People weigh up Phrase alternatives when the bill is counted in several units at once, when a small team wants only a translation memory and an editor, or when a freelancer finds a platform pitched at localisation departments more than they need. Options run from free desktop tools to translation management systems sold by demonstration.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: We open the ranking with smaller vendors and put the established brands from fourth place onward. For Phrase users, the top three picks from our CAT tool ranking are Wordbee, MateCat and Déjà Vu. Pick Wordbee if you run an agency and want editor, invoicing and vendors in one subscription. All 10 alternatives below are ranked products from Best CAT Tools in 2026, and each says where it differs from Phrase.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Phrase counts translation management words, strings words, machine translation units and AI units separately. The Team plan lists 2.5 million processed words a year in translation management and 1.2 million managed strings words, and extra capacity is bought as add-ons. A translator who simply wants memories and an editor finds that arithmetic heavy.
Translation management seats are unlimited on every plan except Freelancer, while strings seats are capped: 20 on Team and 150 on Business. A company that adds developers and linguists in different weeks has to track which pool each person draws on.
Team is listed at 1,245 a month on annual billing, Business and Enterprise are custom, and single sign-on and advanced translation memory start at Business. Freelancers see a 27 a month plan with one seat, so the jump to a team plan is large.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing model | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wordbee | Luxembourg | No free tier | Published | you run an agency and want editor, invoicing and vendors in one subscription | #7 |
| MateCat | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want a browser editor without a subscription and can live with XLIFF-first files | #5 |
| Déjà Vu | France | No free tier | Published | your translators work on Windows and you would rather buy licences than rent seats | #4 |
| Across Language Server | Germany | No free tier | See profile | you want terminology and workflow in one German-built system and accept a demo-first purchase | #8 |
| Wordfast | United States | No free tier | Published | your linguists prefer working inside Word on a one-off licence | #3 |
| memoQ | Hungary | No free tier | On request | you want a small managed team set up for a stated number of linguists | #6 |
| CafeTran Espresso | United States | No free tier | Published | you are a freelancer who takes jobs from clients using other CAT tools | #2 |
| OmegaT | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want memories you can export at will and are happy to rely on community help | #1 |
| Smartcat | United States | No free tier | Published | you want unlimited users on an entry plan and a marketplace of linguists | #10 |
| Trados | United Kingdom | No free tier | Published | clients send you Trados packages and you want the format's home tool | #11 |
Luxembourg · Published
Wordbee is a Luxembourg-based subscription that puts a translation management system, an editor, invoicing and vendor management under one roof. Tiers run Essential, Smart, Enterprise and Infinity and are scaled by power users and linguist numbers. Every plan opens a REST API, though the pricing page prints a figure only for Enterprise.
Switch from Phrase if you run an agency and want editor, invoicing and vendors in one subscription.
Not stated by the vendor · Published
MateCat runs in the browser and is described as free for translators, agencies and enterprise users, with code on GitHub under LGPL-3.0 if you prefer your own copy. Out of the box it handles XLIFF only; other formats need separate Filters. Access can be limited where usage hampers outsourcing to Translated srl, one of its founders.
Switch from Phrase if you want a browser editor without a subscription and can live with XLIFF-first files.
France · Published
Atril has published Déjà Vu since 1993 and sells licences, not subscriptions. A free edition works on satellite projects, Professional serves individuals, and Workgroup packs rise to fifty seats. AutoWrite and DeepMiner are the signature features. The system requirements name Windows only, and the TEAMserver was out of stock in the shop.
Switch from Phrase if your translators work on Windows and you would rather buy licences than rent seats.
Germany · See profile
Across Systems GmbH of Germany sells a closed Language Server with a central translation memory, integrated terminology and workflow control, aimed at enterprises and language service providers. Reference customers cite use since 2008. The page steers you to a demonstration and names no price or free trial, so expect a sales process.
Switch from Phrase if you want terminology and workflow in one German-built system and accept a demo-first purchase.
Across Language Server holds rank 8 among 11 entries in our CAT tool guide →
United States · Published
Wordfast is a family rather than one product: Pro for the desktop, Classic inside Microsoft Word, a free browser edition called Anywhere and a Server for shared memories. Desktop licences are published one-off prices. Sharing a memory needs the server, which carries no listed price, plus a licence on each translator's side.
Switch from Phrase if your linguists prefer working inside Word on a one-off licence.
Hungary · On request
memoQ comes from Hungary. The translator edition is a Windows desktop tool on a yearly per-licence subscription with a 14-day trial. The management system starts at a Starter plan bundling one project manager licence and five linguist subscriptions, then Essential, Professional and Enterprise by quote. Machine translation plugins need your own third-party account.
Switch from Phrase if you want a small managed team set up for a stated number of linguists.
United States · Published
CafeTran Espresso is one edition sold either as a single purchase or as a cheaper yearly subscription, with a fully working trial download. It opens sdlxliff, mqxliff and txml bilingual files, which helps when clients send jobs from other tools. It is a storefront-style product with no team plan or hosted workspace.
Switch from Phrase if you are a freelancer who takes jobs from clients using other CAT tools.
Check CafeTran Espresso in the ranked list (2 out of 11, CAT tool) →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
OmegaT is a GPL v3 desktop application for Windows, macOS and Linux that needs a Java 11 runtime and costs nothing. TMX and XLIFF support let memories leave whenever you choose. Help comes from a user group and mailing lists, and bugs go to SourceForge trackers, because no company stands behind it.
Switch from Phrase if you want memories you can export at will and are happy to rely on community help.
Where OmegaT stands: place 1 of 11 in the CAT tool ranking →
United States · Published
Smartcat is a browser platform now sold around AI coworkers and a marketplace, covering more than 280 languages. The entry plan is billed annually with unlimited users and the page says it is free to start. Marketplace experts only come with the larger plan, whose price is not shown, so budget by asking.
Switch from Phrase if you want unlimited users on an entry plan and a marketplace of linguists.
Full verdict on Smartcat, which sits at number 10 of 11 for CAT tool →
United Kingdom · Published
Trados belongs to RWS Holdings plc. Freelance plans are published monthly or annually, from a browser-only Go plan with a million target words a year to a desktop plan with unlimited words, and there is a 14-day trial. Studio is not officially supported on Mac, and the freelance licence will not run on company networks.
Switch from Phrase if clients send you Trados packages and you want the format's home tool.
Trados holds rank 11 among 11 entries in our CAT tool guide →
OmegaT: It is a GPL v3 desktop tool for Windows, macOS and Linux, with help from a user group rather than a vendor.
MateCat: It is described as free for translators and agencies, with XLIFF handled out of the box and other formats needing Filters.
Wordbee: Its tiers scale by power users and every plan includes a REST API.
CafeTran Espresso: It opens sdlxliff, mqxliff and txml files and sells a one-off or yearly licence.
Déjà Vu: Atril sells licences since 1993, with Workgroup packs rising to fifty seats.
Phrase stays sensible when one platform has to serve both software strings and document translation, with unlimited translation management seats and integrations such as Figma, Slack and WordPress on the Team plan. If your content flows from a product team into many languages, the single platform with a 14-day trial is hard to replace with a bare editor. Check whether a smaller plan covers your word volumes first.
Your memories and term bases are the asset to carry across. Export them in open formats such as TMX and TBX before cancelling, then import a sample into the new tool and check segment counts and metadata.
Connectors to design tools, repositories and content systems do not move with your files. List each automated hand-off and its owner, and note that custom workflows and machine translation profiles must be recreated in the new tool.
Phrase lists more than 50 file formats. Run a few of your trickiest files, such as IDML or RESX, through the candidate before you cut over, since format filters differ between tools.
The Team plan is listed at 1,245 a month billed annually, Developer and Designer at 525, and the Freelancer plan at 27. Business and Enterprise are custom. The page shows several currencies, so read the live figure.
Yes. Every plan carries a 14-day trial that includes Enterprise features, except integrations that need extra fees, and you are not charged automatically afterwards.
OmegaT costs nothing and MateCat is described as free for all users. Wordfast also offers a free browser edition. Free tools shift cost into setup time and support.
CafeTran Espresso, Wordfast and Déjà Vu publish one-off licences. CafeTran also sells a cheaper yearly subscription, and Déjà Vu has a free edition for satellite projects.
Phrase supports XLIFF and the other formats listed on its pages, and most alternatives read TMX. Test an export and import before you cancel, because metadata handling differs.
Wordbee, Across Language Server, memoQ and Smartcat sell team or management products. Pricing ranges from a published top tier at Wordbee to demo-led quotes at Across.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 10 November 2026. How we review.
