Discussion on translation workflows and different alternatives (transifex, crowdin and poedit). Discussing pros and cons of each translation service

[speco29]

Hello @aterrel @kamila-NF @OriolAbril @emmasaroyan

Discussion Goal:
We’re choosing a translation workflow that fits our project needs—whether that’s CI/CD automation, community-driven contributions, or lightweight solo workflows. Below are the three candidates we’ve tested. Please weigh in on preferences, feature gaps, or integration concerns.

[speco29]

1. Transifex

Best for: Scalable software projects and continuous localization

Pros:

• Supports continuous integration and automation (great for CI/CD pipelines)
• Collaborative UI with roles and review workflows

Cons:

• UI can feel a bit dense for casual contributors
• Pricing is tiered and might be steep for smaller open-source projects without sponsorship

Special strength: Works well for projects managing multiple branches or string contexts — excellent for multilingual web apps

[emmasaroyan]

@speco29 can you clarify the multiple branches point? What kind of branches exactly?

[speco29]

@speco29 can you clarify the multiple branches point? What kind of branches exactly?

Sure!
Here by branches, I mean Localization branches for managing different translation states or experiments we can upload resource files from different branches and tag them accordingly.

[OriolAbril]

Can you show how the CI/CD integration looks like? How would we later on as content evolves and new languages are added send updated sources to transifex and get translations from transifex? Would that be automated? Would that be manual?

[speco29]

We can use the Transifex CLI or API in our pipeline, so when a developer commits changes (like updated the .po resource files), the CI workflow can trigger an automatic push to Transifex.
We can tag resources per branch (e.g., feature-login, release-v2.0) for managing parallel translation states.

Translators get notified of updated strings and work within Transifex's collaborative UI.
We can define review roles, enforce glossary/translation memory rules, and even run translation checks automatically.

Pulling Translations (Automated Fetch)
Once translations are reviewed and approved, CD pipeline pulls them back via the CLI or API. These can be pushed into different locales for staging or production.

As we add more language targets in Transifex, the same pipeline logic applies—just expand the locale list. We can automate language detection and sync via scripting too.

cd path/to/your/repo     # Move into your repo folder

tx init                  # Initialize Transifex (once per repo)
tx config mapping        # Define what source files map to which resource

tx push -s               # Push source files
tx pull -l fr,es         # Pull translations for specified languages

The initial step is manual like setting up the commands and Github Action workflow file, then rest is automated.

[speco29]

2. Crowdin

Best for: Interactive, contributor-friendly localization with integrations

Pros:

• Friendly UI for translators, great for engaging communities
• Deep integrations: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Figma, etc.
• Auto-sync between repo and Crowdin — changes can be live in minutes
• Supports screenshots to provide context during translation

Cons:

• Free plan has limited collaborators and features
• UI has a learning curve for managing branches in large projects

Special strength: Community-sourced translations with modern UX — good if we're inviting non-technical contributors.

[speco29]

3. Poedit

Best for: Lightweight, desktop-based gettext (.po/.mo) translation

Pros:

• Offline use — fast, focused interface for translators
• Easy to install and doesn’t require a server or cloud account
• Supports translation memory for reuse

Cons:

• No built-in collaboration — you'd rely on external tools for syncing and reviewing
• Doesn’t support non-gettext formats (e.g. JSON or XLIFF) well

Special strength: Quick edits and reviews for smaller teams or solo workflows — helpful if you're just testing i18n before scaling.

[speco29]

Choosing Between Them

• If we're focused on automation, Transifex fits well with your CI/CD setup.
• If we’re building community involvement around localization, Crowdin offers a friendlier experience.
• If we're handling one-off edits or legacy .po workflows, Poedit remains fast and effective.

[emmasaroyan]

Thanks for the summary @speco29!

[speco29]

OPEN SOURCE PLANS THAT TRANSIFEX PROVIDES:

The Link for more information .

For open source projects, Transifex does not provide Transifex live.

What Trasifex provides:

• Unlimited Localization: Translate your project into multiple languages without word count limits.
• Powerful APIs and SDKs: Integrate localization into your CI/CD pipeline and automate workflows.
• Real-Time Updates: Deliver multilingual content instantly without redeploying your app.
• Public Project Hosting: Showcase your project on the Transifex Explore page to attract contributors.
• Collaborative Translation Platform: Engage with a global community of translators without needing to manage pull requests.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the free open source plan, your project must:

• Have publicly available source code.
• Be licensed under an OSI-approved license (e.g., GPL, MIT, BSD).
• Have no funding, revenue, or commercialization model.
• Be marked as a non-commercial open source project in your Transifex settings.

Note: Private projects are not included in the free plan. If you need private repositories, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

[speco29]

Free Services Crowdin Provides for Open Source Projects

• Unlimited Languages and Contributors: Invite as many volunteer translators as you want.
• Collaborative Translation Platform: Real-time translation with role-based access (translators, proofreaders, managers).
• Translation Memory (TM): Reuse previously translated content to maintain consistency and speed up localization.
• Glossary and Style Guides: Define key terms and tone to guide translators.
• In-Context Translation: Use screenshots or live previews to help translators understand where and how strings appear.
• Machine Translation Integration: Access to Crowdin’s Neural Machine Translator and other MT engines.
• Crowdin CLI and API: Automate file sync between your repo and Crowdin.
• GitHub Integration: Automatically sync source and translated files with your codebase(PR Automation).

Eligibility Criteria

• Be non-commercial and open source.
• Be licensed under an OSI-approved license.
• Have publicly available source code.
• Be actively maintained (e.g., regular updates, active community).
• Have been in development for at least 3 months.
• Keep your project’s news section updated and release builds regularly.

[speco29]

Hello @aterrel @OriolAbril @emmasaroyan @kamila-NF !

As per our last meet call, we decided that we will move forward with Transifex and Crowdn and rejected Poedit for now. So now only two candidates are left in race.
Above are some of the free plans that both Crowdin and Transifex provides if our project meets the eligibility criteria.
Please have a look and comment your suggestion as per your convenience and testing. Later on we can finalize the service we would want to use for Cookbook;)

[speco29]

@OriolAbril
From Transifex I have found that there can be many managers, coordinators, reviewers, translators but one person can not be both manager and reviewer. Only one person can serve one role at a time.

[OriolAbril]

My understanding is that roles are tiered so that would have no effect on how things work. By tiered I mean if translator is the lowest role in the permission scale followed by reviewer, someone with the role of reviewer can do everything a translator can plus some extra things. So the fact that you can't have both translator and reviewer roles makes no difference. Similarly for manager, as it is higher in the permission scale someone with manager role can do anything a reviewer or a translator can do plus extra things.

[speco29]

My understanding is that roles are tiered so that would have no effect on how things work. By tiered I mean if translator is the lowest role in the permission scale followed by reviewer, someone with the role of reviewer can do everything a translator can plus some extra things. So the fact that you can't have both translator and reviewer roles makes no difference. Similarly for manager, as it is higher in the permission scale someone with manager role can do anything a reviewer or a translator can do plus extra things.

After reviewing all the points, in my opinion Transifex would be a better choice and if we happen to finalize the Tranisfex as our Translation service then I guess either you or @kamila-NF has to create our project on Transifex.