MateCat vs. memoQ vs. Smartcat

Its wide range of supported file formats is great. Whether I'm working with complex documents, spreadsheets, presentations, or even code files, MateCat handles them effortlessly, maintaining formatting and structure while offering a hassle-free translation experience. The integration of machine translation is great, providing a valuable tool for quickly producing drafts that can then be refined through human expertise. The flexible post-editing options and customizable quality assurance checks ensure that the final output meets the highest linguistic and professional standards.

Incentivized

I believe memoQ is the best CAT tool of all the ones I have tested. As a PM, it has a lot of file filters that are highly customizable. You can even use cascading filters to add extra filter settings to the default file filter. Also, the use of REGEX is almost available everywhere in memoQ. You can use regex for filenames, regex for tagging items in files, regex when importing items, regex when exporting translations, regex for QA checking, regex for filtering, etc. They also added a regex library so you can save your favorite regex and easily reuse them. From a translator's point of view, the LiveDocs functionality is something that no other CAT tool has (to my knowledge). With LiveDocs you can just add any type of document, and if it has selectable text, memoQ will search this text as if it were a TM while translating. Even for non-bilingual documents, this is really helpful as you can sometimes need to reference other materials while translating.

Incentivized

ABBY SmartCAT is truly a universal solution that can fit any type of organization from freelancers flying solo, to small team of translators and large translation agencies. Anyone who wants to establish themselves as a professional translator can benefit greatly from the CAT tool that SmartCAT offers absolutely free of charge, while teams will surely appreciate the collaborative features that make it possible to work simultaneously with other translators, proofreaders, editors and QA experts on a single project.

• Project organization
• Timeline management

Incentivized

• Filters
• Resource management
• Translation Network

Incentivized

• Segmentation.
• Translation overall quality.
• Customer service.
• Pricing.

Incentivized

• Translation filters
• Interface
• Usability

Incentivized

• Assignments
• Analysis
• TMs

Incentivized

• Performance has been an issue initially. Sometimes it takes longer for some things to load and it can be frustrating.
• UI seems a bit confusing at times. For example, I don't understand why I need to have a translator's profile when I'm clearly a project manager.
• Their support team can take a long time to reply which often crucial for urgent projects.

What truly sets MateCat apart is its commitment to being accessible to all, thanks to its open-source nature. This remarkable feature not only empowers freelance translators like myself but also serves as a testament to the software's dedication to fostering a global community of linguists.

Incentivized

We are using memoQ for only certain projects and it’s not our main tool. It’s relatively slow and sometimes it can get too complicated. It does the job in the end but we prefer Memsource because of its easy-to-use interface as time is very important for us as project managers.

Incentivized

I regularly use the two other products and appreciate Smartcat including more features than MateCat, such as storing of projects and contact with agencies and clients.

Incentivized

• Able to handle projects with difficult files that we would otherwise need to edit before translating.
• Locking/tagging segments and strings with regex to reduce translation volume/cost.

Incentivized

• Translation memories and CAT tool help us ensure maximum consistency in our translations which is always appreciated by clients.
• Team collaboration made it easier for us to grow our business and take on bigger projects, which brings us more revenue.
• Payment solution helps us save money on wire transfer fees which is always great when working with multiple freelancers.