Polylang vs WPML String Translation
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Polylang v3.9.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details | WPML String Translation v3.5.4 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 900,000+ | — |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | — |
| Editions | Polylang · Polylang Pro ($) | WPML String Translation ($) |
| Pros | Unlimited languages with WordPress language packs; Language switcher widget and block; Language-specific URLs and multilingual sitemaps | Scans theme and plugin files for translatable strings; Translates strings, PO and MO files and post slugs in one place; Provides a wpml-string shortcode for inline translation |
| Cons | Translation is manual in the free version; Machine translation and translated slugs need Pro; WooCommerce support is a separate add-on | Needs WPML core installed and active; Sold with the WPML subscription, no free edition; Scanning large themes or plugin sets can be slow |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| Features (Translation plugins checklist) | ||
| Machine translation | Paid | No |
| Visual editor | — | No |
| SEO-friendly URLs | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce | No | — |
| Languages limit | unlimited | — |
| Free version | Yes | No |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Language switcher widget and block, Multilingual sitemaps, Language-specific URLs, Translated slugs (preview, Pro) ($), Shared slugs (preview, Pro) ($), DeepL machine translation (preview, Pro) ($) | Scan theme and plugin files for translatable strings ($), Import PO strings into the string table ($), Translation memory for reusing earlier translations ($), Track where each string appears on the front end ($), Batch translation of registered strings ($), wpml-string shortcode for inline translated text ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Storage | WP Offload Media Lite | — |
| Plugins | Yoast SEO, Jetpack | WPML ($) |
| Other | polylang.pro licence server ($) | — |
| Requires WordPress | 6.8 | — |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | — |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | polylang.pro | — |
| Blocks | 2 | — |
| Shortcodes | — | 1 |