By Shaheer Malik · Prices checked on 27 October 2026
Quick answer: Framer is a visual website builder with hosting included, paid as a subscription per site. Next.js is a free, open-source React framework: someone writes the code, and you host it wherever you like. For a marketing site your team wants to edit without a developer, Framer is usually the better choice. For anything with logins, user data or custom logic, Next.js is. I build both, and a marketing site costs the same $1,999 either way, so the choice can be made on the merits.
Framer and Next.js, side by side
| Compare | Framer | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A visual website builder with hosting included | An open-source React framework for building sites and apps in code |
| Who edits it | Designers and marketers, visually | Developers, in code |
| What you pay to run it | A plan per site, plus paid editor seats | Nothing for the framework; you pay for hosting |
| Content | Built-in CMS | Bring your own: files, a headless CMS or a database |
| Logins and user data | Not built for it | Yes, it is a full application framework |
| Custom code | React code components and code overrides | All of it is code |
| What you own | The project, in your Framer account, running on Framer | The source code, which runs on any host that supports it |
| Best for | Marketing sites a non-developer keeps updated | Products, apps and sites with real logic |
The rest of this page goes row by row through the ones that usually decide it: who edits the site, what it costs to run, and where each one stops.
What each one costs to run
These are running costs, separate from the cost of building the site. All prices were read on 27 October 2026 and exclude tax, so check the pricing pages before you budget.
Framer. According to Framer's pricing page, the Basic plan is $10 a month per site billed yearly, or $15 billed monthly, and covers 30 pages and 2 CMS collections. The Pro plan is $30 a month billed yearly, or $45 billed monthly, and covers 150 pages, 10 CMS collections, 2,500 CMS items and 100 GB of bandwidth, with paid add-ons beyond that. Additional editors are $20 a month each, and each extra language is $20 a month. A Pro site billed yearly works out to $360 a year before extra editors.
Next.js. Next.js itself is free and MIT-licensed. What you pay for is hosting. On Vercel's pricing page, the free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use, so a business site normally goes on Pro, which is $20 a month per developer seat with $20 of usage credit included. A site that is exported as static files can also be served from a static host, which is how this site, itself built with Next.js, runs.
The honest summary: for a small marketing site, the running costs are close enough that they should not decide it. Who will edit the site, and whether it needs to be an application, should.
When Framer is the better choice
- Your marketing team edits the site. Pages, blog posts and case studies change without a developer, and the CMS is built in.
- Design and motion matter most. Layout and interactions are built visually, so what was designed is what ships.
- You want nothing to maintain. Hosting, a global CDN and SEO settings come with the plan, with no servers or framework upgrades to manage.
- The site is a marketing site. Landing pages, a product site, a portfolio, a blog: the job Framer is built for.
Framer also lets developers extend a site where needed: its developer features include custom React code components and code overrides. That covers the odd calculator or custom widget without leaving Framer. How it holds up in search is covered in is Framer good for SEO.
When Next.js is the better choice
- People log in. Accounts, dashboards, roles and saved data are an application, and Framer is the wrong tool for that.
- The site needs real logic. Custom integrations, calculators that hit your API, gated content, or data from your own database.
- You want to own every line. The source code is yours, and you can move hosts without rebuilding.
- Engineers and coding agents will change it. A Next.js codebase is plain code in your repository, which your developers and tools such as Claude Code can read, test and change.
The trade is that every change goes through someone who can write code. For a product, that is normal. For a marketing site that changes every week, it can turn small edits into tickets, unless a CMS is wired in for the content.
The setup I recommend most: both
Many startups do not have to choose. The marketing site lives in Framer, where the marketing team can change it the same day. The product lives in code, usually on its own subdomain such as app.yourcompany.com, where the engineers own it. Each tool does the job it is good at, and neither team waits on the other.
The point where this stops working is when the marketing site needs the product's data: live pricing from your billing system, personalized pages, or content behind a login. At that point, the marketing site is part of the application, and code is the better home for it.
How I build each one
Same designer, same fixed price for a marketing site, whichever way it goes:
- Framer website in 14 days: $1,999. Custom design, CMS collections, interactions and SEO setup, then the project is transferred to your Framer account. Your Framer subscription is separate and paid by you.
- Custom-coded website in 14 days: $1,999. Designed, built and deployed on your domain, with the source code and design files handed over. The stack is agreed on the call.
- Web app in 21 days: from $1,999, for anything with logins, roles and a real database.
On the Framer side, I hold Contra's Framer Expert badge, and the Framer work is on Framer design and development. If you are weighing builders rather than code, see Framer vs Webflow. If you want a nudge either way, the platform picker asks nine quick questions and recommends a platform, with the reasons.
Switching later
Neither direction is an export. Moving from Framer to Next.js, or the other way, means rebuilding the pages in the new tool, keeping the design, and redirecting every old URL so search rankings carry over. That is a project of its own, covered by website redesign. If you are moving onto Framer, migrating to Framer walks through it. Choosing well now is cheaper than switching later.
How to decide in five minutes
Ask who will make the next ten changes to the site. If it is your marketing team, start with Framer. If it is your engineers, or if anyone will ever log in, start with code. If both are true, use both. Still unsure? Book a 30-minute call or send a brief on the contact page, and within 24 hours you get a recommendation, a scope and a fixed quote. The finished work is in the case studies.
Framer vs Next.js questions
Is Framer or Next.js better for SEO?
Both can rank well. Framer gives you control of titles, meta, slugs, redirects and the sitemap without code. Next.js gives you full control of everything, including structured data and rendering, but someone has to write it. For a marketing site, the content and structure matter far more than the choice between the two.
How much does Framer cost compared with Next.js?
On 27 October 2026, Framer's Pro plan was $30 a month per site billed yearly, or $45 billed monthly, with extra editors at $20 a month. Next.js itself is free and open source. Hosting it on Vercel's Pro plan was $20 a month per developer seat, and static hosting can cost less.
Can Framer handle a web app with logins?
No, not as a real application. Framer is built for marketing sites. For accounts, dashboards and saved user data, use a coded app such as one built with Next.js. A common setup is the marketing site in Framer and the product on its own subdomain in code.
Can I add custom code to a Framer site?
Yes, within limits. Framer supports custom React code components and code overrides, which cover things like an embedded calculator or a custom widget. If most of the site needs custom code, that is a sign it belongs in Next.js instead.
Can I move from Framer to Next.js later?
Yes, but it is a rebuild, not an export. The design carries over, the pages are rebuilt in code, and every old URL needs a redirect so rankings are kept. The same is true in the other direction.
Which one do you build in?
Both. A Framer website and a custom-coded website are each $1,999 for 14 days on my sprints, and a web app with logins is the 21-day web app sprint, from $1,999. Book a call or send a brief and you get a recommendation and a fixed quote within 24 hours.
Pick the tool that fits, at one price
Book a 30-minute call or send a brief. You get a recommendation, a scope and a fixed quote within 24 hours.