Localization · checked 2026-10-19Can I vibecode Weglot?
KINDA· weekend project
For a static or small site, an agent builds the core in a weekend: a build step that pulls text out of your pages, translates it with DeepL or an LLM, keeps a translation memory so edits survive, and writes /fr/ and /de/ copies with hreflang tags and a language switcher. It gets hard on live sites. Weglot detects new content by itself, reads pages rendered by JavaScript, translates URLs and metadata, and lets editors fix strings in a visual editor. If your site runs on a CMS or a shop, its plugins are the real product.
$17/moprice
$204you'd save a year
weekendbuild time
—people replaced it
What you need on hand.
DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.
TimeA weekend; keeping markup and links intact takes the longest
- Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
- Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
- A DeepL or LLM API keyUsed only to translate new or changed text; DeepL has a free API tier.
- A static site you build yourselfThe tool reads built HTML, so a CMS-rendered site needs its output saved first.
- Your Weglot exportDownload your translations from the dashboard first; the importer in the follow-ups reads CSV or XLIFF.
Before you buildWeglot Free covers one translated language for up to 2,000 words. A small landing page may fit, and then you need neither a subscription nor a replacement.
- 1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
- 2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
- 3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.
The prompt
Build me a static-site translator to replace Weglot for my own website. Requirements: - Node.js 22 + TypeScript CLI (`translate-site`, installed with `npm link`). Input: a folder of built HTML (SITE_DIR in .env). Output: the same site plus one folder per language (/fr/, /de/ ...) in OUT_DIR. The source language and target languages live in ./config.yaml. - Extraction: parse each page with `cheerio` and collect text nodes plus title, meta description, og: tags, alt, aria-label and placeholder attributes. Skip script, style, code and pre elements and anything marked translate="no" or class `notranslate`. Split text into sentence-sized units and hash each. - Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/memory.db with source text, language, translation, status (machine or edited) and the hash, so unchanged text is never translated twice and an edited string is never overwritten. - Translation: `deepl-node` when DEEPL_API_KEY is set, otherwise any OpenAI-compatible endpoint from .env. A glossary table (term, language, forced translation) goes with every request. Keep inline tags and placeholders intact and fail any unit whose tag count differs from the source. - Output pages: set `<html lang>`, rewrite internal links to the language folder, add `<link rel="alternate" hreflang>` for every language plus x-default, translate the canonical and og:url, and inject a language switcher (a plain `<select>`, no framework) before `</body>`. Write a sitemap with xhtml:link alternates. - Review: `translate-site review` serves http://127.0.0.1:5500 with a table of strings per language, inline editing that sets the status to edited, and a page preview in an iframe. - Memory export and import as CSV per language, and a count of unique words per language so you know what you are translating. - No accounts, no telemetry, local-first: only translation API calls leave the machine, and the README names exactly which text is sent. - Out of scope: JavaScript-rendered content, translating URL slugs, live proxying, CMS plugins, redirecting visitors by browser language. - README: setup, the .env keys, running it in CI before deploy, and a warning that machine translation needs a human read before launch.
Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.
Then keep going
Next prompts, same folder.
The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Weglot.
Add a Weglot importer to the translator in this folder. Requirements: - `translate-site import-weglot <file>` reads a CSV or XLIFF exported from the Weglot dashboard (Translations > Languages > Actions > Export). - Match each row's original text to units in ./data/memory.db by exact text first, then by whitespace-normalised text, and store the translation as edited. - Print counts of matched, unmatched and conflicting rows, and write unmatched rows to ./import-unmatched.csv. - Never overwrite an existing edited string without --force. - Update the README.
Add slug translation to the translator in this folder. Requirements: - A `slugs` table maps each source path to a translated slug per language, filled by the same translation step and editable on the review page. - Slugs are lowercased, accent-stripped, hyphenated and unique within a language; a clash adds a short suffix. - Output files use the translated path; internal links, hreflang, canonical and the sitemap all use it too. - Write a `_redirects` file that sends the old /fr/<source-slug> path to the new one. - Update the README.
Add language suggestion to the translator in this folder. Requirements: - Inject a small script that reads navigator.languages on the first visit and shows a banner offering the matching language, without redirecting automatically. - Remember a dismissal or choice in localStorage and never show the banner twice. - Never touch crawlers' requests: the script only changes the page on the client, and the HTML for every language stays reachable at its own URL. - Update the README.
What you lose
- Plugins and apps for WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Webflow that need no code
- A visual editor where non-developers fix translations on the live page
- Automatic detection of new content, plus translated metadata and URL slugs
- A language switcher and visitor-language redirection out of the box
- Glossary and translation rules per project, and ordering human translation from agencies
Why people still pay
A site owner gets a second language in an afternoon without touching templates: install a plugin, pick languages, fix the odd string. The word-based pricing climbs with a growing site, but nothing needs developer time, which is why shops and agencies keep paying.
Weglot or your own copy?
Over
Your usage
12h ×$/h
Weglot, 1 yr$204
Your own copy, 1 yr$68running + build session
You keep$137pays for itself in the first month
Estimate · Hosting is whatever your static site already costs. Translation is the only running cost: DeepL's free API tier or a few cents of LLM tokens per thousand words, paid again only for changed text. The build is token usage on your agent plan.
Take your data, then cancel.
1 · Take your data out of Weglot
- 1Open Dashboard > Projects > your project > Translations > Languages > Actions > Export. Choose the format, language pairs, quality and type, then click Export; the file arrives by email and sits under Activity in Overview.
- 2Sync translations under Translations > URLs first, so the export matches what is on your site today.
- 3URL slugs export from the slug list with Actions > Export, and dynamic-content rules export the same way. The glossary can be exported too.
- 4The help article doesn't name the export formats; the import side accepts CSV and XLIFF, so expect those.
2 · Cancel Weglot
- 1Open Dashboard > Billing, click Cancel current plan, tick the confirmation, click Next, then Cancel, leave feedback and confirm.
- 2You can pause instead of cancelling: monthly plans only, once a year, for a few months, and the account sits on Free meanwhile.
- 3Subscribed through an app store such as Shopify? Uninstalling the app doesn't end the Weglot subscription, so cancel from Billing in the Weglot dashboard.
- After you cancel or pause, translations stop showing on your site and the translated pages gradually drop out of search results.
- Projects are deleted automatically after 3 months of inactivity per Weglot's terms, so export first.
- The help article doesn't say whether cancellation applies at once or at the end of the period, and doesn't cover refunds; ask support if you are mid-term.
- Line up your replacement before you switch: once translations stop showing, the translated pages start dropping out of search results.
The escape hatch
Don't feel like building it? These are already free.
TranslatePressOpen sourceGPL WordPress plugin for translating pages from the front end; there are paid upgrades. It lives on WordPress.org rather than GitHub.active Oct 2026 · one-click install
wordpressVisit ↗PolylangOpen sourceGPL-3.0 WordPress plugin for running a multilingual site; you add translations yourself and a Pro version exists.★ 389 · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
wordpressVisit ↗LibreTranslateOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 machine translation API you host yourself, so text never goes to a third-party engine; quality varies by language.★ 17k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗
wordpressVisit ↗PolylangOpen sourceGPL-3.0 WordPress plugin for running a multilingual site; you add translations yourself and a Pro version exists.★ 389 · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
wordpressVisit ↗LibreTranslateOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 machine translation API you host yourself, so text never goes to a third-party engine; quality varies by language.★ 17k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗
The numbers
Weglot pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 2,000 words, 1 translated language, limited support. |
| Starter | $17 | $14.17 | 10,000 words, 1 translated language. |
| Business | $32 | $26.67 | 50,000 words, 3 translated languages. |
| Pro | $87 | $72.50 | 200,000 words, 5 translated languages. |
| Advanced | $329 | $274.17 | 1,000,000 words, 10 translated languages. |
| Extended | $769 | $640.83 | 5,000,000 words, 20 translated languages. |
| Enterprise | custom | — | Dedicated contract with custom terms, DPA and SLA, wire transfer payment. |
- Free tier
- 2,000 words and one translated language; translation stops above the word limit.
- Billing
- Monthly or annual; annual is two months free. Plans are priced and charged in euros, and the dollar prices are an estimate from the exchange rate on the day you subscribe. Prices exclude VAT unless an EU VAT number is given. Upgrading charges only the difference for the rest of the period.
- Hidden costs
- The word limit is a fixed total of unique words across all languages and does not renew, so a growing site pushes you up a tier. A second translated language moves you from Starter ($17) to Business ($32). Professional translation through Weglot's partner agencies starts at 0.13 euro a word. If you pass the limit with auto-upgrade on, you move to the next plan; otherwise translation stops.
- Source
- weglot.com
Also on the list
Related apps
Free covers 2,000 words and one translated language with limited support. Paid plans start with a 14-day trial and no card is needed.
Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Plugins and apps for WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Webflow that need no code, A visual editor where non-developers fix translations on the live page.
About $17 a month on the Starter plan, $204 a year (checked 2026-10-19).
Plugins and apps for WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Webflow that need no code; A visual editor where non-developers fix translations on the live page; Automatic detection of new content, plus translated metadata and URL slugs; A language switcher and visitor-language redirection out of the box; Glossary and translation rules per project, and ordering human translation from agencies. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.
Yes: TranslatePress (open source), Polylang (open source), LibreTranslate (open source).