Bricks Builder vs Elementor

Bricks and Elementor both let you design a WordPress site visually instead of writing a theme by hand. Elementor is a plugin with a free version and one of the largest user bases in WordPress. Bricks is a paid theme with a smaller, developer-leaning following. Elementor is the easier choice if many people will edit the site or you want the widest pool of help. Bricks suits a custom build by someone who works in a structured, class-based way.

What each one is

Elementor

Elementor is a WordPress plugin. The free version is in the WordPress.org plugin directory, where it shows more than 10 million active installations. The paid version, Elementor Pro, adds the Theme Builder, Popup Builder, ecommerce features, custom code and more. Elementor also sells its own hosting and offers AI tools for planning sites and generating copy, images and code.

Elementor is in the middle of a large change. Version 4 introduces what it calls Atomic Elements, along with classes and variables. According to Elementor's version 4 FAQ, new Elementor sites have run on version 4 by default since April 2026, and existing sites can switch the Atomic features on when they choose. Older widgets keep working beside the new elements.

Bricks

Bricks describes itself as a visual site builder theme for self-hosted WordPress. It is a theme, not a plugin. There is no free downloadable version, although there is an online playground for trying it. Licences are sold as yearly subscriptions or as a one-time lifetime licence, and every plan includes the full feature set.

Bricks includes a query loop builder, dynamic data, global classes, a popup builder, a WooCommerce builder, conditions and interactions. It also has components: reusable groups of elements with properties that can be changed in each place the component is used.

How they compare

Way of working

Bricks was built around CSS classes from the start. A developer defines a class once and applies it across the site, which keeps the design consistent and makes site-wide changes quick. It rewards people who understand HTML and CSS.

Elementor's traditional editor styles each widget individually, which is easy to learn and is why so many non-developers use it. Version 4 moves Elementor toward the class-based approach too. Elementor's FAQ notes that the new classes and variables cannot be applied to older widgets, and that some elements had not yet been released in Atomic form when this page was written. An existing Elementor site therefore mixes two systems until it is fully converted.

Code output and speed

Both vendors say their builders produce clean markup. Elementor states that Atomic Elements output plain HTML tags without extra wrapper layers, and that the benefit grows as older widgets are replaced. Bricks has promoted lean output since its launch.

These are vendor statements, and this page does not publish test figures. Real-world speed depends more on images, fonts, third-party scripts, the number of plugins and hosting than on the builder. A careless build is slow on either. If speed matters to you, ask to see a live site built by the person you plan to hire and test it yourself.

Dynamic content

Both can display custom post types and custom fields, such as rooms, team members or treatments. In Bricks, query loops and dynamic data are part of the core product. In Elementor, the Theme Builder and related features are in Pro.

Ecosystem

Elementor has the clear advantage in size: more third-party add-ons, more templates, more tutorials and more people who know how to use it. Bricks has a smaller ecosystem and an active developer community. For Bricks, many developers pair it with a CSS framework. Stryx uses Automatic.css.

Licensing

Elementor has a free tier and a subscription for Pro. Bricks is paid only, with yearly or lifetime options. If an agency builds your site, ask whose licence the site runs on and what happens to updates if you part ways.

Handing over to a client

Elementor is familiar to many business owners and marketers, so a team may already know how to edit pages in it. Bricks takes a little more guidance at first. A well-structured Bricks site can be easier to keep consistent, because editors change content while the classes hold the design in place.

Lock-in

Both store layouts in their own format. Moving from one builder to another, or away from either, means rebuilding the templates. The content itself stays in WordPress. This applies to every visual builder, so it should not be the deciding factor between these two.

Choose Elementor when

• Your team already uses it and is comfortable editing in it.
• You want the largest choice of add-ons, templates and freelancers.
• You want to start on a free version.
• You have an existing Elementor site that works. A working site is rarely worth rebuilding only to change builders.

Choose Bricks when

• A developer is building a custom site and will work with classes and components.
• The site relies on custom post types, custom fields and query loops.
• You want one licence that includes every feature.
• Consistency across a large site matters more than a wide add-on market.

Where Stryx stands

Stryx builds new WordPress sites with Bricks Builder and Automatic.css, because the class-based approach suits the structured, research-led sites it builds. That is a preference based on how Stryx works, not a claim that Elementor sites are poor. When Stryx takes over an existing Elementor site, the work starts with an audit, and a rebuild is recommended only if the audit shows it is needed.

Related reading

• Bricks Builder development
• WordPress website design
• How Stryx builds websites
• Why a WordPress site is slow

For questions about a Bricks or Elementor site, contact Stryx.