Smartling Reviews & Product Details

Smartling is a powerful and efficient tool for daily translation. Its intuitive platform, along with features like grammar and spell checking, allows linguists to focus on content quality, as well as the correct application of specific terminology and glossaries.

The platform offers a professional and reliable environment with an easy-to-use interface. The "Open issue" feature streamlines communication, allowing linguists to get direct answers and save time. Also, the automatic invoicing system is highly appreciated, eliminating the administrative burden of manual invoicing.

For website translations, Smartling's ability to display content in context is a standout feature. This visual feedback allows translators to make informed decisions regarding syntax and punctuation, ensuring the translated content integrates seamlessly with the website's layout. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Issues with tag placement, though manageable, can disrupt workflow.

Also, a comprehensive task summary, displaying word counts and deadlines without requiring scrolling or window switching, would also enhance efficiency. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've used Smartling for many years, even before starting to work with them.

I first knew them from using their CAT tool. I think it was the most userfriendly tool compared to others in the market, like Phrase or XTM.

The issue reporting system is quite useful, as it allows linguists to receive responses directly from the client.

Another aspect I like is the PM team. They are a delight to work with.

The payment schedule is another strong point. Payment is made on the first business day of each month, with no delays. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes, there are so many linguists assigned as resources to an account and the job assignment system is set to first claim first served, that it makes it very difficult to claim jobs. Particularly due to timezone differences, some linguists may get ahead and others remain without jobs.

Also, it does not always occur, but sometimes, PMs are unresponsive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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.

The CAT tool is, without a doubt, the most convenient tool I have ever used.

Smartling offers an intuitive user interface, making it easy for even newcomers to adapt quickly. I was able to set up and start using Smartling swiftly, as the installation process is clearly guided, allowing me to begin without significant hurdles.

The support team at Smartling is excellent. Whenever I encountered an issue, they responded promptly and provided professional solutions, which was incredibly helpful during translation projects.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with Smartling. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I wish Smarlting has performance & feedback section for the translator monitor their work.

I believe it is crucial for translators to have access to their performance and feedback data to effectively monitor and improve their work. Currently, there is no clear mechanism for this. 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.