Etch Studio vs the Alternatives
Etch Studio is $590 a year. Pick by how you want to work. Most of these start at nothing, and none of them costs what Etch Studio does.
$1,299 and no refunds is what EtchWP's first buyers were asked for, and they're still missing what they paid for. Etch Studio is the next bill: $590 a year on the annual plan, or $708 if you pay monthly. The FAQ says there "won't be a lifetime deal".
You don't have to pay it. Each comparison below is against Etch Studio, because that's the same builder without WordPress.
Which one should you pick?
- You want to keep WordPress for content and put Astro in front of it: PhantomStudio.
- You want your own code and no builder at all: Astro.
- You want a visual editor on plain files, on your own machine: FEWD Studio.
- You want a free, open-source visual builder: Silex.
Skip the builder
- Astro vs Etch Studio
My pick. Free and open source, and all your code stays in Git.
- Kujo SSG vs Etch Studio
MIT-licensed static site generator made for AI agents. It's new, so try it on your own site first.
Free and open source
- Silex vs Etch Studio
Free, from the nonprofit Silex Labs. The online editor needs a GitLab account, and the desktop AI is still early.
- OpenPage vs Etch Studio
MIT-licensed builder you can self-host. AI generation needs its endpoint deployed and may involve Gemini API costs. No commits since March 2026.
- VvvebJs vs Etch Studio
Apache 2.0 drag-and-drop editor in vanilla JavaScript. You build the rest of the setup yourself.
Free to start
- FEWD Studio vs Etch Studio
Desktop visual editor for plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, free to start. Astro, git and the terminal need a licence, at £79.99 a year.
Pay once
- PhantomStudio vs Etch Studio
Visual builder and AI for Astro, $199 once, with the code in your own GitHub repo. It's in beta.
- Pinegrow vs Etch Studio
Edits standard files. A one-time licence keeps the current version forever, with one year of updates and without the Interactions and Shop Builder add-ons.
Questions
What's the difference between EtchWP and Etch Studio?
EtchWP is the WordPress plugin. Etch Studio is the same builder without WordPress, and it costs $590 a year on the annual plan, or $708 if you pay monthly.
Is there a lifetime deal for Etch Studio?
No. Its pricing FAQ says there "won't be a lifetime deal". PhantomStudio and Pinegrow both sell one-time licences.
Can you leave EtchWP and keep your pages?
Not cleanly. When I switched Etch off, my test page's content area went blank. The words stay in the database, packed inside Etch's block data.
Do you earn anything from these links?
No. There are no affiliate links on this site.