Alconost Launches Free MQM Annotation Tool for MQM-Based Quality Analysis

Free web-based tool for evaluating translation quality - no registration required

ALEXANDRIA, Va., January 2026 - Alconost, a localization company working with a network of 3,500+ professional linguists across more than 120 language pairs, has launched the Alconost MQM Annotation Tool - a free, web-based tool for annotating translation errors using the MQM framework to support translation quality evaluation.

The tool is available at alconost.mt/mqm-tool and can be used immediately, with no registration required.

MQM (Multidimensional Quality Metrics) is an industry-standard framework for assessing translation quality through human error annotation. It works by identifying and classifying translation errors by type (such as accuracy, fluency, or terminology) and by severity. MQM is widely used in the localization industry and is the methodology used in evaluations conducted by the Workshop on Machine Translation (WMT).

With MQM, trained reviewers annotate errors in a translation, creating a consistent, human-labeled reference ("ground truth") for quality analysis. These annotations make it possible to calculate quality scores, compare results across machine translation systems or vendors, and document quality issues in a structured and reproducible way.

In practice, however, MQM annotation has often been difficult to adopt. Existing solutions typically require technical setup, expensive enterprise platforms, or manual work in spreadsheets, making consistent MQM use hard to scale in real-world projects.

The Alconost MQM Annotation Tool addresses these challenges with a simple, browser-based workspace designed specifically for MQM error annotation. It makes professional MQM-based quality analysis more accessible for linguists, localization teams, and researchers.

Users can annotate translations themselves, assign annotation tasks to linguists, or request professional MQM annotation services from Alconost.

Key features include:
Start immediately - no account creation or registration required
WMT-compatible MQM error typology - annotate using the full MQM taxonomy aligned with international standards
Customizable error severity weights - control how annotated errors contribute to quality scores
Automatic score calculation - segment-level and overall document scores derived from annotations
Pass/fail results - quality decisions based on configurable thresholds
TSV and JSON import/export - easy integration with existing tools and workflows
Detailed reports (online and PDF) - including error breakdowns by category, severity distribution, segment-level scores, overall weighted score, pass/fail outcome, and annotation time

"Most existing MQM tools are built for research and require a lot of setup, which makes them hard to use in everyday localization work," said Alex Murauski, CEO of Alconost. "We wanted something simpler. The result is a practical tool: you open it, paste your segments, annotate errors, and then export the data or generate a report. That report can be used internally or shared with a linguist, vendor manager, or customer to clearly explain quality issues."

Who the tool is for
- Localization managers can annotate translations themselves or assign the task to linguists to evaluate vendor quality, compare machine translation systems, and create clear documentation for quality discussions - without purchasing specialized software.
- ML researchers and engineers can create MQM annotation data compatible with WMT methodology, build gold-standard evaluation datasets, and produce reproducible quality benchmarks based on human annotation.
- Language service providers (LSPs) can standardize how linguists annotate translation errors, demonstrate quality to clients using professional reports, and train teams on MQM methodology.
- For teams that need expert support, Alconost also offers on-demand MQM annotation services performed by trained professional linguists. Custom MQM datasets are available as well, particularly for ML teams building evaluation benchmarks or researchers who require gold-standard annotation data.

Start annotating now: alconost.mt/mqm-tool
On-demand annotation services and custom MQM datasets: mqm-tool@alconost.com

Alconost Inc.
700 N Fairfax St, suite 614-C, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, US
mqm-tool@alconost.com
alconost.mt/mqm-tool

Alconost handles every aspect of localization - from translation and cultural adaptation to continuous multilingual content updates and engineering - letting you focus on the top priority of growing your business in international markets.

In addition to localization services, Alconost provides MQM-based annotation services and custom MQM dataset creation, following methodology aligned with the Workshop on Machine Translation (WMT).

This release was published on openPR.