Builder.io vs Framer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Framer grades higher than Builder.io: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Framer grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Builder.io
Visual IDE and CMS with an AI agent for shipping product UI
Framer
AI website builder with a visual canvas, CMS and hosting
Which one is for you
Pick Builder.io if
- Fits if your team already has a design system and wants an agent building against it
- Works for teams that edit site content visually next to developer work
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 60 credits a month and 15 a day run out quickly
- Pricey if you burn through credits, at $25 per 500 more
- Watch out: custom domains need Pro, and SSO and role-based access need Enterprise
- Watch out: the page doesn't say whether $24 and $40 are monthly or annual
Pick Framer if
- Fits if you're a designer or marketer building a marketing site, portfolio or landing page
- Works for students and early-stage startups, who can apply for a free year
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need an app with logins and a database, because Framer builds websites
- Pricey if you have a team, as each extra editor is $20 a month, or $10 for content only, on top of the site plan
- Tight if your site is big, since Basic stops at 30 pages and 2 CMS collections, and staging and branching need Pro at $30
- Watch out: every published site needs its own plan, and the desktop app is Mac and Windows only
- Not for you if you want a custom domain or commercial use for free, as Free uses a Framer address and is meant for non-commercial sites
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABuilder.ioFair | 2.6GPAFramerGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$24 a user on Pro and $40 on Team, in the middle of what this category charges. The page doesn't say whether that is monthly or annual, and extra credits cost $25 per 500. | BBasic is $10 a month per site, billed yearly, inside the cheapest quarter of what builders here charge, and it covers 1,000 AI credits a month, 30 pages, 50 GB of bandwidth and a custom domain. Two multipliers to watch: every site needs its own plan, and each extra editor is $20 a month on top. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree is real but small: 60 credits a month with a cap of 15 a day, 1 design system and 1 user included, up to 5. | BFree lets you design and publish on a Framer address, with up to three editors. The limits are 1 GB of bandwidth and 500 AI credits to try, no custom domain, and Framer calls it suited to non-commercial use. A personal site could live here. |
| Features | CA visual IDE, a visual CMS, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and a Figma plugin. Roles, peer review and Slack and Jira access are Team only, and SSO is Enterprise. | CIt does the website job fully: agents draft layouts on a canvas you can still edit by hand, with a CMS, hosting, SEO, analytics, staging, branch previews, multiplayer editing and a Server API. But Framer's own pages say it builds websites rather than applications, which is the smaller job here. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app and an extension where you build against a design system, so there's setup to do. | CNo rating on record, and a freeform canvas with responsive breakpoints, components and CMS collections takes learning, even with agents drafting the first pass. What the AI changes stays visible and editable by hand. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a browser extension, with a VS Code extension, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Figma, Slack and Jira. No phone or desktop app listed. | BWeb plus desktop apps for Mac and Windows, with no phone or Linux app listed. Claude Code, Codex and Cursor can connect to a project, there's a Server API for publishing from a script, and it works with Shopify, Tally and Cal.com. |
| Best for | design-system UI with an AI agent | marketing sites and portfolios you can still hand-tune |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Builder.io and Framer. How we grade
Price against what you get
Builder.io starts at $24 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Framer starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Framer starts $14 a month lower. Of the other AI app builders on the chart, 15 score higher than Builder.io for less, and 1 scores higher than Framer for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Builder.io also covers app builder.
- Framer also covers no-code.
At a glance
| Builder.io | Framer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $24 per user / month, billing basis not shown | $10 per site / month, billed yearly (Basic) |
| Free plan | 1 user included (up to 5), 60 credits a month with a 15 a day maximum, project hosting and 1 design system. | Design pages and publish on a Framer domain with 1 GB of bandwidth, 500 AI credits to try and up to three editors. A custom domain needs a paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Builder.io | Framer B.V. |
| Price read from | builder.io | framer.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Builder.io
- Pay-as-you-go credits cost $25 per 500 on the paid plans once monthly credits run out.
- The Free plan caps credits at 60 a month and 15 a day.
- Custom domains need Pro, and SSO and role-based access control are Enterprise only.
- The pricing page does not say whether $24 and $40 are monthly or annual figures, despite a Monthly and Annual toggle.
Framer
- Framer builds websites rather than applications, and each published site needs its own plan.
- Additional editors cost $20 a month each, or $10 for content-only editors, on top of the site plan.
- Basic stops at 30 pages and 2 CMS collections; staging and branching need Pro.
- The desktop app covers Mac and Windows only; no mobile or Linux app is listed.
Key features
Builder.io
- Visual IDE
- The Code side connects to GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket and has a Figma plugin and a VS Code extension.
- Visual CMS
- The Content side lets teams manage and edit site content visually, and can be combined with the Code side.
- Design systems
- Free includes 1 design system and Pro up to 3. Enterprise adds unlimited design systems and Design System Intelligence.
- Agent in team tools
- On Team, the Builder agent works from Slack and Jira, and Pro and Team include built-in MCP servers.
- Review and access controls
- Team adds Admin, Developer, Designer and Editor roles, commenting, peer reviews, password-protected previews and usage metrics.
Framer
- Agents on the canvas
- A design agent generates and refines layouts in place, and other agents manage CMS content or write code components. Each change stays visible and editable.
- Visual design canvas
- Pages are laid out on a freeform canvas with responsive breakpoints, components and effects, with no coding needed for layout or interactions.
- Built-in CMS
- Collections, fields and detail pages hold a site's content: 2 collections and 1,000 items on Basic, 10 collections and 2,500 items on Pro.
- Hosting and publishing
- Sites publish to built-in hosting with custom domains, SSL and analytics. Pro adds a staging environment, site redirects and 90 days of analytics history.
- Live collaboration
- Teams work together with multiplayer cursors, comments, roles and branch previews. Viewers are free, and extra editors are billed per seat.
- External agents and Server API
- Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other AI tools can connect to a project, and a Server API updates and publishes sites from a script without opening Framer.
Plans
Builder.io
Free$0
1 user included (up to 5), 60 credits a month (15 a day), 1 design system, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket.
Pro$24
per user / month, billing basis not shown
500 credits a month, up to 3 design systems, custom domains, credit rollovers and built-in MCP servers.
Team$40
per user / month, billing basis not shown
Up to 20 users, 500 credits, agent in Slack and Jira, roles, peer reviews, custom MCP servers and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom seats and credits, SSO, role-based access control, unlimited design systems and uptime SLAs. Sold through sales.
Framer
Free$0
A Framer domain, 1 GB of bandwidth, 500 AI credits to try and up to three editors. Described by Framer as suited to non-commercial use.
Basic$10
per site / month, billed yearly
1,000 AI credits a month, 30 pages, 2 CMS collections, 50 GB of bandwidth, a custom domain and built-in SEO.
Pro$30
per site / month, billed yearly
3,000 AI credits a month, 150 pages, 10 CMS collections, 100 GB of bandwidth, staging, branching with previews and site redirects.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom limits, unlimited editors, SSO, SCIM, an uptime guarantee and credits with volume discounts.
Ways to pay less
Builder.io
No public discounts listed.
Framer
- Annual discount
Free custom domain with yearly billing
The pricing page lists a complimentary custom domain for Basic and Pro sites on yearly billing.
- Education
Free Basic plan for students
Students can apply for a year of the Basic plan at no cost, which Framer values at $120, along with 1,000 AI credits a month. Applications are reviewed within about 5 working days.
- Startups
Free year of Framer Pro for startups
Startups can apply for a 100% discount on their first year of the Pro plan, which Framer values at $360.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Builder.io or Framer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Builder.io starts at $24 per user / month, billing basis not shown, and Framer starts at $10 per site / month, billed yearly (Basic). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Builder.io or Framer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Builder.io and Framer have a free plan.
Which platforms do Builder.io and Framer run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Builder.io lists a browser extension and only Framer lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.