TranslateDesk vs memoQ: Which Is Better for Intercom Translation?

If you're comparing translation tools for your Intercom help center, you might be looking at memoQ alongside TranslateDesk. They serve very different purposes.

Here's the short version: memoQ is an enterprise translation management system (TMS) designed for professional translators and language service providers. It doesn't have native Intercom integration. TranslateDesk is built specifically for Intercom help center translation.

Let's break down when each makes sense.

What Each Tool Does

TranslateDesk focuses exclusively on Intercom help centers. Connect your Intercom account, select articles, choose languages, and translate. Native integration means articles stay in sync automatically.

memoQ is a professional-grade CAT (computer-assisted translation) tool built for translators and translation companies. It includes translation memory, terminology management, and quality assurance features. memoQ integrates with CMSs (Drupal, WordPress, Adobe Experience Manager) but not help desk platforms.

The Integration Gap

memoQ's content management integrations include:

• Drupal
• WordPress
• Adobe Experience Manager
• Git repositories (GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket)
• Easyling (website proxy)
• FirstSpirit CMS

Intercom is not on this list. To translate Intercom articles with memoQ, you'd need to:

1. Export articles as HTML or DOCX files
2. Create a memoQ project and import files
3. Translate using memoQ's desktop application
4. Export translated files
5. Manually re-import them to Intercom

This adds hours of work per translation cycle and breaks the automatic sync that keeps help centers current.

Feature Comparison

Feature	TranslateDesk	memoQ
Native Intercom integration	✓	Not available
Setup time	2 minutes	Hours (desktop install + training)
Translation memory	Via AI engines	✓ Built-in
Terminology management	Basic	✓ Advanced
Target user	Support teams	Professional translators
AI translation	✓ DeepL + Google	✓ 20+ MT engines
Pricing model	Pay-per-article	Subscription + per-seat
Learning curve	Minimal	Steep

Pricing Comparison

TranslateDesk: Pay-per-use credit system. Translate articles when needed. No subscription required for occasional use.

memoQ: Multiple products and pricing tiers:

• memoQ translator pro: Desktop CAT tool for individual translators (subscription)
• memoQ TMS: Server-based enterprise solution (contact for pricing)
• Per-seat licensing for additional users

memoQ's pricing is designed for professional translators and LSPs handling high volumes across clients. For a support team translating their own help center, it's significant overkill.

When TranslateDesk Is Better

Your help center is on Intercom. TranslateDesk has native integration. memoQ doesn't. That's the fundamental difference.

Your team isn't translation professionals. memoQ is built for people who translate for a living. Its power comes with complexity that support teams don't need.

You want automated sync. TranslateDesk keeps translations connected to source articles. Updates flow through automatically. Manual export/import breaks this.

You need speed over perfectionism. memoQ excels when you need professional-grade quality assurance, terminology control, and translation memory across thousands of projects. For getting your help center into multiple languages quickly, TranslateDesk is faster.

When memoQ Is Better

You're a translation company. If you provide translation services to clients, memoQ is an industry-standard tool. Your translators likely already know it.

You need translation memory across all your content. memoQ's strength is building and leveraging translation memory across hundreds of projects and years of work. If help desk content is a small part of a large localization operation, memoQ might already be in your stack.

You require human translator workflows. memoQ is designed for professional translators who review every sentence. If you're paying translators per word and need their CAT tool of choice, memoQ is widely supported.

You're already using memoQ for other content. If your organization uses memoQ for software localization or documentation, adding help center content (via manual export/import) keeps everything in one system.

The Bottom Line

These tools solve different problems.

memoQ is an enterprise TMS for professional translation workflows. It's powerful, complex, and designed for translation companies and large enterprise localization teams. It doesn't integrate with Intercom.

TranslateDesk is a self-serve tool for support teams who need their Intercom help center in multiple languages. It's simple, fast, and built for exactly this use case.

If you're a support team looking to translate Intercom articles, TranslateDesk is the direct solution. If you're already running a professional translation operation with memoQ, you can incorporate help center content, but expect manual workflows.

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Ready to translate your Intercom help center without enterprise complexity? Start with TranslateDesk and translate your first article in minutes.