There has been lots of chatter, so I thought I would check out how to build a website using Elements. I watched Let’s build… Tiny Com in YT. While there are lots of nice features to tweak various elements, I found it too much compared to Blocs 6. It was easy to get lost, because there are so many bells, whistles and instructions. I personally don’t see this with Blocs 6. Blocs 6 is easy.
Your thoughts and experience Agree | Disagree | Don’t Care
Like any app, some will love it, some not as much… or not at all.
TL:DR - scroll to the end.
With saying that, I know there are (at least) 4 of us 3rd party Blocs devs using the Elements Beta. Of those, 3 have either made products or in the process of making them. Not sure about the other person 
We are comparing an App still in beta and not officially released yet, against an app thats been out for 10+ years. There are advantages and dis-advantages for both in that regard. eg. The industry has changed a lot in those 10 years, and is changing fast at the moment. Both lack substantial AI development (Win for Pinegrow there) which I have found game changing in workflow and build speed.
We are also comparing Bootstrap with Tailwind. They are slightly different. Tailwind takes a stronger utility class first approach compared to Bootstrap, which relies more on components and utility classes.
In my opinion, Elements is more a visual editor for Tailwind, it keeps very pure to the framework. The way it handles Themes is fantastic, and you can make global elements, and un-link various aspects of those globals. This makes managing your website a breeze. Which brings up a point, the initial build is often just the start, being able to maintain a site is just as important. I found Blocs projects that started life in v3/v4 have persistent issues. Its to early to say if Tailwind will have this problem.
On the question of being “easier”, it depends on what you get used too. Like any app there is a learning curve, maybe more of one if you are not familiar with a framework. For example, I found Bootstrap Studio and Pinegrow relatively easy to adapt too, because I knew the framework. I have used BSS, before I started with Blocs, and still have it in my dock and fire it up every now and then.
On an interesting note, I have the Tailwind framework plugin for Pinegrow, and I can’t say I liked it much, I gave it a go a couple of times for sites, but ended up remaking them using Bootstrap. While using Elements, I have no choice but to learn, especially while building components for it. I like it more than I did… but there are a ton of classes to learn. However most users wont need to do that, as Elements gives you visual tools to build without having to know them (much like Pinegrow does). Blocs you end up making a lot of custom classes.
Summary
In summary, it’s early days… I am still learning to make Element DevPacks for it. Still on the fence about Tailwind 
but time may resolve that? Lots of potential in the making… but as usual, the direction is going to be set by the developer, things can change. and there are a lot of options for us these days. 
I am looking at making components for a product that isn’t launched, and that has no market yet 
. So with that in mind, out of the two… Blocs is contextually ahead.
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I think it will be a cold day in hell when I spend upwards of $125 for a beta application that runs on a subscription.
At the moment, I really don’t care how “good” or “bad” the application is with regards to site building. The monetary part of owning this app seems ridiculous to me.
Rich the Weather Guy
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@WeatherguyNH
Couldn’t agree more - he’s just plain greedy. That’s the reason the Stacks Pro app is being developed as a replacement for Rapid Weaver Classic (another rip off subscription). I am still using RW 8.9.3 (not subscription) with the Stacks plugin. Although I must say the more I use Blocs the more I Iove using it, especially with all that comes with it as standard.
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@PeteSharp
You would be better looking at developing for the Stacks Pro app a direct replacement for Rapid Weaver and Elements. Though you are already creating great Brics for Blocs.
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Well that’s not really what the thread is about, Allen asked about people sharing their experience.
But pricing is always about return and value to the purchaser right?
Someone making 10s of thousands of dollars or more from an app will have no trouble investing into the right tools for them.
For me trust and reliability is very important, as well as the app having developers who are approachable. Which is why I use Pinegrow now. Especially since I’m no longer locked into a proprietary system that can break at any time and causes untold issues. I have secure access to everything. It ‘costs’ me more than blocs would (only in that I pay yearly) but again the value returned to me is worth it. I get something way more substantial and suitable for me, so the value is better for my use case.
The other side of the coin is I like helping people make the sites they want, which is why I make Brics (Blocs is mutating code again, so it’s painful to make them right now) and why I’m interested in making components for Elements. If the return is there, it’s worth doing.
I’m not interested in politics, enough of that happens. (You won’t find my brics on the feature page of the store ) So regarding Stacks Pro I don’t have a dog there, I have never used RW. But it appears by observation they have the same situation, it’s all in the username 
End of the day, people will use what works for them (or maybe because it actually works) and aometimes people get locked into something and change seems too hard. But that’s their call.
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@PeteSharp
Apologies Pete if I was barking up the wrong tree.
Looking at history, I would not bet too much on Elements from a developers perspective.
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Simple comparison so far:
- Price: (for basic users with simple needs and building their own site): Blocs: ~$119usd Elements: ~$119usd (It’s a draw)
- Actual creation of pages:
Blocs: Drag & Drop w/ a very basic set of default controls which then often requires setting up classes (not very user friendly) and delving into the class manager to find more controls.
Elements: Drag & Drop w/ all controls available, not that you have to use them all or even look at them as groupings of controls are collapsable
(Advantage with Elements) - Features available:
Blocs: Lots of development over at least 7yrs, so there is a good selection of built-ins or 3rd party addons available.
Elements: Still in early access (as of March '25) and building out built-ins and 3rd party addons are still in development.
(Advantage with Blocs)
So, it’s close and it will interesting to see how both communities react to their current app and the competitor’s once a little more time has passed.
Bill
BricsDesign
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Don’t forget in your price bulletin point that Elements is an annual subscription, Blocs isn’t. So in my mind that makes Blocs the winner.
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Look for yourself
compared to
https://www.elementsapp.io/purchase/
Depends what you mean by ‘annual subscription’
If you mean updates:
Elements: allows updates for 1 yr, but still keep the app afterwards.
Blocs: Updates for whatever version you are on, but a new main version arrives each year, so it’s basically the same, ie 1 yr of updates.
(It’s a draw)
If you mean subscription as only can use app during active subscription, then neither one does that - both can be used forever.
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Good comparison, but as of right now, you are still PAYING for beta software.
…and then you are paying annually for BETA software…until?
No thanks for now…
Rich the Weather Guy
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Smart in many ways… it’s been very public which means a lot of content at launch. During the beta, you filter out a lot of people who don’t understand what a beta is. Most likely more advanced users who will generally give better feedback, they will find bugs and suggest workflow.
And devs will be investing now to have products available at launch, which is a win win.
If it’s not for you, it doesn’t make sense. A bit like the pricing on an Apple Studio Display. If you think it’s expensive, you are not the target. I think the exception to all this, is the wheels on the Mac Pro
UPDATE: Thanks @Helen, for the clarification, great to know. I modified this post
Hi @PeteSharp,
Over the weekend it was brought to our attention from other Blocs community members that on one of your social media accounts you had shared screen shots and also voiced some concerns regarding the Blocs EULA (End User License Agreement).
We had intended to contact you directly this morning to clear up any misunderstandings. However, upon visiting the forum today, I can see you have also made similar comments here, so I will instead, address your comments directly in this post, for you and for those who have been misinformed.
As a small business we take legal agreements and documents such as our EULA (End User License Agreement) very seriously. We don’t have the expertise in our team to write these documents ourselves, so we hire legal professionals to write all of our legal materials, ranging from employment contracts, NDA’s to our EULA.
In the case of our EULA, our solicitors created a single EULA that accommodates both consumer and business licensees.
I’d like to first draw your attention to the Consumer and Business Users section of the Blocs EULA. In the screen shot, I’ve underlined in red, the wording that clarifies the agreement is intended for both consumers and businesses, including definitions of each in relation to the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015.
As stated in our EULA, and in line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a consumer is defined as “an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession.” If you intend to use the product for purposes outside this definition, then you are classified as a business user.
Lets move on to the section that you partially shared on social media, Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you. I have underlined in red, the section which is intended for consumers. I believe the section that you have misunderstood is 6.1 (d). This wording is used to make it clear that if you meet the criteria of a consumer, Blocs is for domestic and private use.
However, if you continue to the next section (6.3) you will find our Business terms for this section, which I have also underlined in red (in the screen shot). Section 6.3 contains the terms that apply to licensees who do not meet the criteria of a consumer and instead fall under the definition of a business licensee. Hopefully this helps clarify that Blocs is not limited to consumer and private use only, and also accommodates business use.
The statement you shared in various places including on our forum, did not include this distinction, which may mislead others. We would appreciate it if you could correct this to reflect the full terms of our licensing.
In future, if you have any questions regarding our company, products, or policies, we’d appreciate it if you reached out to us directly rather than discussing them on external platforms. We’re always happy to clarify any concerns to ensure accurate information is shared.
If you’d like to discuss this further, feel free to contact me directly.
Given that the discussion is no longer aligned with the original topic, I’ll be closing this thread.
Many thanks!
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