Choosing the right WordPress builder can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re balancing SEO, site speed, scalability, and ease of editing. For SMB owners and lean marketing teams, the builder you choose impacts not only how your website looks, but how it performs in search engines and how easily your team (or your agency) can maintain it.
This guide breaks down Elementor, Breakdance, and Bricks using real-world context from the websites Pronto builds and manages. Our goal: help you choose the right fit for your business now and in the long term.
TL;DR: Which Builder Should You Choose?
- Choose Elementor if your priority is ease of editing, fast onboarding for marketing teams, and broad ecosystem support.
- Choose Breakdance if you want a modern builder with better performance than Elementor and have developer or agency support available.
- Choose Bricks if speed, SEO performance, and long-term maintainability matter more than drag-and-drop convenience—and you’re comfortable working with a developer or an agency.
There’s no universally “best” builder—only the best fit for your business goals, internal capabilities, and growth plans.
Quick Comparison Table
(Based on data compiled by Tom – Download counts, team size, domain authority, and community engagement from public sources.)
| Key Information per Builder |  Elementor |
 Breakdance |
 Bricks |
| Initial Release | 2016 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Downloads/Installs | 10M+ installs | ~200k | ~400k |
| Team Size | ~100–200 staff | 20–30 (Soflyy)% | ~10–20 (compact dev team) |
| Domain Rating | 92 | 79 | 77 |
| Monthly Search Traffic | 586,800 | 3,400 | 11,400 |
| r/elementor (28k) | r/BreakdanceWP (800) | r/BricksBuilder (2.2k) | |
| 153K, 23.9k |
14.3k | 24k | |
| BuiltWith Usage | 10M | 35K | 70K |
| Price for a Single Business Website | ~$84/year | ~$99/year | ~$79/year |
| Best For | Complex or design-heavy sites; teams needing easy self-editing | Modern designs, flexible layouts, agencies using Oxygen ecosystem | High-performance, SEO-focused, Core Web Vitals-optimized builds |
Pricing note: Costs shown above reflect commonly used professional tiers for a single business website and may change over time. Hosting, premium add-ons, and agency support are not included.
Elementor: The Popular, Flexible, Stable Choice
Elementor is the Honda Civic of WordPress builders: remarkably dependable, easy for almost anyone to drive, and supported everywhere.
Why Teams Choose Elementor
- Most familiar UI among non-technical editors—super valuable if your marketing team or your website admin makes frequent updates.
- Large ecosystem of plugins, designers, and developers.
- Great for complex and highly custom designs, interactive layouts, and beautiful branding-heavy builds.
- Safest choice in terms of company size and long-term viability.
Where Elementor Falls Short
- Can be heavier on performance compared to Bricks.
- Requires more optimization to hit Core Web Vitals.
- Can be too flexible, resulting in inconsistent editor experiences if not properly managed.
Best For:
SMBs who need beautiful, design-rich websites and want the ability to self-edit without developer help.
Breakdance: The New-Gen Design Tool with Familiar Strengths
Breakdance comes from Soflyy, the company behind Oxygen—a well-loved developer builder. It blends modern design controls with a powerful structure.
Why Teams Choose Breakdance
- Fresh, modern UI with plenty of built-in components.
- Faster and lighter than Elementor.
- Strong community traction despite being new.
- Great middle-ground option if you want design flexibility without going full developer-mode.
Where Breakdance Falls Short
- Younger ecosystem, smaller than Elementor.
- Not ideal for non-technical editors—learning curve is steeper.
- Some long-term stability unknowns as the ecosystem matures.
Best For:
Businesses wanting a modern, powerful builder and who have developer support (in-house or agency).
Bricks: The Performance & SEO Powerhouse
Bricks is the Porsche GT3 of WordPress builders—designed for speed, precision, and long-term technical performance.
Why Teams Choose Bricks
- Extremely fast and lightweight with excellent Core Web Vitals performance.
- Built for SEO, speed, and technical stability.
- Clean code output and fewer rendering issues.
- Perfect for agencies or teams that prefer a stable, engineered foundation.
- Community adoption is strong (70k+ BuiltWith usage, active dev community).
Where Bricks Falls Short
- Not ideal for DIY editing or non-technical users.
- Smaller team and ecosystem compared to Elementor.
- Requires a developer mindset or an agency partner who knows it well.
Best For:
Growing SMBs, MSPs, and B2B companies where speed, SEO performance, and long-term maintainability matter more than drag-and-drop convenience.
SEO, AI Search, and Performance: Why Your Builder Choice Matters
Your builder impacts:
- Page speed (a ranking signal)
- Cumulative Layout Shift & Core Web Vitals (critical for SEO)
- Content structure that affects AI search engines like ChatGPT and Google Gemini
- Maintenance cost and long-term scalability
Bricks generally leads in technical performance. Elementor excels in editor experience. Breakdance sits in the middle with strong design capabilities.
If ranking, speed, and stability are highest priority, Bricks is often the best long-term choice.
If your team self-edits regularly, Elementor may be the more practical option.
What to Consider When Choosing Your WordPress WebsiteBuilder: “It’s Not the Tool, It’s the Pilot”
One important truth: all three can produce excellent websites when built well.
Poor performance usually comes from implementation, not the builder.
An experienced builder-focused developer (your “pilot”) is what determines:
- how fast your site loads,
- how stable the build is,
- how easy it is to maintain,
- and whether content is structured correctly for SEO & AI.
This is why Pronto uses a value-based approach: the outcome matters more than the software.
Which Builder Does Pronto Recommend?
Context matters.
For some of our clients focused on SEO were critical—so Bricks was the ideal choice.
For brands with heavy design needs or lots of self-editing, Elementor is still a fantastic, safe, mature option.
For modern designs with a strong developer involved in ongoing development and maintenance, Breakdance fills a great niche.
Final Recommendations for Choosing Your WordPress Website Builder
Here’s the decision simplified:
Choose Elementor if:
You want a flexible, popular builder that’s easy for your team to edit.
Choose Breakdance if:
You want modern design power and have developers supporting the site.
Choose Bricks if:
SEO, speed, Core Web Vitals, and long-term maintainability are top priorities.
Need Help Choosing the Right Builder?
Pronto Marketing builds and maintains hundreds of WordPress sites using all major builders. Whether you’re optimizing for speed, ease of editing, or long-term SEO, we can help you select the right one.
Want a free consultation with Tom? Let’s discuss which builder aligns with your business goals.
