Bricks vs Elementor: Which Page Builder Should You Choose in 2026?

Bricks vs Elementor: The Honest Comparison

If you need to choose a page builder for your WordPress project, the choice often comes down to Bricks Builder and Elementor. Both are popular, but they are fundamentally different in philosophy and output.

As a WordPress developer, I've worked with both for years. Here's my honest assessment based on real experience – not marketing material.

Overview: Bricks vs Elementor

Speed and Performance

This is the biggest difference, and it's not close.

Bricks Builder

Bricks generates minimal, semantic HTML without unnecessary wrapper elements. No inline styles. No jQuery dependency. The result is pages that load in under 1 second and score 95-100 on PageSpeed.

Elementor

Elementor adds many wrapper divs, inline styles, and JavaScript. A typical Elementor page has 2-3x more code than a comparable Bricks page. This results in slower load times and scores around 60-80 on PageSpeed.

Real PageSpeed Tests

Here are examples from two comparable sites:

Bricks-built portfolio site:

• First Contentful Paint: 0.8s
• Largest Contentful Paint: 1.2s
• PageSpeed: 98

Elementor-built portfolio site:

• First Contentful Paint: 2.1s
• Largest Contentful Paint: 3.4s
• PageSpeed: 67

This is not a small difference – it's a factor of 2-3x.

Ease of Use

Elementor Wins on Onboarding

Elementor is designed to be user-friendly from day one. Drag-and-drop is intuitive, there are plenty of templates, and the interface is familiar to most.

Bricks Requires More Learning

Bricks has a slightly steeper learning curve. The interface is different, and you need to understand concepts like conditions and dynamic data. But once you've learned it, it's just as fast to work with.

Price and Licensing

Bricks: One-time Payment

• $249 for lifetime license
• Unlimited sites
• All future updates included

Elementor: Annual Subscription

• $59/year for 1 site
• $199/year for 25 sites
• $399/year for 1000 sites

Over 3 years:

• Bricks: $249 total
• Elementor (1 site): $177
• Elementor (25 sites): $597

If you build multiple sites, Bricks is significantly cheaper.

Add-ons and Ecosystem

Here Elementor wins clearly. There are thousands of Elementor add-ons:

• Ultimate Addons for Elementor
• Essential Addons
• JetElements
• Crocoblock
• ...and hundreds more

Bricks has a smaller ecosystem, but it's growing. The most popular add-ons:

• Bricksforge
• BricksExtras
• Bricks Advanced Themer

When to Choose Bricks?

Choose Bricks if:

• Speed is priority #1 – Bricks is simply faster
• You want clean code – Easier to maintain and debug
• You build many sites – Lifetime license is economically smart
• SEO is important – Better Core Web Vitals = better rankings
• You're a developer – Bricks has better hooks and customization options

When to Choose Elementor?

Choose Elementor if:

• You're completely new – Elementor is easier to learn
• You need a specific add-on – Elementor's ecosystem is larger
• You're maintaining an existing Elementor site – Don't switch builders midway
• Budget is tight – $59/year is cheaper than $249 upfront
• Client knows Elementor – Easier handover

Can You Migrate from Elementor to Bricks?

Yes, but it requires work. There's no automatic conversion – you need to rebuild the pages in Bricks.

For many, it's worth doing though:

• One client went from PageSpeed 58 to 96 after migration
• Load time reduced from 4.2s to 1.1s
• Hosting costs dropped (less resource consumption)

I'm happy to help with migration – contact me for a quote.

My Personal Recommendation

After working with both for years, I primarily use Bricks Builder for new projects.

Why? Because speed and clean code make a real difference:

• Better user experience
• Better SEO results
• Fewer performance issues
• Easier maintenance

But Elementor is still a solid choice for beginners or if you have specific needs requiring Elementor's ecosystem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bricks hard to learn if I know Elementor?

No, the basic concepts are the same. You need to get used to a different interface, but most are productive within a week.

Can Bricks do everything Elementor can?

Almost everything. Bricks has complete theme builder, WooCommerce support, dynamic content, and conditions. The few things missing are typically covered by add-ons.

What about Gutenberg?

Gutenberg (WordPress' built-in editor) is getting better, but isn't on par with Bricks or Elementor yet. For simple sites, Gutenberg may be enough though.

Is Elementor dying?

No, Elementor is still the most used page builder with millions of users. It receives regular updates and isn't going anywhere.

Conclusion

Bricks Builder is the better choice for most professional projects in 2026. The speed, clean code, and lifetime license make it my preferred builder.

Elementor is still relevant for beginners and those with specific needs for add-ons.

My advice: If you're starting a new project and have time to learn, choose Bricks. You'll thank yourself later.