Google Language Translator vs Polylang
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Google Language Translator v7.0.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details | Polylang v3.9.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 100,000+ | 900,000+ |
| Last updated | October 23, 2026 | October 21, 2026 |
| Editions | Google Language Translator | Polylang · Polylang Pro ($) |
| Pros | Language selector, widget and menu flags with no setup of translations; Machine translation covers a long list of languages; Simple shortcodes for placing the selector | Unlimited languages with WordPress language packs; Language switcher widget and block; Language-specific URLs and multilingual sitemaps |
| Cons | Free use is limited to non-commercial purposes under the vendor terms; Free version gives no SEO benefit and does not keep translations; Indexing, URL translation and in-context editing need a paid plan | Translation is manual in the free version; Machine translation and translated slugs need Pro; WooCommerce support is a separate add-on |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| Features (Translation plugins checklist) | ||
| Machine translation | Yes | Paid |
| Visual editor | Paid | — |
| SEO-friendly URLs | Paid | Yes |
| WooCommerce | Yes | No |
| Languages limit | 104 | unlimited |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Floating language selector loaded from the vendor CDN, Language selector widget, Shortcodes for the translator and language menu, Language flags in navigation menus, Shortcodes run inside text widgets, Search engine indexing of translated pages ($), Translated URL slugs ($) | Language switcher widget and block, Multilingual sitemaps, Language-specific URLs, Translated slugs (preview, Pro) ($), Shared slugs (preview, Pro) ($), DeepL machine translation (preview, Pro) ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Storage | — | WP Offload Media Lite |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | — | Yoast SEO, Jetpack |
| Other | GTranslate translation service, Intercom support chat | polylang.pro licence server ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 4.5 | 6.8 |
| Requires PHP | — | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | cdn.gtranslate.net, widget.intercom.io | polylang.pro |
| Blocks | — | 2 |
| Shortcodes | 2 | — |