Alternatives / Carrd
Looking for an open source Carrd alternative? We compared 3 open source website builders by license, self-hosting, and maintenance. Silex and Ycode are visual builders you can host yourself, while Comma is archived and no longer updated.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Silex | Visual static site builder | AGPL-3.0 |
| Ycode | Visual builder and CMS | MIT |
| Comma | Free personal site builder (archived) | AGPL-3.0 (archived) |
We looked for open-source tools that let you build simple sites visually, like Carrd. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository, and flag archived projects. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Silex is a visual tool for building static sites with a drag-and-drop editor, headless CMS integration, and publishing to any host. Ycode is a visual website builder and CMS that can be self-hosted or used as a managed cloud, with a white-label option for agencies.
Comma, a free site builder for personal sites with articles, projects, and email capture, is archived on GitHub, so it receives no updates or fixes. Prefer Silex or Ycode for new sites.
Ycode's self-hosted version deploys to Vercel with Supabase and has unlimited pages, CMS items, and users. Silex generates static sites and publishes to any host.
Silex is AGPL-3.0. Ycode is MIT. Comma is AGPL-3.0 and archived.
Silex and Ycode had commits within days of this update. Comma's last commit was in May 2026 before it was archived.
Carrd is a proprietary hosted builder with a free tier limited to a few sites and paid plans for custom domains and forms. Open-source builders let you publish to any host, own the site's source, and avoid yearly plans, but have a steeper learning curve and fewer templates.
Silex is an open-source online tool for visually creating static sites with dynamic data, compatible with 11ty for static generation and CI/CD deployment. It can be self-hosted with Docker, Node.js, or CapRover, and there is also a desktop app. It is AGPL-3.0.
Pricing: Free and open source; self-hosted.
Ycode is an MIT-licensed visual website builder and CMS for creating and managing sites without writing code, available as a self-hosted project or as a managed cloud service. Self-hosting needs your own Supabase and Vercel accounts.
Pricing: Free to self-host; the managed cloud is paid.
AGPL-3.0 site builder for personal sites, profiles, portfolios, articles, newsletters, and link pages. The repository has been archived by its owner and is no longer maintained.
Pricing: Free plan with limited content; Pro from $6 per month; the repository is archived.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silex | Site builder | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Designers |
| Ycode | Site builder + CMS | MIT | Yes | Agencies |
| Comma | Site builder | AGPL-3.0 (archived) | Yes | Not recommended |
Want a static site you can host anywhere
Silex builds static sites visually and publishes to any host.
Want a builder with a CMS and agency features
Ycode includes a CMS, multilingual support, custom domains, and a white-label option.