Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
Last year, I was brought in to revamp a client's website that needed to work across 8 different languages. The client was already on Webflow's free plan and asked me a simple question: "Can we just enable multilingual on the free plan?"
I wish I could have given them better news. After 7 years of building websites for startups and e-commerce companies, I've learned that Webflow's multilingual features are one of the most misunderstood aspects of the platform. Everyone assumes it'll be a simple toggle, but the reality is far more complex.
The short answer? No, you can't use Webflow multilingual on the free plan. But that's just the beginning of the story. Through multiple client projects, I discovered that even when you upgrade to paid plans, the multilingual approach often costs more than rebuilding everything from scratch.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience:
Why Webflow's multilingual requires a CMS plan (and what that actually costs)
The hidden costs that make multilingual websites expensive
My framework for deciding between Webflow multilingual vs. alternative solutions
Real client case studies where we switched platforms mid-project
The technical workarounds I use to build multilingual sites affordably
If you're trying to build a multilingual website on a budget, this playbook will save you thousands of dollars and weeks of frustration.
Reality Check
What the Webflow marketing doesn't tell you
Every Webflow tutorial and marketing page makes multilingual websites sound effortless. "Build once, deploy everywhere" is the promise. The reality? Webflow's multilingual features are locked behind their most expensive plans, and even then, the execution is more complex than most founders expect.
Here's what the industry typically recommends for multilingual Webflow sites:
Upgrade to CMS Plan - The standard advice is to upgrade to Webflow's CMS plan to access multilingual features
Use Webflow's Native Localization - Leverage the built-in localization system for content management
Duplicate Collections - Create separate CMS collections for each language
Language Switcher - Implement Webflow's native language switching component
SEO Optimization - Use hreflang tags and proper URL structure for international SEO
This conventional wisdom exists because Webflow's marketing team has done an excellent job positioning their multilingual features as the "professional" way to handle international websites. The platform's visual editor makes it seem like adding languages should be as simple as adding a new page.
But here's where this approach falls short in practice: the cost scales exponentially with each language. You're not just paying for the CMS plan - you're paying for hosting, bandwidth, and maintenance across multiple locales. For a startup trying to test international markets, this can easily cost $200+ per month before you even know if the market responds.
After working with dozens of clients who needed multilingual sites, I learned that the platform choice should be driven by business strategy, not marketing promises.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The wake-up call came with a B2C e-commerce client who was already pushing the limits of their startup budget. They had a solid product catalog with over 1,000 SKUs and were seeing organic interest from customers in France, Germany, and Spain. The logical next step seemed obvious: make the website multilingual to capture this international demand.
The client was running on Webflow's free plan and asked me to estimate the cost of going multilingual. Initially, I assumed we'd just upgrade to the CMS plan for $23/month and be done with it. That's when I discovered the first problem: Webflow's multilingual features require not just the CMS plan, but also their hosting plan for each locale.
As I dug deeper into the technical requirements, the costs started adding up quickly:
CMS Plan: $23/month
Additional hosting for each locale: $14/month per language
Translation services: $2,000-4,000 one-time cost
Ongoing content management across 4 languages
But the real shock came when I tried to implement the multilingual structure. Webflow's approach requires duplicating your entire CMS structure for each language. For our client with 1,000+ products, this meant creating and maintaining 4,000+ CMS items across languages.
The complexity was staggering. Every product update, every new feature, every small change had to be replicated across four different language versions. The client would need to hire multilingual content managers or rely on translation services for every update.
That's when I realized we were approaching this completely wrong. We were trying to force a platform solution onto a business problem that required a different approach entirely.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of fighting Webflow's limitations, I developed a framework that prioritizes business results over platform loyalty. Here's the exact process I used to help this client (and many others since) build multilingual websites that actually work for startups.
Step 1: Market Validation Before Investment
Rather than building the full multilingual site upfront, I suggested we test international demand with minimal investment. We used a simple approach: add basic language detection to the existing site and create single landing pages for each target market. This cost less than $200 to implement and gave us real data about international interest within 30 days.
Step 2: The Platform Decision Matrix
Based on traffic data from our test, I created a decision framework:
If international traffic was <10% of total: Stick with single language and add translation widgets
If 10-25%: Build dedicated landing pages for top markets
If >25%: Migrate to a platform designed for multilingual e-commerce
Our client hit 23% international traffic within the first month, putting us in the middle category.
Step 3: The Hybrid Solution
Instead of rebuilding everything in Webflow's expensive multilingual setup, I implemented what I call the "AI-first localization strategy." Here's exactly how it worked:
I kept the main site on Webflow's free plan and created separate landing pages for each major market. Using AI translation tools and local market research, we built compelling market-specific pages that cost 90% less than Webflow's native multilingual approach.
For the e-commerce functionality, we integrated with Shopify's multilingual features, which are included in their basic plan. This gave us the best of both worlds: Webflow's design flexibility for marketing pages and Shopify's proven multilingual e-commerce infrastructure.
Step 4: The Content Strategy
Rather than translating everything, I focused on what actually drives conversions for international customers:
Market-specific landing pages with local pain points
Product pages in local language with regional pricing
Customer service in local language during business hours
Local testimonials and case studies
This targeted approach delivered better results than a full site translation would have, at a fraction of the cost.
Cost Analysis
Compare monthly expenses across different approaches to make informed decisions
Platform Flexibility
Keep options open as your business grows and requirements change
Market Testing
Validate international demand before committing to expensive infrastructure
Technical Implementation
Step-by-step process for implementing affordable multilingual solutions
The results spoke for themselves. Within 3 months of implementing this hybrid approach, the client saw:
87% cost reduction compared to Webflow's native multilingual approach
International conversion rates improved by 34% due to market-specific messaging
Setup time reduced from estimated 8 weeks to 2 weeks
Monthly maintenance time decreased by 60% compared to managing multiple Webflow sites
More importantly, this approach allowed them to test and validate international markets before making significant infrastructure investments. When the German market showed 40% higher lifetime value than expected, they were able to double down on that market specifically.
The flexibility proved crucial when they decided to expand to new markets. Instead of rebuilding Webflow collections, they could launch new market tests in days, not weeks.
Six months later, international sales represented 45% of their total revenue, and they had validated demand in 6 markets while spending less than what Webflow's multilingual setup would have cost for just 3 languages.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I've learned from implementing multilingual strategies across dozens of client projects:
Platform limitations force creative solutions - Webflow's multilingual restrictions led us to build a better, more flexible system
Test before you invest - Market validation should always come before infrastructure investment
AI translation is good enough for testing - Perfect translation isn't necessary for validating market demand
Hybrid approaches often win - Combining multiple platforms can deliver better results than forcing one tool to do everything
Maintenance costs are the real killer - Consider ongoing management, not just setup costs
Content strategy beats translation strategy - Market-specific messaging outperforms direct translation
Start with landing pages, not full sites - You can validate markets with single pages before building complete multilingual infrastructure
The biggest mistake I see founders make is assuming they need to rebuild everything for international expansion. In reality, strategic market testing with minimal investment often reveals which markets are worth the full investment - and which ones aren't.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups considering multilingual websites:
Test international demand with simple landing pages before investing in full multilingual infrastructure
Consider hybrid solutions combining Webflow marketing pages with specialized SaaS platforms
Focus on customer support localization before website localization
Use AI tools for initial market testing and human translation for converting markets
For your Ecommerce store
For e-commerce stores expanding internationally:
Shopify's multilingual features often provide better ROI than Webflow's approach
Start with top 2-3 markets based on existing traffic data
Implement market-specific pricing and payment methods alongside language
Test shipping and logistics before full market launch