Home » Compare Comparing Fluency Translation Suite 2013 and Trados Studio 2019 Which software is better? Here is a rundown of features and reviews to help you make your decision. | |  |  | | Name | Fluency Translation Suite 2013 | Trados Studio 2019 | | Review breakdown | | | | Most helpful review | Highly Recommended First CAT, (or second... or third), Excellent Tool By Jason Holt (X) I have thoroughly enjoyed using Fluency Professional 2011 and now 2013 in all my translation work. It is an excellent tool. As another reviewer mentioned, it has all of your glossary, translation memory, and even websites that you use frequently available to you in the bottom pane. It has a a great document preview and the layout makes working with the program a breeze. No menus or tab switching necessary. It does have some issues with maintaining formatting in some cases, especially with PDFs, but it handles PDF files in general better than any of the other CATs I have tried, including Trados, MemoQ, and Wordfast. That was one of the deciding factors in getting Fluency over the others initially. Finally, it has the best, most helpful customer support I have ever dealt with, bar none. Every time I have had an issue with something or found a bug, the Western Standard team was quick to respond to my emails and in many cases if it was a bug, squashed it and released a patch within a day or two. These guys deserve an award. First time buyers, look no further. Second/third/fourth timers, its worth a look.28 out of 33 found this review helpful.
Read more reviews → | From CAT Leader to Playing the Catch-up Game From CAT Leader to Playing the Catch-up Game
PROS
1. Trados is still considered by many to be the best CAT tool out there – if not the most advanced or reliable, at least the most comprehensive one.
2. Their support is supposed to be good. (As long as you are ready to pay for it.)
3. It is actively developed and marketing is aggressive, and with clear messages – not the case with Atril's marketing, which I would call unpredictable.
4. If you are looking for a separate term managing solution (and do not mind the glitches and the counter-productive interface logic) MultiTerm is your best choice.
5. On-the-fly spell checking using Microsoft spell checker (Déjà vu X3 and MemoQ still cannot figure that out).
6. Segments are marked clearly depending on the stage the file is in (translation, reviewing, etc.) This used to be a Trados-exclusive feature (and a very useful one, I might add), but now their competitors offer it as well.
7. There is an actively developed platform (SDL OpenExchange) where third-party vendors and enthusiasts publish Trados add-ons, some of which are indeed very helpful.
CONS
1. Where do I start? Trados is a behemoth – installation packages are big, installation is slow and sometimes troublesome, until recently activating the software was mission impossible for many. It has happened to me that Windows would have to be reinstalled with no chance of returning the license before that and the amount of trouble that would create when trying to activate the newly installed Trados was often mind-boggling. While working, it creates a multitude of unnecessary files in obscure locations.
2. I have been using – and paying for Trados – since 2007, and it that period there has never been a version that I would call reliable. You either cannot get your file in, or you cannot get your translation out. And in between the software used to crash every hour or so. Version 2011 was the first ‘more stable‘ one. The new version 2015 is much more stable than version 2011 when it first came out (they practically sold a beta, or so many freelancers thought – check the forums on this site), but it will still crash and give the odd error message when least expected.
3. Until recently Trados used to cost an arm and a leg (or both), and every year you would have to pay them more for a ‘new’ version, which more often than not was just the old version with a few bugs fixed – come on, SDL, this is not a nice way to treat paying customers! In recent years, they have been forced to reconsider their price policy by the success of the ‘young lions’ at Kilgray, and the low prices of Atril's Déjà vu X2 and X3. Of the ‘Big 3’ CAT makers Trados is the only one that obstinately sells a separate term solution (Multiterm), instead of incorporating it with the project manager like their competitors at Atril and Kilgray. Why? You guessed it correctly: money-wise it is better to sell two overpriced products than just one. Cost aside, Multiterm and Trados simply do not – and have not over the past 7 years – work/ed together flawlessly, they act more like products made by different vendors, who do not like comparing notes. Example? You can now add terms to your term base with a single click, but if you want to edit a term... No, sorry, you cannot do that from inside the editor, you have to open both Trados Studio and Multiterm as two separate products to be able to edit the term. Warum, SDL?!
4. Things are happening notoriously slow at SDL. New technology finds its way there last. Their aggressively advertised AutoSuggest v1 feature (which they initially tried to sell separately) was hopelessly outdated for years (Déjà vu X3 being the leader in offering revolutionary CAT technology), but they would be the last to admit it. What they still call ‘impossible’ is what their competitors at Atril and Kilgray have been offering for 2 years now. In version 2014 for example the threshold for creating an AutoSuggest dictionary was lowered (as a result of the public outcry), and still it was not low enough to make it convenient for the freelancer. Compare this to the fact that Déjà vu X3 creates ‘autosuggest’ entries on-the-fly even from the last segment you have just confirmed. Now, finally, AutoSuggest 2 has emulated the success of Atril's AutoWrite and is offering on-the-fly suggestions even from the last segment you have just confirmed.
5. You will have to pay for a support package. Sometimes I think they keep Trados in a state of disrepair, just so that they can sell support packages. I am sorry if this hurts someone’s feelings, but until recently, Trados was the sole king of the CAT market, raking in huge profits, and I simply cannot understand why it would be so unreliable, and known problems would not be fixed over a period of 7 years, etc. Why? Anyone?
6. Version 2015 is still far from perfect. The sliding panel for adding new terms can drive you crazy, and you will waste precious time looking for important options buried deep in the re-modeled interface.
CONCLUSION
This is the most comprehensive tool out there (can open the widest range of formats), but it is usually somewhat outdated, it costs a lot to buy and renew, and it is both complex and sometimes unreliable. Just like with Windows XP, the old versions of Trados are the most widely used ones (outsourcing translation companies still have them), and this is what dictates the market.
While the competition at Kilgray and MemoQ has developed immensely over the past 2-3 years, and is offering more reliable and small footprint software with (in certain respects) better advanced features, SDL seems to be losing momentum, and ultimately – clients. They have drastically lowered their prices, but if you check the promotions page on www.proz.com, you will find out that they still sell less than their nearest competitor Kilgray. Although, they seem to finally be on the right track with Studio 2015, precious 3-4 years have been lost and now SDL has surrendered its position of CAT leader and is playing the catch-up game with Kilgray (in terms of new customers) and Atril (in terms of technology).143 out of 163 found this review helpful.
Read more reviews → | | Product description | No matter your situation, the Fluency solutions can help.
Fluency conveniently and intuitively gathers many helpful resources and tools into its interface and empowers you to translate faster and more accurately than ever before.
Because your translation memories (TM) and language-specific glossaries are only a click away, Fluency makes previously laborious translation tasks simple and efficient. The customizable format allows translators to adjust everything to their liking, further enhancing the translation experience. Fluency transforms terminology management into a simple, organized, successful process.
Fluency enhances the speed and accuracy even for skilled translators. Agencies or businesses that integrate Fluency into its translation process will be able to handle large translation volumes with greater ease and efficiency, which boosts productivity and profits. Fluency can quickly become an integral part of any workflow system because it is so easy to master.
In short, Fluency can be a key to the success of a translation enterprise.
Fluency was created by Western Standard, a technology company based in Utah USA. | Translate faster and smarter using the world’s #1 computer assisted translation (CAT) tool for translation professionals.
Trados Studio 2019 the industry’s most popular CAT tool has evolved to bring you a brand new experience.
Designed with user experience at its core, Trados Studio 2019 transforms how new users get up and running, helps experienced users make the most of the powerful features, ensures new levels of productivity for the whole translation team and helps in delivering unrivalled quality in your translations.
Used by over 250,000 professionals worldwide, when you choose Studio, you become part of the largest translation community in the world.
What’s New in Trados Studio 2019:
- Get started easily with on-demand tips and tutorial videos: From the moment you open Trados Studio 2019, you are guided through each area with tips, tricks and tutorial videos showing you how to create and manage projects, use the translation editor, and get the most out of your translation assets.
- Instant access to every feature and setting with 'Tell Me' technology: Did you know Studio 2019 has over 700 commands and 1300 settings, that’s a lot of functionality. Our new ‘Tell Me’ technology helps you access a setting 4x faster. Tell Studio exactly what you need to know: simply type in a word or phrase, and Studio 2019 intelligently suggests commands, options and settings that you might want to access.
- Effortless project creation and simple project updates: Create projects up to 28% faster with the brand new one step project creation wizard. Adding and updating specific files mid-project is also now a much quicker and pain-free process – up to 82% faster than Studio 2017.
- Enhanced quality checks: Studio 2019 introduces the option to customize settings for each language, increasing your flexibility and control over quality assurance (QA) checks. When you run a QA check in Studio 2019, the source and target segment are now included in the report, so you can see at a glance exactly where each error occurs.
- Improved translation memory (TM) management: With Studio 2019, you have more control over the Translation Memories Editor: you can now view up to 1000 translation units per page, navigate to a specific page or directly to the last page of a TM, meaning it’s quicker and easier to sort through your TMs, change and update translations
MultiTerm 2019: Don’t forget that MultiTerm is included in your purchase of Trados Studio 2019 - Using correct terminology is crucial to ensuring high quality, consistent translations.
- MultiTerm 2019: Don’t forget that MultiTerm is included in your purchase of Trados Studio 2019 - Using correct terminology is crucial to ensuring high quality, consistent translations.
- Additional file types supported: Brand new support for the Microsoft Visio file type is available with Studio 2019, and other file formats have been updated to match the latest third-party (e.g. Microsoft) releases.
Discover the new features in more detail | | Price | Starting at $399.00 | Trados Studio 2019 Freelance - Ideal for freelance translators (€695/$845/£595/¥100,000) | | File formats | Adobe PDF, Apple Strings, Bilingual Word, HTML, MS Word, WordFast & more | Work with any file format and any project. View list. | | License type | Perpetual | Perpetual | | Operating system | Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista | Windows | | System requirements | 1 GHz Processor; 2 GHz or faster recommended; 1 GB RAM; 2 GB RAM recommended; 1024 X 768 or greater | As a minimum requirement, we recommend an Intel or compatible CPU-based computer with 8 GB RAM and a screen resolution of 1024x768.For optimum performance, we recommend a 64-bit operating system, 16 G | | Compatibility | Supports open standard file formats XLIFF, TMX, TBX, Wordfast and SDL Trados. | Open standard file formats XLIFF, TMX, TBX & OLIF, interoperability with other CAT tools and an app store making it possible to integrate with any workflow. | | Support and upgrades offered/included | Installation support, automatic updates, affordable upgrades, more on support | Free installation and licensing support, Free online community help from RWS employees, Paid support available for unlimited specialist support and free upgrades | | Support and tutorial links | No data | Support available here. | | Free trial | No data | Download a 30-day free fully functional trial of SDL Trados Studio 2019 | | Languages supported | We support more than 3x the amount of languages supported by most other CAT tools. ISO 639.2 is our standard. | Virtually any language combination that is also supported by Microsoft Windows. View list. | Looking to buy one of these tools? Save when you buy through ProZ.com Translator Group Buying Translator Group Buying → | | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | | |
