Developer's dilemma
Bricks vs Elementor vs Next.js: For Builders Who Already Think in Code
A Bricks power user spends the afternoon naming global classes, wiring a query loop and adding a custom breakpoint in a manager panel. That is front-end development with a mouse. This page asks whether, by that stage, the mouse is still helping.
October 11, 2026 · 10 min read
The short answer
Choose Bricks if you are a developer or agency wanting a jQuery-free visual builder with every feature on every plan and a $599 lifetime option as of October 2026. Choose Elementor if clients expect it and will edit layouts themselves. Choose Next.js with Athena CMS when custom logic, outside data or speed outgrow any builder.
On this page
A visual builder with a developer's vocabulary
Bricks installs as a theme that contains its own site builder, written in VueJS 3. Its menus read like a front-end job description: global classes, variables, components, query loops, conditions, interactions. Codeer Limited, a company registered in Cyprus, sells it directly rather than through wordpress.org. Version 1.0 shipped on March 15, 2021, and 2.4.2 arrived on September 28, 2026.
Elementor comes from the other direction. It was built so people who never touch code could lay out a page, and it usually runs on Hello, a nearly empty theme whose job is to stay out of the way. Its strengths are reach and familiarity: designers know it, clients have seen it, and the add-on market around it is enormous.
Between those two, Bricks tends to win with developers, and our Bricks vs Elementor head-to-head weighs that fairly. But there is an awkward corollary. The closer a builder gets to code, the stronger the argument for writing the code. A Next.js site with Athena CMS is that argument made in full, so it gets a column of its own below.
Bricks, Elementor and a Next.js build in one table
The Bricks column covers any paid plan, since every plan includes every feature. The Elementor column assumes the Hello theme, the free plugin and Elementor Pro. The third column is a custom Next.js site with Athena CMS. Sources sit in the Bricks review and the Hello Elementor review; facts were checked October 6, 2026.
| Bricks Builder | Hello + Elementor Pro | Next.js + Athena CMS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Codeer Limited, registered in Cyprus | Elementor, which also makes the Hello theme | DataCram in San Antonio; Athena comes with the build |
| How you get it | Download and license key from my.bricksbuilder.io | Free plugin and Hello on wordpress.org; Pro from Elementor | A project built and deployed as one unit |
| Where layouts live | Post meta: _bricks_page_header_2, _bricks_page_content_2, _bricks_page_footer_2 | One JSON record per page in _elementor_data | Templates in code; content in Athena fields |
| Front-end JavaScript | Vanilla JavaScript; the vendor stresses no jQuery | Elementor's scripts plus whatever each widget and add-on loads | Only what a page uses; Server Components keep it lean |
| CSS output | Inline by default; External Files mode writes per-page CSS | Generated by Elementor; Hello's reset and theme sheets can be disabled | Bundled per route during the build |
| Breakpoints | Base desktop, then 992, 768 and 478px; custom ones allowed | Elementor's active breakpoints, which Hello's menu follows | Whatever the design requires |
| Dynamic content | Query Loop builder, conditions and dynamic data | Dynamic Content and Theme Builder in every Pro tier | Data fetched on the server from any source or API |
| WooCommerce | Visual Woo builder in every plan, including multistep Checkout v2 | eCommerce features from Advanced Solo upward | Athena's store features, or custom checkout code |
| Block editor relationship | Converts core blocks both ways; third-party blocks excluded | Runs beside the block editor; Hello styles it lightly | Not needed; Athena is the editor |
| License, as of October 2026 | $79 for 1 site, $149 for 3, $249 unlimited a year; $599 lifetime | Pro billed yearly by site tier: 1, 3 or 25 | A fixed price, set after a free audit |
| If you stop paying | After one paid year you may keep using it; updates stop | Plans renew at the regular rate, per the pricing page | Nothing to lapse |
| Money-back terms | 60 days on a first purchase; 30-day grace on renewals | A 30-day guarantee covering annual plans | Price agreed before any work |
| Recent trouble | 2.4.x regressions: invisible SVGs, images, experimental CSS Sync | Hello 3.3.0 mobile navigation break; FOUC reports with Pro | Found in testing, before deploy |
| Learning curve | Steep: classes, loops, components | Gentle for simple pages, steeper for templates | Code for developers; plain fields for owners |
| Where help comes from | Bricks forum, where staff tag reports WIP, solved or no bug | my.elementor.com tickets for Pro users | DataCram, a phone call away |
| Best suited to | Developers and agencies | Marketers and clients who want to drag | Businesses whose site does real work |
The third row deserves a second look. Both builders keep your design in their own post meta keys, readable only by their own software. The Next.js column keeps design in version-controlled code and content in fields, which is why a redesign there never risks the words. For the three-way argument without any particular builder in it, read WordPress vs Next.js vs Athena CMS.
The case each contender makes for itself
Bricks makes the strongest case any WordPress builder can make to a developer. Every plan includes all 110+ elements, the query loop, popup and WooCommerce builders. Local and staging sites never count against the license. The front end skips jQuery, and the Ultimate Lifetime plan covers unlimited sites for a single payment. Pay for one year, cancel, and the terms let you keep using the version you have. Our Bricks vs Next.js page tests this best case against a coded site.
Elementor makes the best case for the client. A shop owner can open the editor, change a banner and save, without learning what a global class is. Pro's Theme Builder takes care of headers, footers and archive pages. Hello keeps the theme layer thin, and the Pro tiers let a single-site owner pay for one site. The Hello Elementor vs Next.js analysis covers where that ease starts costing speed.
Next.js with Athena makes the case for the business. When the site must pull live inventory, quote a job, gate content behind paid tiers or publish pages from a database, those are programming tasks a builder can only approximate. Pages are prerendered or refreshed on a schedule, images handled by next/image, and the owner edits copy and offers in Athena with a true preview. It costs more to build and needs a developer for new layouts.
When a builder speaks in classes, loops and components, it is asking to be code.
Release speed, regressions and who answers
Bricks moves fast. Version 2.4, released September 16, 2026, added AI-assisted site editing and the Bricks Browser, and the weeks after brought a regression list: SVGs missing from the new media manager, images that stopped loading, and an experimental CSS Sync feature that could delete custom CSS edits. Bricks theme styles have also been reported leaking into the block editor. Speed of development is a virtue until it lands on a client site the morning of a launch.
Elementor's issues are more familiar. Owners report flashes of unstyled content with Hello and Elementor Pro, a Hello release that broke mobile navigation, and duplicate meta descriptions when an SEO plugin and Hello both print one. Pro customers who ask on wordpress.org are routed to paid tickets, even for theme questions.
- Bricks owners: Bricks builder not loading, Bricks mobile menu not working and the Bricks speed guide.
- Elementor owners: the Elementor repair hub, a slow Elementor website Hello header and footer missing and the Hello Elementor speed guide.
- A Bricks mobile menu that vanishes is often a removed toggle: staff marked that report as no bug, because Nav (Nestable) needs its toggle to show anything at the mobile breakpoint.
The third option
Athena CMS, with AI agents on staff.
Not a theme and not a blank Next.js repo. The content system we put behind every custom site: plain fields, a real preview, every version kept, and AI agents that handle the chores a plugin only nags you about.
- PicassoImages
- ApolloSite analysis
- AresCompetitor watch
- PrometheusContent holes
- AtlasPage depth and structure
- DelphiAI search visibility
and 12 more agents. Two come with Athena; the rest are monthly add-ons.
Paying for it over the years, category by category
The sticker prices are easy. What follows them is not, so here are the categories rather than an invented sum. Fill in your own numbers for hosting, add-ons and hours, and the comparison becomes yours.
| Category | Bricks | Hello + Elementor Pro | Next.js + Athena CMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| The license | $79 to $249 a year, or $599 once (October 2026) | Hello is free; Pro is a yearly plan sized by site count | No license |
| Features you buy separately | Few: loops, popups and the Woo builder are included | Popups, custom code and eCommerce require a tier above Essential | Written into the build |
| Add-on packs | Optional third-party extras | Common, and each brings its own renewal | None |
| Hosting | PHP hosting; lighter front end helps | PHP hosting with room for the editor and widgets | Static and serverless hosting |
| Build hours | A developer's time, since Bricks rewards technical skill | A designer's time, or the owner's | Custom development, quoted after an audit |
| Keeping up with releases | Testing each 2.x update before clients see it | Testing Elementor, Pro and every add-on together | Dependency upgrades tested in a build |
| Exit | Rebuild layouts; only core blocks convert out | Rebuild layouts from _elementor_data | Your content leaves as clean field data |
For a model of how these lines grow over time, see WordPress vs Next.js cost and the companion guide on what a WordPress to Next.js migration costs. DataCram does not publish build prices; we quote a fixed figure after a free site audit.
Who should build on what
Freelance developer shipping custom designs
Bricks. The Agency plan or the lifetime license, global classes and components reused across every client.
Client who changes layouts every week
Elementor. The editor is forgiving, and your phone rings less.
Store with unusual product templates
Bricks, whose Woo builder ships in every plan, or Next.js if checkout logic gets truly custom.
Marketing team running campaign pages
Elementor on a tier with popups, or Next.js with Athena if speed on paid traffic matters most.
Business with quotes, portals or integrations
Next.js. Calculators, logins and API connections belong in code.
Brand with dozens of locations
Next.js, where each location page is generated from one template and one data source.
Agencies weighing whether to keep building client sites in Bricks can talk to our Bricks developers. Those leaning toward code can read about our WordPress to Next.js development work, and the comparisons hub holds Bricks against Divi, Kadence and GeneratePress too.
Exit routes from Bricks and from Elementor
Bricks promotes two-way Gutenberg conversion as its answer to lock-in, and for core blocks it works. Anything built from Bricks elements, loops and interactions still has to be rebuilt elsewhere. The good news for a move to Next.js: a site organized around global classes and components already thinks in reusable parts, so the design system translates cleanly into React components. The Bricks to Next.js guide reads the three post meta areas page by page.
An Elementor exit starts with _elementor_data for every page, the saved templates, and the display conditions that decide which header appears where. Text and images come out intact; widgets do not. The Hello Elementor to Next.js guide walks through extraction and rebuild.
- 1
Export the builder data
Every page's stored layout, templates and global settings, pulled before anything changes.
- 2
Separate content from decoration
Headlines, copy, images and links go to Athena fields; spacing and styling go to code.
- 3
Rebuild the reusable parts
Headers, cards, loops and forms become tested components used site-wide.
- 4
Redirect, launch and measure
We keep your URLs and redirect every old one, following our guide to moving without losing SEO.
Not every Bricks or Elementor site should leave, and we say so often. If the pages load acceptably, the forms work and the team is happy editing, a tune-up costs far less than a rebuild. Our theme speed optimization and WordPress performance consulting services exist for exactly that case. We will tell you which path fits after looking at the real site, not a demo.
Questions people ask before they call
Bricks is designed to be lighter: vanilla JavaScript with no jQuery and an option for per-page external CSS files. The vendor advertises top Lighthouse and GTmetrix grades, which are its own claims. Real speed depends on your images, plugins and hosting, so build the same page in each and measure it the same way.
Not automatically. Elementor saves layouts as JSON in _elementor_data, and Bricks uses its own post meta keys. Content can be copied across, but each layout is rebuilt. Since the work is similar either way, it is worth pricing a move to Next.js at the same time.
No. Bricks is sold only through bricksbuilder.io. As of October 2026 plans run from $79 a year for one site to $249 a year for unlimited sites, plus a $599 Ultimate Lifetime plan. A 60-day money-back guarantee covers the first purchase.
Because Bricks still runs inside WordPress: PHP hosting, a database, an admin login, plugin updates applied live. Next.js gives you version control, tested deploys, server-side data fetching and pages prerendered to a CDN, with Athena CMS so clients can still edit content. See Bricks vs Next.js.
They can edit content the way they edit a document, not move layouts around. Athena CMS shows plain fields, a real preview and every past version. Agents like Argus watch for broken links and failing forms. Anything structural is developer work, which keeps the design intact. Read Athena vs WordPress.
Keep reading
- Builder against builderBricks vs Elementor: What You Own and What You Only RentBricks vs Elementor on Hello, checked October 2026: lapse rules, tier gates, pricing, CSS output, WooCommerce and lock-in, judged by what you keep owning.
- The developer's builderBricks Builder vs Next.js: The Best Case for Staying on WordPress, TestedBricks Builder vs Next.js on 22 rows: clean output, no jQuery, the $599 lifetime plan, 2.4 AI editing and its regressions, and where Next.js still wins.
- The Elementor stack, weighedHello Elementor vs Next.js: The Empty Theme and the Builder That Fills ItHello Elementor vs Next.js on 22 rows: the 6KB vs 30KB claims, Theme Builder dependency, Elementor's real weight, and when the builder is the right call.
- Elementor migrationElementor to Next.js: Getting Your Content Out of the Builder and Into Real FieldsElementor keeps your pages as JSON in post meta, not post content. How to extract widgets, rebuild Theme Builder templates, popups and forms, and keep styles.
- Bricks editor first aidBricks Builder Not Loading: The Blank Canvas, the Endless Spinner and the 500 ErrorBricks builder stuck on a spinner or a blank canvas? Find the cause in order: Rocket Loader, firewalls, PHP limits, plugin conflicts and 2.4.x regressions.
- Bricks performance settingsBricks Builder Speed: The Defaults to Change, the Settings to Leave Alone, and the Hero That Lazy LoadsBricks builder speed in practice: CSS Loading Method, local fonts, lazy loading, query loop caching and the Core Web Vitals traps a fresh install leaves in.
- Everything in WordPress Theme ComparisonsSee the section
Decide between builders and code with real data
Tell us how your site is built and what it must do next. We will review it and say whether Bricks, Elementor or a Next.js build fits, and quote a fixed price if building wins.
Which of these sounds like you? (pick any)
Rather talk now? Call (210) 346-0848.