TranslateDesk vs Crowdin: The Simple Choice for Intercom Translation

Intercom doesn't include built-in translation, so you need external tools. Crowdin is a popular localization platform used by developers to translate software: mobile apps, web apps, games, and documentation. TranslateDesk exists for one purpose: translating Intercom help center articles.

The short answer: If you're a developer localizing your software project, Crowdin is great. If you're a support team translating your Intercom help center, TranslateDesk is faster, simpler, and purpose-built for exactly that job.

What Crowdin Is (And Isn't)

Crowdin is a localization platform designed for development teams. Its features make sense in that context:

• Git/GitHub integration: Sync translation files with your code repo
• Over-the-air updates: Push translations without app releases
• String management: Handle thousands of UI strings with context
• Crowdsourced translation: Manage community translators for open source
• Translation memory: Reuse translations across software projects

These are powerful features. They're also completely irrelevant if you just need to translate 100 Intercom help center articles.

TranslateDesk skips all of that. Instead, it focuses entirely on:

• Direct Intercom connection: No exports, no imports, no file management
• Stale content detection: Know instantly when translations are outdated
• One-click translation: Select articles, choose languages, done
• DeepL quality: Professional-grade machine translation

The Workflow Gap

Translating Intercom with Crowdin

1. Create a Crowdin project
2. Figure out how to export Intercom content (Crowdin has no native integration)
3. Convert content to a format Crowdin accepts
4. Upload to Crowdin
5. Configure translation settings
6. Run machine translation or assign human translators
7. Export translated content
8. Convert back to Intercom-compatible format
9. Manually import to Intercom
10. Repeat steps 2-9 every time articles change

Translating Intercom with TranslateDesk

1. Connect to Intercom (one-time, OAuth)
2. Select articles and languages
3. Click translate
4. Review and publish
5. Get notified when articles need re-translation

This isn't exaggeration. Crowdin simply wasn't built for Intercom. There's no native integration, no sync detection, no awareness of Intercom's content structure. You'd be using a developer tool for a non-developer task.

Feature Comparison

Feature	TranslateDesk	Crowdin
Direct Intercom integration	✅ Native	❌ None
Setup time	2 minutes	Hours
Stale content detection	✅ Yes	❌ No
Translation engine	DeepL	Multiple
Learning curve	Minutes	Significant
Git integration	❌ No (not needed)	✅ Yes
Mobile app localization	❌ No	✅ Yes
Over-the-air updates	❌ No	✅ Yes
String management	❌ No	✅ Yes
Community translations	❌ No	✅ Yes
Free tier	5 articles	String-limited
Intercom-aware	✅ Completely	❌ Not at all

Pricing Comparison

Crowdin

• Free: Limited strings, 1 project
• Team: $50+/month (scales with team size and strings)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

TranslateDesk

• Free: 5 translations to start
• Pay-as-you-go: Credit packs from $79/100 translations

For a typical help center, TranslateDesk costs a fraction of building custom workflows and works out of the box. With Crowdin, you'd spend hours building a manual integration.

When Crowdin Makes Sense

Crowdin is excellent for:

• Open source projects: Community translation with contributor management
• Software localization: Apps, games, web products with string files
• Development teams: Engineers who want Git-based translation workflows
• Multi-platform products: iOS + Android + Web with shared translation memory

If you're already using Crowdin for your product localization, you might consider using it for help content too. But even then, the Intercom workflow is painful enough that many teams use TranslateDesk specifically for their help center.

When TranslateDesk Makes Sense

TranslateDesk is the right choice when:

• Intercom is your help center: Direct integration means zero workflow friction
• You're not a developer: Support teams shouldn't need to manage file exports
• You want translation to "just work": Connect once, translate forever
• Updates matter: Get alerts when source content changes so translations stay current
• Budget is a factor: $29/month vs building a custom workflow

The Right Tool for the Job

Here's the mental model: Crowdin is a workshop full of power tools. TranslateDesk is a precision screwdriver.

If you're building furniture, you want the workshop. If you need to tighten one screw, the precision screwdriver is faster and does the job better.

Translating Intercom help center articles is the one screw. TranslateDesk is the right tool.

The Bottom Line

Crowdin is a capable platform that developers love for software localization. But it wasn't built for Intercom, and using it for help center translation means fighting against the platform instead of working with it.

TranslateDesk was built for exactly one thing: keeping Intercom help centers translated and in sync. It does that job better than any general-purpose TMS because it's the only thing it does.

Ready to see the difference? Try TranslateDesk free. Five articles, 2 minutes to set up, no developer required.