The Polylang alternative for modern stacks.
Everything Polylang does for WordPress — structured multilingual content, language switching, locale management — PolyLingo does through an API that works with any stack, any CMS, any framework.
Polylang is great. But it's WordPress-only.
If your site runs on WordPress, Polylang is arguably the best multilingual solution available. Millions of sites rely on it. The problem is that it's tightly coupled to WordPress. The moment you move to a headless CMS, a modern JavaScript framework, or a no-code builder — Polylang stops being an option. There is no headless version. There is no API. You lose the entire structured multilingual workflow you depended on, and nothing comparable exists to replace it.
This is a genuine gap in the market. Polylang has over four million active installations. Every one of those sites that migrates to a modern stack loses their multilingual workflow entirely. There is no headless Polylang. There is no Polylang API. Once you leave WordPress, you are on your own.
PolyLingo gives you that workflow back.
PolyLingo is designed around the Polylang mental model. Structured content. Language codes. Format preservation. The difference is that it works through a REST API, not a WordPress plugin. Your stack doesn't matter. Your CMS doesn't matter. If you can make an HTTP request, you can use PolyLingo.
The API accepts any HTTP request, which means it works with every framework and CMS — Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Remix, Webflow, Framer, Sanity, Contentful, or a completely custom build. If your CMS can make an HTTP call, it can translate content through PolyLingo.
The no-code translator UI means content teams do not need to wait for developers to set up an integration. Paste the content, pick the languages, download the outputs. The same structured multilingual workflow your team knew on WordPress, available immediately.
PolyLingo vs Polylang vs translation APIs
Polylang is an excellent WordPress plugin. This comparison is not a criticism — it is a map of what exists and what does not.
| PolyLingo | Polylang (WP) | DeepL API | Google Translate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works without WordPress | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Markdown format preservation | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| JSON locale file translation | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| HTML tag preservation | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | ✕ |
| All languages in one API request | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| REST API with token auth | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No-code translator UI | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Auto-detects content format | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| RTL language support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Usage-based billing | ✓ | Free/paid | ✓ | ✓ |
What PolyLingo gives Polylang users on any stack
- ✓Works with Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, and any other framework
- ✓Integrates with Sanity, Contentful, Webflow, Framer, and headless CMSs
- ✓Format preservation — Markdown, JSON, HTML, plain text
- ✓One request returns all 36 languages
- ✓No-code translator for content teams who don't write code
- ✓Token-based billing — pay for what you use
Migrate your multilingual workflow in three steps
Sign up and get your API key
Create a free account at usepolylingo.com. No credit card required. Your free tier includes 100,000 tokens per month — enough to translate a full site during setup and testing.
Export your content from WordPress
Export your posts, pages, and custom fields in Markdown or HTML. PolyLingo accepts both formats directly, with full structure preservation. You do not need to clean the content before sending it.
Integrate with your new stack
Call the translation API from your build process, CMS webhook, or content pipeline. One request per document, all languages returned simultaneously. Drop the outputs into your new CMS or i18n file structure.
Who this is for
Site owners migrating from WordPress
You've moved to Webflow, Framer, or a custom build. Your content is multilingual. You need a translation workflow that doesn't require rebuilding everything from scratch.
Agencies building non-WordPress sites
Your clients expect multilingual delivery. You need a tool that works with whatever stack the project uses — not a WordPress plugin that forces a CMS choice.
Developers on headless CMS setups
You're on Sanity or Contentful. Your content is in structured JSON. You need translations that preserve that structure and drop into your existing locale management setup.
Frequently asked questions about Polylang alternatives
Is PolyLingo a direct replacement for Polylang?
PolyLingo covers the core use case Polylang serves — structured multilingual content with format preservation — but it does so through an API rather than a WordPress plugin. It does not replace Polylang's in-context editing, language switcher widget, or permalink structure management. For those features, you would use your CMS or framework's native tools. PolyLingo handles the translation layer.
Can I use PolyLingo if I'm still on WordPress?
Yes. PolyLingo works through a REST API that is completely independent of WordPress. If you want to use it alongside Polylang for AI-assisted translation, or if you're running a headless WordPress setup, you can call the PolyLingo API from your theme, a custom plugin, or a build script.
What content formats does PolyLingo support?
Markdown, JSON, HTML, and plain text. The format is auto-detected from the content you send, so you do not need to specify it. For WordPress exports, the content typically comes through as HTML, which PolyLingo handles natively with full tag and attribute preservation.
Does PolyLingo support all the languages Polylang supports?
PolyLingo supports 36 languages including all major European languages, CJK languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), and RTL languages — Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Urdu. Polylang supports language display and routing for any language WordPress recognises, but the actual translation was always a separate concern. PolyLingo addresses that separately.
How does billing compare to Polylang?
Polylang has a free plugin and a premium version (Polylang Pro) starting at around €99/year for WooCommerce support. PolyLingo has a free tier (100,000 tokens/month) and paid plans starting at $9/month. Since PolyLingo bills by token consumption — not by site or language pair — costs scale with actual usage rather than a flat annual fee.
Can I translate my existing multilingual WordPress content?
Yes. Export your content in HTML or Markdown, pass it to PolyLingo, and you'll receive translated versions for every target language. The structure of your original content is preserved, so formatted posts come back formatted. This works well for bulk-migrating an existing multilingual site to a new stack.
Is there an SDK or just a REST API?
Currently a REST API. SDKs for Node.js, Python, and PHP are in development. The REST API is straightforward enough that most integrations take under an hour to set up, with or without an SDK.
Related guides
Multilingual for headless CMS
Add translation to Sanity, Contentful, or Webflow without a WordPress dependency.
Add multilingual to Next.js
Translate your Next.js locale files and content with one API call.
Translate Markdown without breaking formatting
How PolyLingo handles Markdown headings, bold, links, and code fences.
Start with 100,000 free tokens.
No credit card required. No WordPress required.
No credit card required. No WordPress required.