Multilingual Website5 platforms compared

Best CMS for Multilingual Websites in 2026

Compare the best CMS platforms for building multilingual websites with proper internationalization, locale management, and translated content.

Reach a global audience with a site that speaks their language — literally.

TL;DR — Our Top Pick

Sanity is our top recommendation for multilingual website sites.

Best-in-class i18n with document-level and field-level translations. Custom workflows for translation teams. Pair with Next.js for locale-based routing.

What a Multilingual Website CMS Needs

Businesses and organizations serving multiple countries or language markets.

Content translation and locale management

URL structure for SEO (subpath or subdomain)

Right-to-left (RTL) language support

Hreflang tags and locale-specific sitemaps

Translation workflow for content teams

Top 5 Platforms Ranked

Sanity

Real-time collaborative headless CMS with customizable Studio

TOP PICK

Best-in-class i18n with document-level and field-level translations. Custom workflows for translation teams. Pair with Next.js for locale-based routing.

Open SourceJavaScript/TypeScript (React-based Studio)Free / $15+/month per user

Strengths

GROQ query language is more powerful and flexible than GraphQL
Real-time collaborative editing (like Google Docs)
Fully customizable React-based Studio admin panel

Trade-offs

GROQ is a custom query language with its own learning curve
Studio customization requires React development knowledge

Next.js

React framework for production with SSR, SSG, and API routes

Built-in i18n routing with subpath or subdomain strategies. Middleware for locale detection. Works with any headless CMS for translated content.

Open SourceJavaScript/TypeScript (React)Free (open-source)

Strengths

Hybrid rendering — SSG, SSR, ISR, and client-side in one app
Most popular React framework with massive community
Built-in image optimization, API routes, and middleware

Trade-offs

React learning curve for non-JavaScript developers
App Router introduced complexity with Server Components

Strapi

Open-source headless CMS built with Node.js

Built-in i18n plugin with locale management. Content entry per locale with fallback chains. Open-source and self-hosted.

Open SourceNode.js (JavaScript/TypeScript)Free (self-hosted) / $29+/month (Cloud)

Strengths

Fully open-source — self-host with no vendor lock-in
Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs from your content types
Intuitive admin panel with customizable content modeling

Trade-offs

Self-hosting requires DevOps knowledge and maintenance
Plugin ecosystem is growing but still smaller than established CMS

Storyblok

Headless CMS with visual editor for component-based sites

Visual editor with locale switcher. Translation workflows built-in. Field-level translations with preview across languages.

API-based (any frontend)Free / $106+/month

Strengths

Visual editor shows live preview of your actual frontend
Component-based content modeling (nestable blocks)
Good framework support — dedicated SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt, Astro

Trade-offs

Paid plans are expensive — jumps from free to $106/month
Visual editor setup requires specific SDK integration work

Payload CMS

TypeScript-first headless CMS that lives in your Next.js app

Localization support at the field level. Custom admin UI can show all translations side-by-side. Self-hosted with full control.

Open SourceTypeScript / Node.jsFree (self-hosted) / Cloud plans available

Strengths

Lives inside your Next.js codebase — zero API latency
Config-as-code with full TypeScript type safety
Built-in auth, access control, and file uploads

Trade-offs

Tightly coupled to Next.js ecosystem
Newer platform with a smaller community and fewer plugins

How to Decide

Decide between document-level translations (separate page per language) or field-level (all translations in one document)

Use subpath routing (/en/, /fr/) for SEO — it's better than subdomain or query parameter approaches

Invest in a translation management system (Crowdin, Phrase) for large sites with professional translators

Don't forget hreflang tags, locale-specific sitemaps, and language switcher UX

Ready to migrate from WordPress?

WordPress → Sanity WordPress → Next.js WordPress → Strapi

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use WPML or migrate?

WPML adds complexity and cost ($99-199/year) to WordPress. Modern CMS platforms have i18n built-in for free. Migrating eliminates the WPML tax and gives you better translation workflows.

How do I handle SEO for multiple languages?

Use subpath routing (/en/page, /fr/page), add hreflang tags linking language variants, generate locale-specific sitemaps, and set canonical URLs per locale.

Can I use machine translation?

AI translation (DeepL, Google Translate API) works well for initial drafts. Always have native speakers review translations for marketing content. Technical/legal content needs professional translation.