Framer vs Webflow: Which One is Better in 2025?

When it comes to building websites, Framer and Webflow are two popular options. Both offer unique features and cater to different needs. In this article, we'll compare their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews to help you make an informed decision.

Framer: Overview and Key Features

Framer is a powerful tool for creating interactive and visually appealing websites. It offers a range of features designed to enhance the web design process.

• Interactive Prototyping: Framer allows users to create interactive prototypes with advanced animations and transitions. This helps in visualizing the final product before development.
• Design System Integration: Framer supports integration with design systems like Figma and Sketch, ensuring consistency and efficiency in the design workflow.
• Code Components: Users can add custom code components using React, enabling the creation of highly customized and dynamic elements within the design.
• Real-time Collaboration: Framer offers real-time collaboration features, allowing multiple team members to work on the same project simultaneously, enhancing productivity.
• Responsive Design: Framer includes tools for creating responsive designs that adapt to different screen sizes, ensuring a seamless user experience across devices.
• SEO Tools: Framer provides built-in SEO tools, including meta tag customization, URL structuring, and performance optimization, to improve search engine rankings.
• Custom Plugins: Framer supports custom plugins, such as Lottie for animations and Unsplash for stock images, expanding the functionality and resources available to designers.
• Hosting and Deployment: Framer offers integrated hosting and deployment options, making it easy to publish and manage websites directly from the platform.

Framer's Reviews

Overall, users appreciate Framer for its ease of use and powerful design capabilities, though some find its pricing and learning curve challenging.

• G2: 4.4/5

• "Easy to use and good default designs make it easy and fast to set up a modern-looking website." - Verified User, Small-Business, 4/5
• "By creating new components as per our wish, we can try our creative animation and ideas. Best free templates." - Soniya S., Small-Business, 4/5
• "Easy to understand and use, great customer support, and useful integrations." - Jorge H., Small-Business, 5/5
• "Initially promising but caused major functionality issues that affected SEO rankings." - Güven S., Small-Business, 2/5
• "Easy to use, integrates well with Figma, and has a clean user interface." - Ayush S., Small-Business, 4/5

Positive Aspects:

• Easy to use
• Good default designs
• Fast setup for modern-looking websites
• Integration with Figma
• Real-time collaboration
• Customizable components

Common Concerns:

• Steep pricing, especially for additional features and localization
• Learning curve for advanced features
• Functionality issues affecting SEO
• Limited customization options for some users
• Lack of direct support for critical issues

Webflow: Overview and Key Features

Webflow is a versatile website builder known for its advanced design capabilities and flexibility in custom coding.

• Visual Design Tools: Webflow lets users create professional-grade websites visually. Its interface allows detailed customization of HTML, CSS, and even animations without writing code.
• Custom Interactions and Animations: A standout feature is Webflow's ability to create complex interactions and animations visually. This can elevate the look of your site beyond basic templates.
• CMS (Content Management System): Webflow's integrated CMS allows easy creation, editing, and management of dynamic content. It's especially useful for blogs, portfolios, and news sites.
• Hosting and Performance: Webflow provides secure, reliable hosting with built-in security features, SSL certificates, and excellent load speeds. It leverages AWS infrastructure for reliability.
• E-commerce Capabilities: Though initially focused on websites, Webflow has robust e-commerce functionality, suitable for small to medium-sized online stores. It supports custom checkout pages, product variants, and inventory tracking.
• SEO Optimization: Webflow includes built-in SEO controls, enabling customization of meta descriptions, titles, URLs, and structured data directly within the visual editor.
• Code Export Option: Webflow uniquely allows users to export clean, semantic HTML/CSS code, giving designers and developers additional flexibility.

Webflow's Reviews

Overall, users find Webflow to be a powerful and flexible tool for building professional websites, though some note a steep learning curve and high pricing.

• G2: 4.4/5

• "Webflow is my perfect tool for work. I can do anything as a designer and get a good result." - Darya K., Small-Business, 5/5
• "Mostly very intuitive way to manage a website. No need to know HTML and like the online help." - Verified User, Mid-Market, 4.5/5
• "Webflow enables users to build professional websites even when they do not possess programming skills." - Regie F., Small-Business, 5/5
• "Great platform — enabler of productivity and design success, sometimes unreliable pricing." - Leon B., Mid-Market, 4/5
• "The Best Balance. It is a great balance between control, visual design, and hard coding." - Gareth M., Mid-Market, 5/5

Positive Aspects:

• Ease of use and intuitive interface
• Design flexibility and customization options
• Powerful features for building professional websites without coding
• Excellent learning resources through Webflow University
• Responsive and helpful customer support

Common Concerns:

• Steep learning curve for beginners
• High pricing and confusing pricing structure
• Some missing or underdeveloped features (e.g., advanced collaboration, e-commerce)
• Occasional platform instability and crashes

Feature Comparison: Framer vs. Webflow

Similarities

Despite targeting slightly different audiences, Framer and Webflow share some important similarities:

• User-friendly Interfaces: Both platforms offer visual, drag-and-drop interfaces, allowing non-developers to build and manage professional-looking sites.
• Hosting Services: Both provide secure, managed hosting, eliminating the need for server maintenance, security, or performance optimization.
• SEO Tools: Each platform includes built-in SEO tools, customizable metadata, and URL structures to improve search engine rankings.
• Custom Code Integration: Both allow the addition of custom code, offering flexibility for advanced users to create unique functionalities.
• Responsive Design: Both platforms support responsive design, ensuring websites look great on all devices.
• Collaboration Features: Both offer real-time collaboration tools, enabling teams to work together seamlessly on projects.

Differences

Critical differences between Framer and Webflow will likely influence your choice.

• Primary Focus:
  • Framer: Emphasizes ease of use and design flexibility, particularly favored by designers.
  • Webflow: Focuses on providing a visual website builder for collaborative web experiences among marketers, designers, and developers.
• Customization and Design Flexibility:
  • Framer: Offers a true design canvas with support for animations and live collaboration.
  • Webflow: Allows detailed control over HTML, CSS, and JavaScript within a visual canvas, supporting complex interactions and animations.
• Content Management:
  • Framer: Provides a customizable CMS with various templates and plugins.
  • Webflow: Features a visual-first CMS for adding, editing, and updating content, along with AI-powered personalization and A/B testing tools.
• Integration with Third-Party Tools:
  • Framer: Integrates with tools like Google Sheets, Notion, and Airtable through plugins.
  • Webflow: Supports integration with HubSpot, Adobe Express, and offers APIs for programmatic content delivery.
• Pricing Structure:
  • Framer: Offers a free tier or trial with detailed pricing information available on a separate page.
  • Webflow: Provides a free Starter plan with paid Site plans for additional features and an option for Enterprise solutions.

Pricing Comparison: Framer vs. Webflow

Framer Pricing

Framer offers a range of pricing plans tailored to different business needs, from startups to large enterprises.

• Startup Plan: $75/month billed yearly
  • 15,000 pages
  • 200 GB bandwidth
  • 20 CMS collections
• Scaleup Plan: $200/month billed yearly
  • 30,000 pages
  • 500 GB bandwidth
  • 30 CMS collections
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing and billing terms
  • Custom limits
  • Custom security
  • Slack support

Webflow' Pricing

Webflow pricing is divided into site plans, e-commerce plans, and workspace plans:

• Site Plans:
  • Starter: Free
  • Basic: $14/month (billed yearly)
  • CMS: $23/month (billed yearly)
  • Business: $39/month (billed yearly)
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing (Contact support)
• E-commerce Plans:
  • Standard: $29/month (billed yearly)
  • Plus: $74/month (billed yearly) or $84/month (billed monthly)
  • Advanced: $212/month (billed yearly)
• Workspace Plans:
  • Starter: Free
  • Core: $19/month (billed yearly)
  • Growth: $49/month (billed yearly)
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing (Contact support)
• Workspace Plans for Freelancers & Agencies:
  • Starter: Free
  • Freelancer: $16/month (billed yearly)
  • Agency: $35/month (billed yearly)

Subframe, a Better Alternative to Framer and Webflow

Subframe is a UI design tool that makes it easy to create and sync designs with code. We offer a drag-and-drop editor that uses real components, giving you precise control over your layouts. With Subframe, your designs are instantly translated into clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, speeding up your workflow and eliminating the need for handoffs.

Subframe's Features

Subframe is the UI design tool for the AI era, seamlessly integrating design and code for pixel-perfect results.

• Component-Based Design: Create user interfaces with real, reusable components instead of static mockups, ensuring precise, production-ready layouts.
• Pre-Built UI Templates: Access a library of customizable templates inspired by established design patterns, built with reusable components to speed up the design process.
• Code Export: Generate clean, production-quality React and Tailwind code, allowing designs to be copied directly into a codebase, reducing time spent on handoff and manual CSS adjustments.
• Free to Get Started: Enjoy free access to Subframe's visual design tools with no credit card required, making it easy to start designing immediately.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Work seamlessly with team members in real-time, enhancing productivity and ensuring everyone stays on the same page.

Subframe's Pricing

Subframe offers flexible pricing options to suit different needs:

• Free: $0 per user/month
  • 1 project
  • Up to 3 page designs
  • Up to 3 team members
  • 100s of UI templates
  • Limited AI features
• Pro: $29 per user/month
  • Up to 3 projects
  • Unlimited page designs
  • Unlimited team members
  • Custom components
  • 100s of UI templates
  • Full AI beta access
• Custom: Let's talk
  • Unlimited projects
  • Unlimited page designs
  • Integrate your components
  • Dedicated Slack support
  • Figma plugin
  • Unlimited AI

For more details, visit the Subframe Pricing page. Book a demo with us to see how Subframe can transform your design workflow.

Subframe's Reviews

Users have shared positive feedback about Subframe, noting its user-friendly interface, time-saving tools, and the quality of the UI designs it produces. The platform has earned a 5/5 rating on Product Hunt. Customers especially value the visual editor, drag-and-drop functionality, and AI features that help refine designs based on user input.

• "Without Subframe, the frontend build of this tool would've taken a lot longer and a lot more financial resources." - Erin Kim
• "Subframe helped us make a super clean UI for our console without designers." - Carl Peterson
• "Huge shoutout to Subframe guys! Super easy to create UI, and the support is great." - Amartya Jha

Framer, Webflow or Subframe? Which is The Best Tool For You

Framer, Webflow, and Subframe each offer unique strengths tailored to different needs. Framer excels in ease of use and design flexibility, making it a favorite among designers. Webflow stands out for its detailed control over HTML, CSS, and JavaScript within a visual canvas, ideal for those who want to create complex interactions and animations without coding.

If you prioritize ease of use and design flexibility, Framer is a great fit. For detailed control over web design and custom interactions, Webflow may be the better choice. However, for those looking for a seamless integration of design and code, Subframe stands out by offering real component-based design and production-ready React and Tailwind code.

Get started on Subframe for free to see how it can streamline your workflow and elevate your design process. Explore Subframe today to experience the future of UI design and development.