Lokalise vs Phrase vs Crowdin vs IntlPull: An Honest TMS Comparison for 2025

Why I Spent Three Months Evaluating TMS Platforms

Last year, our team hit a wall. We had 12 languages to support, a React Native app, a web dashboard, and a growing backlog of untranslated strings sitting in spreadsheets. The manual copy-paste workflow was killing us.

So I did what any product manager would do: I signed up for trials of every translation management system I could find. Over three months, I tested Lokalise, Phrase, Crowdin, and IntlPull with real projects. Here is what I learned.

Fair warning: This is my honest take based on actual usage. Every team has different needs, so what worked for us might not be perfect for you.

The Platforms at a Glance

Before diving in, here is my quick mental model for each platform:

Lokalise feels like a polished product from a company that really understands mobile development. Their Figma plugin alone has saved designers hours.

Phrase is the enterprise heavyweight. If you work with professional translation agencies or need audit logs for compliance, this is where you end up.

Crowdin has carved out a niche with open-source communities. The volunteer translator features are genuinely useful if you have an engaged user base.

IntlPull is the newcomer focused on AI-first workflows and developer experience. Still maturing, but the approach is interesting.

My Experience with Each Platform

Lokalise: The Polished Workhorse

I spent about six weeks with Lokalise, and honestly, it is a solid product. The mobile SDKs are battle-tested. Over-the-air updates actually work well once you get them configured.

What impressed me most was the screenshot context feature. Being able to attach screenshots to translation keys sounds minor, but translators loved it. No more guessing whether "Submit" means a form button or a wrestling move.

The reality check: That $140/month starting price is not trivial. When they killed the free tier in 2023, it stung a lot of small teams. For our use case with 5,000 keys, we were looking at their Pro tier at $350/month before even counting machine translation costs.

The setup was also more involved than I expected. Their documentation is good, but there is a learning curve. Plan for a week of integration work, not a day.

Where Lokalise shines: If you are building a mobile-first product and budget is not your primary constraint, it is genuinely excellent. The OTA update flow is mature and reliable.

Phrase: Built for the Enterprise

Phrase is what happens when you merge a developer-focused tool (PhraseApp) with an enterprise translation platform (Memsource). The result is powerful but can feel like two products stitched together.

Their CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools are impressive if you work with professional translators. Translation memory sharing across projects, terminology management, quality assurance checks... it is comprehensive.

The friction point: We got confused by Phrase Strings versus Phrase TMS early on. Which do you need? Probably Strings for code-based translations, but then you might want TMS features for working with agencies, and now you are in procurement territory.

At $525/month for their Team plan, you are making a serious commitment. That said, if compliance requirements mean you need SOC 2 reports and audit logs, Phrase delivers.

Where Phrase shines: Large organizations with dedicated localization teams and relationships with translation agencies. If you are coordinating translations across hundreds of projects with LSPs, this is built for you.

Crowdin: The Community Champion

Crowdin surprised me. I went in thinking it would feel dated, and while the interface is not the sleekest, the feature set is thoughtful.

The open-source program is genuinely generous. If you maintain an OSS project, you get professional-tier features for free. That is not marketing fluff; they actually support the community.

What I liked most was the voting system for translations. We had users volunteer translations, and letting other users vote on quality meant less review work for our team. It is a clever crowdsourcing approach.

The trade-offs: The UI does feel a generation behind. Not unusable, but noticeably less polished than Lokalise. Support response times varied; sometimes quick, sometimes I waited days for complex questions.

Machine translation is available but feels bolted on rather than integrated. You are paying per character on top of your subscription, and the model options are limited.

Where Crowdin shines: Open-source projects, game studios with fan translation communities, and teams who want community involvement in their localization. If volunteer translators are part of your strategy, Crowdin understands that workflow.

IntlPull: The AI-Forward Approach

Full transparency: I am writing this on the IntlPull blog, so take my perspective with appropriate skepticism. That said, I will try to be honest about where we are strong and where we have gaps.

IntlPull started with a different question: what if AI translation was the default, not an add-on? The native Claude and GPT-4 integration means translations feel more contextual than traditional MT engines. The AI understands that "Submit" in a form context needs different treatment than "Submit" in a document upload flow.

The MCP (Model Context Protocol) support is genuinely useful if you work in Cursor or with AI coding assistants. Being able to manage translations without leaving your editor fits modern development workflows.

What we are still building: The integration ecosystem is smaller than established platforms. If you need a specific connector, check first. The community and documentation are growing but not as extensive as competitors with a five-year head start.

Our OTA updates work well for React Native and web, but if you need native iOS/Android SDKs with the maturity of Lokalise, be realistic about the comparison.

Where IntlPull makes sense: Developer-led teams who want AI translation built in rather than bolted on. Small to mid-size projects that benefit from a real free tier. Anyone already working with MCP-compatible tools.

The Honest Trade-offs

After all this testing, here is what I think actually matters:

If budget is tight

Crowdin's $50/month starter or IntlPull's free tier are your realistic options. Lokalise and Phrase are simply not designed for bootstrap budgets.

If mobile OTA updates are critical

Lokalise has the most mature mobile SDKs. IntlPull supports OTA but with a younger implementation. Phrase does not offer OTA at all.

If you work with professional translators

Phrase's CAT tools are purpose-built for LSP workflows. The others work with agencies but were not designed around that use case.

If you want AI translation today

IntlPull has native Claude/GPT-4 integration. Others require separate MT provider setup or use older engines. This gap will likely narrow as everyone adds AI features, but right now it is a differentiator.

If you are open source

Crowdin. No contest. Their OSS program is the most generous in the space.

What I Would Actually Recommend

There is no single "best" TMS. But here is how I would think about it:

For well-funded mobile teams: Start with Lokalise. The mobile SDKs and OTA infrastructure are excellent. The price is justified if localization is core to your product.

For enterprise with compliance needs: Phrase is probably where you end up. The enterprise features exist because enterprise customers demanded them. That $525/month looks expensive until you factor in the cost of building audit logging yourself.

For open-source and community-driven projects: Crowdin genuinely supports this use case better than anyone else. The voting features and community management tools are not afterthoughts.

For developer-led teams prioritizing DX: This is where IntlPull fits. If you want AI translation integrated into your workflow, real-time sync without manual push/pull, and you are comfortable with a newer platform, it is worth evaluating.

A Note on Switching Costs

Whatever you choose, plan to stay for a while. TMS migration is not technically difficult, but it is operationally painful. Your translation memory, glossaries, and translator workflows all need rebuilding.

All these platforms can import from each other. The data moves. The institutional knowledge and optimized workflows take time to recreate.

Final Thoughts

I ended up going with IntlPull for our team, but I would not tell you it is objectively the best choice. It was the best fit for a small team, limited budget, and desire for modern tooling.

If you asked me to recommend a TMS for an enterprise with 50 translators and compliance requirements, I would point you to Phrase. For a mobile-first startup that raised a Series A, probably Lokalise. For an open-source project, definitely Crowdin.

The best TMS is the one that matches your actual workflow. Try the trials. Import a real project. See which one feels right.

And if you do want to test IntlPull, the free tier is genuinely free. No credit card required. Import your existing translations and see how it feels.