Two names come up when you want a multilingual WordPress site: WPML, the best-known premium plugin, and Polylang, whose free core runs on hundreds of thousands of sites. Both have years of development behind them and carry large sites. This post compares Flux Lang with them, says what Flux Lang deliberately leaves out, and when the others are the better pick.
The short answer
- WPML has no free version. WooCommerce support and String Translation start with the Multilingual CMS plan.
- Polylang has a free core. WooCommerce needs a separate paid add-on; DeepL machine translation and translated URL slugs are in Pro.
- Flux Lang covers content, menu links, hreflang and WooCommerce pages in one plugin. An untranslated page opens in the main language instead of a 404. With Flux AI a page is translated in one click.
- Choose a competitor if you run three or more languages, exchange XLIFF files with a translation agency or run a large multilingual store.
Comparison table
| WPML / Polylang | Flux Lang | |
|---|---|---|
| Free version | None for WPML. Polylang’s core is free. | Yes. |
| URL structure | WPML: directory, subdomain or domain. Polylang: language code, subdomain or domain. | Main language without a prefix, others in a directory such as /en/. No rewrite flush needed. |
| WooCommerce | WPML from the CMS plan. Polylang through a paid add-on. | Included: home, shop and account pages per language; orders keep the visitor’s language. |
| Untranslated page | Usually treated as missing in that language. | Opens in the main language with the canonical pointing to it. No 404. |
| Machine translation | Credit-based AI translation in WPML. DeepL in Polylang Pro. | Flux AI translates title, excerpt, SEO fields and body piece by piece and opens it in the editor for a check. |
| Language redirect | Browser-language redirect options. | Visitors from outside Turkey go straight to English (Cloudflare country header or time zone), bots excluded. |
| Professional translation workflow | Translation management and agency connections in WPML. XLIFF in Polylang Pro. | Not available. |
| Number of languages | Unlimited. | More than one is supported, but the design target is two-language sites. |
Why a lighter plugin?
Multilingual plugins are often the heaviest part of a site: extra tables, rewrite rules, a string translation screen with thousands of rows. An organization with Turkish content and readers abroad needs less. In Flux Lang every page, post, project and event has its own language version with its own title, body, slug, featured image and SEO fields. Theme and plugin texts come from their own translation files, so there is no string translation screen.
Links that follow the language
Translating a page is not the end. Links in the menu, in buttons and in content have to point to the English version too. Flux Lang rewrites them automatically, without touching the theme. A page that is not translated yet opens in Turkish under /en/ instead of a 404, with its canonical pointing to the Turkish page, so search engines see no duplicate content.
The SEO side
hreflang and x-default, og:locale:alternate, canonical tags and every language in the sitemap come ready with Flux Lang. With Flux SEO the home page title and description change per language too. Our multilingual SEO guide explains why each of these matters.
When a competitor is the better choice
- Three or more languages and a large content team. WPML’s translation management, workflows and agency connections are built for that scale.
- You exchange XLIFF files with professional translators. Polylang Pro and WPML support it; Flux Lang does not.
- You want a separate domain per language. WPML and Polylang offer languages per domain or subdomain.
- You want a free, mature option. Polylang’s core is free, with a large community and a long compatibility list.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages does Flux Lang support?
The default language plus other languages in directories such as /en/. The interface ships in English and Turkish.
Can I move from Polylang?
There is no automatic importer; translation links have to be set up again. On smaller sites re-translating with Flux AI is often faster.
Bottom line
WPML and Polylang are mature choices for large multilingual sites. If your site has two languages, runs WooCommerce and you want links, hreflang and redirects to just work, Flux Lang does it in one lighter plugin.
Sources
- WPML pricing (plans, WooCommerce and String Translation)
- Polylang on wordpress.org (free and Pro features)
