WPML or Polylang: which to choose for a multilingual website
If a company operates in several markets or serves customers in several languages, sooner or later the question arises — how to add multilingual support to a WordPress website or a WooCommerce online store. The two most popular solutions are WPML and Polylang. Both solve the same basic task, but they differ in approach, price and technical capabilities. In this article we compare the two, based on practical experience in projects with several language versions and WooCommerce integration.
Why the choice matters right at the start of the project
Changing the multilingual plugin after a website has launched is one of the most complex and risky changes you can make to an existing WordPress site — it affects the URL structure, SEO and content organisation, and often requires the content to be completely reworked. That is why the right solution has to be chosen before development starts, not afterwards.
WPML: wider capabilities, higher costs
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is a paid solution that offers wide functionality:
- Built-in compatibility with most popular themes and plugins, including Elementor and WooCommerce
- The option to order professional or automatic (AI) translation directly from the admin panel
- More flexible configuration of the language URL structure (subdomains, folders or parameters)
- Active support and regular updates
Drawbacks: WPML is a paid product with an annual licence, and in larger, content-heavy projects it can significantly slow down the admin panel if it is not properly optimised.
Polylang: a lighter, more flexible basic solution
Polylang offers a free basic version that is perfectly sufficient for many small and medium-sized projects:
- Free basic functionality for an unlimited number of languages
- A simpler, lighter code base that puts less load on the server
- Good integration with WooCommerce using the Polylang for WooCommerce extension (paid)
- A flexible approach to custom solutions, because Polylang’s structure is simpler for developers writing custom code at the
functions.phplevel
Drawbacks: more complex features (such as full WooCommerce integration or automatic translation) require additional paid extensions, and in some places extra developer involvement is needed to ensure full compatibility with the theme or other plugins.
The main differences in brief
| Criterion | WPML | Polylang |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid (annual licence) | Free basic version, paid extensions for WooCommerce |
| Performance | Heavier, especially in large projects | Lighter, less server load |
| WooCommerce integration | Built in, extensive | Requires an additional extension |
| Translation automation | Built in (AI/professional) | Not built in; external tools are needed |
| Best suited to | Large, content-complex projects | Small/medium projects, custom development |
Which to choose: practical recommendations
- If the project is a large online store with a complex product structure and a fast translation workflow is needed — WPML is usually the safer choice, because its WooCommerce integration is more mature.
- If the project is a content website or a small/medium online store with a limited budget and good performance is needed — Polylang is often the more efficient solution, especially if the developer can adapt the functionality directly in code.
- If the website makes extensive use of Elementor, it is worth checking both plugins’ compatibility with the specific theme before choosing — some combinations need additional adjustments.
The most common mistakes in multilingual projects
- The language structure is not planned before development starts, which later means rebuilding the URL structure and losing SEO history
- Forgetting to set up hreflang tags, which let Google correctly understand which language version to show to which user
- Duplicate content between language versions without a correct canonical configuration
- Not checking compatibility between the translation plugin and WooCommerce or other functional plugins before the project launches
Summary
Both WPML and Polylang are reliable solutions for multilingual WordPress websites, but the choice has to be made by assessing the project scope, the budget and how deep the WooCommerce integration needs to be. The CREATING.LV team has experience implementing both solutions, in new projects and in adding languages to existing websites — get in touch to assess which solution suits your project.