Best Language App for Shopify

Overview

If you want to reach international customers, choosing the best language app for shopify is a key decision. This article compares five practical options for Shopify store owners: Weglot, Langify, GTranslate, LangShop, and Shopify Translate & Adapt. I evaluate each by translation accuracy, SEO support, ease of integration, content control, costs, and workflow for ongoing updates.

Key decision criteria:

Translation quality: machine only, human edits, or professional service integration
SEO support: translated URLs, hreflang, meta tags
Content coverage: checkout, theme text, apps, product descriptions
Ease of use: automatic vs manual workflows and editor UX
Cost vs scale: pricing by words, languages, or page views

Quick summary of who each option is best for:

Weglot: stores that need fast, SEO-friendly translations and good UX without heavy developer work.
Langify: stores that want manual control and strong SEO but are comfortable managing translations.
GTranslate: cost-conscious merchants who want fast, automated translation and optional SEO upgrades.
LangShop: stores needing commerce-focused features like currency syncing plus flexible localization.
Shopify Translate & Adapt: built-in option for merchants on Shopify with simple needs and minimal cost, best if you use Shopify Markets.

The rest of this article digs into each product, pricing breakdowns, a decision checklist, a short comparison table, and a FAQ to help you pick the right solution.

This section highlights the top pick considerations and summarizes how each app maps to common merchant goals. Use this as a quick lens when reading deeper profiles below.

Speed and automation: Weglot and GTranslate provide near-instant machine translations; Weglot pairs this with a polished editor.
SEO-first localization: Weglot and Langify provide better translated-URL and hreflang handling than basic widgets.
Cost at scale: GTranslate and Shopify Translate & Adapt are often the most affordable at small to medium volumes.
Full control and compliance: Langify and LangShop let you manage translations directly and are friendly with manual or agency workflows.

Below are full profiles for each option with strengths, limitations, pricing, and best-fit use cases.

Weglot

Overview and Positioning

Weglot is a popular hosted translation solution that emphasizes speed, user-friendly editing, and SEO-friendly implementations. It uses automatic machine translation as a starting point, with a web editor for quick manual fixes and workflows to request professional translations via integrators.

Key Features and Strengths

Automatic detection and translation of site content with a visual editor for manual adjustments.
SEO features: translated subdirectories or subdomains, translated URLs, hreflang support, and meta tag translation.
Content coverage extends to theme content, product pages, blog posts, and many app-generated strings via DOM scanning.
Team collaboration and translation memory reduce repeated work.
Integration with professional translators and import/export of CSVs.
Strong UX and dashboard designed for non-technical merchants.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

Hosted solution: translations are managed on Weglot servers, which some businesses prefer not to use.
Pricing is word-based and can become expensive for large catalogs or many languages.
Checkout pages and some app content may require additional manual tweaks or exclusions.
Some merchants report occasional DOM-detection misses that require manual selection.

Pricing and Value

Prices as of June 2024 (check current site for updates):

Free plan: limited words and 1 translated language for evaluation.
Starter: approximately €9.90 per month for up to 10,000 words and 1 language.
Business: approximately €49 per month for up to 50,000 words and 3 languages.
Pro: approximately €199 per month for up to 200,000 words and 5 languages.
Enterprise: custom pricing for very large sites.

Value: Weglot is high value for merchants prioritizing quick setup, SEO-friendly URLs, and a polished editing experience. Costs scale with catalog size.

Best For

Merchants who want fast, SEO-ready translations with minimal developer time; brands with moderate catalogs that want a balance of automation and manual control.

Langify

Overview and Positioning

Langify is a translation app focused on giving merchants control over their translated content. It is built around manual and imported translations and emphasizes Shopify-native behavior and SEO best practices.

Key Features and Strengths

Manual editing interface and bulk import/export via CSV.
SEO support for translated URLs and meta tags, and automatic hreflang generation.
Good control for developers and localization teams to directly edit theme strings and product descriptions.
Lightweight app footprint that does not rely on external hosting for translations; translations are stored within the app.
Stable option for merchants who want predictable costs and fine-grained control.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

No strong automatic machine translation by default; initial setup requires manual translations or importing translated content.
Lacks the instant “translate everything” convenience of Weglot or GTranslate.
Editor UI is functional but less modern than some hosted competitors.
Professional translator integrations are less prominent; many merchants arrange external translators and import CSVs.

Pricing and Value

Typical pricing (June 2024):

Flat fee around $17.50 per month (Shopify App Store listing often shows $17.50/mo).
No per-word fees; cost is stable regardless of catalog size, though very large catalogs may still require time for manual translation.

Value: Best when you want consistent monthly pricing and complete control over translations and SEO without per-word surprises.

Best For

Stores with in-house translators, merchants comfortable managing translations manually, or stores with a moderate number of languages and a need for SEO control without per-word fees.

Gtranslate

Overview and Positioning

GTranslate leverages Google Translate and other machine translation engines to provide automatic localization. It offers a spectrum from inexpensive translation widgets to paid plans that add SEO and translated URLs.

Key Features and Strengths

Fast, fully automatic translation of site content.
Free widget available to preview translations; paid plans add SEO, translated subfolders, and domain options.
Pricing tiers often based on features rather than words, making it cost-competitive.
Option to combine machine translation with manual edits in higher tiers.
Good option for merchants who want affordable translations across many languages quickly.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

Machine translation quality varies by language; manual review usually needed for product descriptions and brand messaging.
Lower-tier plans may not generate translated URLs and therefore will not help SEO.
Some app-generated strings and checkout content may require workaround or manual patching.
Reliance on Google Translate means less control over terminology without human editing.

Pricing and Value

Representative pricing (June 2024):

Free plan: basic widget, client-side only, not SEO-friendly.
Starter/Pro: from about $7.99 to $17.99 per month for additional features.
Business/Enterprise: $29.99+ per month for SEO-friendly translated URLs and other advanced features.
Custom enterprise options with higher limits and support.

Value: Highly cost-effective for merchants who need many languages and affordable automation, especially if they can accept machine quality or plan manual post-editing.

Best For

Cost-sensitive merchants who want broad language coverage quickly and are OK with machine translations or have resources to edit critical content later.

Langshop

Overview and Positioning

LangShop is a commerce-focused localization app with features that go beyond text translation, targeting stores that need integrated localization: languages, currencies, checkout behavior, and local content customization.

Key Features and Strengths

Automatic and manual translation options, with CSV import/export and an in-app editor.
Currency conversion and display options that pair well with translation for a localized shopping experience.
SEO features include translated URLs and meta tags in higher plans.
Rules-based content replacements let you tailor messaging to markets, including banners and country-specific shipping text.
Integrations with common Shopify apps and support for major themes.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

More complex feature set can mean more setup time.
Pricing scales with the number of translated languages and pageviews in some plans.
Some users report a learning curve and occasional UI quirks compared with simpler apps.
Quality of automatic translations still depends on machine engines; manual editing needed for brand tone.

Pricing and Value

Representative pricing (June 2024):

Free trial available.
Basic plans start around $9.90 to $19.90 per month for a few languages and basic features.
Growing tiers move into $29.90 to $59.90 per month for multiple languages, SEO, and higher pageview allowances.
Enterprise/custom plans available for high-traffic sites.

Value: Good for merchants who need combined language and currency localization with market-specific content control and are willing to invest time to configure rules.

Best For

Stores that want unified language and currency localization, market-specific content rules, and a single app to handle both translation and local storefront behavior.

Shopify Translate & Adapt

Overview and Positioning

Shopify Translate & Adapt is Shopify’s native translation tool built into the Shopify admin. It provides machine translation and an editor for manual adjustments, closely integrated with Shopify themes and Shopify Markets.

Key Features and Strengths

Native integration into Shopify admin and Shopify Markets workflows.
Machine translate engine plus manual editing for product descriptions, pages, and themes.
No separate third-party hosting or app billing in many Shopify plans; included functionality depends on your Shopify plan and Markets subscription.
Simple for merchants already using Shopify Markets and wanting basic localization without extra apps.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

SEO support is limited compared with third-party apps; translated URL handling and hreflang support are more basic.
Fewer advanced features like translation memory, third-party translator marketplace, or deep app string coverage.
May not cover all app-generated content or the checkout language in non-Shopify Plus plans.
Best for straightforward, low-complexity localization needs.

Pricing and Value

Pricing notes (June 2024):

Translate & Adapt is included in the Shopify admin; specific features may depend on your Shopify plan and Shopify Markets settings.
If you rely on multiregion behaviors in Shopify Markets, there may be additional Shopify plan costs.
No separate per-word fees; cost is primarily in your Shopify subscription.

Value: Best free or low incremental cost option for merchants with basic translation needs who want native Shopify integration.

Best For

Merchants using Shopify Markets or who prefer built-in translation functionality without third-party apps, and those with simple catalogs or limited localization needs.

How to Choose

Decision checklist for picking the best language app for shopify:

Define your goals and scale

Are you targeting one or two languages or 10+ languages?
Do you need translated URLs for SEO or just a translated UI for conversions?

Prioritize translation quality vs speed

If brand tone and product copy quality matter, choose an app that supports human edits or translation memory (Weglot, Langify, LangShop).
If speed and cost are top priorities, choose machine-first options (GTranslate, Shopify Translate & Adapt).

Assess SEO requirements

If you need organic traffic in other languages, ensure the app supports translated subfolders/subdomains and hreflang (Weglot and Langify are strong here).

Check content coverage

Verify the app can translate theme strings, product descriptions, blog posts, and app-generated content you rely on.
For checkout and app strings, test or confirm compatibility.

Estimate long-term costs and workflow

For large catalogs, per-word pricing can balloon. Consider flat-fee or Shopify-native options if budget predictability matters.

Use the checklist above to map each app to your priorities, then trial the top 2 options on a staging backup of your site to validate behavior and SEO output.

Quick Comparison

Pricing Breakdown by Scenario

Small catalog (10 products, 1-2 languages)

Shopify Translate & Adapt: likely included, minimal incremental cost
GTranslate Starter: $0 to $7.99/mo if non-SEO widget is acceptable
Weglot Starter: ~€9.90/mo if you need polished editor and SEO

Growing catalog (500 products, 3 languages)

Langify: ~$17.50/mo flat, but expect manual workload
Weglot Business: ~€49/mo for 50k words (may be required)
LangShop mid-tier: $29.90/mo for language + currency features

Large enterprise (5,000+ SKUs, 5+ languages)

Weglot Pro/Enterprise: €199+/mo or custom enterprise pricing
LangShop Enterprise: custom pricing
GTranslate Enterprise: custom pricing but often more affordable for machine translations with SEO options

Always validate current numbers on each provider site and calculate estimated word counts or pages to avoid surprises.

FAQ

How Do Translated Urls and SEO Work Across These Apps?

Most SEO-focused apps (Weglot, Langify, LangShop, and paid GTranslate tiers) generate translated subfolders or subdomains and hreflang tags so search engines can index each language. Shopify Translate & Adapt has limited URL translation support; confirm how it interacts with Shopify Markets for full SEO behavior.

Will These Apps Translate Checkout and Post-Checkout Emails?

Checkout translations are limited by Shopify platform constraints. Many apps can translate theme text before checkout, but checkout pages and notification emails often require Shopify Plus or specific app support. Verify with each app and test critical flows.

How Much Manual Editing Will I Need After Automatic Translation?

It depends on language and content type. For product descriptions and marketing copy, manual editing is recommended to preserve brand tone and accuracy. UI strings and repetitive content benefit more from machine translation and translation memory but still need spot checks.

Can I Export and Import Translations to Work with Translators?

Yes. Langify, Weglot, LangShop, and many other apps support CSV import/export. GTranslate provides some export options depending on plan.

Export/import workflows are important if you work with translation agencies.

Which App is Best for SEO-Driven International Growth?

Weglot and Langify are the most SEO-friendly out of the box because they create translated URLs and support hreflang. LangShop also offers strong SEO features. For organic growth, avoid client-side-only widgets that do not produce crawlable translated pages.

How Do I Test Integration Before Committing?

Use a staging store or duplicate theme to install and configure the app.

How translated pages are indexed (view source, check hreflang)
Checkout and cart behavior
App interactions and translated app content
Speed and performance impact

Record test results and compare against your decision checklist.

Conclusion

Selecting the best language app for shopify depends on your priorities: speed and turnkey SEO (Weglot), manual control and steady pricing (Langify), low-cost machine translations at scale (GTranslate), combined localization and currency features (LangShop), or a built-in, lower-friction approach (Shopify Translate & Adapt). Use the decision checklist, run trials, and quantify word counts or product volumes before choosing to avoid unexpected costs or gaps in coverage.

Overview