# LibreTranslate vs Localazy

> Localazy scores 54.4 (C) to LibreTranslate's 43.7 (E) for translation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-localazy
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-localazy.md (~4,600 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Localazy scores 54.4 (C) on agent readiness against LibreTranslate's 43.7 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. LibreTranslate leads on security & auth, payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do translation.

- LibreTranslate: grade E, 43.7/100, rank #1227 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/libretranslate.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/libretranslate.json
- Localazy: grade C, 54.4/100, rank #909 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/localazy.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/localazy.json
- Best machine translation APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/translation/index.md
- All 105 translation comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/translation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### LibreTranslate (E)

Good for: Operators who must keep text on their own servers or want a fixed cost, and for light hosted use.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 45 against 37
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35
- Transparency & trust, 62 against 57

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Open source

Watch for: No status page, SLA or terms of service for the hosted API

### Localazy (C)

Good for: App and game teams that keep source strings in a TMS and want agents to push keys, pull translations or run AI translation with a glossary.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 35
- Schema & documentation, 51 against 45
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 40

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where LibreTranslate loses 3 points for them

Watch for: No OpenAPI spec, and llms.txt only lists top-level pages


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: Localazy +35

- LibreTranslate (40): Last release v1.9.6 on 2026-05-26, 162 days before 4 November (10). No release in the 90 days from 6 August. The repository has 18 commits since then (web UI changes, the URL fix, Weblate translations, a Docker thread setting and a CI runner move), the latest on 25 October. VERSION still reads 1.9.6, and per-commit Docker images aren't releases. The official MCP server @libretranslate/mcp last tagged v1.0.2 on 17 May 2026 (0). Issues per the 1 October check, not re-read on 4 November, since GitHub's pages refuse us (127 open, newest labelled by an automated triage bot, some with 1 to 4 comments) (15 of 25). Current PyPI and Docker packages, no official client SDK (5 of 15). CI runs pytest on Python 3.8 to 3.14 plus Docker builds, with runners moved to Ubuntu 24.04 on 25 October (10).
- Localazy (75): @localazy/api-client 2.3.2 on 26 October 2026 (30). Releases 2.3.0 (12 August), 2.3.1 (29 September) and 2.3.2 (26 October) in the last 90 days (20). Support by email, blog release updates, and public GitHub repositories, but we didn't read issue reply times (7). The TypeScript client and the CLI (2.0.12 on 31 July 2026) are current (13). The client repository shows coverage badges; we didn't confirm CI runs (5). 30+20+7+13+5 = 75.

### Reliability: Localazy +33

- LibreTranslate (35): Read as the hosted API at libretranslate.com, since the listing is an http-api. No status page found (0). No readable incident history (5). Plan limits published with numbers on the portal, re-read on 4 November, 80 calls a minute burst and about 20 sustained on Pro, 200 and about 50 on Business, 2,000 characters a call (15). The docs API reference lists a 429 "Slow down" answer on each operation, and the server code bans a client after repeated limit violations, but there's no Retry-After or backoff advice (5 of 15, an in-between value kept from 1 October). No SLA (0). Release 1.9.6 is a stable release, not beta (10). Self-hosted, the package reading would score far higher, with CI across Python 3.8 to 3.14 and a 1.x release line.
- Localazy (68): Hosted lines, for the REST API at api.localazy.com. Better Stack status page with Web, API, Public API, Payments and Connect API components and 30, 60 and 90-day uptime (20). The incidents page reports none for September, October or November 2026, but the Public API shows 99.805% uptime in one 30-day bucket, roughly an hour and a half of downtime with no incident posted, so the line is held below clean (25). Limits per plan of 100 requests a minute and 10 a second, plus daily import and fetch caps per project (15). No 429 or retry guidance found in the API docs (0). No SLA found on the pricing page or in the terms (0). The core API is GA; the AI Translation endpoint is marked beta (8). 20+25+15+0+0+8 = 68.

### Security & auth: LibreTranslate +8

- LibreTranslate (45): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. One API key per hosted plan, sent in the request body, with no scopes or rotation found. A self-hosted server can run keyless or require keys (10 of 30). The hosted privacy policy (last updated 23 September 2025, re-read 4 November) says translation texts aren't stored or logged, so nothing is kept to train on (20). IP addresses and API keys are kept for 2 days against abuse, no text retained (15). No usage log or per-call view found for the hosted plans (0). No SECURITY.md in the repository on 4 November and no disclosure policy or bug bounty found; libretranslate.com security.txt per the 30 September check, not re-read (0). Two VulnCheck CVEs in 2026, both Medium, are in the negative events. Self-hosting under AGPL-3.0 keeps all text on your own network.
- Localazy (37): Bearer tokens in the Authorization header. A project token reaches every endpoint of one project with read and write access; a translation token reaches only the AI Translation endpoint; organisation tokens are in beta on request (20). The translation token is the only least-privilege option, and project tokens can delete keys and glossary items without a confirmation step (10). The API returns strings written by translators and contributors, with no guidance on untrusted content (5). No per-call log or audit trail for tokens found (2). localazy.com/.well-known/security.txt and /security return 404, and we found no disclosure policy or certification (0). 20+10+5+2+0 = 37.

### Schema & documentation: Localazy +6

- LibreTranslate (45): The Swagger 2.0 document the 1 October check read at libretranslate.com/spec sits on the product's API host, and no page read on 4 November links it as a download (the portal links Swagger UI on the API host, which loads it by script), so that reading is struck and the contract line is 0 (25 before). No llms.txt at docs.libretranslate.com (404 on 4 November) (0). The docs API reference at docs.libretranslate.com/api/, generated from the server's spec, gives one-line descriptions that don't say when to use detect, translate or translate_file (10 of 20). `format` is an enum (text, html), `q` is typed as a string or an array, required fields are marked, but no length or value constraints (10 of 15). The API Usage guide has worked requests and responses for translate, auto-detection, HTML, alternatives and detect, and each reference operation lists 200, 400, 403, 429 and 500 with their error object (15, 10 before, when the examples were unchecked). GitHub releases and tags, no CHANGELOG file (10 of 15).
- Localazy (51): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract was found (0). localazy.com/llms.txt is a six-link index of top-level pages, with no Markdown docs for agents (5). Each endpoint page states which token types can call it, whether write permission is needed and the minimum role, and the limits page says to use the CDN, not the API, for production fetches (14). Request bodies list required and optional fields with limits, such as 512 characters for a key and 1,000 for a comment (12). Sample requests, responses and error responses per endpoint (13). Docs pages carry 'last updated' dates and the blog posts dated release updates, but there's no API version or changelog (7). 0+5+14+12+13+7 = 51.

### Payments & pricing: LibreTranslate +5

- LibreTranslate (40): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Flat monthly plans with published limits, $29 Pro and $58 Business, not per-unit pricing (10). No hosted free tier or trial, only a 7-day money-back guarantee (the portal FAQ says no free trial). We depart from the rubric and give the free line for the self-hosted server, which runs the same API free and with no card (20). An agent can `pip install libretranslate` and run a keyless server, but the hosted plans need a person at a Stripe checkout (10 of 20).
- Localazy (35): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices are public ($34, $78 and $175 a month billed annually) and credits are $1 each, with Localazy AI at about $0.005 a word on average, so partial per-unit credit (15). A free plan for small projects and a 14-day Business trial with no credit card (20). A person signs up in a browser and mints tokens in the developer settings (0). 0+15+20+0 = 35.

### Transparency & trust: LibreTranslate +5

- LibreTranslate (62): Open source under AGPL-3.0 (30). The privacy policy, last updated 23 September 2025, says no text is stored or logged, IPs are kept 2 days and no tracking is used, but there are no terms of service or DPA for the hosted API (15 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices found (0). We found no telemetry in the server code. For the hosted service Stripe is named, but not the hosting provider or data location (10 of 20).
- Localazy (57): Editorial half only. Closed service under terms that name Localazy s.r.o. of Brno and Czech law; the CLI is BSD-3-Clause and the API client MIT (15). The privacy policy keeps data while the service is used and 24 months after, and includes a DPA, but says nothing on whether content sent to Localazy AI is used for training (15). No deprecation policy or dated notices found (0). The DPA links a list of suppliers and subprocessors on an external knowledge base we didn't read (10). 15+15+0+10 = 40.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | LibreTranslate | Localazy | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 68 | Localazy +33 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 45 | 51 | Localazy +6 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 62 | LibreTranslate +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 37 | LibreTranslate +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 35 | LibreTranslate +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 40 | 75 | Localazy +35 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 57 | LibreTranslate +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **43.7 · E** | **54.4 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | LibreTranslate | Localazy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | LibreTranslate | Localazy s.r.o. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://libretranslate.com` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | Token |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-05-26 | 2026-10-26 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-23 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 17k stars | 61k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### LibreTranslate

- -6.2 on 4 November 2026 (D to E): new evidence, correction
- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist
- no change on 8 October 2026: checklist

### Localazy

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**LibreTranslate.** Open source under AGPL-3.0 and self-hostable, so text can stay on your own network. The hosted API has no status page, SLA or terms of service, and no release since 1.9.6 in May 2026 carries a June fix for IP spoofing.

**Localazy.** Localazy is a localisation platform whose REST API, CLI and AI Translation endpoint use project-scoped bearer tokens, with published limits, a free plan and a no-card trial. There's no OpenAPI spec, no 429 guidance, no security.txt or disclosure policy, and project tokens carry full read and write access.

## Before you call either

### LibreTranslate

1. Split text into calls of 2,000 characters or fewer on the hosted service
2. Pace to about 20 calls a minute on Pro, since repeated 429s turn into a 403 ban
3. Pass `source=auto` to detect and translate in one call
4. Set `format=html` for markup
5. Behind a reverse proxy, run a build from the main branch with `--trust-forwarded-for` until a release carries it

### Localazy

1. Ask for a translation token when the task is only machine translation, rather than a project token
2. Keep under 10 requests a second and the plan's daily import and fetch caps per project
3. Use the Localazy CDN, not the API, to fetch translations in a live app
4. Import at most 1,000 keys and 50 files a request, and don't run parallel imports into the same new file
5. Check the account's credit balance before bulk AI translation, since each word uses credits

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, LibreTranslate or Localazy?

Localazy scores 54.4 (C) on agent readiness against LibreTranslate's 43.7 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. LibreTranslate leads on security & auth, payments & pricing and transparency & trust.

### Do LibreTranslate and Localazy need an API key?

LibreTranslate needs an API key. Localazy needs an access token.

### Can an agent call LibreTranslate and Localazy without installing anything?

LibreTranslate has a hosted endpoint at https://libretranslate.com. No hosted endpoint is listed for Localazy.

### Are LibreTranslate and Localazy open source?

LibreTranslate is open source (AGPL-3.0). No open-source release is listed for Localazy.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-localazy.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-localazy.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "libretranslate", "b": "localazy"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare libretranslate localazy`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/libretranslate.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/localazy.json

## Other comparisons with LibreTranslate or Localazy

- [Amazon Translate vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Amazon Translate vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-translate-vs-localazy.md)
- [Azure Translator vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-translator-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Azure Translator vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-translator-vs-localazy.md)
- [Crowdin vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crowdin-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Crowdin vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crowdin-vs-localazy.md)
- [DeepL API vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepl-api-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [DeepL API vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepl-api-vs-localazy.md)
- [Google Cloud Translation vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-translation-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Google Cloud Translation vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-translation-vs-localazy.md)
- [Lara Translate API vs LibreTranslate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lara-translate-vs-libretranslate.md)
- [Lara Translate API vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lara-translate-vs-localazy.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs Lingo.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-lingo-dev.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs Lingvanex Translation API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-lingvanex.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs Lokalise](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-lokalise.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs Phrase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-phrase.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs Smartcat](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-smartcat.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs SYSTRAN Translate API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-systran.md)
- [LibreTranslate vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/libretranslate-vs-translateplus.md)
- [Lingo.dev vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lingo-dev-vs-localazy.md)
- [Lingvanex Translation API vs Localazy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lingvanex-vs-localazy.md)
- [Localazy vs Lokalise](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-lokalise.md)
- [Localazy vs Phrase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-phrase.md)
- [Localazy vs Smartcat](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-smartcat.md)
- [Localazy vs SYSTRAN Translate API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-systran.md)
- [Localazy vs TranslatePlus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localazy-vs-translateplus.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp