Webflow started as the answer to the gap that the cheap and open source platform Wordpress created in the market: A premium solution that just works.

Webstudio is closely related to Webflow in a way. The founder (Oleg) worked at Webflow and understands the unique challenges and opportunities of a modern, visual site builder. But Oleg didn't just create a Webflow clone. He set out to create something on different technology and all with the promise of an open source platform. In other words, Oleg tries to bring the excitement and fairness of an open source platform to the simplicity and improvements that Webstudio offers.

Webflow is down?

As I write this comparison in July 30, 2025, Webflow has been down again and again over the last 72 hours. Thousands of comments on Reddit and hundreds on discourse paint a bleak picture: Webflow seems to have lost its core promise. Webflow can't provide a low maintenance solution that just works. That was always the main selling point over Wordpress. And now this seems partly broken.

Webflow is continuously updating and creating new features, but its core offering becomes more expensive and less stable. A route that seems quite like becoming another Wordpress.... without the benefits of being open source.

Why Open Source Matters

Open source means that it is a real community-driven architecture. It also means that there is limited pricing capacity and low thresholds of choosing such a solution.

There are not many real open source solutions around and each has its limitations. We have all witnessed that wordpress promise of being open source still means that some might have more power than others.

Most open source projects also require something like a benevolent dictator who drives the project forward. In this sense, Svelte pretty much depends on Rich Harris to drive major decisions. Webstudio depends on Oleg Isainen for these major decisions.

"The power of community-driven development cannot be overstated. It fosters innovation at a pace that proprietary software struggles to match."

Still, that Webstudio is open source means at least that you can export a complete build and host it on your own infrastructure. In other words, Webstudio can't increase its price randomly on already existing sites. Even the builder could potentially be run in a self-hosted way, but that is more complicated at the moment.

Webflow vs. Webstudio Pricing

Webflow has increased prices several times in the last 2 years and become quite expensive. Millions of websites are based on Webflow and they are in a gated system - it is not easily possible to migrate these sites elsewhere and you have to pay extra to keep it working.

Webstudio has reduced the price in July 2025 by offering an annual subscription brining the price for the pro website builder including hosting down to just 15 USD per month.

"Running three websites with 200 pages each and 500 CMS dynamic pages costs about 117 USD on Webflow and about 15 USD + 10 USD (Baserow) on Webstudio. For many use cases, Webstudio is about 70-80% cheaper."

Many simple Webflow sites can now be copied into Webstudio and then self-hosted. This is often not possible for sites that have plenty of animations or relying on Webflow's proprietary CMS, but for simple marketing websites, it is possible and that allows Webflow users a plan b!

Webflow vs. Webstudio Roadmap

I am sorry, but I just haven't found an overview of a clear Webflow Roadmap. Instead, I have seen many requests and complaints that such a rough roadmap just doesn't exist.

Webstudio on the other hand has the above shown public roadmap. Sometimes, things get realized and new features pop up out of nowhere that weren't even clearly mentioned on the Roadmap, but overall it is very reassuring that Webstudio has some very important updates scheduled for this year. Will all this be possible in 2025 - I don't know, but it is very reassuring how much Webstudio has delivered and what they are constantly building.

Getting Started with Webstudio

How to get started? Well, a simple site is free of charge. That is the easiest way to jump in. People that know Webflow will have no difficulties in adjusting to the basic functionality of Webstudio. Just when it comes to animations and CMS it gets a bit tricky.

These advanced functions are only available in the paid version but also a paid version is very inexpensive. Just 15 USD per month if paid for one year in advance. That is incredibly cheap!

For instructions on how to build a website with Webstudio, please check out the tutorials page on Webstudiosi and also the full build videos.