TranslatePress
Visual front-end translation plugin by Cozmoslabs with AI and Google translation, self-hosted translations and paid add-ons for SEO and more languages.
89
WPML
Premium multilingual plugin for WordPress with a side-by-side translation editor, AI translation credits, WooCommerce support and team workflows.
Est. active installs~880KLikely 570K–1.3M
Vendor claims1.5M+Vendor's own figure
Price from€39/yrPremium
Overview
WPML is a commercial multilingual plugin from OnTheGoSystems that has been developed since 2007. It turns one WordPress install into a multilingual site in which every translation is a real post, page, term or product stored in your own database, linked to its original. There is no free version on WordPress.org; you buy one of three annual plans.
How the plans differ
The entry Multilingual Blog plan only gives you the standard translation controls, meaning you translate content yourself in the normal WordPress editor. Almost everything that makes WPML distinctive sits in Multilingual CMS and Multilingual Agency: the Advanced Translation Editor (a side-by-side editor with translation memory and a glossary), String Translation for theme and plugin text, Translation Management for translator teams, page builder and WooCommerce support, menu translation and integrations with professional translation services.
AI translation and credits
Automatic translation now runs mainly through WPML’s own Private Translation Cloud, an LLM-based engine that uses page context, a glossary and tone settings. CMS includes 22,500 AI words and Agency 45,000; after that you pay per word on a sliding pay-as-you-go scale (with 500 free words a month) or buy prepaid packs. DeepL, Google and Microsoft remain as cheaper legacy engines. The Translate Everything Automatically mode translates new and updated content as you publish, and you can review it before or after it goes live.
Strengths
- Very broad compatibility: dedicated glue plugins for WooCommerce, ACF, Gravity Forms and other form plugins, plus the major page builders and SEO plugins.
- Directory, subdomain, separate-domain and query-parameter URL formats, translated slugs and hreflang.
- Real translation workflow with translator roles, XLIFF exchange and translation services.
- Free WooCommerce multi-currency module that also works on its own.
Limitations
WPML is heavier than lightweight alternatives and adds a lot of admin screens, so the learning curve is real. The Blog plan is too limited for most business sites, so the realistic starting price is the CMS plan. AI translation beyond the included words is an ongoing cost on top of the licence.
WPML suits agencies, WooCommerce stores and content-heavy business sites that need a complete, self-hosted translation system with team workflows and wide plugin compatibility.
Best for: Agencies, WooCommerce stores and business sites that need a full self-hosted translation system with workflows and broad plugin compatibility.
WPML remains the most complete self-hosted multilingual plugin, with compatibility glue for almost every major plugin and a capable AI translation pipeline. Budget for the CMS plan rather than Blog, and factor in AI word costs if you plan to translate automatically at scale.
Pros
- Translations are stored as normal WordPress content in your own database
- Advanced Translation Editor with translation memory, glossary and front-end preview
- LLM-based AI translation that uses page context and brand terminology
- Dedicated compatibility plugins for WooCommerce, ACF, Gravity Forms and major page builders
- Translator roles, XLIFF export and built-in translation service integrations
- WooCommerce multi-currency included free
Cons
- No free version; the Blog plan lacks most features business sites need
- AI translation beyond the included words is billed per word
- Many settings screens and a steeper learning curve than simpler tools
- Adds noticeable overhead compared with lightweight plugins like Polylang
- No true on-page visual translation editor
Key features
What WPML highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From €39/yr
- Translate posts, pages, menus and taxonomies
- Advanced side-by-side Translation Editor
- AI translation with included word credits
- Translate Everything Automatically mode
- Glossary and translation memory
- String Translation for themes and plugins
- Directory, subdomain or domain per language
- Translated slugs and hreflang tags
- WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency
- Page builder and Full Site Editing support
- Translator roles and Translation Management
- Professional translation service integrations
- XLIFF export for CAT tools
- Unlimited sites on the Agency plan
Feature checklist
27 of 27 features we track in Multilingual & Translation, feature score 98/100
Translating content 9/9
Visual front-end editor Key
Translate while looking at the live page.
No on-page editing; the Advanced Translation Editor shows a front-end preview of the translation before publishing.
Partial
Side-by-side editor
Translate posts and pages in an editor next to the original.
Advanced Translation Editor shows source and translation side by side; CMS and Agency plans only.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Machine translation Key
Automatic translation with DeepL, Google, Microsoft or similar.
Automatic translation via WPML's PTC engine, with DeepL, Google and Microsoft as legacy engines; billed per word.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
AI translation
Context-aware translation with large language models, tone or brand rules.
Private Translation Cloud uses page context, brand terminology and tone; 22,500 words included on CMS.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Auto-translate new content
New and updated content is translated automatically.
Translate Everything Automatically translates new and updated content as you publish (PTC engine).
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Glossary & translation memory
Terms that should never be translated and reuse of earlier translations.
Glossary management and translation memory work in the Advanced Translation Editor and PTC.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Professional translators
Send content to human translators or agencies from WordPress.
Translation Services Integration sends jobs to third-party agencies from the dashboard.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Theme & plugin strings Key
Translate text from themes, plugins and widgets.
String Translation for theme, plugin and admin texts is listed only in CMS and Agency.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Media translation
Different images or files per language.
WPML Media Translation add-on shows different images, videos or PDFs per language.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Languages & URLs 5/5
Unlimited languages
No cap on the number of languages.
65+ built-in languages plus custom language variants, with no cap on how many you enable.
Included
Subdirectories, subdomains or domains Key
Choose /fr/, fr.example.com or a separate domain per language.
Language directories, separate domains or subdomains, or a ?lang= parameter.
Included
Language switcher Key
Menu, widget, block or floating switcher.
Configurable switchers for menus, widgets, footer and custom placements.
Included
Language detection & redirect
Send visitors to their language based on browser or location.
Optional JavaScript redirect to the visitor's browser language, once per 24 hours.
Included
Right-to-left languages
Supports Arabic, Hebrew and other RTL languages.
Right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew are among the supported languages.
Included
Multilingual SEO 4/4
Translated URLs & slugs Key
Each language gets its own translated URL.
Page slugs, SEO titles and meta can be translated for each language.
Included
Hreflang tags Key
Adds hreflang tags so search engines show the right language.
Adds hreflang alternates, either in the page head or inside the XML sitemap.
Included
Multilingual sitemaps
Translated pages included in XML sitemaps.
With Yoast and the WPML SEO add-on, one sitemap covers all languages with hreflang entries.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
SEO plugin integration
Translate titles and meta from Yoast, Rank Math or similar.
Translates Yoast titles, meta, schema and breadcrumbs via the free WPML SEO add-on; needs CMS or Agency.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Compatibility 5/5
WooCommerce translation Key
Translate products, cart, checkout and emails.
E-commerce support translates products, checkout and emails; requires CMS or Agency.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Multi-currency
Show prices in different currencies per language or country.
Free WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency adds 200+ currencies, rates and per-country currency.
Included
Page builder support
Works with Elementor, Divi, Bricks or the block editor.
Elementor, Divi, WPBakery and Full Site Editing support are listed for CMS and Agency only.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Form plugin translation
Translate forms from popular form plugins.
Glue plugins such as Gravity Forms Multilingual translate forms; Contact Form 7 also supported.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Custom fields & ACF
Translate ACF and other custom fields.
ACF Multilingual and custom field settings let you translate or copy field values per language.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Workflow & hosting 4/4
Translations stored in WordPress
Translations live in your own database, not on a vendor proxy.
Translations are saved as regular WordPress posts and terms in your own database.
Included
No word limits
No word or page-view quotas on translated content.
No quota on translated content; only automatic AI translation consumes paid word credits.
Included
Translator roles & workflow
Translator accounts, review and translation status.
Translation Management lets you assign translators and managers and track job status.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
XLIFF / PO import & export
Exchange translations in standard file formats.
Translation jobs can be exported and imported as XLIFF for CAT tools.
Paid version Multilingual CMS
Pricing
Multilingual Blog
€39per year1 site
1 production + 3 development sites. Standard translation controls only: no String Translation, WooCommerce, page builders or AI words.
Multilingual CMS
€99per year3 sites
3 production + 9 development sites. Includes Advanced Translation Editor and 22,500 AI translation words; further AI words are pay-as-you-go.
Multilingual Agency
€199per yearUnlimited
Unlimited production and development sites, all CMS features and 45,000 AI translation words.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use WPML?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
—
No free version on WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
1.5M+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated active installs
~880K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: The vendor says 1.5M+ sites use it; we take 80% of that (1.2M) because vendor counts are rounded up and include lapsed sites. Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder sitepress-multilingual-cms) on 269,952 live sites; the scans reach roughly 38% of WordPress sites, so each site found stands for about 2.6, giving 710K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 880K. Likely range: 570K to 1.3M. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Company & policy
| Paying customers claimed | 250K+ (source, 6 Oct 2026) Homepage says WPML is trusted by 250K+ users. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 (source, 6 Oct 2026) About page says the journey began in 2007. |
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (source, 6 Oct 2026) Full licence refund within 30 days; unused AI words are refundable. |
WPML compared
Alternatives to WPML
MultilingualPress
Premium multisite-based multilingual plugin from Syde: one site per language, translations in your own database, with DeepL, Amazon or OpenAI auto-translation.
84
Weglot
Hosted translation service with a WordPress plugin: AI translation, visual editor and multilingual SEO, priced by translated words and languages.
82
GTranslate
Google-powered website translation for WordPress: a free on-the-fly language switcher, plus paid hosted plans that add indexable, editable translated URLs.
78
ConveyThis
Hosted AI website translation for WordPress with a free 10,000-word plan, visual editor, glossary and SEO-friendly language URLs.
88
Polylang
Lightweight free multilingual plugin for manual translation of posts, terms, menus and strings, with Pro and WooCommerce add-ons from WP SYNTEX.
74
FAQ
Is WPML free?
No. WPML is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at €39/yr.
How many sites use WPML?
The vendor claims 1.5M+ sites in total. We estimate around 880K active installs.
Does WPML have visual front-end editor?
Yes: partial. No on-page editing; the Advanced Translation Editor shows a front-end preview of the translation before publishing.
Does WPML have machine translation?
Yes: paid version (Multilingual CMS). Automatic translation via WPML's PTC engine, with DeepL, Google and Microsoft as legacy engines; billed per word.
Does WPML have theme & plugin strings?
Yes: paid version (Multilingual CMS). String Translation for theme, plugin and admin texts is listed only in CMS and Agency.
Does WPML have subdirectories, subdomains or domains?
Yes: included. Language directories, separate domains or subdomains, or a ?lang= parameter.
Does WPML have language switcher?
Yes: included. Configurable switchers for menus, widgets, footer and custom placements.
Does WPML have translated urls & slugs?
Yes: included. Page slugs, SEO titles and meta can be translated for each language.
Does WPML have hreflang tags?
Yes: included. Adds hreflang alternates, either in the page head or inside the XML sitemap.
Does WPML have woocommerce translation?
Yes: paid version (Multilingual CMS). E-commerce support translates products, checkout and emails; requires CMS or Agency.
Which WPML plan do I need?
Multilingual Blog only covers manual translation in the WordPress editor on one site. String Translation, WooCommerce, page builders, the Advanced Translation Editor and AI words all require Multilingual CMS (3 sites) or Multilingual Agency (unlimited sites).
How does WPML's AI translation pricing work?
CMS includes 22,500 AI words and Agency 45,000. Beyond that you pay per word on a sliding pay-as-you-go scale (with 500 free words each month) or buy prepaid packs. DeepL and Google are charged at half the PTC rate and Microsoft at a quarter.
Does WPML work with WooCommerce?
Yes. WPML Multilingual & Multicurrency for WooCommerce translates products, attributes, cart, checkout and emails when used with the CMS or Agency plan, and its multi-currency features also work on their own.
What happens if I don't renew?
WPML keeps working and your translations stay in your database, but you stop receiving updates and support.
Can I send content to human translators?
Yes. On CMS and Agency you can assign jobs to your own translators, exchange XLIFF files with CAT tools, or connect a professional translation service from the Translation Management dashboard.
Last updated 6 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.