If I had to pick the single best translation/localization tool in the IT industry (software, apps, SaaS) right now, it would be Smartcat.
Here’s why it leads, and some caveats to watch.
✅ Why Smartcat stands out
- It’s designed specifically for software and digital product localization (websites, mobile apps, games, etc).
- It offers a translation-management system (TMS) with deep developer-friendly integrations: file formats like JSON/YAML, Android/iOS strings, APIs/CLI etc.
- It combines machine‐translation + human workflows + translation memory + glossaries + QA tools — so you’re not forced into just one mode.
- Especially good for tech teams: you can sync with your code repo, automations, so localization becomes part of the dev release cycle rather than a after-thought.
- Strong ROI claims: faster turnaround, lower cost.
🔍 What to consider / caveats
- “Best” here means best fit for the IT/software industry; for other use-cases (legal docs, print publishing, etc) another tool might be superior.
- There’s still human work required: glossaries, context, review, etc. Even the best automation won’t replace domain experts.
- Integration overhead: If your codebase, frameworks, format are non-standard, you’ll need some setup to make the TMS workflow smooth.
- Cost: Platform + human translation + review = you still need to budget for the full pipeline.
🎯 Why I didn’t pick others
- Lokalise is also excellent (especially for dev teams) and very popular in SaaS / IT.
- Transifex offers strong software-localization features too.
- But Smartcat’s combination of marketplace + deep TMS + tech-integration just gives it an edge for “in the IT industry” (software dev & product teams) in my view.
If you like, I can rank the top 3-5 tools for the IT/software industry (with strengths/weaknesses and pricing tiers) so you can compare and pick based on your team’s size, budget, tech stack. Do you want that?
