Posted June 28, 2026 by Cameron Ashley. I've shipped production sites in all three. No affiliate links, no "best for SEO" hand-waving. Just which one I'd use for which client.
This is the comparison I get asked about most. A new client needs a WordPress site. They want me to recommend a builder. They've heard of Elementor, maybe Bricks. They don't know GeneratePress exists. They want me to pick one.
I'm going to give you my honest take. Each builder has a place. The wrong answer is to pick one for everything.
The short answer
Most of my clients land on Elementor Pro. It's the right choice for about 60% of projects — clients who want to edit their own pages after handover, who don't have a developer on retainer, who need to ship fast.
Bricks is my choice for clients who care about speed more than editor experience. Performance is noticeably better than Elementor. The editor is less polished. Pricing is similar.
GeneratePress is the right choice when the client doesn't need a block-based editor at all — they have a developer managing the site and the content team only edits blog posts and pages.
Elementor Pro — when I'd use it
Elementor is the most popular WordPress page builder for a reason. It does almost everything well. The block library is massive. The template system is mature. Every agency and freelancer knows it, so handing off to another developer later is easy.
Strengths:
- Editor experience — best in class. The closest thing to Webflow in WordPress.
- Template library — hundreds of pre-built blocks and full page kits
- Theme Builder — header, footer, single post, archive, all customizable through the same editor
- WooCommerce builder — product pages, checkout, cart all customizable without code
- Ecosystem — every WordPress developer knows it, every tutorial exists for it
- Forms — Elementor Pro forms are good enough that most sites don't need a separate form plugin
Weaknesses:
- Performance overhead — every Elementor page loads ~200KB of JavaScript before your content
- DOM bloat — Elementor wraps everything in 4-5 divs. Markup is messier than Bricks
- Price — $59/year for one site, $99/year for three. Adds up if you have many sites
- Lock-in — switching off Elementor means rebuilding every page
Bricks Builder — when I'd use it
Bricks is the new favorite of performance-focused developers. It does most of what Elementor does, with cleaner output and faster page loads. The editor is less polished. The community is smaller. But the technical foundation is stronger.
Strengths:
- Performance — Lighthouse scores 15-25 points higher than Elementor on the same design. Real difference, not theoretical.
- Clean output — single div where Elementor uses five. Easier to style, easier to maintain.
- Dynamic data — first-class support for custom fields, ACF, Meta Box, Pods, Toolset
- Query Builder — build custom loops without code (Elementor Pro has this too but Bricks' is more powerful)
- One-time pricing — $129 for unlimited sites, lifetime updates. No subscription.
Weaknesses:
- Smaller community — fewer tutorials, fewer pre-built templates, fewer add-ons
- Editor is rougher — works but feels less refined than Elementor
- Smaller pool of developers — if you fire me and hire someone else, they'll need to learn Bricks
- Fewer integrations — most third-party plugins work fine, but some are Elementor-first and the Bricks version is worse
GeneratePress + GenerateBlocks — when I'd use it
GeneratePress is a theme, not a builder. It pairs with GenerateBlocks (a separate plugin) for page building. Together they're the lightest option of the three by a wide margin.
The model is different. GeneratePress is the framework. GenerateBlocks adds a small set of well-designed blocks (Container, Grid, Headline, Button, etc.). You compose pages from those blocks. No theme builder. No drag-and-drop sections library.
Strengths:
- Performance — best of the three. Lighthouse scores 95+ out of the box.
- Clean code — GeneratePress is famous for clean, minimal markup
- Stability — used on 600,000+ sites. Updates don't break things.
- No lock-in — pages are mostly WordPress core blocks. You can switch themes without rebuilding.
- Developer-friendly — hooks, filters, child themes. Built for customization.
Weaknesses:
- Less visual editing — not a drag-and-drop builder in the Elementor sense
- Fewer pre-built designs — you build from primitives, not from templates
- Steeper learning curve — for non-technical editors, harder to learn than Elementor
- WooCommerce support is lighter — works but no equivalent of Elementor's WooBuilder
The performance difference, in real numbers
I built the same marketing site in all three for a Toronto client. Same hosting (Hostinger Business), same content, same images. Lighthouse Performance scores on the homepage:
- Elementor Pro: 82 (mobile), 96 (desktop)
- Bricks: 94 (mobile), 99 (desktop)
- GeneratePress + GenerateBlocks: 96 (mobile), 100 (desktop)
Bricks and GeneratePress are roughly equivalent on performance. Elementor is meaningfully slower, especially on mobile. Whether that 12-point difference matters depends on your traffic and how much conversion lift a 1-second speed improvement gets you. For most clients, it matters.
How I actually decide
When a new client comes to me, I ask three questions:
- Who's editing the site after launch? If a non-technical marketer is editing pages, I pick Elementor. If a developer is on retainer, I pick Bricks or GeneratePress.
- How performance-sensitive is the project? Ecommerce, content sites competing for organic traffic, ads with tight CPA targets — pick Bricks or GeneratePress. Marketing sites with low traffic volume — Elementor is fine.
- What's the budget for the build? Elementor Pro is the cheapest to start ($59/year). Bricks costs more upfront ($129 once) but is cheaper long-term. GeneratePress Premium is $59/year for the theme; GenerateBlocks is free.
The pick I'd make for a small business in 2026
If I had to pick one for a typical Toronto small business — non-technical owner, 5-10 page site, ecommerce with WooCommerce, plans to update content themselves — I'd recommend Elementor Pro.
Yes, the performance hit is real. No, for a small business getting 5,000 visitors a month, the difference between 82 and 95 on Lighthouse is not worth the steeper learning curve of Bricks or the WYSIWYG-light experience of GeneratePress.
Pick Bricks if you have a developer maintaining the site. Pick GeneratePress if speed is the project and you're okay with a less visual editing experience. Pick Elementor for everything else.
The pick I'd make for a content-driven site
For a blog or content site competing for organic traffic, where every point on Lighthouse matters, I'd recommend GeneratePress + GenerateBlocks.
Speed is a ranking factor. The Google algorithm rewards fast sites. If you're publishing 4 articles a week and need every SEO edge you can get, the 14-point Lighthouse gap between GeneratePress and Elementor is meaningful.
The pick I'd make for a developer-managed WooCommerce store
For a WooCommerce store where a developer maintains the site and the merchant only edits products and orders, I'd recommend Bricks.
Custom WooCommerce layouts are easier in Bricks than in Elementor (where WooBuilder works but the output is heavier). Query Builder makes custom product loops straightforward. The clean output helps when you need to debug CSS later.
What I won't build with
A few options I won't pick in 2026, even if asked:
- Divi — slow, bloated, the marketing is louder than the product. Last Divi build I did took 30% longer than the equivalent Elementor build for no benefit.
- Beaver Builder — fine product, but the smaller market means finding developers is harder.
- WPBakery — old, mostly abandoned by serious developers. If your designer handed you a WPBakery design, migrate it to Elementor or Bricks before launch.
Try before you commit
If you're not sure, build a quick test page in all three. Most builders have free versions. GeneratePress has a free theme. GenerateBlocks is fully free. Elementor has a free version. Bricks has a free version with most features.
Build the same hero section in each. Build a product card. Build a contact form. Spend an hour on each. The right one will feel right.
Want a recommendation for your project?
Tell me about your site — what it does, who's editing it, what your traffic looks like. I'll tell you which one I'd pick and why. Free, no follow-up.
About the author
Cameron Ashley is a Toronto-based WordPress developer. He builds production sites in Elementor, Bricks, and GeneratePress for clients across North America. Top Rated on Upwork, $100K+ earned, 100% Job Success. More about Cameron →