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Independent head-to-head · Updated October 2026

Locize vs Lokalise

Continuous delivery through a CDN against a full TMS around your repository.

Locize is built by the creators of i18next, and it shows. The platform is designed to sit behind i18next as a live backend: missing keys are detected in your code and sent to Locize, translators work in the platform, and published translations are served from a CDN so they go live without a redeploy. Lokalise is a broader translation management system for product teams, with Git sync, a large editor, design-tool integrations and over-the-air SDKs for mobile.

Both are managed cloud services, both support machine translation and AI, and both can import and export Laravel PHP files. The decision is mostly about your front-end stack and whether you want translations delivered from a CDN at runtime or committed into your repository.

At a glance

Locize is the natural choice for teams already on i18next who want translations to flow continuously from code to CDN with versioning and branches. Lokalise suits teams with mixed stacks, native mobile apps and designers in Figma, who want a full TMS around their repository.

Locize vs Lokalise, side by side

How the two platforms differ on the questions that decide most evaluations.

Hosting

Locize: Managed cloud service; translation files can also be bundled or hosted yourself

Lokalise: Cloud only; on-premises and private cloud are not offered

Open source

Locize: Closed platform; built by the maintainers of the open-source i18next library

Lokalise: Closed platform; open-source CLI. Free for open-source non-profit projects

Pricing model

Locize: Usage-based in steps: words and CDN downloads, with unlimited users on higher plans; free plan and trial

Lokalise: Tiered plans driven by words, seats, projects and usage; free trial

How translations reach production

Locize: Served from a CDN through i18next at runtime, live without a redeploy; versions and branches

Lokalise: Git sync opens pull requests; CLI and API; OTA SDKs for iOS, Android and Flutter

Integrations

Locize: i18next and its React, Angular, Vue and Next.js bindings; script-tag locizify for sites; CLI, API and GitHub Actions

Lokalise: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos, Figma, Jira, Contentful, Webflow, WordPress

Machine translation & AI

Locize: DeepL, Google Translate and other providers, plus Locize AI or your own LLM keys

Lokalise: Google Translate and DeepL, plus Lokalise AI with glossary and style-guide awareness

Best for

Locize: i18next-based web apps that want continuous, CDN-delivered localization

Lokalise: Product teams localizing web and mobile apps with a repository-based workflow

Where they really differ

Runtime delivery against repository sync

With Locize, your app loads translations from the Locize CDN through the i18next-locize-backend, and new keys can be saved automatically during development. Publishing a translation makes it available without rebuilding the app, and versions let you separate what is live from what is in progress. Lokalise’s default path for web is the repository: translators finish, Lokalise opens a pull request, and the change ships with your next deploy. Lokalise’s over-the-air SDKs give mobile apps live updates, but they cover iOS, Android and Flutter rather than web.

How tied you are to i18next

Locize works best with i18next, which is the most popular i18n library for JavaScript but not the only one. It also supports file-based workflows for libraries like react-intl and vue-i18n, and a script-tag option for websites, but the live CDN model is designed around i18next. Lokalise is library-agnostic: it reads and writes dozens of file formats and does not care how your app loads them.

Team and pricing shape

Locize prices by usage, mainly words and CDN downloads, and includes unlimited users from its mid-tier plans upward, which suits teams that invite many occasional contributors. Lokalise’s tiered plans count seats along with words and other usage, and include more workflow tooling for larger product teams, such as tasks, automations and design integrations.

Branches, versions and review

Locize mirrors how developers already work: translation branches follow feature branches, versions separate what is live from what is being prepared, and review workflows control what gets published. That makes it practical to translate a feature before it ships without leaking unfinished copy. Lokalise organises the same work through projects, tasks and automated workflows, with translations arriving in your repository as pull requests that go through your usual code review.

Choose Locize if…

  • Your app already uses i18next.
  • You want translations to go live from a CDN without redeploying.
  • You want missing keys sent to the platform automatically while you develop.
  • Many occasional contributors need access without counting seats.

Choose Lokalise if…

  • Your stack mixes several frameworks and file formats.
  • You ship native iOS, Android or Flutter apps that need OTA updates.
  • Designers work in Figma and product managers in Jira.
  • You prefer translations to arrive as pull requests in your repository.

Dig deeper

Frequently asked questions

Locize is built for i18next and its live CDN delivery works through the i18next backend. It also supports file-based workflows for other libraries and a script-tag integration for websites, but i18next is where it fits best.
Lokalise’s official OTA SDKs cover iOS, Android and Flutter, and it documents an OTA API you can build on. For web apps the usual path is Git sync and a deploy. Locize serves web translations from its CDN at runtime.
Yes. Locize lists Laravel PHP files as an import and export format, and Lokalise has a dedicated PHP Laravel language files format. Neither changes how a Laravel app loads translations at runtime.
Locize offers a free trial and a free plan. Lokalise offers a free trial and is free for open-source non-profit projects.

Keep exploring

A third option · this is our product

If you are a Laravel team, consider LangSyncer

Locize brings CDN-delivered live translations to i18next apps. If your product is a Laravel app, LangSyncer brings the same no-deploy idea to Laravel’s own translation system: it works with your existing lang files and __() calls, translates with GPT or DeepL, finds hardcoded strings with a code scanner, and publishes changes to production without a deploy.

Start for free See all comparisons

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