Phrase

A localisation platform that runs machine translation through a quality-scoring layer, so a team can see which translated strings are safe to ship and which need a human.

Writing & editing Apps

Checked 25 Sep 2026

Open phrase.com

What you'd use it for

Keeping a product interface, help centre or growing content catalogue translated and current across many languages, with a clear signal on which strings are safe to publish and which need a human editor.

Draft machine translations of strings and files across 50-plus formats and languages
Score every translated string for quality so you can see which are safe to ship and which need a human review
Build and reuse translation memories and glossaries so terminology stays consistent as content grows
Pull new strings straight from a connected codebase or design file via GitHub, Figma or Jira integrations
Route flagged strings to freelance translators or a vendor team as part of a defined review workflow

The verdict

Phrase is built for translation as an ongoing operation, not a one-off job -- the value is the quality-scoring layer that tells a team which machine-translated strings are safe to publish and which need a human editor, and that only pays off once a product or content library is shipping in several languages on a recurring basis. The jump from the Freelancer plan to Team is steep and prices out most small operations, so it suits a product or localisation team with an existing translation workflow, not a business translating occasionally.

What it costs

Tier	Price	For	Includes
Freelancer	$27/mo (billed annually)	An individual translator working alone.	One TMS seat, basic CAT features, quality assurance, translation memories.
Team	$1,245/mo (billed annually)	A business running its own localisation programme.	Unlimited TMS seats, 20 Strings seats, customisable workflows, AI machine-translation customisation, vendor management, Language Quality Assessment.
Software UI/UX	$525/mo (billed annually)	A product team localising an app or interface rather than marketing copy.	15 Strings seats, 1M managed words, unlimited languages, developer APIs, 50+ file formats, Figma/GitHub/Jira integrations.
Business	Custom pricing	A growing team that has outgrown Team's capacity limits.	150 Strings seats, custom metadata, advanced integrations, unlimited MT profiles and glossaries, single sign-on.
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Large-scale operations with dedicated compliance and workflow needs.	Premium integrations, a dedicated success plan, tailored onboarding, workflow audits.

Read from Phrase's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.

What you need to start

Only an email address to start the 14-day free trial -- no credit card required
Prepared source content and, in practice, a translator or language-service-provider relationship to review the strings the quality score flags
The separate Software UI/UX plan (from $525/mo) for developer API access and Figma, GitHub or Jira integrations -- not included on the entry Freelancer plan

Your first run Create a project and upload source content, and machine translation drafts every string with a quality score attached, so you can see straight away which are safe to publish and which still need a human editor to check.

Where it breaks

The published Team price ($1,245/mo) is a large jump from Freelancer ($27/mo) — there is no small-business middle tier, which tells you who this is really built for.

Browser-based, with a separate Strings product line for developer/UI localisation alongside the core TMS. Pricing is published per plan rather than behind a slider, but most of it assumes an existing translation programme.

First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.

When not to use it

A business that needs a document or a handful of pages translated once -- a translator or a one-shot AI translation is cheaper and faster to set up. Also not for a small team without an existing localisation workflow or vendor relationship, since the Team plan's price and the Software UI/UX plan's developer-integration requirement both assume one already exists.

Phrase is a translation management system, not a one-off translate button. If your business needs a document turned into Spanish once, this is the wrong tool — you want a translator or a one-shot AI request. Phrase earns its price when translation is a recurring operation: a product with a UI that ships in twelve languages, a knowledge base that has to stay current, a catalogue that grows every week.

The AI piece sits inside the workflow rather than replacing it. Machine translation drafts the string, and a quality-scoring layer flags which drafts are safe to publish as-is and which need a human editor to look at them — which is the actual bottleneck in localisation: not generating a translation, but knowing which ones you can trust without checking.

Who this is actually for

The Freelancer tier at $27/mo is a real product for an individual translator, but everything above it prices toward an organisation with its own localisation team or a vendor relationship already in place. The Software UI/UX tier is worth noting separately: it is built for engineering teams shipping a product in multiple languages, with developer APIs and Figma/GitHub integrations, rather than a marketing department translating a website.

What it does not do

Phrase is not a general writing tool and it is not going to draft your English copy — it manages the process of turning existing copy into other languages, with the reviewers and workflow that step actually needs. For a smaller operation translating a handful of pages occasionally, this is more infrastructure than the job requires; a per-page AI translation pass is cheaper and faster to set up.

Alternatives

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DeepL

Translation for documents and text across 30-plus languages that keeps the original formatting, plus a rewriting tool that adjusts tone and clarity in English.

Checked 25 Sep 2026

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Lokalise

Manages translating your app, website or help centre across languages, with AI doing the first-pass translation and a reviewer workflow before anything ships.

Checked 25 Sep 2026