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Framer vs Next.js
Framer is a hosted website builder your design and marketing team can edit. Next.js is a React framework your engineers use to code a site from scratch. Both can run a fast, polished B2B marketing site. The choice is about who changes the site and what it has to do.
The short answer
Choose Framer if the site is mainly marketing pages and your designers and marketers should publish changes without engineering time. Choose Next.js if the site shares code or data with your product, needs custom logic, or your engineers want it in the codebase with full control of hosting and performance. We design and build in Framer, Webflow and Next.js, so we’ll recommend the one that fits the team running the site. If your engineers would rather build it themselves, we can design the site in Figma for them.
At a glance
What it is
A hosted visual builder with a CMS.
An open-source React framework. You write the site in code.
Editing
A freeform canvas close to Figma. Editors update text and CMS items on the live page.
In code. Content editing needs a headless CMS, such as Sanity, Contentful or Payload, connected by your developers.
CMS
Built in, with plan limits.
Whatever your team connects. No built-in CMS.
Design control
High. Layout, components, effects and animation on one canvas. React code components cover custom features.
Anything your team can code.
Hosting
Hosted by Framer. No code export for self-hosting.
Vercel, another platform or your own servers. Your team owns the setup.
Custom logic
Limited to code components, embeds and third-party tools.
Full. APIs, logged-in states, data from your product and pages generated from your database.
Who maintains it
Your design or marketing team.
Your engineers.
Typical fit
Launch sites and product marketing sites that change often.
Sites tied closely to the product, with engineering time set aside for them.
How to decide
Who changes the site
Choose Framer if
Designers and marketers should ship new pages and edits without opening a ticket.
Choose Next.js if
Engineers will own the site, and content changes go through a headless CMS they set up.
How close it sits to the product
Choose Framer if
The site explains the product and sends people to sign up, with the app on its own subdomain.
Choose Next.js if
The site shares components, login state, pricing or live data with the product.
What custom features you need
Choose Framer if
The custom work is visual, such as motion, interactive explainers and scroll effects.
Choose Next.js if
You need custom logic, such as calculators tied to your data, gated content linked to accounts, or thousands of pages generated from a database.
How much engineering time you have
Choose Framer if
Engineering time is better spent on the product.
Choose Next.js if
You have engineers with time for the marketing site, now and after launch.
Security and hosting rules
Choose Framer if
A hosted platform meets your company’s security requirements.
Choose Next.js if
You must host on your own infrastructure, or every change has to pass code review.
What it costs
Framer
Framer charges a monthly plan per site, with add-ons for extra pages, CMS items, locales and editors. The build is a one-off cost. After launch, your team edits the site itself.
Next.js
Next.js is free and open source. You pay for hosting, any headless CMS and, mostly, engineering time to build the site and keep it running. Every new page type, form or design change needs a developer.
Over a year, compare the engineering hours spent on marketing changes. For many teams, that number decides it.
How we help
We design in Figma and build in Framer, Webflow and Next.js, so we won’t push Framer when a coded site is the better fit. If your engineers want to build it themselves, Website Design covers the structure and responsive design in Figma for your engineers to build. OpaqAI’s team built its site from our four-page design.
If Framer fits, we design and build the site with a CMS your team can run, and the app stays on its own subdomain. See Framer websites.
Questions
Daniel G. Bright
Founder, BrightStudios
Still have a question?
Book a call with me to talk through your project and agree the next step.
Keep exploring
Framer vs Webflow
Fast design changes and easy publishing, or a bigger, more structured CMS.
Framer vs WordPress
A hosted design tool with little upkeep, or open-source software you can extend and host yourself.
Framer vs Wix
A custom product marketing site, or an all-in-one builder for running a small business.
Framer vs Squarespace
A site designed around your product, or a polished template with selling and scheduling built in.
Talk it through
Tell us what the site needs to do and who will run it. We’ll recommend one platform and explain why.