Turn your WordPress site into a global community.
Got visitors from different countries who don’t share a common language? With Akukita Chat, an English speaker and a Spanish speaker hold a perfectly natural conversation — each one reads and writes in their own language. The translation happens in between, instantly and invisibly.
No API keys, no monthly fees, no configuration. Activate the plugin, answer two questions in the setup wizard, and you have a multilingual chat running in under a minute.
What’s new: direct messages, moderation and reactions are now free
The 1.5 release moved three of the biggest add-on features into the free plugin. They are not trials or teasers — they are complete and yours to keep:
- ✉️ Direct messages — Private one-to-one conversations with the same automatic translation as the rooms. Conversation list, user search, unread badges and a slide-out sidebar you can open from any page.
- 🛡 Moderation — Ban or temporarily mute anyone, delete messages, straight from the chat with a right-click or from the admin panel. It works on guests too, which is where spam actually comes from.
- 😊 Emoji reactions — React to any message with 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 🔥. Guests included.
Everything you get
- 🌍 70+ languages, zero configuration — Works out of the box with the free MyMemory engine. No registration, no credit card, no API key.
- 🧙 Guided setup in 60 seconds — A wizard runs the moment you activate: pick a translation engine and get a ready-to-use chat page created for you.
- 👥 Open the chat to anyone — Guest mode lets visitors join with just a display name and a language, no account needed. Spam protection (rate limiting, length limits and a honeypot) is always on.
- 💬 Multi-room chat — As many topic-based rooms as you want, each with its own shortcode.
- ✉️ Direct messages — Private translated conversations between registered users.
- 🛡 Moderation — Ban, mute and delete, for members and guests alike.
- 😊 Emoji reactions — Lightweight engagement on every message.
- ⚡ Real-time — Messages appear as they are sent, with no page reload.
- 🧠 3 translation engines — Free (MyMemory), high quality (DeepL), or state of the art (OpenAI GPT-4o-mini). Switch any time without losing history.
- 🚀 Smart caching — Each phrase is translated once and then served instantly to everyone, which saves your quota and your server.
- 📱 Looks right on mobile — Responsive dark-glass interface built for phones as much as desktops.
- 🇪🇺 GDPR-ready — Privacy text generated for you, configurable retention, and nothing leaves your database except the sentence being translated.
Perfect for
- International communities and forums
- Language exchange and learning sites
- Multilingual e-commerce stores with WooCommerce
- Travel, expat and digital-nomad communities
- Online courses with students from multiple countries
- SaaS support chats serving customers worldwide
How it works
- Install and activate the plugin.
- The setup wizard opens automatically and asks two quick questions: which translation engine you want and where to place the chat. It then creates a ready-to-use chat page for you.
- (Optional) Decide who can chat in Akukita Chat Settings Who can chat: only logged-in users (default), anyone with a display name (guest mode), or visitors who first create a WordPress account.
- Share the chat URL with your audience. That’s it.
Shortcodes
[akukita_chat] Full chat widget with room sidebar
[akukita_chat height="700"] Custom height in pixels
[akukita_chat_room id="1"] Embed a specific room
[akukita_dm] Standalone direct-messages page
Translation Providers
You choose which one to use, and you can switch any time without losing your chat history:
- MyMemory (default) — 100% free, no API key. 5,000 words/day per IP, or 50,000/day if you add your email in Settings.
- DeepL Free — Best European-language quality. 500,000 characters/month with a free DeepL API key.
- OpenAI GPT-4o-mini — State-of-the-art translation quality including idiomatic and informal language. Requires a paid OpenAI API key. Costs are minimal (~$0.15 per 1M input tokens).
If the API ever goes down, the original message is shown as-is — your chat keeps working.
Optional premium add-on
The free plugin above is complete — you never need to buy anything to run a fully working multilingual chat with rooms, direct messages, moderation and reactions.
If you run a business on top of it, the optional add-on at akukita.es adds:
- 📎 File attachments — Share images and files in rooms and DMs
- 🎨 6 themes + custom CSS — Match the chat to your brand
- 📊 Analytics dashboard — Messages per room, active users, peak hours
- 🔔 DM email alerts — Notify people by email when they get a message
- 📤 History export — Download a room’s history as CSV or JSON
- ⚡ Priority translation — Your messages go to the front of the queue
- 🔗 Webhooks — Send chat events to Zapier, Make or Slack
- 🛒 WooCommerce rooms — Unlock a room when a customer buys a product
- 🏷 White label — Remove the “Powered by” attribution
One licence unlocks all of it; the packs differ only in how many sites you may activate on.
Built by Akukita
Akukita is a Spanish software studio focused on building tools that connect people across languages. Mario Simón Melchor leads development. The plugin is actively maintained — bug reports and feature requests get a response within 48 hours on the support forum.
External services
Akukita Chat connects to third-party translation APIs to translate chat messages. Each provider is opt-in and configured by you in Akukita Chat Settings. No data is sent unless you enable a provider and a user posts a message.
1. MyMemory / Translated.net (default — no API key needed)
Only the text of each chat message is sent. No user identifiers, emails or WordPress data are transmitted.
- Service URL: https://mymemory.translated.net
- Terms of Service: https://mymemory.translated.net/terms-and-conditions
- Privacy Policy: https://translated.com/confidentiality
2. DeepL API (optional — requires API key)
Only message text is sent.
- Service URL: https://www.deepl.com
- Terms of Service: https://www.deepl.com/pro-license
- Privacy Policy: https://www.deepl.com/privacy
3. OpenAI API (optional — requires API key)
Only message text is sent to the GPT model.
- Service URL: https://openai.com
- Terms of Service: https://openai.com/policies/row-terms-of-use/
- Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/policies/row-privacy-policy/
4. Deactivation feedback (optional — only when you submit it)
When you deactivate the plugin, an optional form asks why. If — and only if — you fill it in and click “Submit & deactivate”, the reason you select, any comment you type, and a reply email (only if you choose to provide one) are emailed to the plugin developer at akukita.es. Choosing “Skip & deactivate” sends nothing. No site URL beyond the standard email signature, and no other site or admin data, is collected.
- Developer: https://akukita.es
Privacy
Akukita Chat stores all chat messages in your own WordPress database. The plugin uses wp_add_privacy_policy_content() to automatically suggest privacy text for your site’s policy page (visible in Settings Privacy). You control the message retention period from the plugin settings.
Screenshots
Two people, two languages, one conversation. Mario writes in Spanish and reads in Spanish; the translation happens in between so nobody has to switch languages.
The very same conversation seen by Peter, who reads in English. Each participant stays in their own language, and reactions work for everyone.
Direct messages, now part of the free plugin. Private one-to-one conversations with the same automatic translation, a conversation list and unread badges.
Moderation without leaving the chat. Right-click any message to mute, ban or delete — and it works on guests too, not just registered members.
Guest mode. Visitors join with a display name and a language, no account required. Ideal for public communities and support pages.
The setup wizard that runs on activation: pick a translation engine and get a ready-made chat page. Under a minute from install to working chat.
Settings. MyMemory works with no API key at all; DeepL and OpenAI are optional if you want higher translation quality.
Chat rooms management — create topic-based rooms and copy the ready-made shortcode for each one.