Plasmic vs Builder.io: Which One is Better in 2025?

When comparing Plasmic and Builder.io, you need to understand their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews. Both tools offer unique advantages for web development. This article will provide a clear comparison to help you make an informed decision on which platform best suits your needs.

Plasmic: Overview and Key Features

Plasmic is a web design tool that combines visual editing with powerful development capabilities.

• Visual Editor: Plasmic offers a drag-and-drop interface for designing web pages. Users can customize layouts, styles, and components without writing code.
• Component Reusability: Plasmic allows users to create reusable components. This feature helps maintain consistency across different pages and projects.
• Code Integration: Plasmic supports integration with existing codebases. Developers can import and export code, making it easier to collaborate with design teams.
• Custom Plugins: Plasmic supports custom plugins like Google Analytics and Hotjar. These plugins help track user behavior and gather insights.
• Responsive Design: Plasmic includes tools for creating responsive designs. Users can adjust layouts and styles for different screen sizes directly within the editor.
• SEO Tools: Plasmic provides built-in SEO tools. Users can edit meta tags, titles, and descriptions to improve search engine rankings.
• Collaboration Features: Plasmic offers real-time collaboration. Multiple users can work on the same project simultaneously, enhancing team productivity.
• Hosting Options: Plasmic supports various hosting options. Users can deploy their projects to platforms like Vercel and Netlify directly from the editor.

Plasmic's Reviews

Overall, users appreciate Plasmic for its powerful features and ease of use, though some find the learning curve steep and the platform complex.

• G2: 4.6/5

• Rajwant S. (4.5/5): "Reducing coding time at focusing on functionality with Plasmic."
• Verified User (4.0/5): "Revolutionize Your Development Workflow."
• Shruti S. (4.0/5): "Phenomenal website assets allocator."
• Steven M. (4.0/5): "We design exactly what we want."
• Dhruv B. (4.0/5): "Low-code to no-code tool for building web apps."

Positive Aspects:

• User-friendly and intuitive interface
• Powerful and advanced features
• Quick and easy app development
• Strong community and customer support

Common Concerns:

• High pricing, especially for the Business plan
• Occasional slow loading speeds
• Limitations in publishing apps to major app stores
• Restrictions on the number of users and data rows

Builder.io: Overview and Key Features

Builder.io is a headless CMS that offers a visual editor for creating and managing digital content without coding.

• Visual Editor: Builder.io provides a drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to design web pages and components visually. This tool supports detailed customization of layouts and styles.
• Headless CMS: Builder.io's headless CMS architecture separates the content management backend from the frontend, offering flexibility in how content is delivered and displayed across different platforms.
• Custom Plugins: Builder.io supports custom plugins such as Google Analytics and Segment. These plugins help track user behavior and gather insights for data-driven decisions.
• SEO Optimization: Builder.io includes built-in SEO tools, allowing users to edit meta tags, titles, and descriptions. It also supports structured data to improve search engine rankings.
• Performance and Hosting: Builder.io offers secure and reliable hosting with built-in security features, SSL certificates, and fast load speeds. It leverages a global CDN for optimal performance.
• Integration Capabilities: Builder.io integrates with various third-party services like Shopify, Salesforce, and Zapier. These integrations help streamline workflows and enhance functionality.
• Real-time Collaboration: Builder.io allows multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously. This feature enhances team productivity and ensures consistency across projects.

Builder.io's Reviews

User feedback on Builder.io highlights its strengths in ease of use and flexibility, while noting areas for improvement such as customer support and documentation.

• G2: 4.8/5

• Sam K. (4.0/5): "Paid for Pro - Still stuck on the Free plan... Seems like it would be a great product...so I purchased and subscribed to the pro plan. However, it still says I'm stuck on the same free plan - and support is not helpful."
• Colin T. (4.5/5): "Force Multiplier. Builder allows our engineers and business organizations to move faster. We were able to migrate to builder and start building in only 20 days. The ability for our business to work without engineers has been invaluable."
• Reinaldo A. (5.0/5): "Excellent product. I really enjoy having a visual editor and the flexibility to deploy on my infrastructure and the option for multicloud alternatives."
• Julien C. (5.0/5): "Great product and team. Builder.io is an incredible tool, and the team behind it has truly made a difference. The product's constant evolution with updates every 2-4 weeks keeps it fresh and cutting-edge."
• Tim D. (5.0/5): "Innovative company backed by industry leaders. The platform suits both small teams for rapid prototyping with low-code editing capabilities and can scale nicely to enterprise use cases with their extendable platform."

Positive Aspects:

• Ease of use and flexibility
• Visual editor and AI-powered tools
• Ability to work independently of engineering support
• Scalability from small teams to enterprise use cases

Common Concerns:

• Issues with customer support being slow and unhelpful
• Difficulties with the initial onboarding process
• Lack of comprehensive documentation
• Occasional technical issues such as editor crashes and cache refresh delays

Feature Comparison: Plasmic vs. Builder.io

Similarities

Despite targeting different aspects of web development, Plasmic and Builder.io share several important similarities:

• Visual Editors: Both platforms offer drag-and-drop interfaces for designing web pages and components.
• Custom Plugins: Each supports custom plugins like Google Analytics to track user behavior and gather insights.
• SEO Tools: Both provide built-in SEO tools for editing meta tags, titles, and descriptions to improve search engine rankings.
• Integration Capabilities: Both integrate with various third-party services, enhancing functionality and streamlining workflows.
• Real-time Collaboration: Both allow multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, boosting team productivity.
• Hosting Options: Both support deployment to platforms like Vercel and Netlify, ensuring secure and reliable hosting.

Differences

Critical differences between Plasmic and Builder.io will likely influence your choice.

• Primary Focus:
  • Plasmic: Emphasizes rapid development of websites and applications with a visual builder that integrates with existing codebases.
  • Builder.io: Focuses on accelerating digital teams with AI-powered design-to-code and enterprise CMS capabilities.
• Customization Options:
  • Plasmic: Allows users to create custom UIs with responsive layouts and styling, and import designs from Figma.
  • Builder.io: Converts Figma designs to clean code and offers A/B testing and personalization for optimizing digital experiences.
• Integration Capabilities:
  • Plasmic: Connects to popular data sources like Supabase, Contentful, and Shopify, and integrates with any HTTP or GraphQL API endpoint.
  • Builder.io: Integrates with a wide range of tools and services, including Vercel, Netlify, Shopify, Cloudinary, and Salesforce, and supports multiple frameworks like React, Next.js, and Angular.
• User Interface:
  • Plasmic: Features a visual builder with drag-and-drop functionality and collaborative features for non-developers and developers.
  • Builder.io: Offers a visual editor that allows marketers to build pages and screens using code components, integrations, and design systems.
• Deployment and Scaling:
  • Plasmic: Deploys to any hosting infrastructure for control and scalability, and manages enterprise-level growth with ease.
  • Builder.io: Provides secure and reliable hosting with built-in security features, SSL certificates, and fast load speeds, leveraging a global CDN for optimal performance.

Pricing Comparison: Plasmic vs. Builder.io

Plasmic Pricing

Plasmic offers a range of pricing plans designed to cater to different stages of growth and varying needs.

• Free: $0/month
  • Unlimited apps and websites
  • 3 collaborators
  • 10k monthly page views
  • Unlimited headless CMS
  • Community forum support
  • Plasmic badge on every project
• Starter: $39/month (billed yearly)
  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • 3 additional collaborators (total 6)
  • 100k monthly page views
  • Remove Plasmic badge
• Pro: $103/month (billed yearly)
  • Everything in Starter, plus:
  • 4-10 collaborators
  • 250k monthly page views
  • Priority support
• Scale: $399/month (billed yearly)
  • Everything in Pro, plus:
  • 8-30 collaborators
  • 500k monthly page views
  • Content creator mode
  • A/B testing
  • Scheduled content
  • Custom targeting
• Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact for details)
  • Everything in Scale, plus:
  • Custom collaborators
  • Custom page views
  • Custom integrations
  • Custom roles & permissions
  • SSO & domain capture
  • Whitelabeling & embedding
  • Availability & response time SLAs
  • Dedicated support & onboarding

Builder.io' Pricing

Builder.io offers a range of pricing plans to accommodate different user needs and organizational sizes.

• Free: $0 per user/month
  • 1 space
  • 4k Context Window
  • 7-day Activity History
  • Unlimited Figma Imports
  • Custom instructions
• Pro: $19 per user/month
  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • Pay-as-you-go for more usage
  • 128k Context Window
  • 30-day Activity History
  • Standard Support
• Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact support)
  • Everything in Pro, plus:
  • Component mapping
  • Custom spaces
  • Shared custom instructions
  • Unlimited Activity History
  • Private plugins
  • Single Sign-on
  • Uptime and Premium Support SLAs
  • Assigned CSM and Customer Engineer
  • Add-ons:
  • Use your own LLM
  • Private Slack Channel

Subframe, a Better Alternative to Plasmic and Builder.io

Subframe is a visual UI design tool that stays in sync with code. We combine a drag-and-drop editor with real, component-based design, allowing precise control for pixel-perfect, responsive layouts. Subframe instantly translates designs into clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, removing the need for handoff and speeding up delivery.

Subframe's Features

Subframe is the UI design tool for the AI era, offering a seamless blend of design and code.

• Component-Based Design: Create user interfaces with real, reusable components instead of static mockups. The visual editor includes a responsive drag-and-drop canvas for building precise, production-ready layouts.
• Pre-Built UI Templates: Access a library of customizable templates inspired by established design patterns. Each template is built with reusable components to help speed up the design process.
• Code Export: Generate clean, production-quality React and Tailwind code. Designs can 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.
• AI-Powered Design: Leverage AI to quickly transform ideas into interfaces, adapt to user designs, and share real prototypes.

Subframe's Pricing

Subframe pricing is designed to cater to different user needs and organizational sizes:

• 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 information, visit the Subframe Pricing page. Book a demo with us to see how Subframe can transform your design process.

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. Highly recommend!" - Amartya Jha

Plasmic, Builder.io or Subframe? Which is The Best Tool For You

Plasmic, Builder.io, and Subframe each offer unique strengths tailored to different needs. Plasmic excels in rapid development with a visual builder that integrates seamlessly with existing codebases. Builder.io stands out with its AI-powered design-to-code capabilities and enterprise CMS features, making it ideal for digital teams seeking flexibility and scalability.

If you prioritize rapid development and seamless code integration, Plasmic is a great fit. For those needing AI-powered design and robust CMS capabilities, Builder.io may be the better choice. However, for those looking for a tool that integrates design and code seamlessly while generating production-ready React and Tailwind code, Subframe stands out.

Explore Subframe today to see how it can streamline your workflow and transform your design process. Get started on Subframe for free.