WPML vs Polylang: two post-per-language plugins compared

WPML and Polylang solve multilingual WordPress the same way: every translation is a WordPress post of its own, linked to the original. The choice between them comes down to how the translating gets done. WPML is paid only, and from its Multilingual CMS licence up it does the translating for you with its own AI engine, behind review settings you choose. Polylang is free, sets no limit on languages, and expects a person to translate, with DeepL available one post at a time in Polylang Pro.

The vendor facts below are from wpml.org and polylang.pro, read on 7 October 2026. I build LangRelay, which works differently from both and is included in the comparison tables further down.

What the two share#

Because both create a post per language, a translated page in either plugin is something you can open in the block editor, query like any post and edit by hand. Both put each language on its own URL: Polylang offers a subdirectory, a subdomain or a separate domain per language in its free version, and WPML offers directories, domains, subdomains or a ?lang= parameter. Both output hreflang tags. And both leave your translations in place if you stop paying: WPML says translations keep showing when you stop renewing, and an unrenewed Polylang Pro licence keeps working without updates or support.

Both carry the same upkeep: a post per language means four languages turn one page into five posts, and every edit to the original has to reach the other four.

Price#

WPML sells three yearly licences, priced excluding VAT, each with a year of support and updates and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no free plan:

• WPML Multilingual Blog, €39 a year: one production site, no AI translation, no Advanced Translation Editor, no page builder or WooCommerce support.
• WPML Multilingual CMS, €99 a year: three production sites, 22,500 AI words, page builders and WooCommerce.
• WPML Multilingual Agency, €199 a year: unlimited sites, 45,000 AI words.

Polylang is free on WordPress.org. Polylang Pro is priced by sites, excluding VAT: €99 a year for one, €198 for three, €297 for five and €495 for 25. WooCommerce stores need the separate Polylang for WooCommerce add-on, which works with the free plugin or with Pro: €99 a year for one site, €198 for three, €297 for five and €495 for 25.

Machine translation#

WPML's default engine is PTC, its own LLM-based engine, which learns from the edits you make; DeepL, Google and Microsoft remain as legacy engines. Multilingual CMS and Agency include AI words (Multilingual Blog has no AI translation), WPML gives 500 more free each month, and beyond that it charges in monthly volume bands, from €3.00 per 1,000 words down to €0.40 only past 2,500,000 words in a month. With Translate Everything Automatically on, WPML translates new posts and edits as they arrive.

Polylang has no built-in engine. Polylang Pro connects to DeepL with your own API key, translates one post, page or product at a time, and saves the result as a draft. Polylang's features page says there is no one-click way to translate everything, and the DeepL integration is not compatible with Elementor and some other builders. DeepL bills its usage to your own account.

Keeping translations current#

With Translate Everything Automatically on and PTC as the engine, WPML picks up an edit, translates it, and charges only for words above the highest count already paid for that page and language; every other path pays per updated word. In Polylang, editing the original does not update its DeepL translation; you edit the translated post or generate it again. Polylang Pro's synchronized posts are a different tool: they copy an edit across languages so each post shows the same content.

Review#

WPML lets you choose: PTC can publish at once, hold translations as drafts until a Translation Manager approves them, or publish and queue them for review. Polylang saves DeepL output as a draft that a person publishes; its pages describe no approval workflow beyond that.

Slugs, languages and outside translators#

WPML translates URL slugs by default and lets you edit them. Polylang translates slugs for post types, taxonomies and author pages in Pro only. WPML comes with 65 pre-configured languages and lets you add your own; Polylang sets no limit. For professional translation, WPML can send content to more than 70 translation services from the WordPress admin, while Polylang Pro exports and imports XLIFF files you can hand to any translator.

A worked example: an agency with five sites#

Say an agency runs five client sites, two of them WooCommerce stores, and wants machine translation on all five. A worked example, priced from each vendor's page on 7 October 2026.

If the agency translates by hand, free Polylang on all five sites costs nothing for the plugin, and the two stores need only the WooCommerce add-on, €198 a year for three sites.

Picking between them#

Polylang is the fit for a site with a small number of pages, a person who translates them, and no budget for a licence; the free plugin does the structural work and leaves the words to you. WPML is the fit once machine translation and review matter, or once a store is involved, because its CMS and Agency licences include WooCommerce and page builder support without add-ons.

Where LangRelay fits#

LangRelay takes neither plugin's approach. It keeps one post per page, translates the page WordPress renders, and serves each language from your server under paths such as /fr/ with hreflang and a canonical per language. Edits reach it from the plugin about a minute after saving, and only 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. Against WPML and Polylang it gives up translated posts you can edit in the block editor, and during the pilot it supports nine languages. The LangRelay vs WPML and LangRelay vs Polylang pages cover each pairing, and the WPML alternatives and Polylang alternatives pages list other routes.