Comparison

BuilderJS vs Puck: framework-agnostic and builds email too

Puck is an excellent, genuinely free MIT visual editor — but it is a React component. You compose pages from your own React blocks, render them with React, and you stay inside the React ecosystem. That is the right call if your whole stack is React/Next.js and you want zero licensing cost. BuilderJS is a different shape: a framework-agnostic DOM-mount bundle that drops into React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js, Laravel or plain HTML, ships 42 element types and ready editing chrome out of the box, and — crucially — exports both web-page HTML and Outlook/Gmail-safe email HTML through its email pipeline. Puck has no email output. So the choice is less "which is cheaper" (Puck wins on price, it's free) and more "what do you need to build, and in which framework". If you're React-only and email-free, Puck is a great fit. If you span frameworks or must produce email, BuilderJS fits.

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BuilderJS vs Puck, side by side

Dimension	BuilderJS	Puck
Pricing model	One-time CodeCanyon license — Regular $52 / Extended $99. No monthly fee, no per-seat, no usage metering, no phone-home.	Core editor free under MIT. Optional paid Puck Cloud (AI/hosting/collab): paid plans on a credit/usage-based model (as of June 2026, puckeditor.com/pricing).
License & source access	Commercial one-time license; you receive and own the full source, self-host, and modify freely.	MIT license — fully open source, modify and self-host with no restrictions (latest v0.21.3, 8 Jun 2026, github.com/puckeditor/puck).
Hosting & data residency	Self-hosted only; client-side mount, data persists via getData() to your own backend/route. No vendor servers.	Self-host the open-source editor and own your data. Optional Puck Cloud is a hosted service if you opt in (as of June 2026).
Email output (Outlook/Gmail-safe)	Yes — EmailExportPipeline produces Outlook-safe email HTML (flexbox→table, SVG→PNG, @media mobile-stack, MSO conditionals, CSS inliner); Litmus-tested across 22 clients.	No email output. Puck renders React components for web pages; it does not produce email HTML (as of June 2026).
Page/landing building	Yes — builds web/landing pages as HTML; JSON-first getData()/load() lossless round-trip; 30+ templates / 200+ samples.	Yes — strong page/layout building from your own React components; you control which props authors can edit.
Framework integration	Framework-agnostic DOM-mount bundle — React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js (dynamic import ssr:false), Laravel, plain HTML. Client-side mount in lifecycle hook.	React-only. "The visual editor for React" — requires React; works across React environments (Next.js, React Router) but not non-React stacks (as of June 2026).
Extensibility (custom blocks)	Custom Elements/Widgets/Controls via Builder.registerElement without forking; themes; 59 controls; i18n 20+ locales with RTL.	Highly extensible — you supply your own React components as blocks with typed fields; full control over the component config.
Backend (save/upload/auth)	Ships reference PHP backends (MySQL/SQLite/S3 save + upload + auth) the buyer copies and owns; portable to Node/Go/Python.	No backend included — you build save/upload/auth yourself (data persistence is left to your app; the editor is BYO storage).
Support & updates	Author support time-boxed (~6–12 months) plus version updates; you own the source regardless after that.	Community support via GitHub issues; paid Puck Cloud tiers add prioritized issues / Slack support (as of June 2026, puckeditor.com/pricing).

Puck's core editor is free and open source under the MIT license (latest v0.21.3, released 8 Jun 2026; repo puckeditor/puck, maintained by The Puck Contributors / Measured). There is now an optional paid Puck Cloud for AI/hosting/collaboration — paid plans on a credit/usage-based model — but the editor itself stays free and self-hostable (all as of June 2026; verify on puckeditor.com/pricing). BuilderJS is a one-time CodeCanyon purchase — Regular $52 / Extended $99 — with full source ownership, self-hosting, no monthly fee, no per-seat, and no usage metering. Puck wins outright on raw price (free core); BuilderJS trades a one-time fee for built-in chrome, framework-agnostic mounting, and email output.

Choose BuilderJS if…

Choose BuilderJS when your stack isn't pure React — Vue, Svelte, Angular, Laravel or plain HTML — or when you must produce Outlook/Gmail-safe email HTML as well as web pages, and you want ready editing chrome plus reference save/upload/auth backends you can copy and own from day one.

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Choose Puck if…

Choose Puck when your entire stack is React or Next.js, you want a genuinely free MIT-licensed editor with no upfront cost, and you're happy composing pages from your own React components and wiring your own persistence. If you don't need email output and live in React, Puck is a clean, well-maintained fit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Puck free, and is BuilderJS cheaper?

Puck's core editor is genuinely free and open source under the MIT license (as of June 2026, github.com/puckeditor/puck). BuilderJS is not trying to be cheaper than free — it's a one-time CodeCanyon purchase (Regular $52 / Extended $99). The trade is different: Puck wins on raw price; BuilderJS gives you framework-agnostic mounting, built-in editing chrome, email output, and reference backends. Note Puck now also offers an optional paid Puck Cloud (AI/hosting/collaboration) on a credit/usage-based model, but the editor itself stays free (verify on puckeditor.com/pricing).
Can Puck build HTML email?

No. Puck is "the visual editor for React" and renders React components for web pages; it has no email-HTML output as of June 2026. BuilderJS includes an EmailExportPipeline that converts a design into Outlook/Gmail-safe email HTML — flexbox→table, SVG→PNG, @media mobile-stacking, MSO conditionals and CSS inlining — Litmus-tested across 22 clients. If you need both web pages and email from one editor, that's the dividing line.
Does Puck work outside React?

No — Puck requires React. It plays well across React environments like Next.js and React Router, but it is not a non-React option (as of June 2026). BuilderJS is framework-agnostic: it's a DOM-mount bundle (dist/builder.js + dist/builder.css) you mount in any DOM node from React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js, Laravel or plain HTML. In Next.js you load it with dynamic import ssr:false and 'use client'; it runs client-side and you persist via getData().
Do I get a backend with either one?

Puck ships no backend — you build save, upload and auth yourself and persist the editor's JSON wherever you like. BuilderJS ships reference PHP backends (MySQL/SQLite/S3 for save + upload + auth) that you copy and own, and which you can port to Node, Go or Python. Either way, both are editors, so your application owns the storage layer — BuilderJS just gives you a working starting point to copy from.
Can both be extended with custom blocks without forking?

Yes, both are extensible. Puck is built around supplying your own React components as typed blocks, so custom blocks are first-class. BuilderJS lets you register custom Elements, Widgets and Controls via Builder.registerElement without forking the library, plus themes, 59 controls and i18n in 20+ locales with RTL. The difference is mostly ecosystem: Puck's blocks are React components; BuilderJS's blocks are framework-agnostic.

Sources

Competitor facts are dated (as of June 2026) and linked — always verify current figures on each vendor's own site.