Comparison

ICU vs Weblate

No clear leader: ICU (57.8) and Weblate (54.5) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
ICU58
Weblate55
Score
vioscaleAI score
ICU58 / 100medium · 53%
Weblate55 / 100low · 39%
Pricing
Free tier
ICU–
Weblate✓
Model
Price level
ICUfree
Weblatelow
Starting price
ICU–
Weblate€47
Transparent
ICU–
Weblate✗
Integrations
Count
ICU20
Weblate9
Security
Disclosure policy
ICU–
Weblate✓
Gdpr
ICU–
Weblate✓
Scorecard
ICU9
Weblate–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Weblate–
Github stars
Weblate–
Activity
Commits last 30d
ICU63
Weblate–
Release
Cadence days
ICU49
Weblate–
History
Weblate–
Language
Primary
ICUC++
Weblate–
Content
Faq
Weblate7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for localization i18n. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capabilities
Cldr plural rules
ICU✓
Weblate-
Rtl bidi support
ICU-
Weblate-
Translation memory
ICU-
Weblate✓
Glossary terminology
ICU-
Weblate✓
In context editing
ICU-
Weblate✓
Ota updates
ICU-
Weblate-
Self hostable
ICU-
Weblate✓
Managed translation services
ICU-
Weblate✓
Qa checks
ICU-
Weblate✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

ICU

ICU is a widely-used open-source library that provides Unicode text handling, internationalization services, and localization support for C, C++, and Java applications. It fills gaps in platform-native Unicode support, enabling portable text processing across operating systems and programming environments.

Independently observed

Weblate

A web-based continuous localization system that integrates with version control to keep translations synchronized with development. Supports collaborative translation with optional AI/machine translation, customizable quality checks, and flexible deployment options.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

ICU

Open source
as of verify ↗

Weblate

HybridFree tier

Free self-hosted open source. Paid support and cloud hosting available.

  • Self-hostedFree
  • Premium CloudContact sales
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
ICU✓
Weblate✓
iOS
ICU✓
Weblate✗
Android
ICU✓
Weblate✗
macOS
ICU✓
Weblate✗
Windows
ICU✓
Weblate✗
Linux
ICU✓
Weblate✓
CLI
ICU✓
Weblate✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
ICU–
Weblate✓
Self-hosted
ICU–
Weblate✓
On-premise
ICU–
Weblate✓
Hybrid
ICU–
Weblate✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • Google

ICU

20 total - 19 not shared
  • Adobe
  • Amazon (Kindle)
  • Apache
  • Apple
  • eBay
  • Chrome
  • Android
  • Google Maps
  • Google Analytics
  • Gmail
  • Facebook (HHVM)
  • Microsoft
  • Eclipse
  • FreeBSD
  • Debian Linux
  • CouchDB
  • Firebird RDBMS
  • ESRI
  • CERN
Independently observed

Weblate

9 total - 8 not shared
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Bitbucket
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • openSUSE
  • Ubuntu
  • Liberapay
Independently observed
Still deciding?

ICU or Weblate: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.