Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about LocaleLens
What Is LocaleLens?
LocaleLens is a developer-first translation management system (TMS) for modern web and mobile applications. It centralizes translation keys, locales, and collaboration in a single API-driven platform. LocaleLens is a lightweight alternative to enterprise translation platforms, built specifically for developers and small teams who value simplicity and transparent pricing.
LocaleLens is designed for developers and small-to-medium teams building multilingual applications who want an alternative to managing translation files manually.
Teams that only need static translations for a single language or do not require collaboration or API access may not benefit from LocaleLens.
Technical & Stack Compatibility
Yes. LocaleLens integrates well with React applications and common i18n libraries such as i18next by acting as a backend source for translations.
No. LocaleLens manages translations and provides an API, while i18next remains responsible for runtime localization in your application.
Yes. LocaleLens is framework-agnostic and can be used with any platform that can consume an HTTP API.
Yes. LocaleLens has a Releases feature that works like Git commits for your translations. You can edit freely, then publish a release when ready. Your app always sees the latest release, not work-in-progress edits. You can also roll back to any previous release instantly.
Yes. LocaleLens supports importing JSON and CSV files. You can migrate from existing translation files or other platforms. Imports are previewed before applying, and the operation is atomic — either everything succeeds or nothing changes. You can also export your translations at any time.
Only batch AI translations are marked as AI-generated. When you use a single AI suggestion, you review it before saving — that human review step means it's saved as a manual edit. The AI filter is designed to surface bulk-generated translations that might need review, not every translation where AI was involved.
Caching & Delivery
It depends on which source mode you use. With source=live, translations revalidate on every request via ETag — your app always gets the latest data. With source=stable (the default), translations are served from your latest release snapshot and cached for 1 hour. Create a new release to publish changes, then clients pick them up as their cache expires.
Stable mode (the default) serves translations from your latest release snapshot. Snapshots are immutable, so they can be cached aggressively — great for production. Live mode serves the current database state and revalidates on every request via ETag, so you always get fresh data. Use stable for production apps and live for development or preview environments.
Add ?fresh to any API request to bypass all caching. The response will include Cache-Control: no-store, ensuring you get the latest data. For regular use, source=live already revalidates on every request via ETag — ?fresh is for when you need to skip even that.
Pricing & Limits
Yes! The free tier includes 1 project, 1,000 translation keys (account-wide), 5 locales (account-wide), 10,000 API requests/month, 3 team members (account-wide), and 20 AI suggestions per day. Perfect for evaluation and small teams.
API requests, AI translations, and database storage incur real infrastructure costs. Limits ensure the free tier remains sustainable while offering a clear upgrade path for production apps and higher usage.
API requests return a 429 error with a retry-after header. Resource creation (keys, locales) is blocked with upgrade prompts. You receive warnings at 80% usage. Existing data is never removed or locked, and limits reset monthly.
API request limits are per user (your account) across all projects you own. This prevents abuse while being fair to real users. Team members invited to your projects have their own separate limits.
Translation keys, locales, and team member limits are account-wide totals. Each project counts its locales separately — two projects with en + de count as 4 project locales, not 2. This reflects the actual work and storage each project-locale combination requires.
The project owner's limits. When team members add keys or locales to your project, those resources count against your account limits, not theirs. This means one Pro subscription covers the whole team. The only exception is AI suggestions, which count against the user performing the action.
View real-time usage on your dashboard widget or visit the detailed Usage & Billing page in settings. We show warnings at 80%, 90%, and when approaching limits.
Pro includes 1,000,000 API requests/month (account-wide), 30,000 translation keys (account-wide), 100 locales (account-wide), 50 team members (account-wide), 1,000 AI suggestions/day, and email support. Perfect for production applications.
LocaleLens is billed in Euros (EUR). At checkout, Lemon Squeezy will automatically show the price in your local currency.
Prices on our site are shown in USD for reference. Final amounts may vary slightly due to exchange rates.
Comparison & Alternatives
Unlike static JSON files, LocaleLens enables collaboration, versioning, and API-based access to translations without redeploying your application.
LocaleLens focuses on developer experience, transparent pricing, and smaller teams, while larger platforms often target enterprise workflows and translators.
LocaleLens is a hosted product. Some client libraries and tooling may be open-sourced separately.
Choose LocaleLens when you need a developer-friendly translation management system with transparent pricing, API access, and collaboration features without the complexity and cost of enterprise platforms. It's ideal for teams that want to move beyond static translation files but don't need enterprise-scale translation workflows.
Still have questions? View our pricing, give feedback, or contact support.