Smartcat splits your file into segments, pre-fills every one that matches your translation memory, enforces your glossary as you type, and flags QA issues before you deliver.
1,000+ enterprise brands and translation teams work in Smartcat.
15 days
Free to Start
15,000 Smartwords and full access to translation capabilities, no credit card.
80+
File Formats
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, IDML, XLIFF, JSON, XML, PO, SRT and more, all in one editor.
0
Downloads to Install
Smartcat runs in the browser on any operating system — no version to keep matched with your reviewer’s.
Smartcat’s AI translation is a fantastic tool. Our ability to source content from a central repository and benefit from adaptive algorithms which incorporate translation memories and glossaries across all project teams mean the business as a whole gains from each team’s translations.
”Explore Case Study →
The editor is a segment grid: source on the left, your translation on the right, with memory, glossary, and QA working on every line as you go.
Your file is split into segments — usually a sentence each — with the source on the left and your translation on the right.
The original formatting tags are preserved, so the exported file rebuilds correctly in its native format.
Every segment is checked against your memory.
So you can see at a glance whether it is worth editing or retranslating.
Approved terms are highlighted in the source as you go, and a QA rule flags any segment where the approved translation was not used — so terminology decisions are checked, not remembered.
Concordance search lets you look up how a phrase was handled before, in context, without leaving the segment you are in.
50%
Increased Productivity
We’ve been able to increase our productivity by 50% while reducing our outsourcing costs by 50%. This has had a huge impact on our bottom line.
Explore Case Study
Julia Emge
Director of Content Creation, expondo
Translation memory the whole team benefits from, not one laptop
Every approved translation goes into a shared memory the moment it is confirmed, so the reviewer's fix reaches the next translator immediately — and the words you already paid to translate are not charged again.
Ten projects in, a large share of each new file is pre-filled from work you already own. See what translation memory is and why you need it.
Glossaries that hold across projects, not per file
Import your termbase once and it applies to every project in the workspace. Client A's approved term for a feature stays Client A's, and a QA rule catches it when someone uses something else.
QA that runs before delivery, not after the complaint
Automated checks run across the whole file, so numbers, tags, terminology and inconsistencies are caught before a client sees them. You fix a list, not a reputation.
for ease of setup, on G2
for ease of use, on G2
enterprise brands
on G2, from 131 reviews
A license, an installer, and a version number that has to match your reviewer’s. A project package that gets emailed out, unpacked, worked on, repackaged, and emailed back — and if two people touch it, someone reconciles the two copies afterwards.
Then there is the translation memory. It lives on one machine, so it benefits one person. The reviewer who fixed the same term last month fixed it in their copy, not yours. Six months in, the team has four memories that disagree.
And the hard stop: a client sends a format your installed version does not handle, and the work pauses until someone upgrades or converts the file by hand.
Our PMs like the fact that they can access all projects in the cloud with complete transparency while our translators love how easy it is to work with translation memories and glossaries in Smartcat.
”Explore Case Study →
Everyone in the same file at the same time
Translator, reviewer and project manager work in the same file at once, seeing each other's changes as they happen.
No package to export, no version to reconcile, and no “which copy is current” conversation.
No messy cross-editing
Segment locking prevents project members from modifying another member's work while it is in progress. Any segment you are working on stays inaccessible to other translators and editors until you confirm it.
Questions answered in context
Segment commenting lets project managers leave notes on a specific line, and translators ask questions where the question actually arises. General and administrative questions go through the platform chat instead.
80+ file formats, so a client’s file never stops the job
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, InDesign IDML, XLIFF, JSON, XML, PO, RESX, SRT, VTT and more — all opened in the same editor, all exported back in their original format.
Nothing to install, and free to start
Smartcat runs in the browser on any operating system.
No license seat to buy before you can evaluate it and no installer — sign up, upload a file, and start.
Consistent terminology across every client
Manage terminology in one place and keep it current. Team members can suggest new terms for you to approve or reject, with customizable metadata on each entry.
Concordance search across your own history
Search your memory for how a phrase was handled before, in context, without leaving the segment you are working on — so past decisions are findable rather than remembered.
Give your global teams screenshots or other reference images by adding them to the segments — which heads off most of the questions.
Reference fields are available for some formats too: string keys for resource files, timecodes for subtitles.
QA that catches typos, punctuation and casing before delivery
Smartcat's QA agent catches typos, punctuation issues, capitalization inconsistencies and more.
You can customize the checks by content type and mark certain issues as critical, so QA runs in the background while you translate.
Placeholders protect non-translatable elements — variables, serial numbers, email addresses — from editing.
They transfer safely from the original document into the translation instead of being garbled on the way.
Keyboard shortcuts for common actions use the same combinations as other CAT tools — so if you have worked in one before, you do not have to retrain your fingers.
When we kicked off Smartcat workflows, we cut translation turnaround time in half, and used our budget more effectively.
”Explore Case Study →
Web-based
Start translating at home on a Mac and continue at the office on a PC. Whatever operating system you use, all you need is a browser.
Universal
One editor instead of one tool per format. Smartcat opens dozens of file types, including files native to other CAT tools, by importing them into your account.
Nothing to maintain
No server to deploy to keep and centralize your translation assets. The workspace is cloud-based, so your memories and glossaries are available without maintenance on your side.
Backed up for you
Smartcat backs your data up to several dedicated servers on a regular schedule, so it can be recovered and restored quickly if something goes wrong.
Straightforward
The editor is meant to be usable on the first file. If you have worked in another CAT tool, the segment grid and the common keyboard shortcuts will already be familiar.
It needs a connection
Smartcat is browser-based. Confirmed segments are held in your browser’s local storage if you drop offline and sync when you are back — but if a meaningful share of your work happens without a connection, a desktop tool is still the better fit.
Translation memory
Reuses your approved translations automatically, so repeated segments are translated once and stay consistent everywhere.
Glossaries and termbases
Keep product names and terminology aligned across every language, translator and project.
Automated QA checks
Flag missing numbers, broken tags, punctuation issues and terminology deviations before delivery.
AI translation
Generates a context-aware first draft that adapts to your brand voice and learns from your edits.
Collaborative online editor
Translators, editors and reviewers work in the same document at the same time — fully in the browser.
File formats
Translate Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, XLIFF, HTML and other common formats with formatting preserved. That includes gettext PO files for software strings, parsed with placeholders locked and plural forms preserved.
Upload a document and the editor is already set up — memory applied, glossary loaded, QA running. Free for 15 days with 15,000 Smartwords, nothing to install, no credit card.
A CAT tool — computer-assisted translation tool — is software a human translates in, not software that translates for you. It splits a document into segments, reuses your previous approved translations through a translation memory, enforces approved terminology through a glossary, and runs automated quality checks. The translation is still human; the repetition, consistency, and checking are automated.
Computer-assisted translation and machine translation are often confused because both involve software. The difference is what each one does:
In practice most professional work now uses both: machine translation for the first pass, a CAT tool for everything after it. New to the concept? Read our guide, What is a CAT tool?
A CAT tool is where translation happens — the editor, the memory, the glossary, the QA. A translation management system is what surrounds it: intake, assignment, deadlines, workflow states, vendors, and cost reporting.
A freelancer needs a CAT tool. A team running content in twelve languages needs both, and running them as two disconnected systems is where most of the manual work comes from. Smartcat is one platform doing both — see translation management system.
Smartcat is free for 15 days with 15,000 Smartwords and full access to translation capabilities — the editor, translation memory, glossaries, QA, and 80+ file formats, with no card required and nothing to install.
After that it is a paid plan starting at $1,200/year.
If you want permanently free, open-source desktop options exist and they work — but you maintain them, your memory stays local, and collaboration is manual. Full detail on the pricing page.
Translation is metered in Smartwords, the usage credits included with every plan.
One thing.
Deep QA customization goes further on desktop. Trados and memoQ let you write regex-level QA rules and macros that Smartcat's rule set does not reach. If your workflow depends on custom regex checks you have built up over years, test that specifically before switching.
(Offline working is covered above.)
Trados and memoQ are trademarks of their respective owners. Smartcat is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either of them.
Yes. Import translation memories as .tmx and termbases as .tbx — the interchange formats every major CAT tool exports — plus bilingual .xliff files.
Your history comes with you, so leverage on your first Smartcat project reflects the work you have already done, not a cold start.
Yes, on the Anticipate and Autonomous plans — the API is not part of the free trial.
It accepts files, returns translated output, and syncs translation memories and glossaries, so the editor can sit inside your own pipeline rather than being the place you start.
Lower tiers cover most automation through the built-in integrations.
Book a demo — a 1:1 consultation with someone who works in the editor daily, no commitment and no form queue.