Silex vs Etch Studio: A Nonprofit Builder That Costs Nothing
Silex is free, open source and run by a French nonprofit. The online editor leans on GitLab, and the AI side is still alpha.
Etch Studio costs $590 a year on the annual plan, or $708 if you pay monthly.
Silex costs nothing. Its homepage says: “All features are free of charge, Silex is 100% free and open source.”
No free tier with the good parts held back. All of it.
Who’s behind it
Silex is maintained by Silex Labs, a French non-profit. The README names Alex Hoyau as maintainer, with the project owned by the association.
Compare that with Etch. Georgia lists Digital Gravy, LLC as dissolved, and Etch is still on sale.
What you build with it
It’s a visual builder for websites, not apps. You design responsive layouts, make reusable headers, footers and components, and get static HTML and CSS out.
The README’s line is “Design visually, export clean HTML/CSS, host anywhere.”
It isn’t stuck on static content either. Silex can bind components to WordPress, Strapi, Squidex or any GraphQL API. So the content can come from a CMS you already run.
The GitLab part
This is the bit the homepage doesn’t lead with.
The free online editor at v3.silex.me needs a GitLab account for storage. Publishing, by default, is a Git commit, a tag and a CI build on GitLab. The publishing docs say “most users use GitLab for both” storage and hosting.
You can point it at other services. You can also self-host the editor with Docker or Node. But if you don’t already use GitLab, expect to set it up.
AI through your own agent
Silex doesn’t sell you an AI. The desktop app has a built-in MCP server, and you connect whatever agent you use: “Claude Code, Goose, OpenCode, or any MCP client”.
The agent edits pages, content and styles. You refine them visually, live.
That’s the right design. You keep your AI, your bill and your choice of model.
What Silex leaves to you
The desktop app is early. Silex’s download page says “This is an early alpha” and “Expect rough edges”. Its AI page calls the AI work an “early prototype, looking for beta testers”. The AI features live in the desktop app, not in the online editor.
The licence is AGPL. If you change Silex and run your version as a service for other people, you have to offer them the source. Using it as it is costs you nothing.
Self-hosting is maintainer-tested on Linux only. macOS and Windows are community-tested.
The money
Silex is $0 for the builder, forever. You pay for hosting if you don’t use GitLab’s, and for your AI if you use one.
Etch Studio is $1,770 over three years on the annual plan, from a company whose last pre-sale buyers are still waiting.