Tolgee vs Localazy: A Detailed Comparison (2026)
By Jan Cizmar. Last updated 9 October 2026.
The short answer
Choose Tolgee if you want one localization platform your whole product team works in. It’s open source and self-hostable, with an activity log and per-language permissions on every plan. Translators fix strings in your running web app, and AI translation can run on your own LLM key.
Choose Localazy if you need ready-made CMS and help-desk integrations, or your vendor review hard-requires a SOC 2 report and won’t accept ISO 27001.
At a glance
| Capability | Tolgee | Localazy |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hosting | Yes: free for up to 10 users, paid license above that | No |
| Project-wide activity log: every change in the project, not one string at a time | Every plan, kept for the life of the project | Enterprise plan only (custom pricing); per-string translation history on every plan |
| Limit a translator to specific languages | Every plan | From the Business plan (from $175/month) |
| Bring your own LLM key for AI translation | Every plan; your own key doesn't use up the machine-translation credits in your plan | Not supported for Localazy AI |
| Edit strings in the running web app | Every plan, with SDKs for React, Vue, Angular, Svelte and plain JS | No; an in-context editor for websites is in private beta. Today translators work from uploaded screenshots and Figma frames |
| Figma plugin | Every plan | From the Autopilot plan (from $78/month) |
| Over-the-air translation updates for Android and iOS apps (fixes without an app release) | Every plan, included at no extra charge | Billed per daily active user of your app |
| CDN delivery (a hosted download endpoint for your translations) | Every plan, unlimited downloads | Billed by usage: per GB, per request and per publish |
| MCP server for AI assistants | Every plan, official server | No official server |
| Branching | Yes | Yes |
| Security certification or audit report | ISO 27001 | ISO 27001 and SOC 2 |
| Free plan | 30,000 hosted words (your base text plus every translation), 3 seats (unlimited on paid plans), 10,000 machine-translation credits | 200 source keys (strings in your base language; translations don't count), unlimited seats |
What is Tolgee?
Tolgee is an open-source localization platform used by more than 40,000 people, at companies such as AB InBev, Continental, Life Fitness, ASSA ABLOY and OBI. It has shipped in public since 2020, with more than 1,000 releases, and in-context editing (fixing strings directly in your running web app) has been at its center since 2021.
The core is Apache 2.0 on GitHub, with more than 4,000 stars, 96 contributors and over 1.7 million Docker pulls, so your security team can read the code before you buy. Tolgee holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, Tolgee Cloud runs in the EU, and you can run the server on your own infrastructure instead.
Tolgee reads JSON, XLIFF, Android XML, Apple strings, ARB and more, and ships a CLI, a REST API and an MCP server on every plan. Translators and product managers get a UI they work in without touching code, and developers get SDKs for React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Android and iOS.
What is Localazy?
Localazy is a cloud localization platform built in Brno, Czechia. It’s built around a CLI, an API, an Android Gradle plugin and an iOS SDK, plus a translation editor with screenshots, glossary and style guides.
It includes Localazy AI, built-in professional translation services, and integrations for Figma, Strapi, Storyblok, Zendesk and others. Its plans are Free, Professional (from $34/month), Autopilot (from $78/month), Business (from $175/month) and Enterprise (custom pricing), and Localazy prices them by source keys, with unlimited users and languages.
The platform is closed source, and you can’t self-host it. Some client libraries and integrations (the API client and the Strapi and Directus plugins) are open source under the MIT licence.
Is Localazy enterprise ready?
Yes. Localazy and Tolgee both hold ISO 27001 and offer SSO on their Enterprise plans (custom pricing), and Localazy adds a SOC 2 report. What Localazy doesn’t offer is infrastructure control: it’s a closed, cloud-only platform, and Localazy AI runs on models Localazy picks, not on a provider you choose.
Tolgee gives a security team more to work with. The code is open for review, the server can run on your own infrastructure so translation data can stay inside it, and AI translation can run on your company’s own LLM account.
Tolgee’s Enterprise plan (custom pricing) also adds premium support, a dedicated Slack channel, an account manager and team training.
Where Tolgee stands out
Tolgee’s biggest differences from Localazy are editing in the running web app, per-language permissions, AI translation on your own key, open source you can self-host, and an activity log and unmetered delivery on every plan.
Editing in the running web app. In-context editing is Tolgee’s core feature: it has shipped since 2021, and the whole platform is built around it. In a web app, a translator opens your product, clicks a string and fixes it there.
Per-language permissions on every plan. Give a translator or reviewer only their languages on any plan, the free one included.
AI translation with your app’s context, on your key. Tolgee’s AI translator uses the context you give each key: screenshots, descriptions and which keys are contextually connected. You can bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini or OpenAI-compatible key on any plan.
Open source you can self-host. Your security team can read the code, and the server can run on your own infrastructure so translation data stays inside it. Self-hosting is free for up to 10 users. A paid license removes that cap and unlocks paid features such as branching and SSO.
A project-wide activity log on every plan. An auditor can see who changed what, across the whole project, without you upgrading. Localazy keeps its project-wide audit log for its Enterprise plan (custom pricing).
Unmetered delivery. Tolgee’s SDKs pull translation fixes over the air from its CDN: Android and iOS apps update without a new release, and web apps without a redeploy. You don’t pay more when your app gets more users or your CDN gets more downloads.
Where Localazy falls short
Localazy falls short in four places: translators can’t edit in the running web app, mobile updates and the CDN are metered, language permissions and Figma sit on higher plans, and the platform is closed source with no self-hosting.
No editing in the running web app yet. Localazy has announced an in-context editor for websites, but it’s in private beta. Until then, translators work from uploaded screenshots and Figma frames rather than the live screen. Tolgee has offered in-context editing to every customer since 2021.
Delivery is metered. Localazy bills its Android and iOS over-the-air updates per daily active user of your app, and its CDN by data, requests and publishes, so delivery cost grows with your traffic. Tolgee meters neither.
Team and design features sit higher up. Limiting a translator to their languages starts on the Business plan (from $175/month). The Figma integration starts on the Autopilot plan (from $78/month).
Closed source, and no self-hosting. There’s no source for your security team to read, and translation data can only live in Localazy’s cloud. The enterprise section above covers what that means for a security review.
Where Localazy has the edge
Localazy’s main edges are integrations for content that lives outside your code, and a SOC 2 report next to ISO 27001.
Content outside your code. From the Autopilot plan (from $78/month), Localazy connects to Strapi, Storyblok, Directus, Webflow, Intercom, Zendesk and Zapier. If your help center and CMS content need translating in the same tool as the app, that saves integration work, though that content then lives on Localazy’s closed, cloud-only platform.
SOC 2 as well as ISO 27001. Localazy also has a SOC 2 report. Tolgee holds ISO 27001, which is generally seen as the stricter of the two: it certifies the whole information security management system against an international standard, while a SOC 2 report is an auditor’s opinion on controls the company scopes itself. This only matters if your vendor review hard-requires a SOC 2 report and won’t accept ISO 27001.
If you don’t translate CMS or help-desk content and your vendor review accepts ISO 27001, neither edge applies to you.
Switching from Localazy to Tolgee
In our experience, moving from Localazy to Tolgee takes an afternoon for the export and import, plus about a day to set up delivery and your review workflow again.
Download your files from Localazy with their CLI, in the formats your app already uses: JSON, XLIFF, Android XML, Apple strings or ARB. Import them into Tolgee, which reads all of those, and the strings and translations move across.
You can also script the move through Tolgee’s REST API. It’s on every plan, so you can automate the same export and import instead of doing it by hand.
A file export carries strings and translations only. Comments, past changes and screenshots stay in Localazy, so keep that account readable until you’re settled.
On Android, replace the Localazy Gradle plugin and library with the Tolgee CLI in your pipeline and the Tolgee Android SDK for over-the-air updates. On the web, add the Tolgee SDK for your framework to get in-context editing.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Tolgee if any of these are true:
Translators and product people review copy, and you want them to fix strings in the running web app.
You need a project-wide activity log and per-language permissions on every plan.
You want AI translation that uses your screenshots, key descriptions and related keys as context, on your own LLM key if you prefer.
You ship over-the-air translation updates to Android, iOS or the web and don’t want delivery billed by app users or CDN traffic.
Translation data may have to sit on your own infrastructure one day, or you want source you can read.
Choose Localazy if any of these are true:
You translate CMS or help-desk content through Strapi, Storyblok, Zendesk or Intercom.
Your vendor review hard-requires a SOC 2 report and won’t accept ISO 27001.
Create a free Tolgee account. Import a few of your Localazy files and you have a working copy to evaluate against your live setup today. For a full-size trial, talk to us.
FAQ
Is Tolgee a good Localazy alternative?
Yes, for product teams where people outside engineering work on translations: Tolgee gives them in-context editing in the running web app, an activity log and per-language permissions on every plan. It’s also open source and self-hostable, while Localazy is closed source and you can’t self-host it.
Can I self-host Tolgee instead of using Localazy’s cloud?
Yes. The Tolgee server is open source and free to run for up to 10 users. Past that, or for paid features such as branching and SSO, you buy a self-hosted license. Localazy doesn’t offer self-hosting.
Does Tolgee have an audit log on every plan?
Yes. Tolgee’s activity log records who changed which string and when, on every plan including the free one, and keeps the full history for the life of the project. Localazy keeps per-string translation history on every plan and puts its project-wide audit log on its Enterprise plan (custom pricing).
Can translators edit in my running web app with Tolgee instead of Localazy’s screenshots?
Yes, on every plan: with Tolgee’s SDK for React, Vue, Angular, Svelte or plain JS, a translator clicks a string in the running app and edits it there. Tolgee has shipped this since 2021. Localazy’s in-context editor for websites is in private beta, so its translators rely on uploaded screenshots and Figma for context.
Can I use my own LLM key in Tolgee, which Localazy AI doesn’t allow?
Yes, on every plan including the free one. Tolgee supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and translations on your own key don’t use up the machine-translation (MT) credits in your Tolgee plan. Localazy’s FAQ says you can’t connect your own LLM key to Localazy AI.
Can I restrict a Tolgee translator to specific languages?
Yes, on every plan: you give someone a translate or review role and pick their languages. Custom roles with hand-picked permissions, for example a role that can edit keys but not delete them, come with the Manage plan (from €373/month). On Localazy, even limiting a translator to languages starts on the Business plan (from $175/month).
Does Tolgee charge per daily active user for over-the-air updates, like Localazy?
No. Tolgee’s native Android and iOS SDKs fetch translations from Tolgee’s CDN (Tolgee Content Delivery), so fixes reach users without an app release, with no charge per app user. Localazy bills its mobile over-the-air updates per daily active user.
Does Tolgee charge for CDN downloads like Localazy does?
No. Content delivery is on every plan and downloads aren’t metered, while Localazy bills its CDN by data transferred, requests and publishes. You get one delivery configuration (one CDN endpoint with its own languages and format) on the free plan and on the Translate plan (from €58/month). From the Optimise plan (from €133/month) you get several, for example separate staging and production endpoints.
What does Tolgee’s free plan include compared with Localazy’s?
Tolgee’s free plan includes 30,000 hosted words, 3 seats and 10,000 machine-translation (MT) credits, with no card and no trial clock. Hosted words count your base text plus every translation, and every paid plan has unlimited seats. You also get the CLI, REST API, in-context editing, AI translation, content delivery and the Figma plugin. Localazy’s free plan holds 200 source keys with unlimited seats, and its Figma integration starts on the Autopilot plan (from $78/month).
How long does switching from Localazy to Tolgee take?
In our experience, an afternoon for the export and import, plus about a day to set up delivery and your review workflow again. Export your files with the Localazy CLI, import them into Tolgee, or script it through Tolgee’s REST API on any plan.
Methodology
Everything here comes from primary sources: both companies’ documentation and pricing pages, Localazy’s plan comparison and FAQ, checked on 9 October 2026. Tolgee’s plan gating comes from our public plans data, our documentation and the product’s source code.
We didn’t quote reviews. The facts here come from the vendors’ own pages.
This page doesn’t compare prices. The two products meter different things, hosted words against source keys, so a fair comparison depends on your project. Plan prices appear only to show where a plan sits: each is the lowest advertised monthly price, billed annually, in the vendor’s own currency (euros for Tolgee, US dollars for Localazy), checked on 9 October 2026.
Switching-time figures are our own experience from customer migrations, not a published benchmark. We refresh this page quarterly.
Sources
Show all sources
- Tolgee pricing, plan features and Enterprise support
- Tolgee documentation (self-hosting, in-context editing, AI translator, LLM providers, translation memory, content delivery, Android SDK, iOS SDK, file formats, Figma plugin)
- Tolgee member roles and language permissions
- Tolgee ISO 27001
- Tolgee Cloud hosting in the EU
- Tolgee source code
- Localazy pricing
- Localazy plan comparison
- Localazy company facts
- Localazy open-source client libraries (MIT)
- Localazy in-context editor beta announcement
- Localazy over-the-air updates, billed per daily active user
- Localazy CDN pricing
- Localazy CDN usage rates
- Localazy AI and own keys
- Localazy Android Gradle plugin
- Localazy integrations
- Localazy ISO 27001 and SOC 2
- Localazy MCP: no official server in Localazy's docs or GitHub (checked 9 October 2026)
Contact us
Not sure whether Tolgee is a great match for you?
Just reach out to us at info@tolgee.io,
check our community Slack, Github discussions or Docs.
Marketa Cizmar
Co-founder & COO