# Craft.js vs Plasmic: an editor for your users or a studio for your designers

*Source: https://www.editorstack.cc/compare/craftjs-vs-plasmic — last updated 2026-08-19. Licensed CC BY 4.0 with attribution to EditorStack.*

## Summary

- Craft.js is a React library you use to build an editing surface for your users; Plasmic is a hosted studio your designers use to build pages.
- Craft.js is MIT licensed at 29.2 kB gzip with no vendor; Plasmic's paid tiers are reported from around $39 per month with a free tier.
- Plasmic cannot be given to your customers as your product's editor, and Craft.js gives your designers nothing until you have built the interface.

## At a glance

| Product | Type | Licence | Frameworks | Bundle (min+gzip) | Price from | Self-hosted | White label | Score |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Craft.js](https://www.editorstack.cc/libraries/craftjs) | library | MIT | React | 29.2 kB gzip | Free (open source) | Yes | Yes | 6.6 |
| [Plasmic](https://www.editorstack.cc/libraries/plasmic) | sdk | Proprietary | React | Not measurable | from $39/mo | No | No | not scored |

## Different audiences, different products

Plasmic is used by designers, in Plasmic. Craft.js is used by developers, to build something their
users will touch. Once stated that way the comparison mostly resolves, and what remains is worth
saying because teams do put these two on the same list.

## Where Plasmic wins

**It exists.** A complete design studio, a CMS, a loader and a code-generation path. On Craft.js you
have a node tree.

**Layout power for designers.** Real positioning, responsive control, variants and slots.

**No engineering time to first page.** Register components and let designers work.

**Two integration models**, runtime or generated code, so your production dependency is a choice.

## Where Craft.js wins

**Your users can use it.** The editor is a component in your application, not a vendor's website.

**No vendor at all.** MIT, free, no tiers, no seats, no availability dependency.

**29.2 kB.** The lightest option in this dataset, because it ships no interface.

**Total control of interaction.** Drop rules, drag behaviour and tree manipulation are yours, which
matters when the editing surface has to match an unusual application — a canvas app, a diagram tool,
a dashboard composer.

## What each one costs you

Plasmic costs a subscription and a vendor relationship, and it costs you the option of ever giving
that editor to your customers.

Craft.js costs the 120 hours our [calculator](/use-cases/build-vs-buy-visual-editor) attaches to
building an editor interface, plus the settings forms, the layer tree and the block library. It buys
you an editing experience nobody else has.

## The mistake to avoid

Do not choose Craft.js because Plasmic is expensive. The subscription is not the expensive part of
this decision; the quarter of engineering is. Choose Craft.js because you need an editor inside your
product that looks like your product, and no supplied interface will do.

Equally, do not choose Plasmic because Craft.js looks like work. If your customers need to edit,
Plasmic will not do the job at any price, and discovering that after a proof of concept is the more
expensive mistake.

## Migration

There is no path. Plasmic designs are a hosted project in a vendor model; Craft.js content is a JSON
tree of your components in your database. Moving either way means rebuilding both the content and the
editing experience.

## Verdict

Designers, marketing pages, no customer-facing requirement: Plasmic — and compare it with
[Builder.io](/compare/builder-io-vs-plasmic), which is its actual competitor.

Customer-facing editing where the interface is your differentiator: Craft.js, with the interface work
budgeted honestly. If you want that customer-facing editing without building the interface,
[Puck](/compare/puck-vs-plasmic) is the option this pairing tends to hide.

## Decision checklist

1. **Who uses the editor?** Customers point to Craft.js; designers point to Plasmic.
2. **Is the editor interface part of our product's identity?** If yes, no supplied studio will do.
3. **How much of a design tool are we prepared to build?** Answer honestly, then halve it.
4. **Do we need a hosted CMS behind the pages?** Plasmic includes one; on Craft.js it is another
   system.
5. **What is our timeline to first customer use?** Craft.js measures in months.

## The number that matters

29.2 kB — the smallest bundle in our benchmark, and a misleading advantage in this comparison. Craft.js
is small because it ships no interface, and the interface is precisely what Plasmic sells. Comparing
these two on bundle size is comparing an engine block with a car.


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Plasmic an alternative to Craft.js?

Only in the sense that both put React components on a visual canvas. Plasmic is a finished design tool for your team; Craft.js is a toolkit for building an editor your users see.

### Could I build something like Plasmic on Craft.js?

The drag-and-drop foundation, yes. The design canvas, style system, CMS and hosting are a multi-year product, and pretending otherwise is how editor projects overrun.