Compared in November 2026
Four ways to make a WordPress site multilingual. TranslatePress and Clearyvo Translate translate the finished page in a visual editor; Polylang and WPML keep a separate post for each language. The biggest practical differences are in multilingual SEO, automatic translation and WooCommerce.
The short answer
- Choose WPML for large and complex sites, many languages and a full WooCommerce setup, from one paid plugin.
- Choose Polylang for a free plugin with unlimited languages and one post per language, when you translate by hand.
- Choose TranslatePress for front-end translation with a large user base, unlimited languages and its SEO Pack in a paid plan.
- Choose Clearyvo Translate for front-end translation with the multilingual SEO (slugs, meta, hreflang, sitemap) free, and 5,000 free automatic words, when one extra language is enough to start.
At a Glance
| Clearyvo Translate | TranslatePress | Polylang | WPML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it translates | The finished page, in a visual editor | The finished page, in a visual editor | One post per language | One post per language |
| Free version | Yes (coming to WordPress.org) | Yes, on WordPress.org (400,000+ active installations) | Yes, on WordPress.org (900,000+ active installations) | No free plan listed |
| Languages in the free version | 1 translation language | 1 translation language | No limit | |
| Translated URL slugs | Free | Paid (SEO Pack) | Polylang Pro | Yes |
| Translated SEO title and meta description | Free | Paid (SEO Pack) | WPML SEO add-on | |
| hreflang tags | Free | Paid (SEO Pack, alternate links) | Yes, automatic | |
| Multilingual sitemap | Free (WordPress, Yoast SEO, Rank Math sitemaps) | Paid (SEO Pack) | With the WPML SEO add-on (Yoast SEO, Rank Math) | |
| Free automatic translation | 5,000 words, no API key; your own Google key without a limit | 2,000 words; your own Google key without a limit | 500 free words for a new site while the account is active | |
| DeepL | Your own key, in Translate Pro | Paid plans | Polylang Pro | |
| WooCommerce | Free: product, cart, checkout and account pages; more in Translate Pro | Free, “out of the box” | Paid add-on (Polylang for WooCommerce) | Multilingual CMS and Agency plans |
| Paid plans | Clearyvo Translate Pro | €99 / €199 / €349 a year (1 / 3 / unlimited sites) | Polylang Pro from €99 a year; Business Pack (with WooCommerce) from €139 | €39 / €99 / €199 a year (Blog / CMS / Agency) |
Where They Differ
Page translation or separate posts
Polylang and WPML store each language as its own post, linked as translations. That is flexible when languages need different content, and it is how many large multilingual sites are built. TranslatePress and Clearyvo Translate keep one page and translate its output, so theme, widget and page builder texts are translated in the same visual editor and nothing needs to be kept in sync.
Multilingual SEO
TranslatePress puts slug, meta, alternate link and sitemap translation into its SEO Pack, part of its paid plans. Polylang Pro translates slugs. WPML adds hreflang tags itself and translates SEO meta and sitemaps with its WPML SEO add-on. Clearyvo Translate includes translated slugs, SEO titles and descriptions, social tags, image alt text, hreflang and x-default and translated sitemaps in the free plugin.
Automatic translation
Clearyvo Translate comes with 5,000 free words through its own service, without an API key; TranslatePress with 2,000 words through TranslatePress AI. Both also accept your own Google key. WPML includes AI translation words in its paid plans; Polylang offers DeepL in Polylang Pro.
Languages
Polylang has no language limit even in the free version. TranslatePress and Clearyvo Translate translate into one language for free; their paid plans add more.
When to Choose the Other Plugin
- WPML: a large or complex site, many languages, translators and translation services, or a WooCommerce shop with several currencies.
- Polylang: you want unlimited languages for free and translate by hand, or each language needs its own content.
- TranslatePress: you want front-end translation with a long track record and many add-ons, and more than one language from the start.
When to Choose Clearyvo Translate
- You start with one extra language and want it to rank: translated slugs, meta, hreflang and sitemap without a paid add-on.
- You want automatic translation for a first draft without creating an API key.
- You want to translate an existing site, page builder and WooCommerce pages included, without duplicating posts.
Sources
- TranslatePress on WordPress.org (version 3.3.9), TranslatePress pricing and SEO Pack documentation
- Polylang on WordPress.org (version 3.9.1) and Polylang pricing
- WPML: plans and prices and URLs, slugs and SEO documentation
- Clearyvo Translate (version 0.3.18) and Clearyvo Translate Pro (0.4.8), readmes and code
The other plugins’ names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify their products; Clearyvo is not affiliated with them. We make Clearyvo Translate. Facts about the other plugins are taken from the pages listed under Sources on 6 November 2026; an empty cell means the page did not say. Prices and features change: check the vendors’ pages before you buy, and write to info@clearyvo.com if a fact here has changed.
Read the guide: How to Translate a WordPress Site (and Rank in Every Language) Compare: Clearyvo Translate vs TranslatePress vs Polylang vs WPML