unless you prefer to." I found no approval step for a single translation. The Multiple Languages add-on can keep a whole language hidden until you publish it, and the front-end editor, included in the free plugin, shows a live preview while you correct strings.

Engines, slugs and SEO#

Weglot uses DeepL when it supports the language pair and Google Translate or Microsoft otherwise. TranslatePress AI chooses among LLMs such as Gemini and GPT and DeepL or Google Translate per language pair and context; with your own key you can use Google Translate on any plan and DeepL on Business and Developer.

Translated slugs need Weglot's Pro plan or above. In TranslatePress they come with the SEO Pack in every paid plan, set by hand or automatically. Weglot adds hreflang tags automatically (it does not add x-default by default) and translates metadata. TranslatePress outputs hreflang on every page and translates metadata and builds multilingual sitemaps through the SEO Pack.

A worked example: three years on one WordPress site#

A worked example, priced from each vendor's page on 7 October 2026. A WordPress site has 12,000 words, translated into French and German, and adds about 2,000 words of new content a year.

The example favours TranslatePress on price at this size, and it also leaves out what each price buys. Weglot hosts and serves the translations and covers non-WordPress sites on the same account; TranslatePress puts the work on your own server and database. If you add a Shopify store later, Weglot's Starter and Business plans cover one website, so two sites move you to Pro at €79 a month.

The picture also changes for a large site. A 120,000-word site in the same two languages needs 240,000 words, past Pro's 200,000, so Weglot Advanced at €299 a month. TranslatePress Personal would need its 200,000-word pack (€40, listed at 15% off) on top of its 50,000, €139 in year one, or Business at €199 a year with 200,000 plus one 100,000-word pack.

Which one fits#

Weglot fits a team running sites on more than one platform, or one that does not want translations in its WordPress database, and that wants an approval option for new content. TranslatePress fits a single WordPress site where translations should stay in your own database and a yearly licence suits the budget, with the visual editor available even in the free plugin.

Where LangRelay fits#

LangRelay sits between the two on storage: like TranslatePress it keeps one post per page and translates what WordPress renders, and it keeps translations in its own service, which its plugin serves from your server under /fr/-style paths with hreflang and a canonical per language. It does not wait for a visitor. The plugin reports an edit about a minute after you save it, 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, choose Ask me first. Relay, its built-in agent, drafts the changes you ask for in plain language. During the pilot LangRelay translates between nine languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese and Turkish). Its plans are on the pricing page.

For each vendor against LangRelay, see LangRelay vs Weglot and LangRelay vs TranslatePress. The TranslatePress alternatives and Weglot alternatives pages cover the other options.