Elementor vs Bricks Builder vs Oxygen: Which Page Builder Should You Use?

After building over 100 client sites with various page builders, I’ve learned that choosing the wrong one can cost you time, money, and client satisfaction. The page builder market has changed dramatically in 2025. Elementor isn’t the automatic choice anymore, Bricks has gone from newcomer to serious contender, and Oxygen continues to be the developer’s secret weapon.

Which builder actually fits your workflow based on real-world experience, not marketing hype?

Why Page Builders Still Matter in 2025

Before we jump into the comparison, let’s address the elephant in the room: “Isn’t Gutenberg good enough now?”

Short answer: No, not for professional development work.

Gutenberg has improved significantly, but page builders still win for:

• Client handoff: Non-technical clients can edit page builder sites without breaking things
• Speed of development: Building complex layouts is 3-5x faster with a visual builder
• Design consistency: Global widgets and templates maintain design systems
• Dynamic content: ACF integration and custom queries are far easier
• WooCommerce customization: Product layouts need visual control

The question isn’t whether to use a page builder; it’s which one fits your needs.

The Landscape Has Changed

2019-2021: Elementor dominated everything. If you were a WordPress developer, you would use Elementor.

2022-2023: Bricks launched and immediately attracted developers frustrated with Elementor’s performance issues.

2024-2025: The market has fragmented. Elementor remains the most popular with over 9 million active installations, but Bricks has captured the performance-obsessed developer market, while Oxygen maintains a loyal following among code-first developers.

Let’s break down each builder honestly.

Elementor: The Established Ecosystem

Starting at $59/year

Elementor is still the 800-pound gorilla of WordPress page builders. With 9+ million active users, an enormous template library, and thousands of third-party add-ons, it’s the safe choice that everyone knows.

What Makes Elementor Dominant in 2025

The ecosystem advantage: This is Elementor’s real strength. Need a specific widget? There are probably five plugins offering it. Want pre-designed templates? Thousands exist across multiple marketplaces. Looking for tutorials? YouTube has you covered.

No other page builder comes close to this ecosystem. When you choose Elementor, you’re buying into an entire universe of compatible tools, templates, and support resources.

Beginner-friendly interface: Elementor’s UI is genuinely intuitive. Your non-technical clients can make content updates without breaking layouts. The widget panel on the left, live preview in the center, and clean organization, it just make sense.

I’ve handed off Elementor sites to clients who’ve never used WordPress, and within 30 minutes, they’re confidently editing pages. That’s powerful.

AI features in 2025: Elementor introduced AI Copilot, which assists with design suggestions, generates content, and provides code hints. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s useful for speeding up repetitive tasks.

Massive template library: Over 11,000 pre-designed templates and kits exist. Need a landing page for a SaaS product? Done. Restaurant website? Choose from 50 options. This dramatically speeds up development when you’re working with tight deadlines.

Where Elementor Falls Short

Performance concerns: Despite improvements, Elementor still loads more scripts and CSS than competitors. Pages built with Elementor typically render with 1.8-2.2 second load times, even with optimization. That’s acceptable but not impressive.

The problem isn’t catastrophic performance; it’s unnecessary bloat. Elementor maintains backward compatibility with older code, which means carrying technical debt from years of updates.

Subscription pricing adds up: At $59/year for one site (Essential plan) or $99/year for three sites (Advanced plan), costs accumulate if you manage multiple client sites. Want full WooCommerce widgets? That’s the $99+ tier.

Compare this to Bricks’ lifetime option, and Elementor’s annual fees become significant over 3-4 years.

Plugin dependency: While the ecosystem is a strength, it’s also a weakness. Need advanced form functionality? Add a plugin. Want better dynamic content? Another plugin. Each additional plugin adds complexity, potential conflicts, and maintenance overhead.

Elementor Pricing 2025

• Essential: $59/year (1 site, basic features)
• Advanced: $99/year (3 sites, includes WooCommerce widgets)
• Expert: $199/year (25 sites)
• Agency: $399/year (1000 sites)

All plans include updates, support, and access to the template library.

Best for: Agencies managing many client sites, developers who value ecosystem over raw performance, anyone needing extensive third-party integrations, and teams where multiple people need to understand the tool quickly.

Elementor Pro is available at elementor.com.

Bricks Builder: The Performance Challenger

Starting at $79 lifetime

Bricks launched in 2021 and immediately captured attention with a bold promise: all the power of Elementor without the bloat. Three years later, it has delivered on that promise.

Why Developers Love Bricks

Actually fast performance: Bricks generates clean, minimal code. It uses vanilla JavaScript instead of jQuery, outputs lean HTML, and doesn’t load unnecessary scripts. The performance difference is real—sites load noticeably faster than Elementor equivalents.

In testing, Bricks sites consistently achieve sub-1-second load times with proper optimization. For performance-sensitive projects (e-commerce, landing pages, content sites ranking in competitive niches), this matters.

Theme, not plugin: This is Bricks’ fundamental architectural difference. Rather than functioning as a plugin layered on top of a theme, Bricks IS the theme. This eliminates redundant theme code and gives you complete control over every aspect of the site.

The trade-off? You can’t use Bricks with other themes. You’re locked into the Bricks ecosystem. For most professional developers, this isn’t a problem you’re building from scratch anyway.

Developer-friendly features: Bricks embraces CSS and gives developers granular control. The interface includes:

• Direct CSS editing for any element
• Query loops for custom post types
• Conditional logic built in
• Global classes and variables
• Custom code sections

If you understand modern web development, Bricks feels natural. If you don’t, it feels intimidating.

Lifetime pricing: This is Bricks’ killer business model advantage. Pay once, use forever. For freelancers and agencies managing client sites long-term, this is huge.

After 2-3 years, you’ve saved money compared to Elementor’s annual fees. After 5 years, the savings are substantial.

Where Bricks Disappoints

Steeper learning curve: Bricks assumes you understand CSS, HTML structure, and modern web development concepts. The interface is powerful but overwhelming for beginners.

I wouldn’t hand a Bricks site to a client who’s never touched WordPress. They’ll struggle. If client content editing is important, factor in extra training time.

Smaller ecosystem: While Bricks has add-ons and templates, the selection is maybe 10% of Elementor’s ecosystem. Need a specific widget? You might need to build it yourself or wait for someone to create it.

The community is growing and helpful, but you’re not finding 50 YouTube tutorials for every question like you would with Elementor.

No free version: Bricks requires payment up front. There’s a 30-day refund policy, but you can’t test-drive it like Elementor Free. This makes it harder to evaluate without commitment.

Limited full-site templates: While Bricks has section templates, it lacks the complete website kits that Elementor offers. You’re building more from scratch, which gives control but costs time.

Bricks Pricing 2025

• Starter: $99 lifetime (1 site, all features)
• Unlimited: $249 lifetime (unlimited sites, all features)

Both include lifetime updates and support.

Best suited for: Performance-conscious developers, freelancers building sites they’ll maintain long-term, and anyone comfortable with CSS and modern development practices, particularly projects where load speed directly impacts revenue.

Bricks Builder is available at bricksbuilder.io

Oxygen Builder: The Developer’s Tool

Starting at $129 lifetime

Oxygen takes a different approach than both Elementor and Bricks—it’s unapologetically developer-first. While Elementor aims for ease of use and Bricks balances performance with usability, Oxygen prioritizes absolute control and maximum performance.

What Makes Oxygen Unique

Cleanest code output: Oxygen generates the leanest, most efficient code of any page builder. It’s not even close. The HTML structure is clean, JavaScript is minimal, and CSS is optimized. For developers who care deeply about code quality, Oxygen is unmatched.

Sites built with Oxygen consistently achieve the fastest load times in comparative testing—often 300-500ms faster than Bricks equivalents and significantly faster than Elementor.

Complete control: Oxygen doesn’t hide anything from you. You have access to:

• Full HTML structure control
• Direct CSS and JavaScript editing
• PHP integration for custom functionality
• Advanced conditions and relationships
• Complete WooCommerce customization

This isn’t a drag-and-drop builder that happens to give you code access—it’s a code-first tool with visual editing capabilities.

Lifetime pricing: Like Bricks, Oxygen uses one-time pricing starting at $129. For the unlimited sites license ($249), you get lifetime access to one of the most powerful WordPress building tools available.

No theme dependency: Similar to Bricks, Oxygen replaces your theme entirely. This eliminates theme overhead and gives you complete design freedom.

Why Oxygen Isn’t For Everyone

Brutal learning curve: Oxygen doesn’t pretend to be beginner-friendly. The interface is dense, options are overwhelming, and the workflow assumes significant technical knowledge.

If you don’t understand flexbox, CSS Grid, and modern layout systems, Oxygen will frustrate you. It’s a professional tool that demands professional skills.

Client handoff challenges: Giving an Oxygen site to a non-technical client is asking for trouble. The backend is too complex for casual content editing. You’ll need to build very specific, limited editing capabilities or plan to maintain content yourself.

Smaller template selection: Oxygen has far fewer pre-designed templates than Elementor or even Bricks. You’re building more from scratch, which requires time and skill.

Limited WooCommerce focus: While Oxygen supports WooCommerce, it’s not built with e-commerce as a priority. Elementor and Bricks both offer more intuitive WooCommerce building experiences.

Oxygen Pricing 2025

• Basic: $129 lifetime (unlimited personal sites)
• Agency: $249 lifetime (unlimited personal + client sites)

Both plans include lifetime updates and support.

Best for: Experienced developers who want absolute control, agencies building high-performance sites for sophisticated clients, developers who are comfortable writing code, and projects where performance is the absolute top priority.

Oxygen Builder is available at oxygenbuilder.com.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Real-World Use Cases: Which Builder When?

Let me give you specific scenarios based on actual client work:

Choose Elementor if:

1. Client Example: A marketing agency building 20+ landing pages annually for different campaigns.
2. Why Elementor: Speed of template deployment, client can easily edit, massive template selection, great for rapid iteration.
3. Client Example: A small business owner wants to manage their own website content updates.
4. Why Elementor: Easiest learning curve, most YouTube tutorials, most intuitive for non-developers.
5. Client Example: You’re building a complex membership site with multiple integrations.
6. Why Elementor: Best ecosystem support, most third-party plugins compatible, and established integration patterns.

Choose Bricks if:

1. Client Example: An e-commerce store where every 100ms of load time impacts conversion rates.
2. Why Bricks: Superior performance, clean code, excellent WooCommerce customization, and lifetime pricing are worth it for a long-term client.
3. Client Example: You’re a freelance developer managing 10 client sites long-term.
4. Why Bricks: Lifetime pricing saves money over the years, a professional feature set, good balance of power and usability.
5. Client Example: A content site competing in a crowded SEO niche where Core Web Vitals matter.
6. Why Bricks: Fast load times help rankings, clean code structure, and a performance edge over competitors.

Choose Oxygen if

1. Client Example: A SaaS company needing pixel-perfect custom layouts with complex functionality.
2. Why Oxygen: Absolute design control, can integrate custom PHP, cleanest code for sophisticated developers.
3. Client Example: You’re a developer building high-performance sites where you maintain all content.
4. Why Oxygen: Maximum performance, complete control, ideal when client handoff isn’t required.
5. Client Example: An agency specializing in ultra-fast, technically complex WordPress sites.
6. Why Oxygen: Unmatched code quality, fastest performance, professional tool for expert developers.

My Honest Recommendation

After using all three builders extensively, here’s what I actually do:

1. For 80% of client projects: Elementor Pro. The ecosystem advantage, client-friendly interface, and template selection make it the practical choice for most real-world work. Yes, it’s heavier than competitors, but the trade-offs are worth it for client satisfaction and development speed.
2. For performance-critical projects: Bricks. When I’m building e-commerce sites, content sites in competitive niches, or anything where load speed directly impacts revenue, Bricks delivers the performance advantage that justifies the steeper learning curve.
3. For personal projects or developer-focused clients: Oxygen. When I’m building sites I’ll maintain, or working with clients who understand and value technical excellence, Oxygen gives me the control and performance I want.

The 2025 Reality

There’s no universal “best” page builder. The right choice depends on:

• Your technical skill level
• Client’s technical sophistication
• Performance requirements
• Budget (especially long-term costs)
• Project complexity
• Team capabilities
• Maintenance expectations

If you can only learn one: Start with Elementor. Master it completely. The skills transfer to other builders, the ecosystem means you can solve any problem, and it handles 90% of client needs well.

If you’re ready to level up: Learn Bricks. It’s the future-forward choice that balances performance with usability. The investment in learning pays off in faster sites and lifetime licensing savings.

If you’re an experienced developer: Explore Oxygen. It’s the professional’s tool that rewards technical expertise with unmatched control and performance.

Making the Transition

Switching between page builders isn’t trivial. Here’s what to know:

1. Elementor to Bricks: Doable but time-consuming. Expect to rebuild sites from scratch—there’s no clean migration path. Budget 60-80% of the original build time.
2. Elementor to Oxygen: Even more challenging. Oxygen’s approach is fundamentally different. Plan to rebuild completely. Budget 80-100% of the original build time.
3. Bricks to Oxygen: Smoothest transition of the three, since both use similar modern development concepts. Still requires rebuilds, but the mental model transfers well.
4. My advice: Don’t switch builders mid-project. Finish current projects with your existing tool, then start fresh projects with the new builder. The learning curve is real.

Performance Tips for Each Builder

Regardless of which builder you choose, optimize intelligently:

Elementor Optimization

• Use Elementor’s built-in performance features (Lazy Load, optimize DOM output)
• Limit use of global widgets to what’s actually global
• Disable unused widgets in Elementor settings
• Use a quality caching plugin (WP Rocket recommended)
• Minimize third-party add-ons—each adds overhead
• Consider the Perfmatters plugin for granular script control

Bricks Optimization

• Leverage Bricks’ native features before adding plugins
• Use global classes instead of duplicating styles
• Optimize images before upload (Bricks doesn’t compress)
• Enable Bricks’ built-in CSS minification
• Use conditions intelligently to avoid loading unused elements
• Take advantage of query loops instead of custom code when possible

Oxygen Optimization

• Use Oxygen’s advanced caching features
• Build reusable components properly
• Minimize dynamic data queries
• Use CSS Grid and Flexbox efficiently
• Leverage Oxygen’s lazy load options
• Combine Oxygen with a good caching plugin for maximum performance

Final Thoughts: Stop Overthinking It

The Elementor vs Bricks Builder vs Oxygen page builder debates online are exhausting. Elementor vs Bricks vs Oxygen discussions often devolve into tribal warfare where everyone defends their choice.

Here’s the truth: All three are excellent tools. You can build professional, successful websites with any of them.

The builder matters less than:

• Your skill in using it
• Proper hosting infrastructure
• Image optimization
• Good design principles
• Clear content strategy
• Understanding your client’s needs

Choose based on your situation, learn the tool deeply, and focus on building great sites. The best page builder is the one you master.

Questions about page builders? Drop a comment below. I respond based on experience building client sites, not theoretical comparisons.

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Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to Elementor, Bricks Builder, and Oxygen Builder. If you purchase through these links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions are based on my genuine experience building 100+ client sites with these tools.