memoQ

memoQ is the CAT tool of choice for translators who would rather own a licence than rent a translation management platform.

Every segment translated is stored in a translation memory that proposes matches on the next similar sentence, term bases enforce agreed vocabulary, and LiveDocs lets a translator align existing bilingual documents into reusable reference material without retyping anything. Both a desktop client and a browser-based online editor are available, so work is not tied to one machine. Alongside Trados, memoQ is the other name freelance and in-house translators actually mention when picking a CAT tool.

memoQ Translation Technologies Ltd. operates from Budapest under Hungarian and EU jurisdiction, publishing a Starter licence at about €2,750 per year for one project manager plus five linguist subscriptions — cheaper and more transparent than most CAT competitors' entry pricing for a small team, though Essential, Professional and Enterprise tiers step up to quote-only pricing as a team grows.

A free trial is available before buying, which several of the business-management tools further down this list do not offer. The trade-off is scale: Trados' installed base and RWS ecosystem remain larger for agencies buying at volume.

What memoQ does well

• Translation memory, term bases and LiveDocs reference alignment built in
• Desktop and browser-based editors, so work is not tied to one machine
• Starter licence priced and published, unlike most CAT competitors here
• Free trial available before buying
• Hungarian company, EU jurisdiction

Where memoQ falls short

• Essential, Professional and Enterprise tiers are quote-only
• A CAT tool for translators, not a full business-management platform for agencies
• Not open source
• Interface has a learning curve like any professional CAT tool

Standout feature. A published Starter price: memoQ is one of the few professional CAT tools here that states the entry cost before a sales call.