Smartling Reviews & Product Details

I like the following about Smartling:

- the platform is easy to use;

- you have everything in one place: the translation memory, the glossary, even the potential machine translations that you can choose from;

- you are able to sort your projects based on the delivery deadline, along other parameters;

- you have an embedded comments system where you can interact with your client, in case there are any comments/queries;

- you are able to see your earnings in real time;

- last but most important: payments are always very prompt and no fees are withheld;

- also, invoices are raised automatically and you do not need to manually calculate anything. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I don't like the following about Smartling:

- the processes have become too automatized and this has reduced by 25% the revenues you could have earned by doing manual/human translation;

- some shortcuts have not yet been developed (e.g. a combination of keys to automatically insert glossary suggestions in your translation, instead of hovering over them and then clicking to insert those suggestions);

- there used to be a wonderful feature, allowing you to merge smaller jobs for the same end client, instead of opening each and every small job separately. This used to save us quite a lot of time, which we now waste. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a translator, I've used more than four different web-based CAT tools, depending on each agency's preference. So far, Smartling has been the best. The reason is simple: it's easy to use.

Content loads quickly, even for heavy projects. In contrast, I've frequently experienced downtime and slow latency with other platforms, which slows my workflow and makes it harder to meet deadlines—a potential disaster for any freelancer.

Additionally, communicating with project managers is seamless, thanks to the ability to flag segments with issues.

Easy, simple, and convenient. That’s all. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

For jobs assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, the email notification reaches my inbox later than the assignment appears in the 'Available to Accept' section on the platform. Because of this delay, I've missed several good job opportunities. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. An environment with an ongoing supply of translation work from a variety of clients.

2. Quite easy to use Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

1. The system is far from perfect in translation and translation memory usage. It regularly marks perfect matches (100%) when these are not true 100% matches, so they still need to be seriously checked and reprocessed.

2. The system also does not consistently translate according to the attached glossaries and identical source phrases and source terms are translated in different variations.

3. After a search action a project always returns to the first segment on the first page. It would be better if it would return to the last edited segment. With projects consisting of serveral pages this is time consuming and annoying.

4. A jump function to segment number is absent and would be highly appreaciated. This could be a temporary workaround for the in 3. described problem. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have used Smartling for translation work for a number of years now, and it's definitely my favorite translation tool. The reasons for this are many:

First and foremost, it is easy to use. There are several convenient tabs at the top, e.g. Context, Quality Checks, Search in TM, and Glossary. These are used often and very relevant to a smooth and efficient workflow.

Secondly, the translation window has a simple and practical layout. Source text on the left, target on the right. Navigating from segment to segment is easy, either by confirming segments and moving on to the next, or simply clicking into whatever segment you want to work in.

And last, but not least, as you work through your text, you can use a number of common insertables, like common and special characters, and tags to mention a few. This makes the translation process fast and convenient.

I would also like to mention that if you have any issues you would like help with during the project, there is an easy-to-use Open New Issue function on the right hand side. Simply enter the question or comment you have, and the issue will be reported to the person in charge of this specific job. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Quality Checks process after you have completed the translation, can be tedious, especially if it's a big job. There is usually a long list of false positives that you have to x out, which can take time. However, you can make adjustment in your settings to alleviate this issue. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is easy to use wherever you are as long as you have Internet connection. It has all that a translator needs for their work (context, glossaries, TMs, AI/MT suggestions, TM/term search, query management. I particularly like their auto invoicing feature which saves a translator effort to cross check things. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I do not like the tool's limitation to sort by string numbers, which makes a translator's work hard as they have to translate out of context. And the way jobs are assigned has made it worse as a job/file might be assigned to different translators. This results in a translator being unable to work on the first or latter half of a sentence as those might have been assigned to another translator and are in locked status. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling is an excellent tool, so user-friendly and very fast loading times. I am extremely happy with it. Compared to other translation tools, it is very smooth to use, everything is in the cloud and the TMs and glossary can be looked up with one click. I am also very satisfied with the easy invoicing process, that makes my work as translator a lot easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes, there are some small errors, such as the tool logging in again when I am busy working on a translation. But usually I log in again and then everything is saved. I nearly never lose any translations. Sometimes, also the invoicing overview does not work, but usually this is also solved within a few days. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It's very easy to use, just log in, pick a job and go. Doesn't require installation, and it's very intuitive. I love that it implements 100% matches along the way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

- The colors of the different workflows are too similar. Why choose an orange for editing and then a lighter orange for AI?

- The feature where I can combine multiple jobs into one is gone. I used this feature a lot, as I have a lot of really small editing jobs from the same endclient, and the same project

- Huge problem: It tends to choose AI translation over high matches/100% matches which is very counterproductive Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

All systems are integrated in one platform, which is a huge advantage for me as a freelancer. There are always opportunities to complete work and all processes are carried out fast and very professionally. It really is a great company to collaborate with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have suggested a couple of times what I believe could be an improvement in the translating platform which I believe would be very easy to implement and it would help keep the consistency of the translation. This suggestion has been passed on but Smartling must have decided not to implement it. There is really nothing else I dislike about Smartling. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Smartling is a powerful tool which I use daily. It allows me to translate content quickly and precisely without missing a single word, keeping consistency throughout the text and checking grammar and spelling. Thanks to Smartling, I can concentrate on the quality of the content, e.g. the requested tone of voice, the style and fluency in the target language and the matching with specific terminology of the subject and glossary eventually provided. Finally, the "Open issue" feature allows me to ask questions and receive the answers directly, saving time and effort. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes the tags are not correctly positioned, but this is an issue I can easily overcome. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ai translations, glossary and other assisting features are easy to use and intuitive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It would be nice if I can set the default order of the tasks. Every time I refresh the page, the order returns to (supposedly) client-based order. I prefer deadline-based order (ascending).

Also, it would be nice if I can see a summary of all the current tasks, where I can check how many words are due by when without scrolling or switching the windows. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.