Smartcat
Manage translation jobs and approved machine translation without recreating its marketplace
A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Smartcat, manage translation jobs and approved machine translation without recreating its marketplace. The hard boundary is translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, ai, and enterprise workflow, plus translation memory, collaboration, and deployment integrations.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, AI, and enterprise workflow
- professional translator marketplace
- advanced translation memory
- website proxy network
- enterprise workflows and integrations
Why people still pay
People still pay for Smartcat because localization teams pay because language context, review discipline, translators, and release integrations are the hard parts. The recurring cost buys file formats, placeholders, plural rules, screenshots, context, permissions, review, glossary, machine translation, sync, and backups, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- PostgreSQL
- self-hosted deployment
- source locale files
- optional DeepL or OpenAI API key
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule, data: Model the inputs, state transitions, and outputs named in this translation management and website localization prompt; keep source IDs and timestamps.
Project rule, behavior: Implement projects, locales, keys, namespaces, descriptions, screenshots, translations, and review status.
Project rule, recovery: If optional DeepL or OpenAI API key is unavailable, keep the source record and show a recoverable error instead of a fabricated result.
Implementation plan
Phase 1, architecture and data
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and one optional machine-translation API. Model the inputs, state transitions, and outputs named in this translation management and website localization prompt; keep source IDs and timestamps.
Phase 2, implement
Implement projects, locales, keys, namespaces, descriptions, screenshots, translations, and review status.
Phase 3, implement
Import and export JSON, YAML, PO, and XLIFF while preserving placeholders and plural forms.
Phase 4, review and output
Add glossary checks, missing-string filters, translation memory, comments, and reviewer assignment. Import and export JSON, YAML, PO, and XLIFF while preserving placeholders and plural forms.
Phase 5, recovery and acceptance
If optional DeepL or OpenAI API key is unavailable, keep the source record and show a recoverable error instead of a fabricated result. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: An invalid input or interrupted operation must retain the source and show a recoverable state; exported records must reload with the same IDs. State the practical limit: translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, AI, and enterprise workflow.
Build me a focused translation management and website localization workflow for the personal core of Smartcat. Requirements: - Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and one optional machine-translation API. Model the inputs, state transitions, and outputs named in this translation management and website localization prompt; keep source IDs and timestamps. - Paid product context: Manage translation jobs and approved machine translation without recreating its marketplace. Build only this DIY scope: Manage translation jobs and review work with approved machine translation, preserve context, import and export standard files, and publish approved strings without recreating a marketplace. - Implement projects, locales, keys, namespaces, descriptions, screenshots, translations, and review status. - Import and export JSON, YAML, PO, and XLIFF while preserving placeholders and plural forms. - Add glossary checks, missing-string filters, translation memory, comments, and reviewer assignment. Add backups, locale deletion safeguards, and a pseudo-localization preview. - Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: self-hosted deployment; source locale files. Keep credentials in .env. - Recovery: If optional DeepL or OpenAI API key is unavailable, keep the source record and show a recoverable error instead of a fabricated result. - Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: An invalid input or interrupted operation must retain the source and show a recoverable state; exported records must reload with the same IDs. - Out of scope: translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, AI, and enterprise workflow; professional translator marketplace. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow. - Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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Alternatives to building your own
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Smartcat pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| forever free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | Unlimited users, projects and languages; CAT editor, unlimited Translation Memory storage and glossaries; initial AI balance onlyInitial Smartword allocation is one-time and expires; core workspace remains free. |
| adapt | — | $100/workspace | Unlimited users; Chief of Staff plus Content Translator and Content Writer AI Co-workers; annual Smartwords allowance varies by contractStarts at $1,200/year, billed annually. |
| accelerate | — | $2000/workspace | Unlimited users; adds Reviewer and Marketplace collaboration; annual Smartwords allowance varies by contractStarts at $24,000/year, billed annually. |
| anticipate | — | $5000/workspace | Unlimited users; adds Content Update and QA Co-workers, API, SSO/2FA and reportingStarts at $60,000/year, billed annually. |
| autonomous | — | — | Unlimited users; all Co-workers, parallel/branching workflows, 7 hierarchical workspaces and enterprise governanceCustom annual pricing. |
free tierUnlimited users, projects and languages; initial AI balance is 15,000 Smartwords for corporate-email trials (14 days) or 3,000 for non-corporate-email trials (7 days), then AI use needs a top-up or paid plan
billingpaid plans are annual only at published starting prices; consumption is based on Smartwords, not seats
hidden costsSmartwords expire at renewal and extra Smartwords are paid; Marketplace commission is 20% on Forever Free and lower on paid plans; AI dubbing consumes 10 Smartwords per word and OCR image translation costs 1,000 Smartwords per image.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Smartcat
Can you build your own Smartcat with AI?
A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Smartcat, manage translation jobs and approved machine translation without recreating its marketplace. The hard boundary is translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, ai, and enterprise workflow, plus translation memory, collaboration, and deployment integrations.
What does the Smartcat build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Manage translation jobs and review work with approved machine translation, preserve context, import and export standard files, and publish approved strings without recreating a marketplace. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, AI, and enterprise workflow; professional translator marketplace; advanced translation memory. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Smartcat prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Smartcat project take?
The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Smartcat?
translator marketplace, payments, vendor management, AI, and enterprise workflow; professional translator marketplace; advanced translation memory; website proxy network; enterprise workflows and integrations. People still pay for Smartcat because localization teams pay because language context, review discipline, translators, and release integrations are the hard parts. The recurring cost buys file formats, placeholders, plural rules, screenshots, context, permissions, review, glossary, machine translation, sync, and backups, not just the visible interface.
What can I use instead of building Smartcat?
Weblate: Handles collaborative software-translation jobs with memory and review, but wisely does not impersonate Smartcat's marketplace. OmegaT: A dependable desktop CAT tool for jobs, memory, glossaries and approved machine translation; no freelancer bazaar included. MateCat: Free hosted translation jobs with memory, machine translation, sharing and an optional professional marketplace. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/smartcat/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.