Crowdin Reviews

Pros

Right from the start, the interface feels friendly and simple which matters a lot for a volunteer-driven translation project like ours. Non-technical translators can begin contributing without much friction, while the platform still respects the guardrails we need. For instance, HTML codes are clearly highlighted during translation, the UI nudges people to carry them over properly and it throws errors if someone tries to save without them. On top of that, you can choose whether people are allowed to override those checks or not. The management features cover what we need and it includes several machine translation options as well as a built-in global translation memory which is especially valuable for our use case of translating software UI. Permissions are thoughtfully designed and the moderation tools are effective too, including the ability to remove contributions when needed because of mistakes or bad intent. Since we adopted it, they also added the "Developer" permission which really rounded things out for us. We have not needed anything beyond the default setup. Even with our completely open contribution model, we have not had a single spam incident in 9 years and across more than 3,000 members. It also supports a wide range of file formats and although software localization formats can be all over the place, there is enough compatibility that developers can usually adapt their translation files into something the platform accepts. A few years back, they added a multilingual view and that has been especially helpful for comparing regional variations within the same language, such as Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese.

Cons

Management side could still be improved for projects like ours where anyone can join and start contributing. The QA tools are quite thorough but they do not feel as integrated as they should. For example, there is both a "Reports" area and an "Advisors" area. The simpler "Advisors" view is the one I prefer because it is more actionable but it could definitely be expanded. It also seems to have some problems, for example, I believe the Screenshots advisory is broken. Our project gets a "Low screenshot coverage" warning claiming "0% of UI strings tagged on screenshots," even though we have hundreds of screenshots and thousands of tagged strings visible from a quick look at the Screenshots tab. CSV translation has also been frustrating to manage especially when importing existing translations because the file schema errors were hard to interpret. Better documentation would make a big difference there. I also think "File context" and especially the "Dictionary" could be surfaced much better in the translation interface. At the moment, words get underlined even when there is no relevant translation or context available for that language. What usually happens is that, say, a French translator adds a dictionary entry with a translation as guidance or quality control. But the original English source term is often just the same generic word so that word ends up underlined for every language even when it provides no useful information. Over time so many words have been added for different languages that the underlining has become noisy and translators stop paying attention to it, basically a Boy Who Cried Wolf situation. Lastly, the GitHub integration can behave in ways that feel a bit opaque especially when the token suddenly expires and it is not clear why. It would help a lot if the documentation explained this behavior in a more precise, repeatable way so we could understand how it interacts with downstream systems. One detail we have never been able to fully figure out is which contexts added through it actually make their way back into our Git repository.

Pros

Having translation memory suggestions and machine translation built right into the editor really helps. Direct access to TM matches and MT engines speeds up the work noticeably and makes it easier to keep translations consistent across different projects.

Cons

Automated QA checks can be useful in English but they do not always fit Japanese well. Standard rules tend to trigger false positives for Japanese syntax and punctuation so clearing those warnings just adds extra noise during proofreading.

Pros

As a freelance translator I really appreciate the simple editor and user interface. The built-in translation memory, glossaries and context screenshots speed up my workflow a lot while also helping me stay accurate. It supports languages very well and manages complex files without breaking tags or code.

Cons

Getting used to complex project settings and more advanced QA checks takes a bit of time at first. Also some automated suggestions can be repetitive now and then so they still need manual fine-tuning.

Pros

The interface is a big advantage because it's very user-friendly. You can start translating right away and it made me comfortable contributing to some large projects with thousands of strings that I probably wouldn't have taken on otherwise.

Cons

There really isn't much to complain about with the platform. A few of the suggested translations could be improved but that honestly seems more like an occasional target-language issue than a problem with the translator itself.

Pros

Working with international teams feels convenient here and the interface is simple enough to get comfortable with quickly. The automation features are also a real plus especially the TM and glossary integration which help keep work consistent and efficient.

Cons

One area that could use improvement is search and filtering in previous translations and TM assets. On larger projects, that part can feel a bit dull or slower than expected.

Pros

Clicking a file from an email takes me straight to that file in the environment once I'm logged in. It speeds up the start of a translation compared with opening the software manually since all the translation memories and termbases are already loaded instead of having to set them up myself.

Cons

Login relies on cookies rather than IP, router or device recognition. Because of that, signing in through an incognito browser window always means entering a security code again.

Pros

One thing that really stood out to me was how much simpler it made the localization process. The interface feels simple, team collaboration works really well and handling translations in multiple languages is pretty easy. It saved us time and kept everything organized which made working on multilingual projects a lot more manageable.

Cons

At first a few of the more advanced features took some time to figure out. The interface can also feel a little overwhelming in the beginning especially for someone new to it. After spending some time with it though, navigation starts to feel much more natural.

Pros

Contributing translations to open source projects is really easy, whether it's for video games, development platforms or other tools.

Cons

Interface feels a little bare at first but once you figure out what's actually useful and what can be ignored, it's perfectly fine.

Pros

Using this feels incredibly fluid especially because the shortcuts are so well thought out. I can move through and translate large batches of strings using only the keyboard which has helped me finish full projects on time. Being able to work without constantly reaching for the mouse makes a big difference and really improves the whole translation experience.

Cons

Only minor issue was that a few UI changes would sometimes appear in the translation editor without any explanation. After a bit of time though, they became familiar and manageable.

Pros

It offers really good value for the money and the wide range of integrations is a big plus. Whenever I need help, customer support responds quickly and usually shares useful articles and step-by-step guidance in real time which makes resolving issues much faster.

Cons

The interface doesn't feel very simple to me so I often end up checking help articles or searching online just to figure out where something is. There's also no clear high-level view of activity, like newly added strings, unless I open each project one by one. On larger projects, loading times are quite slow especially when viewing multiple languages at the same time. I'm also disappointed that adding a style guide requires upgrading to an Enterprise plan since that feels like something that should be included at every level especially now that AI-assisted translation is used so widely.

Pros

Over the past few years, this platform has really come a long way. It's fast, dependable and simple to use and one thing I really appreciate is how consistent the workflow and interface feel across every device, whether I'm on a PC, Mac or using an Android or Apple mobile device. Being able to handle urgent requests from my phone when I'm away from the office feels almost magical and in that area it truly performs at the highest level.

Cons

Adding or editing term base entries is not as efficient as it used to be. That part of the system has become slower and more tough over time, whereas before it felt quicker and more easy.

Pros

The automatic email notifications are probably the most useful part for me. Whenever new translations become available, I get notified right away which means I never end up missing them.

Cons

Everything built around the core product feels unnecessary for what I need especially the AI translations which have never worked for me, along with things like Context pages.

Pros

Right from the start, the user interface felt very well designed. It works really well, is simple to understand and also provides memory translation which is very helpful.

Cons

One thing I haven't noticed in the system is any relearning curve or feature available to support future needs.

Pros

The dictionary editor has a well-designed interface and it's really useful that each translation term can include a description and even an image. That gives translators and reviewers much better context when they're working on the translations.

Cons

If you need your app translated right away, you can order it directly even through different providers. The downside is that professional paid translations are fairly expensive.

Pros

A lot stands out after more than 8 years of using the platform. One of the biggest strengths is how well it supports collaboration between translators across multiple projects through the discussion tab on each string. Whenever something needs attention, an email comes through right away which makes it simple to stay on top of issues and get them resolved quickly. Looking at it from a software developer's side, I've also used it to create and manage projects and the free-project policy for open-source work is fantastic. One of the hardest parts of running a localization effort is getting users and contributors comfortable with the platform where they'll be translating and this has easily been the most simple and accessible option I've seen for regular users even for people with zero localization background, to jump in and help. It supports practically every language you can think of and if one is missing, the team can even review whether it can be added to the main platform. From the project owner perspective, the Git widgets integration has been a huge relief as well. All the old hassle of maintaining translations through static files and overly complicated systems disappears which lets us spend more time building software while the community handles translations. Honestly, I could go on for pages about everything it does well but the simple recommendation is to just try it. If translating sounds interesting, signing up and contributing to a project you care about is absolutely worth it. I originally got into it because of Minecraft and I've kept using it ever since. Overall, the platform has made a lot of smart decisions over the years and still feels like the leading localization solution out there.

Cons

Only two things really bother me. One is the visual redesign introduced a few years ago. The rounded icons and text borders, along with elements feeling oddly off-center, made the interface look worse for no clear reason. It was already in a really good place before that change. The other issue is the removal of national flags. As a translator and proofreader, that decision has made finding a language much more frustrating than it used to be. And for brand-new contributors landing on a project page for the first time, seeing a bunch of grey flag placeholders with random letters can be confusing and off-putting. I honestly think that change pushes away people who might otherwise have stayed after spotting their own country's flag and deciding to explore further.

Pros

Having access to multiple AI translation providers like DeepL and Google is a real advantage. Certain tools perform better depending on the language so that kind of flexibility makes a noticeable difference. It helps a lot when putting together strong first drafts. The translation memory is another standout benefit since it saves time and keeps wording consistent across the product especially when the same terms come up repeatedly.

Cons

The UI is decent but it can feel a little convoluted at times. It's not always clear where things are located or which setting you're supposed to use. I've also heard from developers that adding and managing keys can be pretty dull. Another frustrating part is that keys need to be merged into master before they become available instead of going live right away and that can slow things down.

Pros

Working in this localization platform felt very easy thanks to its clean interface and low learning curve. Moving from one segment to another is simple and when I used it for South Asian language localization, the translation suggestions were generally accurate and genuinely useful throughout the process.

Cons

One limitation I noticed is how it handles Bengali punctuation. It doesn't distinguish the Bengali full stop ( / ) from the English period (.) and inserting HTML tags into Bengali sentences can be tricky since Bengali sentence structure differs from English.

Pros

It's really convenient for coordinating multiple translators at once and being able to export bilingual files is a big plus.

Cons

Feature I'm not too happy with is that the filtering options aren't advanced enough to properly monitor larger projects.

Pros

The platform has been a really positive experience because it gives translation teams strong collaboration tools along with an interface that is easy to use. Its connection with version control systems like GitHub and GitLab helps automate the localization process. The Translation Memory and centralized glossary are also reliable and help maintain consistency across large, complex projects.

Cons

Getting complex workflows set up and fully learning the more advanced automation features can be challenging for new administrators since there is definitely a steep learning curve at first. Also, when dealing with very large project structures, the navigation can feel a little cluttered from time to time.

Pros

One of the best parts is how easy it is to handle large-scale translation. It also includes an editor that lets translators view the real app or website interface while they're working which makes the process much more practical.

Cons

Finding where specific translations are located in the side menus can take a while especially when working across different languages. Moving between projects and files can also be confusing and even with experience, I still sometimes need extra time to track down what I need. It would be even better if there were an automatic translation option with user approval built in.