Just How many WordPress page builders are there? Here’s a big ole list.
In recent years, page builders have become more and more part of the WordPress ecosystem. The idea of front end, drag and drop builders have helped WordPress compete, slightly, with other website builders such as Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace.
While page builders may never eliminate the need to have developers work on a WordPress website, they have helped make custom page building quicker helping developers get projects out the door in a more timely manner.
Over the past year, I have come across a number of page builders that I hear little about. So, I set out to find out about as many page builders as I could.
Page builders such as Beaver Builder, Elementor, SiteOrigin and Divi are among the more popular options.
I created a spreadsheet and started tracking down every one I can find. With the help of several roundup blog posts, I started documenting basic information such as the builder’s website, place in the WordPress repository, cost, and, in some cases, basic background info.
Page builders have had quite an evolution.
Visual Composer seems to be the builder who has been around the longest. Visual Composer’s popularity is tied to its use in hundreds of premium themes on marketplaces such as CodeCanyon and Themeforest. VC claims to have been around since 2008. Therefore, we can trace page builders back to at least 2008.
Beaver Builder started as Fastline, the name of the company that built the plugin.
Observations
The vast majority of these plugins have both free and premium versions. You simply upgrade to get more features. In some cases, it is completely free. Free is a nice price point to try something out that may be useful.
Look beyond the popular plugins because some of the free plugins have really nice user interfaces and very good reviews. Many are only commercial with several being sold at CodeCanyon. Several have Github accounts and you can see the pull requests and various forks of the plugin.
The spirit of open source is very much alive in the page builder plugin space, so the ability to try something and modify it for your own is accessible to developers. Page builders are here to stay. If anything, they will probably get better with each new version.
In the list, I try to indicate if the plugin is in the WordPress Repository. One thing is for sure, there are dozens of options using a page builder with WordPress. The choice is up to you.
The major players
1. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is one of the most popular page builders on the market with a very robust community and several add-ons.
Originally started as Fastline, the group changed the name about three months into the project. Beaver Builder comes with a lite version that is available on the WordPress repository, but you’ll quickly find you want to upgrade to the premium to get some more of their best features.
Beaver Builder is excellent for spinning up custom home pages, blog pages, portfolio pages and other types of custom pages.
Also, Beaver Builder is releasing a new add-on:
“Beaver Themer” plugin extends this layout building experience to dynamic parts of the theme like single posts, archives pages, custom fields and much more. ProBeaver
Beaver Builder starts a $99 for the premium plugin. You can see the pricing and the features for each tier here.
2. Elementor
Elementor is one of the newest and fastest growing page builders. It has an easy to use drag and drop function like the other page builders.
Like many of the other page builders, Elementor is open source, but it also has a pro version. Elementor starts at $49 for a one-year license which includes some really cool features such as Live Custom CSS, Embed Anywhere, and loads of Pro templates.
Elementor was launched on June 1, 2016, and has since shown extreme growth, with thousands of new users added every week. On 12th of December, 2016, Elementor Pro will be released, with the focus of helping web designers improve their design workflow. Elementor
Elementor will be one year old from its launch this June. The WordPress repository indicates 80,000 installs.
3. SiteOrigin
SiteOrigin is much like Beaver Builder and Elementor with a free version and a premium version of the plugin.
Hi! We’re SiteOrigin. We’re a small, hard-working WordPress theme and plugin creation studio. Started by Greg Priday in 2011, the heart of SiteOrigin is in Cape Town, South Africa, but we’re a remote company so you’ll find us all over the world. SiteOrigin is extending beyond borders. SiteOrigin
The free page builder plugin is very powerful and feature rich, especially when it is combined with the Widgets Bundle.
Upgrading to the premium plugin will extend your possibilities to a greater level and help you create some fantastic pages.
4. Divi Page Builder
Divi Page Builder was originally a part of the very popular Divi Theme by Elegant Themes.
Now, the page builder is a plugin that was created as a standalone plugin and can be used with any WordPress theme.
The Divi Builder gives you the freedom to explore new and exciting layout possibilities. Create stunning landing pages that capture your visitors, and build story-driven blog posts that capture your visitor’s imagination. Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes began developing the plugin a couple of years ago, and now, if you choose to switch to another Elegant Theme, you can use the page builder to keep your customized pages.
Elegant Theme members have access to the page builder plugin.
5. MotoPress
MotoPress’ page builder comes in both a free and premium ($29) versions. It is a recommended plugin by Ivica Delic, owner of the MainWP Facebook group.
Motopress has an impressive list of features built into the page builder. With a lower price point, it is definitely worth taking a look.
Transforms default WordPress editor into the visual and feature-rich front-end composer that allows you to build pages visually.Works with any theme, pages, posts and custom post types. MotoPress
The rest of the list
6. Themify Builder
Themify Builder Lite is available in the WordPress Repository. The premium starts at $39. The builder is a standalone plugin from the Themify Themes but is built into their themes.
7. Upfront
Upfront is a page builder that comes with a membership of WPMU Dev. Memberships are $49 per month.
8. Visual Composer
Visual Composer is $34 and only available as a premium plugin.
9. WR Pagebuilder
WR Page Builder is from the WooRockets team and available in the WordPress Repository.
10. Live Composer
Live Composer is 100% free and available from the WordPress Repository.
11. Page Builder Sandwich
Page Builder Sandwich is available in the WordPress Repository and has a premium version that starts at $39.
12. Pootle Page Builder
Pootle Page Builder is in the WordPress Repository and also has a premium version starting at $99.
13. Forge Front End Page Builder
Forge is free, open source, and can be found in the WordPress Repository.
14. Octonis Page Builder
Octonis is a free, open source. You can download in the WordPress Repository.
15. Onepager Page Builder
Onepager is a ThemeXpert product and free via open source. WordPress Repository.
16. WDS Simple Page Builders
WDS is a page builder by WebDev Studios also available in the WordPress Repository.
17. BCorp Visual Editor
BCorp is a free page builder available in the WordPress Repository.
18. Unyson
Unyson bills itself as a “free drag & drop framework,” thus making it a hybrid page builder/framework. The plugin is available from the WordPress Repository.
19. Creator
Creator is $33 at CodeCanyon.
20. Awesome Builder
Awesome Builder is $33 at CodeCanyon.
21. Parallax One Page Builder
Parallax One Page Builder costs $23 at CodeCanyon.
22. Fast Page Layout
Fast Page Layout can be purchased for $18 at CodeCanyon.
23. King Composer
King Composer is in the WordPress Repository and a premium version starts at $29.
24. Frontend Builder
Frontend Builder costs $56 and is another plugin that is purchased at CodeCanyon.
25. PT Builder
PT Builder is $20 and can be purchased at CodeCanyon.
26. Tailor
Tailor is one of the few page builders that is completely free. It has been forked 83 times on Github.
27. Pagelines
Pagelines is a builder that serves as a platform. The cost starts at $99 for the premium. The lite version is in the WordPress Repository.
28. Page Builder – Responsive Drag & Drop Page Builder – PluginOPs
A plugin that has a free version in the WordPress Repository, but sells for $27 for the premium.
29. Carrington Build
A commercial builder framework by Crowd Favorite. Cost starts at $299.
30. Aqua Page Builder
Aqua hasn’t been updated in at least a year and has spotty reviews. Appears Abandoned
31. VelocityPage
This plugin kick started with some hype. It was originally a product of developer Mark Jaquith. The sell page claims it is no longer for sale. Appears Abandoned
32. Cornerstone (update)
Cornerstone from Theme.co also comes with the purchase of the X Theme. Cornerstone costs $39 and can be purchased at CodeCanyon.
Wrapping it up
Using a page builder can help WordPress developers save time and create custom pages quicker saving time and increasing their profit margin on a project. It is, however, a tight line to tow. You have to separate the good from the bad.
Fortunately for WordPress entrepreneurs, there are a large group of page builders to choose from.
Do you have some extra time this weekend? Good, you have some time to test, play and review some of these plugins. Can you believe there are 31 page builder plugins?
I am sure I missed some. If you know of any I missed, please list them in the comments below. Also, feel free to tell us which one is your favorite and why.
No Cornerstone from Themeco?
I knew I would miss one. I probably missed more. I will add it to my spreadsheet, and update the article.
https://theme.co/cornerstone/
https://oxygenapp.com/
Thanks. I’m hoping to back and add some to my list. Will add this one too
Hi there! Nice list. But I think Visual Composer is much more popular! WPML is supporting VC after a poll which page builder should be supported, a tons of Addons etc…
BEST!
It’s hard to argue with the popularity of VC strictly from a numbers standpoint. They have it bundled with so many themes. I would be interested in people who are setting out to choose a page builder which would be considered more popular. Myself, I’m not a fan of Visual Composer, but to each his/her own.