BuilderJS vs Maily: supported, framework-agnostic, builds pages too
Both are editors you embed, not platforms — neither sends email nor hosts pages; you bring the ESP and the hosting. Maily is a free, MIT-licensed, React-and-Tiptap email editor that's genuinely excellent if your stack is React and your scope is transactional or marketing email. It's community-funded via GitHub Sponsors and a "Buy me a coffee" link, with no paid tier (as of June 2026). BuilderJS is a one-time-purchase, framework-agnostic library: a vanilla-JS DOM-mount bundle that drops into React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js, Laravel, or plain HTML, builds both Outlook-safe email HTML and web/landing-page markup, ships 30+ Litmus-tested templates, 20+ locale packs with RTL, and reference PHP backends you copy and own. You buy the source and get time-boxed author support. Choose Maily for a free, React-native, email-only editor backed by a community project. Choose BuilderJS when you need framework independence, dual email-plus-page output, owned source, and a named person to email for help.
BuilderJS vs Maily, side by side
| Dimension | BuilderJS | Maily |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One-time CodeCanyon license (item 27146783): Regular $52 or Extended $99. No subscription, no per-seat, no usage metering. | Free, no paid/Pro tier. Funded via GitHub Sponsors + 'Buy me a coffee' (as of June 2026). |
| License & source access | Commercial CodeCanyon license; you receive and own the full source and self-host. Extended covers paid end-products. | MIT license — fully open source, free to fork, modify, and use commercially (as of June 2026, github.com/arikchakma/maily.to). |
| Hosting & data residency | Self-host the editor; reference backends save JSON/assets to your MySQL/SQLite/S3 — data stays on your infrastructure. (Editor only; you bring sending/hosting.) | Self-host the npm packages on your own infra, or use the free hosted playground at maily.to/playground. (Editor only; you bring sending.) |
| Email output (Outlook/Gmail-safe) | EmailExportPipeline: flexbox→table, SVG→PNG, @media mobile-stack, MSO conditionals, CSS inliner. 30+ templates / 200+ samples Litmus-tested across 22 clients. | Tiptap JSON rendered to email HTML via @maily-to/render, designed for cross-client email. Email-focused output is the core strength. |
| Page/landing building | Yes — dual output: builds web/landing-page HTML as well as email HTML from the same editor. | No — email-only. No documented web/landing-page output. |
| Framework integration | Framework-agnostic vanilla-JS DOM-mount bundle (~140KB). Mounts in React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js (ssr:false), Laravel, plain HTML. | React-only: @maily-to/core declares a React ^18 || ^19 peer dependency and is built on @tiptap/react (npm, as of June 2026). |
| Extensibility (custom blocks) | Extend without forking: custom Elements/Widgets/Controls via Builder.registerElement, custom themes, 42 element types, 59 controls, 31 overlays. | Extensible via Tiptap's extension API (custom nodes/marks) and by forking the MIT source — React/Tiptap knowledge required. |
| Backend (save/upload/auth) | Reference PHP backends (MySQL/SQLite/S3) for save, upload, and auth that you copy and own; portable to Node/Go/Python. | Bring your own — the libraries are client-side editor/render only; you build persistence, upload, and auth yourself. |
| Support & updates | Time-boxed author support (~6–12 months) plus owned source you can patch indefinitely; versioned releases (v7.0.1). | Community support via GitHub issues and community channels; no commercial SLA. Updates depend on maintainer/community cadence. |
Maily is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid or Pro tier; the maintainer funds it through GitHub Sponsors and a "Buy me a coffee" link, and runs a free hosted playground at maily.to/playground (as of June 2026; license MIT per github.com/arikchakma/maily.to, @maily-to/core v0.3.7 on npm requiring React ^18 || ^19). BuilderJS is a one-time CodeCanyon purchase (item 27146783): Regular $52 or Extended $99. You own the source, self-host it, and there is no SaaS subscription, no per-seat fee, no usage metering, and no phone-home. Compare total cost honestly: Maily's software is free forever; BuilderJS trades an upfront license fee for owned source, dual email-plus-page output, framework independence, and time-boxed author support (roughly 6–12 months).
Choose BuilderJS if…
Choose BuilderJS when your stack isn't React (Vue, Svelte, Angular, Laravel, plain HTML), when you need one editor that builds both Outlook-safe email AND landing-page markup, when you want to own the source plus reference backends, and when a named author to email for support matters.
Get BuilderJS — $52Choose Maily if…
Choose Maily when your app is already React, your scope is email-only, and you want a free, MIT-licensed editor with a polished Tiptap-based authoring experience. It's a strong, no-cost choice for transactional and marketing email, and you can fork it freely and lean on its community.
Frequently asked questions
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Is BuilderJS cheaper than Maily?
No — Maily's software is free under the MIT license, so nothing beats free on upfront cost (as of June 2026). BuilderJS is a one-time purchase ($52 Regular / $99 Extended). What the license buys is different value: framework independence, dual email-plus-page output, reference backends you own, and time-boxed author support. Compare on fit and total ownership, not just sticker price.
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Can BuilderJS or Maily send my emails?
Neither. Both are editors you embed — they produce the email markup (and, for BuilderJS, page markup too). Sending is your responsibility: you connect your own ESP (a transactional or marketing provider) and feed it the exported HTML. BuilderJS focuses on producing Outlook- and Gmail-safe HTML via its EmailExportPipeline; Maily renders Tiptap JSON to email HTML via @maily-to/render. You bring the sending layer in both cases.
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Does Maily work outside React?
Not really. Maily's editor package @maily-to/core declares a React ^18 || ^19 peer dependency and is built on @tiptap/react (npm, as of June 2026), so it's a React-native solution. If your front end is Vue, Svelte, Angular, or plain HTML, you'd need a React island or a rewrite. BuilderJS is a framework-agnostic vanilla-JS DOM-mount bundle that mounts in any of those stacks client-side.
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Can either tool build landing pages, not just email?
BuilderJS can: it offers dual output and builds web/landing-page HTML as well as Outlook-safe email HTML from the same editor. Maily is email-only — it's a dedicated email editor with no documented web or landing-page output. If you need one tool for both email and pages, that's a clear BuilderJS differentiator; if you only ever build email, Maily covers that scope well.
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What support do I get with each?
Maily is community-supported through GitHub issues and its community channels, with no commercial SLA — typical for a free, sponsor-funded MIT project (as of June 2026). BuilderJS includes time-boxed author support (roughly 6–12 months) through CodeCanyon, plus the full source you own and can patch indefinitely after support ends. Pick based on whether you want a named maintainer to reach or are comfortable with community-paced help.
Sources
Competitor facts are dated (as of June 2026) and linked — always verify current figures on each vendor's own site.