Polylang alternatives: the 5 worth knowing in 2026

Polylang is the plugin most budget-conscious WordPress multilingual sites start on, and for good reason: the core plugin is genuinely free, with no page limit, no word limit and no licence to renew. People go looking for an alternative for one of a few specific reasons: the free core ships with no machine translation at all, so every duplicate post still needs a human or a DeepL key to fill in, Pro licensing is sold per number of sites, and the whole model, one WordPress post per language, is still work you maintain forever rather than something that runs itself.

If that is what is pushing you to compare options, here are the five worth knowing: WPML, TranslatePress, Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale. Full disclosure: we build one of these, WeLocale, and we will be straight about where Polylang and the others are the better pick.

How they actually differ

Prices move, so the durable comparison is architecture: whether a tool hands you a separate post to edit per language, the way Polylang does, or translates what is already on the page at runtime.

Tool	How it works	Runs where	AI translation included	Best for
Polylang	WordPress plugin, duplicate post per language, free core	Your WordPress site	No on the free core, DeepL on Pro (99 euro/year)	The lowest-cost way to keep full editorial control
WPML	WordPress plugin, same duplicate-post model	Your WordPress site	Yes, a word allowance included on paid tiers	Teams wanting WooCommerce and page builders in one license
TranslatePress	WordPress plugin, in-context visual editor	Your WordPress site	Yes, a word allowance included on paid tiers	Editing translations on the rendered page instead of an admin screen
Weglot	Script or plugin, translates at runtime	Their service	Yes, included	Any platform, if budget allows it as languages grow
GTranslate	Served from their network, indexable URLs	Their network	Yes, unlimited on paid tiers	Non-WordPress sites wanting a URL per language
WeLocale	Script or plugin, translates at runtime	Our service	Yes, included, free plan permanent	No-code sites on any platform wanting to skip the duplicate-post workload

The human version

Polylang's free core (900,000+ active installs, 4.7 out of 5 from 3,000 reviews on wordpress.org, checked 17 October 2026) really is free, with no page or word limit, and it does the same job WPML does: one WordPress post per language that you or a translator fills in by hand. The Pro tier starts at 99 euro a year excluding VAT (polylang.pro/pricing, checked 17 October 2026) and adds DeepL machine translation plus slug translation; the WooCommerce add-on starts at the same 99 euro and the Business Pack at roughly 139 euro. You are not escaping the maintenance, just the licensing cost.

WPML charges per site but bakes a translation-word allowance into the price instead of selling it separately. Multilingual CMS is 99 euro a year with 22,500 AI-translation words and WooCommerce included; Multilingual Agency is 199 euro a year with 45,000 words and unlimited sites (app.wpml.org/purchase, checked 17 October 2026). The entry Multilingual Blog plan, 39 euro a year, includes neither WooCommerce nor any AI words. If you want one license that covers translation, WooCommerce and page builders without assembling the pieces yourself, WPML is the more complete answer, at a higher floor price than Polylang.

TranslatePress keeps Polylang's WordPress-only, self-hosted shape but replaces the duplicate-post workflow with an in-context visual editor: you translate directly on the rendered page instead of a separate admin screen. Personal is 8.25 euro a month with one site and 50,000 AI words, Business is 16.59 euro a month with three sites and 200,000 words, Developer is 29.09 euro a month with unlimited sites and 500,000 words (translatepress.com/pricing, checked 17 October 2026). If editing in place matters more than owning a separate post per language, this is the closer fit.

Weglot drops the WordPress-only assumption entirely and translates at runtime from a script or plugin on any platform. The free plan covers 2,000 words and one language, Starter is 17 dollars a month for 10,000 words, and the bill climbs from there up to Advanced at 329 dollars a month for 10 languages and a million words (weglot.com/pricing, checked 17 October 2026). It has the steepest curve of this list as you add languages.

GTranslate also runs outside WordPress entirely, serving your translated site from its own network with a real, indexable URL per language and unlimited words on every paid tier, so a word count never forces an upgrade. It sits in front of whatever platform you run rather than inside WordPress, which is the trade if you want out of the plugin ecosystem altogether.

WeLocale is ours, so season this to taste. Same runtime idea as Weglot and GTranslate: script or WordPress plugin, no duplicate posts, translation included rather than sold separately. The free plan is permanent, not a trial: one website, two languages, 5,000 source words, no card required. The 15 dollar Starter plan covers 10 languages and 60,000 words. Where we are not the answer: we do not hand you a separate, freely editable post per language, or translate URL slugs, the way Polylang and WPML do. If that editorial control matters more than setup speed, Polylang or WPML is the right tool.

What actually matters when you choose

Skip the feature checklists and ask four questions instead.

Do you want a separate, editable post per language, or just the page translated as it is? Polylang, WPML and TranslatePress hand you a real WordPress post you can rewrite freely. Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale translate what already exists, faster to set up and harder to deviate from the source.

Is machine translation already included, or something you add on top? Polylang's free core includes none at all; DeepL only arrives on its 99 euro Pro tier. WPML and TranslatePress bundle a word allowance into the price. Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale translate automatically from the first word.

Does the price scale per site, per word, or stay flat? Polylang Pro is licensed per number of sites. Weglot's bill grows with both language count and word count. GTranslate's paid tiers are unlimited words regardless of scale.

And the honest workload question: does a non-technical teammate manage this day to day, or does it need someone comfortable in the WordPress admin, filling in duplicate posts one at a time?

Where WeLocale fits

WeLocale suits a site that wants to skip Polylang's duplicate-post workload, and the free core's total lack of machine translation, without jumping straight to WPML's per-site licensing. Install the WordPress plugin or paste one script tag, and every visible string starts translating without a second post to create or a translator queue to manage. The free plan covers one website, two languages and 5,000 source words with no card required, and it does not expire. The 15 dollar Starter plan adds 10 languages and 60,000 words, the same language count Polylang's free core leaves you to translate by hand.

It is not a replacement for Polylang in every sense. If you need a translator editing a full, independent post per language, or you are translating URL slugs for local SEO, Polylang's model does something ours cannot. For a site that just wants visitors to read it in their own language without adding a content-management job, that is where we fit.

To try WeLocale free, go to welocale.net/pricing and create an account, no credit card required.

FAQ

What is the best Polylang alternative?

It depends on what is pushing you away from Polylang. If it is the lack of built-in machine translation, Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale all translate automatically from the start. If it is per-site licensing cost on Pro, WPML folds translation into a similarly priced plan instead of selling it separately. If you want to keep Polylang's exact duplicate-post model with a different editing workflow, TranslatePress is the closest WordPress-only option.

Does Polylang's free core include machine translation?

No. The free plugin translates nothing on its own; you or a translator fills in each duplicate post by hand. Machine translation through DeepL only arrives on the Pro tier, which starts at 99 euro a year.

Is there a free alternative to Polylang that translates automatically?

WeLocale's free plan covers one website, two languages and 5,000 source words with no card required and no expiry date, and it translates automatically rather than asking you to fill in a translation editor. Weglot's free plan covers one language and 2,000 words on the same basis.

Do I need to stay on WordPress to move off Polylang?

No. Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale all run on any platform through a script tag, so leaving Polylang does not mean leaving WordPress unless you want to. WPML and TranslatePress are WordPress plugins built around the same duplicate-post idea, so they only make sense if you are staying on WordPress.

Do these alternatives keep my translations if I stop paying?

A Polylang, WPML or TranslatePress translation is a real WordPress post, so it stays in your database regardless of your license status. With Weglot, GTranslate and WeLocale, check directly: WeLocale keeps translations in your account and does not delete them if you stop paying, though the widget stops serving them until you return.