Polylang is one of the most used multilingual plugins for WordPress, and its free version is genuinely good: real per-language addresses such as /pt/, hreflang tags and no limit on languages. The difference is in the model and in what stays free: Polylang gives every language its own copy of each page and leaves the words to you, while TranslateRocket keeps one page and translates it for you. Here is the honest breakdown, with every point checked on the official sources in September 2026.
Side by side
| TranslateRocket | Polylang | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — every feature | Free version + Polylang Pro from €99/yr · Polylang for WooCommerce from €99/yr · Business Pack from €139/yr (ex VAT) |
| Languages in the free version | Unlimited (36 built in + custom) | Unlimited — to be fair |
| How translations are stored | One page: the translations live alongside it, so a change is made once | One separate post or page per language, linked together — every language is another page to keep in sync |
| Machine translation | Free: Chrome’s built-in translator with no key at all, or your own DeepL, OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google Gemini or Google Cloud key | Not in the free version — DeepL integration is a Polylang Pro feature (your own DeepL key required) |
| Per-language URLs and hreflang | Included, free | Included, free (language code in the URL, sub-domain or domain per language) |
| Translated URL slugs | Included, free | Polylang Pro (translate slugs for custom post types, taxonomies and more) |
| Duplicate or synchronise content across languages | Not needed: there is only one page | Polylang Pro |
| Take a language offline without deleting it | Included, free: every language has an online/offline switch | Enable or disable languages — Polylang Pro |
| WooCommerce shop | Included, free: product pages, cart and checkout are translated like any other text | Requires the Polylang for WooCommerce add-on (from €99/yr) |
| Preview before going live | Preview mode: admins see translations, visitors don’t, until you publish | No equivalent documented |
| Move your translations over | One-click importer from Polylang (string translations, translated titles, excerpts and slugs, body text paired paragraph by paragraph) | — |
Prices and features as shown on polylang.pro/pricing and wordpress.org/plugins/polylang (version 3.8.9), checked September 2026. They may change — always verify on the official pages.
Where Polylang is genuinely strong
- Track record: 800,000+ active installations and a 4.7/5 rating from almost 3,000 reviews on WordPress.org (September 2026) — a maturity TranslateRocket, as a newcomer, simply doesn’t have yet.
- Real multilingual SEO in the free version: per-language URLs, sub-domains or separate domains, and hreflang, with no licence.
- Built on WordPress itself: languages are stored with WordPress’ own taxonomies, and it works with Yoast SEO.
- Truly different content per language: when a language needs its own page — a different offer, different images, a different length — a separate post is exactly what you want. (TranslateRocket can do that too, as an option, but it is Polylang’s default.)
Why people pick TranslateRocket instead
- The words get written for you, for free. Polylang’s free version creates the empty translated page; TranslateRocket fills the whole page in one click, with no key needed to start.
- One page to maintain. Change a price or a phone number once — not once per language.
- No add-ons to buy. Translated slugs, the online/offline switch and the WooCommerce shop are part of the free plugin, where Polylang sells them in Pro and in the WooCommerce add-on.
- Your content goes only where you choose. AI text is sent only to the provider you configured, when you ask — there is no intermediary service in between.
Switching takes minutes, and your addresses stay the same
TranslateRocket reads Polylang’s own tables even with Polylang switched off, so your translations come across in one click and nothing is deleted. Your /pt/ addresses keep working, and with Preview mode you can check the result on the real pages before visitors see anything.
Read the full migration guide →
FAQ
Is TranslateRocket really 100% free?
Yes. Every feature and unlimited languages, no paid tier. You only ever pay your own AI provider, directly, if you choose to use AI.
Do I lose my Polylang translations if I switch?
No — the importer reads Polylang’s own tables and copies the work over; nothing is deleted, so you can roll back anytime.
Does Polylang free translate my pages automatically?
No. The free version creates the translated page for you to write; machine translation with DeepL is part of Polylang Pro. TranslateRocket translates the page for free.
Will my translated addresses change?
No. TranslateRocket serves the same per-language addresses, such as /pt/, so what you have earned in search results is kept.
See also: Migrate from Polylang · TranslateRocket vs TranslatePress · Full comparison.
Polylang is a trademark of its respective owner. This is an independent comparison and we are not affiliated with Polylang.
Already on Polylang? See how to migrate →
Want a hand with your site? I can do it for you
I am Federico, the developer of TranslateRocket — and building and translating WordPress sites is what I do for a living. That is how this plugin stays free: it is not crippled to sell you an upgrade, it is the tool I use every day on the sites I am paid to build.
A new multilingual site from scratch, a design put right, an existing site taken from one language to ten, custom development, reviewed translations, or a migration off a plugin that charges you every month: tell me what you need and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. You get the person who wrote the engine, not a support queue.
