Silex

Free, open-source visual website builder that publishes static sites with CMS data.

Open sourceSelf-hostableWebsite builders

Verified facts: 5 of 5
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Silex

Silex is a free and open-source visual website builder maintained by a non-profit community and part of the OW2 open-source consortium. You design pages visually in the browser, with control over layout and styles, then publish static HTML and CSS to hosts like GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, FTP servers or your own server. It can pull content from headless CMSs and static site generators such as WordPress or 11ty to produce dynamic-looking static sites. A hosted instance is free to use, and you can self-host it with Docker or Node.js. It is licensed under the AGPL. Silex is less polished than commercial builders, documentation assumes some web knowledge, and there are fewer templates and integrations. It suits people who value software freedom and want sites that are not tied to a vendor.

Best for: Open-source advocates and web designers who want vendor-free static sites.

What works

Free and AGPL-licensed, with no vendor lock-in
Publishes plain static files to any host
Can be self-hosted with Docker or Node.js

Why people leave

Less polished than commercial builders
Few templates and integrations
Assumes some web knowledge for advanced features

Top Silex alternatives

See all 5

1
Webstudio
Open-source too, with a more polished editor and Webflow-like CSS control.
66.5
2
Mobirise
Free offline desktop app with many ready-made blocks.
62.6
3
Webflow
Commercial visual builder with a mature CMS and hosting.
59.6
4
WordPress.com
Hosted WordPress with themes and plugins.
57.2
5
Penpot
Open-source design tool if you mostly need to mock up pages first.
50.0

Why people left Silex

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Silex: common questions

Is Silex free?

Yes. Silex is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is Silex open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at silexlabs/Silex. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Silex run on?

Silex is available for Web and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Silex?

The highest-ranked Silex alternatives right now are Webstudio, Mobirise and Webflow. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 Silex alternatives

Silex facts

5 of 5 verified

License: AGPL-3.0; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: AGPL-3.0 (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0).”
Open source: Yes; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.silex.me(opens source in a new tab); “Silex is a free and open-source visual website builder — design in the editor, publish anywhere, own your data.”
Self-hosting: Docker or Node.js; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.silex.me(opens source in a new tab); “Self-hosting Overview Docker Node.js”
Project home: OW2 open-source consortium; Checked Oct 25, 2026silex.me(opens source in a new tab); “Silex is a project of OW2 , the European open-source community”
Hosting included: Free hosted editor and publishing; Checked Oct 25, 2026silex.me(opens source in a new tab); “Visual editor, CMS integration, hosting included — all in one free/libre and open-source platform.”