translatewiki.net

What translatewiki.net does

translatewiki.net is a non-profit, open-source translation community platform that localizes software interfaces into 213 active languages for 67+ open-source projects, primarily Wikimedia and MediaWiki-based tools. Founded in 2006 (originally as Betawiki, renamed to translatewiki.net in 2012) and operating under fiscal sponsorship of Software in the Public Interest (SPI), the platform connects over 19,000 volunteer translators to approximately 130,000 translatable messages using a MediaWiki-based workflow powered by the Translate extension. Key technical components include direct integration with Wikimedia's deployment pipeline for automated translation synchronization, support for Gettext .po and Java properties import/export formats, and a Leaflet/OpenStreetMap-based translator visualization map. The platform's primary users are open-source software developers needing free localization infrastructure, individual volunteer translators seeking structured contribution opportunities, and language communities—particularly those representing minority and endangered languages—that use translatewiki.net as a gateway to develop their language's digital presence on Wikimedia projects.

The platform operates a fully free, volunteer-driven model with no commercial revenue: projects are onboarded through a documented self-serve process, translators register freely, and completed translations are automatically pushed to upstream open-source projects including MediaWiki, FreeCol, CodevTT, Intuition, Adiutor, Blockly, and many others. Infrastructure dependencies include donated hosting by netcup.com, performance and security services by Cloudflare, and map tile data from OpenStreetMap. The platform operates globally with no geographic restrictions, maintains documentation in 33 languages, and shows active ongoing development through regular additions of new MediaWiki extensions and open-source projects throughout 2026.

The platform is sustained by approximately 5 employees and an extensive volunteer translator community, with no commercial monetization, no disclosed ARR, and no paying customers. Its strategic position rests on its role as the de facto localization hub for the Wikimedia Foundation's software stack, supported by a low-cost volunteer-driven operating model and a translation memory corpus that grows with each contribution.

Name

translatewiki.net

Legal name

translatewiki.net

Website

https://translatewiki.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Short description

translatewiki.net is a non-profit, volunteer-driven open-source translation platform that localizes 67+ software projects into 213 languages through 19,000+ volunteer translators, serving open-source developers, language communities, and minority-language groups via MediaWiki-based infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Localization Platform

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Localization, Translation & Cultural Adaptation (EDAGAJAK)

Keywords

• Open source localization
• Software translation platform
• Multilingual community translation
• Mediawiki translation extension
• Volunteer translation portal

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

translatewiki.net is an open-source, volunteer-driven translation community platform that localizes the interfaces and documentation of MediaWiki, Wikimedia software, and dozens of additional open-source projects. The platform coordinates a community of 19,000+ translators working across 213 active languages (including many minority and endangered languages) on 130,000+ translatable messages, and synchronizes completed translations back to upstream projects via Gettext .po and Java properties import/export.

Product overview

translatewiki.net is a single unified open-source translation community platform powered by the Translate extension for MediaWiki. The platform facilitates collaborative localization of software interfaces, primarily supporting MediaWiki and related Wikimedia projects, as well as numerous other open-source projects. Key products include the translatewiki.net Platform itself, MediaWiki Translation (with 56,661 messages), the Translate Extension (underlying technology), Translation Portals (per-language pages), and a broad catalog of Supported Projects (107 project categories including Wikidata, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and many others). The platform connects 19k translators to translate 130k messages across 213 active languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• translatewiki.net Platform An open-source, volunteer-driven translation community platform that localizes software interfaces into multiple languages, supporting 67+ projects, 19,000+ translators, 130,000+ translatable messages, and 213 active languages. Available globally via translatewiki.net to open-source projects and volunteer translators free of charge.
• MediaWiki Translation The core translation project on translatewiki.net, providing 56,661 messages for translating the MediaWiki software interface across all supported languages. Used by MediaWiki maintainers and Wikimedia Foundation to localize the MediaWiki user experience globally.
• Translate Extension for MediaWiki

Quantifiable outcome

• 19,000+ volunteer translators support 213 languages
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MediaWikicoreTechnology or Integrationtranslatewiki.net is powered by MediaWiki software and the Translate extension. It serves as the primary localization hub for MediaWiki and all Wikimedia Foundation software projects, with direct integration into Wikimedia's deployment pipeline for translation synchronization.
• netcup.comcoreOthersnetcup.com provides web hosting, servers, domains, emails, security, and management services for translatewiki.net, as evidenced by netcup's logo placement on translatewiki.net pages and their sponsored hosting relationship.
• Software in the Public Interest (SPI)coreOthersSoftware in the Public Interest (SPI) is a non-profit organization that serves as the fiscal sponsor and associated project for translatewiki.net. SPI provides the organizational infrastructure and legal umbrella for the project.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Crowdin: Cloud-based localization platform offering free tiers for open-source projects, with strong Git integration, automation, and translation memory. A leading commercial competitor in the same product category.
• Lokalise: Commercial localization and translation management platform targeting developer and product teams with CI/CD integration. Comparable as a translation platform competing for the same open-source and developer-tooling customers.
• Weblate: Open-source web-based translation platform with continuous localization, version control integration, and a large project ecosystem. The most direct competitor to translatewiki.net, serving many of the same open-source software projects and OSS communities.
• Pontoon: Mozilla's open-source localization platform built on Django/Python, used internally for Firefox and other Mozilla products. Directly comparable as an open-source translation platform with community translator workflows and localization of software interfaces.
• Transifex: Commercial translation management platform used by many open-source projects (including Wikipedia historically) for localization. Competes with translatewiki.net for both open-source and commercial localization workflows.
• POEditor: Web-based translation and localization platform supporting Gettext .po files, Java properties, and many other formats. Comparable as a translation platform serving software localization use cases with both free and paid tiers.
• Phrase (formerly Memsource): Commercial translation management system with strong developer and enterprise focus, offering automation, translation memory, and continuous localization. Operates in the same product category as translatewiki.net.

Broad incumbents

• Smartling: Enterprise-grade translation management platform serving large digital businesses with full-service localization. Competes at a higher tier of the same market translatewiki.net addresses at the open-source/grassroots level.

Emerging players

• OmegaT: Open-source computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool used by individual translators. Comparable as a free, open-source translation tool but oriented toward individual translators rather than collaborative community platforms.
• Pootle (Translate Toolkit): Open-source translation management web platform and toolkit, historically used by Mozilla, OpenOffice, and other open-source projects. A direct historical peer in the open-source localization platform space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about translatewiki.net