Silex vs Yola
Silex
silex.meYola
yola.comSide by side
| Figure | Silex | Yola |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 9 |
| Spec score · Website builders | 8.8 (#17) | 9.0 (#12) |
| Spec score · Personal Website Builders | 8.6 (#11) | 8.5 (#18) |
| Spec score · No-Code Website Builders | 8.6 (#15) | 8.5 (#22) |
| Spec score · Website Design Software | 8.7 (#11) | 8.5 (#18) |
| Founded | 2009 | 2007 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | The project says Silex Desktop is funded by NLnet through the NGI0 Commons Fund with European Commission NGI support. | Owler records two funding rounds totaling $25 million: $5 million in 2007 and $20 million in 2009. |
| Headquarters | Paris, France | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 3 reviews | 4.1 out of 5 from 26 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 4.5 out of 5 from 8 reviews | 3.9 out of 5 from 112 reviews |
| SEO | Per-page SEO settings include meta tags and Open Graph controls. | SEO features include clean HTML, automatic sitemaps, 301 redirects, site-speed and image optimization, and optional SEO monitoring. |
| Support | Users can get community help through chat and forums, report bugs, or purchase support and consulting services. | Yola advertises human email support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while noting it does not perform custom integrations or custom-code support. |
| System requirements | Node-based installations require Node.js 20 or newer and pnpm; the GitLab connector requires GitLab 16 or newer. | Editing is supported in Chrome and Firefox on PC, Mac and Linux, Safari on Mac, Edge on PC, plus Chrome Android and Safari iOS; Yola recommends a 1280×768 editor window with cookies and JavaScript enabled. |
| What it does | Silex is a free visual builder for static websites that can also display dynamic data. | Yola is a hosted, drag-and-drop website builder aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, with AI-assisted site creation. |
Plans
Silex
- CloudFree
- Desktop appFree
- Self-HostedFree
- Cloud with a free gitlab.com accountFree
- Cloud with a free gitlab.com accountFree
- Desktop appFree
- Self-hostedPriced on request
- Self-HostedFree
- Custom developmentPriced on request
Yola
- FreeFree
- PersonalPrice not published
- BusinessPrice not published
- Business ElitePrice not published
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Bronze$7.95 a month
- Silver$15.95 a month
- Gold$23.95 a month
In their own words
Silex
Silex is a visual builder for static websites, with a visual editor, CMS integration, and several publishing choices. It is free and open source under the AGPL license, and can be used as a cloud service, desktop app, or self-hosted setup. The Cloud option publishes through GitLab Pages and supports custom domains and automatic CI/CD builds. Listed CMS and data connections include WordPress, Directus, and Squidex; any GraphQL API can also serve as a CMS or data source. Publishing choices include GitLab Pages, FTP/SFTP, ZIP download, and CapRover. The free GitLab tier has a five-user maximum per private group, 400 CI/CD minutes per month per namespace, and 10 GB total storage. Self-hosted GitLab CE has no user or storage limits, according to the maker, and supports Docker, CapRover, or npx. Silex Desktop is an early-alpha app for Windows, macOS, and Linux; it edits offline, publishes to a local folder, and needs no account. An experimental on-device AI assistant is included in the desktop app, and a local MCP server is listed for AI integration. The maker says sites have no tracking or third-party cookies and user data is not for sale. The listed Cloud and Self-Hosted plans are free, and Desktop is free.
Yola
Yola is a web-based website builder for small-business sites. It supports custom domains, contact forms, SEO controls, blogging and booking tools. The Free plan costs nothing and provides one website, two pages, 100 MB of storage and a free Yola subdomain. Other listed plans raise the page allowance: Personal supports 50 pages per website, Business 500, and Business Elite 1,000. The included page limit is 50 pages. Yola uses a freemium model, and the product is accessed through a browser. The maker, also named Yola, was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. This combination of publishing, search controls, contact forms and bookings covers common small-business website tasks.