Polylang vs xili-language
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 | xili-language v2.21.3 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 3.9/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 900,000+ | 600+ |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | April 2, 2025 |
| Editions | Polylang · Polylang Pro ($) | xili-language |
| Pros | Unlimited languages with WordPress language packs; Language switcher widget and block; Language-specific URLs and multilingual sitemaps | Free, GPLv2, no paid edition in the code; Language per post and page, with the theme .mo file switched to match; Language prefix in permalinks; Language list, recent posts and categories widgets |
| Cons | Translation is manual in the free version; Machine translation and translated slugs need Pro; WooCommerce support is a separate add-on | Readme says it is not compatible with PHP 8 or later; Translations are edited outside the plugin (poEdit or xili-dictionary); Needs a translation-ready theme |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| Features (Translation plugins checklist) | ||
| Machine translation | Paid | No |
| Visual editor | — | No |
| SEO-friendly URLs | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce | No | No |
| Languages limit | unlimited | — |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Language switcher widget and block, Multilingual sitemaps, Language-specific URLs, Translated slugs (preview, Pro) ($), Shared slugs (preview, Pro) ($), DeepL machine translation (preview, Pro) ($) | Language assigned to each post and page, Theme .mo file switched by post language, Language prefix in permalinks, Navigation menus per language, Author rules settings page |
| Integrations | ||
| Storage | WP Offload Media Lite | — |
| Plugins | Yoast SEO, Jetpack | bbPress, Polylang |
| Other | polylang.pro licence server ($) | translate.wordpress.org |
| Requires WordPress | 6.8 | 4.3.5 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.4.2 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 4.9 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | polylang.pro | translate.wordpress.org |
| Blocks | 2 | — |
| Shortcodes | — | 4 |