WPML vs Polylang
WPML adds translation management to WordPress for posts, pages, menus, custom content and WooCommerce stores, with manual, team-based or automatic translation. Polylang lets you assign a language to each post, page and taxonomy term while you write as usual, and adds language switchers, translated menus and string translation. Both offer machine translation, SEO-friendly URLs and WooCommerce support. Polylang has a free version and no limit on the number of languages, with a paid Pro edition adding translated slugs and collaboration tools. WPML centres on a translation workflow for teams.
| Feature | WPML Paid Visit Details | Polylang v3.9.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | — | 900,000+ |
| Last updated | — | October 21, 2026 |
| Editions | — | Polylang · Polylang Pro ($) |
| Pros | — | Unlimited languages with WordPress language packs; Language switcher widget and block; Language-specific URLs and multilingual sitemaps |
| Cons | — | Translation is manual in the free version; Machine translation and translated slugs need Pro; WooCommerce support is a separate add-on |
| Mentioned in our posts | 2 | 1 |
| Features (Translation plugins checklist) | ||
| Machine translation | Yes | Paid |
| SEO-friendly URLs | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce | Yes | No |
| Languages limit | — | unlimited |
| Free version | — | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | — | Language switcher widget and block, Multilingual sitemaps, Language-specific URLs, Translated slugs (preview, Pro) ($), Shared slugs (preview, Pro) ($), DeepL machine translation (preview, Pro) ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Storage | — | WP Offload Media Lite |
| Plugins | — | Yoast SEO, Jetpack |
| Other | — | polylang.pro licence server ($) |
| Requires WordPress | — | 6.8 |
| Requires PHP | — | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | — | 7.1 |
| Phones home | — | No |
| External services | — | polylang.pro |
| Blocks | — | 2 |
Verdict
WPML suits businesses and agencies running larger sites that want a managed translation workflow. Polylang suits bloggers, businesses and developers who want manual, content-driven translation with a free starting point.