Alternatives / Elementor
Looking for an open source Elementor alternative? We compared 11 open source visual website builders and CMS platforms by license, editing model, and maintenance. Most are not WordPress plugins, so they replace the whole site stack rather than just the builder.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Onlook | Visual editor for React and Tailwind | Apache-2.0 |
| Webstudio | No-code builder with HTML and CSS control | AGPL-3.0-or-later core |
| Builder.io | Visual editing with headless CMS (hosted) | MIT SDKs / proprietary hosted platform |
| Plasmic | Visual editor that generates React | MIT + AGPL-3.0 (platform) |
| Webiny | Serverless CMS with page builder | MIT core / Enterprise components |
| Drupal | Modular CMS for complex sites | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Frappe Builder | Low-code builder on Frappe | MIT |
| Silex | Static site builder, 11ty output | AGPL-3.0 |
| Vvveb CMS | CMS with builder and ecommerce | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Ycode | Visual builder and CMS (small) | MIT |
| Nordcraft | Component-based visual engine (engine only) | Apache-2.0 (engine only) |
We looked for open-source tools that build pages visually like Elementor. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository, and flag projects that are only partly open. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Webstudio is a no-code builder with HTML and CSS control, versioning, and collaboration. Plasmic generates production React code and imports from Figma. Silex builds static sites with 11ty output, and Ycode is a visual builder and CMS you can self-host or run on its cloud.
Onlook edits React and Tailwind apps visually and writes the changes back to your code. Nordcraft is a component-based visual engine with a small runtime, but only its engine is open source.
Frappe Builder is a low-code website builder on the Frappe Framework. Webiny is a serverless CMS with a page builder, Drupal is a modular CMS for complex sites, Vvveb is a CMS with a drag-and-drop builder and ecommerce, and Builder combines visual editing with a headless CMS.
Builder's SDKs are MIT while its hosted platform is proprietary. Nordcraft's engine only is Apache-2.0. Ycode's self-hosted path depends on Vercel and Supabase, and Plasmic's platform is AGPL-3.0.
Onlook and Nordcraft's engine are Apache-2.0. Webstudio, Silex, and Vvveb are AGPL-3.0. Frappe Builder and Ycode are MIT. Drupal is GPL-2.0 or later.
All eleven had commits within days or weeks of this update. Ycode and Nordcraft are small projects.
Elementor is a proprietary page builder with a free tier and paid Pro plans per site, tied to WordPress and its plugins. Open-source builders avoid per-site fees and work with modern stacks, but moving means rebuilding pages and replacing WordPress itself.
Onlook is an open-source visual editor that lets you design, style, and edit a React application with real-time code updates and AI help, running as a desktop app. It currently supports Next.js and Tailwind CSS projects only, and the team is building a separate hosted product that is in early access.
Pricing: Free and open source; the hosted product is in early access.
Webstudio is an open-source visual website builder that connects to any headless CMS, supports all CSS properties, and can be hosted anywhere, including on Webstudio's cloud. The core is AGPL-3.0-or-later, while an optional animation component package is proprietary and requires accepting an EULA.
Pricing: Free self-hosted; hosted plans are paid.
Visual development and headless content platform for React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, and other frameworks. The public MIT BuilderIO/builder repository contains SDKs, integrations, examples, and plugins; the complete hosted platform is proprietary and not an entirely open-source CMS.
Pricing: Hosted platform is commercial; public MIT repository covers SDKs and integrations.
MIT-core serverless enterprise CMS designed for AWS infrastructure including Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, and CloudFront, with GraphQL, multi-tenancy, lifecycle hooks, custom code, and infrastructure as code. Enterprise directories use separate licensing.
Pricing: Self-hosted on AWS; Enterprise code and features are separately licensed.
Plasmic is a visual builder for React for building apps, websites, and content, with Figma import, data connectors, and code generation that you can integrate into your own codebase. Everything outside the platform directory is MIT, while the platform directory is AGPL-3.0, and self-hosting is available.
Pricing: Free self-hosted; hosted plans are paid.
GPL-2.0-or-later CMS with structured content, themes, modules, multilingual support, permissions, workflows, APIs, and enterprise extensibility. Can render complete websites or serve headless content. GitHub repository is a mirror; canonical development takes place on Drupal.org.
Pricing: Free and open source; self-hosted or available through third-party services.
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.
MIT visual website builder on the Frappe Framework, with drag-and-drop editing, responsive layouts, reusable components, dynamic backend data, and publishing.
Pricing: Free and open source; self-hosted with the Frappe ecosystem.
AGPL-3.0-or-later CMS, website builder, blogging platform, and ecommerce system combining drag-and-drop pages with themes, content management, plugins, multi-site, and MySQL, SQLite, or PostgreSQL support.
Pricing: Free and open-source self-hosted platform.
Nordcraft is a visual web development engine with a component-based framework, real-time collaboration, a visual editor, and API and database integration, with hosting on Cloudflare. Its GitHub repository holds the engine packages (core, runtime, SSR, and standard library) under Apache-2.0, while the editor is a hosted product.
Pricing: Free tier; enterprise support available.
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.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onlook | Visual editor | Apache-2.0 | Local | React projects |
| Webstudio | Site builder | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Designers |
| Builder.io | Visual CMS | MIT SDKs / proprietary platform | No (hosted) | Marketing teams |
| Plasmic | Site builder | MIT / AGPL-3.0 platform | Yes | Teams with developers |
| Webiny | Serverless CMS | MIT core + enterprise | Your AWS account | AWS teams |
| Drupal | CMS | GPL-2.0+ | Yes | Large sites |
| Frappe Builder | Site builder | MIT | Yes | Frappe users |
| Silex | Site builder | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | No lock-in |
| Vvveb CMS | CMS | AGPL-3.0+ | Yes | Small shops |
| Ycode | Site builder + CMS | MIT | Yes (Vercel, Supabase) | Agencies |
| Nordcraft | Visual engine | Apache-2.0 (engine) | Yes | Web apps |
Want a no-code builder with code control
Webstudio combines visual editing with HTML and CSS control and real-time collaboration.
Want to edit a React app visually
Onlook edits React and Tailwind projects and writes changes back to code.
Want static sites that deploy anywhere
Silex generates 11ty static sites and publishes to any host.
Want a CMS with a built-in builder
Vvveb includes a drag-and-drop builder, ecommerce, and multi-site support.