The short answer
- Email teams translating campaigns with human translators: Mailfois. Translators work in the email from a private link, merge tags and prices are checked, and each language is signed off before it sends, alongside any ESP.
- Companies localising an app, website and email together, at volume: Phrase, Lokalise, Smartling or Crowdin, ideally with a connector for your ESP.
- A fast first draft: DeepL, always checked by someone who writes the language.
- One small brand, one ESP: your ESP’s own feature, such as Klaviyo’s Smart Translations or HubSpot’s multi-language emails, with a human review.
Who’s writing this: I’m Liam Kane and I built Mailfois, so I’m not neutral. Most of the tools here are excellent at what they were built for, and I’ve tried to say where each is the better choice. Facts and prices come from each company’s own website and help pages, checked on 16 October 2026; where a price wasn’t published or I couldn’t confirm it, I’ve said so rather than guess.
Why email is the hard case for translation tools
Most translation software was built for apps and websites, where text lives in files, changes a little at a time and has developers to wire it up. Email is different. Every campaign is new, it goes out on a fixed date, and the copy is tangled up in HTML, merge tags, prices from a product feed and text baked into images. A translator who sees loose lines in a grid can’t tell that “Shop now” sits on a 120-pixel button, or that {{ first_name }} mustn’t be touched.
So when you compare tools for email, the questions that matter are different from the ones on a localisation buyer’s checklist:
- Does the translator see the email? Context is what stops a word that’s right in a sentence being wrong on a button.
- Are merge tags, prices and numbers protected? A broken tag or a changed price is the most expensive kind of translation mistake.
- Is translation on the plan? Each language needs a due date before sign-off, not a scramble after it.
- Is each language approved? Someone who reads the language should approve the finished email, and there should be a record.
- Can outside translators work without a paid seat? Most email teams use an agency or freelancers.
- Does it work with your ESP? All of it, or only the ones with a connector?
Eight options side by side
| Option | Built for | Translator sees the email? | Merge tags and numbers | Outside translators | Price (published) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailfois | Email planning, translation and sign-off | Yes: beside the sheet, translated as they type | Flags missing merge tags and changed prices or numbers | Private link, no account or seat | Free plan; Pro £12 a month; Team £24 per seat a month |
| Phrase | Localisation suite (documents and software) | Braze templates via a connector | Tags kept and checked by QA | Every active account is a user | Plans billed annually; see phrase.com |
| Lokalise | Software and marketing localisation | Braze and Iterable connectors | Braze Liquid is treated as plain text, not checked | Unlimited translator seats; free guest reviewers from Growth | From $149 a month (Explorer, monthly) |
| Smartling | Enterprise localisation | Braze, Marketo and Salesforce Marketing Cloud connectors | Not confirmed | Bring your own translators (Enterprise) | Core free to start; translation per word, from $0.0075 (machine) to $0.20 (human) |
| Crowdin | Software and content localisation | Braze apps with a visual preview; a Mailchimp app | Not confirmed | Unlimited translators and proofreaders on paid plans | Priced by hosted words; see crowdin.com |
| DeepL | Machine translation | No; translates text or HTML | Not documented for merge tags | No review workflow | From €7.49 per user a month (Individual, billed yearly) |
| Your ESP’s own feature | Klaviyo, HubSpot, Braze and others | Yes, it’s the email | Usually, since it’s the ESP’s own syntax | Translators need ESP access, or work outside it | Included on some plans |
| An agency and a spreadsheet | Human translation by the word | Usually not | By eye | Yes | Per word, set by the agency |
Prices before tax, from each company’s own pricing page, checked 16 October 2026, in the currency shown there. Phrase and Crowdin publish plans that vary by usage and region, so check their pages for your case.
The options in brief
Mailfois
Built for email teams and agencies, alongside any ESP. Mailfois pulls every piece of copy out of an email (subject line, preheader, headings, buttons, image descriptions, footer) and sends translators a private link: no account, no seat. They see the email beside the sheet, translated as they type, with spell-check in their language, and Mailfois flags a missing merge tag, a changed price or number, and a subject line or button that has grown too long. Each language becomes its own email in sign-off, with its own approval, and approved lines go into a Copy Bank so the next campaign reuses them. Translation sits on the campaign plan with a due date per market. It doesn’t do machine translation, and it doesn’t push translations into your ESP: the builder copies them in. More on how translation works.
Phrase
A full localisation suite: Phrase TMS for documents and files, Phrase Strings for software. For email, its Braze connector pulls templates in and pushes translations back. Code that shouldn’t be translated is kept as tags and checked before export. It’s a strong choice for a company that already localises its product and wants email in the same system. Every active account counts as a user, and the plans are priced for localisation teams rather than a single email team.
Lokalise
Built for software, with a marketing workspace too. Its Braze integration uses Braze’s multi-language composition, though Braze Liquid such as {{first_name}} is treated as plain text rather than checked, and content needs Braze’s translation tags. Translator seats are unlimited, and guest reviewers don’t need a paid seat from the Growth plan. Published prices start at $149 a month.
Smartling
Enterprise localisation with the deepest email connectors of the group: Braze (including drag-and-drop templates and Canvas emails), Marketo and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It can deliver one email per language or one email with all languages. Translation is sold per word, from machine to human; the platform itself is quoted for enterprises. A good fit for large teams on those ESPs.
Crowdin
Software and content localisation, with Braze apps that bring email templates in as HTML with a visual preview, and a Mailchimp app. Unlimited translators and proofreaders on paid plans. Pricing is based on hosted words.
DeepL
The best-known machine translation for European languages, with HTML handling in its API. Useful for a first draft or for understanding a reply, but it has no review or approval workflow, and nothing in its documentation covers merge tags. Treat it as a tool for the translator, not a replacement.
Your ESP’s own feature
Several ESPs now do some of this themselves. Klaviyo’s Smart Translations machine-translate a campaign’s text on paid accounts, with links, images and product feeds changed by hand. HubSpot supports multi-language email versions from Marketing Hub Starter. Braze has translation tags and locales but leaves the translating to you. Mailchimp relies on conditional blocks you write yourself. If you send in one ESP and one or two languages, start here, and add a human review.
An agency and a spreadsheet
Still how most email gets translated: copy out to a sheet, sheet to an agency, translations pasted back by hand. The quality of human translation is hard to beat. What goes wrong is everything around it: no context, broken merge tags, copy that changed after the sheet went out, and sign-off in an email thread. Mailfois keeps the agency and replaces the spreadsheet.
Which to choose
- You send campaigns in two to ten languages, written by people, from any ESP: Mailfois.
- Email is one channel of a big localisation programme: Phrase, Lokalise, Smartling or Crowdin, checking first that the connector covers your ESP and editor.
- You’re in Canada sending English and French: see bilingual email marketing in Canada.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best software for translating marketing emails?
For email teams working with human translators across any ESP, Mailfois: translators see the email, merge tags and prices are checked, and each language is approved before it sends. For companies localising an app, website and email together, a localisation platform such as Phrase, Lokalise, Smartling or Crowdin with an ESP connector.
Can I use DeepL or Google Translate for marketing emails?
As a first draft, yes. Machine translation has no review or approval step, and it can change prices, dates and merge tags, so have someone who writes the language check it before it’s approved.
Do email platforms translate emails themselves?
Some do. Klaviyo’s Smart Translations machine-translate campaign text on paid accounts, HubSpot supports multi-language email versions, and Braze has translation tags and locales but leaves the translating to you. Mailchimp relies on conditional content you write yourself.
Do translators need an account?
It depends on the tool. In Mailfois, translators work from a private link with no account. Lokalise has free guest reviewers from its Growth plan; in Phrase, every active account counts as a user.
Liam Kane is an email and marketing automation specialist with over ten years in marketing and seven in email, planning and building campaigns on Marketo, Bloomreach and Silverpop. He founded Mailfois, so read his take on it with that in mind. More about Liam.
Sources, checked 16 October 2026: Phrase pricing, Phrase Braze connector, Phrase tags, Lokalise pricing, Lokalise Braze integration, Lokalise review center, Smartling plans, Smartling for Braze, Crowdin pricing, Crowdin for Braze, DeepL Pro, DeepL HTML handling, Klaviyo Smart Translations, HubSpot multi-language email, Braze locales, Mailchimp translation help. Prices are in the currency each company publishes and change over time, so check before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.