How to Translate Your Freshdesk Knowledge Base: 5 Methods Compared (2026)

Freshdesk supports multilingual knowledge bases on the Pro plan ($49/agent/month) and above. You can add translated versions of articles, and Freshdesk will display the right language based on the customer's browser settings or portal preference.

But Freshdesk doesn't translate anything for you. You need to provide the translations yourself — manually, through a translation management platform, or with an automated tool.

Here are the five main ways to translate your Freshdesk knowledge base, with real pros, cons, and pricing for each.

Quick Comparison

Method	Best For	Translation Type	Freshdesk Integration	Starting Price
Freshdesk built-in	Small KBs, manual workflow	Manual (you provide translations)	Native	Included with Pro plan
Crowdin	Large teams, developer-heavy orgs	Human + machine	Direct (via app)	Free for open source; $33/mo
Lokalise	Teams with existing localization workflows	Human + machine	Direct (via app)	$120/mo
Lingpad	AI-first, fast turnaround	AI + human review	Direct integration	Custom pricing
Localize	Non-technical teams, quick setup	JS proxy (auto-translate)	JavaScript snippet	Custom pricing

Method 1: Freshdesk's Built-In Multilingual Knowledge Base

Freshdesk has native support for multilingual knowledge bases on the Pro plan ($49/agent/month) and higher.

How It Works

1. Go to Admin > Account > Helpdesk Settings and add your supported languages.
2. Open any knowledge base article.
3. Click the language dropdown and select a target language.
4. Write or paste the translated version of the article.
5. Publish the translated article.

Freshdesk automatically shows the right language version to customers based on their browser language or portal selection.

Article Status Tracking

Freshdesk includes a useful feature: when you update the primary-language article, you can mark other translations as outdated. This helps your team know which translations need updating — without a spreadsheet.

When to Use This

• Your knowledge base has fewer than 50 articles.
• You have in-house translators or bilingual team members.
• Content doesn't change frequently.
• You need full control over every translation.

Limitations

• No automatic translation. You must provide every translation manually.
• No formatting preservation. Copy-pasting from external tools can break links, images, and code blocks.
• No bulk operations. Each article must be translated individually.
• Scales poorly. At 100+ articles across 5 languages, you're managing 500+ pages manually.

Method 2: Crowdin

Crowdin has a direct Freshdesk integration that syncs your knowledge base articles into Crowdin's translation platform.

How It Works

1. Install the Freshdesk integration from the Crowdin Store.
2. Enter your Freshdesk portal URL and API key.
3. Select which KB categories to import.
4. Translate articles in Crowdin (using machine translation, human translators, or both).
5. Sync translations back to Freshdesk automatically.

Key Features

• Translation memory: Reuse previous translations across articles.
• Machine translation engines: Connect DeepL, Google Translate, or other providers.
• Scheduled sync: Set automatic import/export intervals.
• In-context editing: Translate with a preview of the final layout.

Pricing

• Free for open-source projects.
• Team plan starts at $33/month for 10 team members.
• Business and Enterprise plans for larger organizations.

Limitations

• Steeper learning curve than simpler tools.
• Primarily built for software localization — KB translation is a secondary use case.
• Requires API key setup and initial configuration.

Method 3: Lokalise

Lokalise offers a Freshdesk app that lets you exchange and translate knowledge base articles directly within the Lokalise platform.

How It Works

1. Set up the Freshdesk integration in Lokalise.
2. Import KB articles from Freshdesk.
3. Translate using Lokalise's editor (supports machine translation, translation memory, and team collaboration).
4. Push translations back to Freshdesk.

Key Features

• Team collaboration: Assign translations to team members or external translators.
• Quality assurance: Built-in checks for missing translations, inconsistencies, and formatting issues.
• Branching: Test translations before publishing.
• API-first: Strong developer tooling for custom workflows.

Pricing

• Starts at $120/month (Essential plan).
• Pro and Enterprise plans available.
• Per-seat pricing on higher tiers.

Limitations

• Higher price point than other options.
• Designed for software localization workflows — may feel over-engineered for simple KB translation.
• Setup requires technical knowledge.

Method 4: Lingpad

Lingpad is an AI-powered translation tool with a direct Freshdesk integration focused specifically on help center content.

How It Works

1. Connect your Freshdesk account to Lingpad.
2. Import knowledge base articles.
3. Use AI-powered machine translation to generate initial translations.
4. Review and edit translations in Lingpad's editor.
5. Publish translations directly to Freshdesk.

Key Features

• AI-powered translation: Uses machine translation engines trained for support content.
• SEO localization: Translates article titles, meta descriptions, and alt tags.
• Translation memory: Reuse translations across articles for consistency.
• Direct integration: No export/import — translations publish directly to Freshdesk.

Pricing

• Custom pricing (contact for a quote).
• Typically based on word count and language pairs.

Limitations

• No public pricing — need to contact sales.
• Newer platform with a smaller community than Crowdin or Lokalise.

Method 5: Localize (JavaScript Proxy)

Localize takes a different approach: instead of translating articles in Freshdesk, it translates the page content on-the-fly using a JavaScript snippet.

How It Works

1. Add the Localize JavaScript snippet to your Freshdesk portal.
2. Localize detects text on the page and creates a translation project.
3. Translate content in the Localize dashboard (machine or human translation).
4. Visitors see translated content automatically — no changes needed in Freshdesk.

Key Features

• No Freshdesk changes required. Translations live in Localize, not in Freshdesk.
• Automatic detection: New content is flagged for translation automatically.
• Visual editor: Translate in context by browsing your portal.
• Fast setup: Add a script tag and start translating.

Limitations

• SEO impact: Translated content may not be indexed by search engines (depends on implementation).
• JavaScript dependency: If the script fails to load, content appears untranslated.
• Performance: Adds page load time due to client-side translation.
• No native integration. Translations don't exist in Freshdesk — they exist in Localize's layer.

Which Method Should You Choose?

Choose Freshdesk's built-in multilingual KB if you have a small knowledge base (under 50 articles), in-house translators, and content that doesn't change frequently.

Choose Crowdin if you have a technical team, need translation memory, and want to connect multiple machine translation engines. Best value for medium-sized teams.

Choose Lokalise if you already use it for software localization and want a single platform for all translation work. Premium pricing, premium features.

Choose Lingpad if you want AI-powered translation with direct Freshdesk integration and care about SEO localization (meta descriptions, alt tags).

Choose Localize if you need the fastest setup and don't want to modify your Freshdesk content directly. Best for teams that want a "set it and forget it" approach — but watch out for SEO limitations.

Step-by-Step: Getting Started with Freshdesk Translation

Regardless of which method you choose, follow these steps:

1. Enable Multilingual Support in Freshdesk

Go to Admin > Account > Helpdesk Settings. Add your target languages. This is required even if you use an external tool — Freshdesk needs to know which languages to display.

2. Prioritize Your Articles

Don't translate everything at once. Start with:

• Top 10 most-viewed articles (check Freshdesk analytics).
• Articles that generate the most tickets (if people can't find answers, they create tickets).
• Getting started guides and onboarding content.

3. Create a Glossary

Document how you translate product names, feature names, and technical terms. Consistency matters more than perfection. Share this glossary with translators and configure it in your translation tool.

4. Set Up a Review Process

Machine translations are good enough for a first draft — but have a native speaker review critical articles before publishing. Most translation tools support review workflows.

5. Monitor for Outdated Translations

Use Freshdesk's built-in "mark as outdated" feature or your translation tool's sync feature to track which translations need updating when source articles change.

What About Intercom Users?

If your team uses Intercom instead of (or in addition to) Freshdesk, TranslateDesk offers automated translation built specifically for Intercom help centers. It imports articles, translates them while preserving formatting, and publishes translations directly to Intercom with one click. It also monitors for article changes and flags outdated translations automatically.

TranslateDesk is exploring Freshdesk support based on customer interest. If you're a Freshdesk user who'd benefit from a similar automated workflow, let us know.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Freshdesk have built-in translation?

Freshdesk supports hosting articles in multiple languages (Pro plan and above), but it does not translate content automatically. You need to provide translations yourself — manually or through a third-party tool.

What's the cheapest way to translate a Freshdesk knowledge base?

Freshdesk's built-in multilingual KB is included with the Pro plan ($49/agent/month). For automated translation, Crowdin's team plan starts at $33/month. For free options, you can use Google Translate manually and paste translations into Freshdesk — but quality and formatting will suffer.

Can I use Google Translate with Freshdesk?

Not directly. Freshdesk has no native Google Translate integration for knowledge base articles. You can translate text externally and paste it in, but you'll lose formatting. Tools like Crowdin and Lingpad connect to Google Translate (and other engines) and handle the formatting for you.

How many languages does Freshdesk support?

Freshdesk supports 30+ languages for the support portal and knowledge base. The full list is available in Admin > Account > Helpdesk Settings under the language configuration section.

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Related Reading

• Does Intercom Support Translation? Native Features vs. Best Tools — How Intercom handles multilingual support compared to Freshdesk.
• Help Scout Translation: How to Build a Multilingual Help Center — Evaluating Help Scout? Here's how its translation workflow works.
• 5 Best Intercom Translation Apps for 2026 — The top tools for automating help center translation.
• Best Practices for Managing Translated Content — Strategies that work across any help desk platform.