diff --git a/.changeset/tame-cats-mate.md b/.changeset/tame-cats-mate.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be9e73c4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tame-cats-mate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"lingo.dev": minor
+---
+
+Implemented check command to that exits with non-zero code when translations need updating, replacing the lingo.dev i18n --frozen functionality we're deprecating in the future (in favor of run command).
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli/cmd/check.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli/cmd/check.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6e569b162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli/cmd/check.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+import { Command } from "interactive-commander";
+import setup from "./run/setup";
+import plan from "./run/plan";
+import { CmdRunContext, flagsSchema } from "./run/_types";
+import {
+  renderClear,
+  renderSpacer,
+  renderBanner,
+  renderHero,
+  pauseIfDebug,
+} from "../utils/ui";
+import chalk from "chalk";
+import trackEvent from "../utils/observability";
+import { determineAuthId } from "./run/_utils";
+import { colors } from "../constants";
+
+export default new Command()
+  .command("check")
+  .description("Check if translations need updating without making changes")
+  .helpOption("-h, --help", "Show help")
+  .option(
+    "--source-locale <source-locale>",
+    "Locale to use as source locale. Defaults to i18n.json locale.source",
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--target-locale <target-locale>",
+    "Locale to use as target locale. Defaults to i18n.json locale.targets",
+    (val: string, prev: string[]) => (prev ? [...prev, val] : [val]),
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--bucket <bucket>",
+    "Bucket to process",
+    (val: string, prev: string[]) => (prev ? [...prev, val] : [val]),
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--file <file>",
+    "File to process. Process only files that match this glob pattern in their path. Use quotes around patterns to prevent shell expansion (e.g., --file '**/*.json'). Useful if you have a lot of files and want to focus on a specific one. Specify more files separated by commas or spaces. Accepts glob patterns.",
+    (val: string, prev: string[]) => (prev ? [...prev, val] : [val]),
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--key <key>",
+    "Key to process. Process only a specific translation key, useful for updating a single entry. Accepts glob patterns.",
+    (val: string, prev: string[]) => (prev ? [...prev, val] : [val]),
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--force",
+    "Ignore lockfile and process all keys, useful for full re-translation",
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--api-key <api-key>",
+    "Explicitly set the API key to use, override the default API key from settings",
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--debug",
+    "Pause execution at start for debugging purposes, waits for user confirmation before proceeding",
+  )
+  .option(
+    "--concurrency <concurrency>",
+    "Number of concurrent tasks to run",
+    (val: string) => parseInt(val),
+  )
+  .action(async (args) => {
+    let authId: string | null = null;
+    try {
+      const ctx: CmdRunContext = {
+        flags: flagsSchema.parse(args),
+        config: null,
+        results: new Map(),
+        tasks: [],
+        localizer: null,
+      };
+
+      await pauseIfDebug(ctx.flags.debug);
+      await renderClear();
+      await renderSpacer();
+      await renderBanner();
+      await renderHero();
+      await renderSpacer();
+
+      await setup(ctx);
+
+      authId = await determineAuthId(ctx);
+
+      trackEvent(authId, "cmd.check.start", {
+        config: ctx.config,
+        flags: ctx.flags,
+      });
+
+      await renderSpacer();
+
+      await plan(ctx);
+      await renderSpacer();
+
+      // Display summary of what needs updating
+      if (ctx.tasks.length > 0) {
+        console.log(chalk.hex(colors.orange)("[Check Results]"));
+        console.log(
+          `${chalk.hex(colors.red)("✗")} Translations need updating: ${chalk.hex(
+            colors.yellow,
+          )(ctx.tasks.length.toString())} task(s) found`,
+        );
+
+        // Group tasks by target locale for better readability
+        const tasksByTargetLocale = ctx.tasks.reduce(
+          (acc, task) => {
+            if (!acc[task.targetLocale]) {
+              acc[task.targetLocale] = [];
+            }
+            acc[task.targetLocale].push(task);
+            return acc;
+          },
+          {} as Record<string, typeof ctx.tasks>,
+        );
+
+        Object.entries(tasksByTargetLocale).forEach(([locale, tasks]) => {
+          console.log(
+            `  ${chalk.hex(colors.blue)("→")} ${chalk.hex(colors.blue)(
+              locale,
+            )}: ${tasks.length} task(s)`,
+          );
+        });
+
+        console.log(
+          `\nRun ${chalk.hex(colors.green)(
+            "lingo.dev run",
+          )} to update translations.`,
+        );
+        await renderSpacer();
+
+        trackEvent(authId, "cmd.check.needs_update", {
+          config: ctx.config,
+          flags: ctx.flags,
+          taskCount: ctx.tasks.length,
+        });
+
+        process.exit(1);
+      } else {
+        console.log(chalk.hex(colors.orange)("[Check Results]"));
+        console.log(
+          `${chalk.hex(colors.green)("✓")} All translations are up-to-date`,
+        );
+        await renderSpacer();
+
+        trackEvent(authId, "cmd.check.up_to_date", {
+          config: ctx.config,
+          flags: ctx.flags,
+        });
+
+        process.exit(0);
+      }
+    } catch (error: any) {
+      trackEvent(authId || "unknown", "cmd.check.error", {});
+      console.error(chalk.red("Error during check:"), error.message);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli/index.ts
index 86d03ee64..9b49a6372 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import statusCmd from "./cmd/status";
 import mayTheFourthCmd from "./cmd/may-the-fourth";
 import packageJson from "../../package.json";
 import run from "./cmd/run";
+import checkCmd from "./cmd/check";
 import purgeCmd from "./cmd/purge";
 
 export default new InteractiveCommand()
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ Star the the repo :) https://github.com/LingoDotDev/lingo.dev
   .addCommand(statusCmd)
   .addCommand(mayTheFourthCmd, { hidden: true })
   .addCommand(run)
+  .addCommand(checkCmd)
   .addCommand(purgeCmd)
   .exitOverride((err) => {
     // Exit with code 0 when help or version is displayed