Best Shopify Page Builder Apps in 2026 [185,434-Store Study]

TL;DR: Key Findings from 185,434 Shopify Stores

• 98% of Shopify stores don't use a third-party page builder. Only 3,714 out of 185,434 stores have one installed.
• PageFly dominates with ~85% market share among stores that do use a page builder (~3,140 stores).
• Shogun is a distant second at ~15% share (~570 stores).
• Shopify Plus stores are 2.75x more likely to use a page builder (4.4% vs 1.6% on standard plans).
• Page builder users install 83% more apps on average (3.3 vs 1.8) and have 18% higher lead fit scores.
• Health & Wellness has the highest page builder adoption (3.8%), while Fashion has the lowest among major categories (1.5%).
• Shopify's built-in theme editor handles most use cases. The data suggests page builders are a power-user tool, not a necessity for the average store.

Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we've actually tested.

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Why Most "Best Page Builder" Lists Are Unreliable

Search for "best Shopify page builder apps" and you'll find dozens of listicles. Nearly all of them share a problem: they're written by the page builder companies themselves, or by affiliates with financial incentives toward specific tools.

GemPages publishes a "best page builder" article that ranks GemPages first. PageFly publishes comparison pages where PageFly wins. Replo writes roundups featuring Replo prominently. FoxEcom lists their own Foxify as a top pick.

None of them disclose how many stores actually use each builder. None show adoption trends. None compare user profiles across builders.

We took a different approach. We scanned 185,434 Shopify stores, detected which page builder apps they run, and analyzed the data by traffic tier, niche, Shopify Plus status, and app ecosystem. This is what stores actually install, not what affiliate-driven listicles recommend.

How We Collected This Data

We run automated detection against Shopify storefronts using headless browsers. Our scanner identifies installed apps by matching JavaScript signatures, script URLs, and DOM patterns.

Dataset: 185,434 Shopify stores with snapshot data as of February 2026.

Page builders detected: PageFly, Shogun, GemPages, EComposer, Zipify Pages, Replo, Builder.io, Beae, and Instant.

Detection method: Client-side script signature matching. We detect apps that inject frontend JavaScript or modify the DOM. Apps that operate purely server-side or through Shopify's backend may not appear in our data.

Important limitation: Our detection relies on visible frontend signatures. Page builders that render pages server-side and output clean HTML (without identifiable script tags) will be undercounted. This means our numbers represent a lower bound for adoption. For example, GemPages and EComposer showed minimal detection in our dataset, likely because their rendered output doesn't leave as many identifiable client-side fingerprints as PageFly or Shogun. Industry sources like Store Leads report significantly higher install counts for these apps.

Traffic tiers are based on estimated monthly visitors derived from multiple signals (CDN patterns, DOM complexity, product catalog size, and third-party analytics presence).

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The Surprising Truth: 98% of Stores Don't Use a Page Builder

This is the finding that every competitor article ignores.

Out of 185,434 Shopify stores we analyzed, only 3,714 (2.0%) use a detectable third-party page builder. The remaining 181,718 stores (98.0%) rely on Shopify's built-in theme editor and the native section-based customizer.

This doesn't mean page builders aren't valuable. It means they're a specialized tool for merchants who need custom landing pages, advanced A/B testing, or design flexibility beyond what their theme provides. For most stores, Shopify's native editor is enough.

The 2% who do use page builders tend to be more sophisticated operators. They install more apps, run more tracking pixels, and score higher on lead qualification metrics. More on that below.

Shopify Page Builder Market Share: PageFly vs Shogun vs the Rest

Among the 3,714 stores with a detectable page builder, PageFly is the clear market leader.

Why PageFly leads: PageFly has a generous free plan (1 published page), a lower entry price ($24/mo vs Shogun's $39/mo), and has been on the Shopify App Store longer than most competitors. According to Store Leads, PageFly is installed on roughly 179,000 stores with a +30.7% year-over-year growth rate.

Shogun's position: Shogun has historically served the mid-market and enterprise segments. It offers built-in A/B testing and analytics that PageFly lacks at lower tiers. However, Store Leads data shows Shogun's install base declining at -11.2% year-over-year, while competitors like EComposer are growing at +82.3%.

The detection gap: Our client-side detection significantly undercounts GemPages (~63,000 installs per Store Leads), EComposer (~39,500), and others whose rendered output doesn't leave identifiable JavaScript signatures. The market share numbers above should be read as "detectable market share." The full market is more competitive than our detection alone suggests.

Every Major Shopify Page Builder Compared

While our detection data favors PageFly and Shogun, the page builder market includes several strong contenders. Here's a full comparison using our data, App Store listings, and external research.

1. PageFly

Our data: ~3,140 stores detected | External data: ~179,000 installs (Store Leads)

PageFly is the most widely installed Shopify page builder. It offers a drag-and-drop editor with 100+ templates, responsive design controls, and lazy loading for performance.

• Free plan: Yes (1 published page)
• Paid plans: From $24/mo (Pay-as-you-go) to $199/mo (Unlimited)
• Best for: Merchants who want flexible page design without committing to a high monthly cost
• App Store rating: 4.9/5 (5,773 reviews)
• Key features: Drag-and-drop editor, 100+ templates, SEO optimization tools, third-party integrations, lazy loading
• Limitations: No built-in A/B testing at any tier; pricing structure can be confusing (pages vs. sections counted differently)
• Commonly paired with: Klaviyo (48% correlation), Loox (42% correlation)

2. GemPages

Our data: 1 store detected (detection-limited) | External data: ~63,000 installs (Store Leads)

GemPages is growing fast (+45.4% YoY) with a focus on AI-powered design features, including an image-to-layout converter.

• Free plan: Yes (1 published page)
• Paid plans: From $29/mo (Build) to $199/mo (Enterprise)
• Best for: Non-technical users who want AI-assisted page building and A/B testing
• App Store rating: 4.9/5 (3,440 reviews)
• Key features: AI image-to-layout, A/B testing, global styling, conversion-focused templates
• Limitations: Cannot create native Shopify Sections (a key Online Store 2.0 feature); some users report a steeper learning curve than PageFly
• Growth trend: Fastest-growing among the "Big 3" page builders

3. Shogun

Our data: ~570 stores detected | External data: ~39,200 installs (Store Leads)

Shogun targets mid-market and enterprise merchants who need analytics and testing built into their page builder.

• Free plan: No (10-day free trial only)
• Paid plans: From $39/mo (Build) to $149/mo (Measure, with A/B testing) to custom enterprise pricing
• Best for: Established brands that want built-in A/B testing and analytics without additional tools
• App Store rating: 4.7/5 (1,992 reviews)
• Key features: Visual editor, A/B testing, built-in analytics, custom code elements, SEO tools
• Limitations: Most expensive entry point; analytics features locked behind higher tiers; install base declining (-11.2% YoY)
• Commonly paired with: Klaviyo (52% correlation), Yotpo Reviews (45% correlation)

4. EComposer

Our data: Not detected (server-side rendering) | External data: ~39,500 installs (Store Leads)

EComposer is the fastest-growing page builder in the market (+82.3% YoY) with an aggressive feature set and competitive pricing.

• Free plan: Yes (limited pages)
• Paid plans: From $19/mo (Standard) to $99/mo (Premium)
• Best for: Budget-conscious merchants who want a full-featured builder at a lower price point
• App Store rating: 4.9/5 (3,173 reviews)
• Key features: Live drag-and-drop, 200+ section layouts, AI content generator, built-in add-ons (color swatches, countdown timers, cross-sell)
• Limitations: Newer to the market; smaller template library than PageFly
• Growth trend: The breakout competitor of 2025-2026

5. Zipify Pages

Our data: Not detected | External data: ~26,300 installs (Store Leads)

Built by Smart Marketer (the team behind a $62M ecommerce business), Zipify focuses specifically on high-converting landing pages and sales funnels.

• Free plan: No
• Paid plans: From $67/mo (Starter) to $397/mo (Advanced)
• Best for: DTC brands running paid traffic that need proven, conversion-optimized landing page templates
• Key features: Sales-focused templates, split testing, direct Shopify checkout integration, mobile-optimized layouts
• Limitations: Most expensive option; narrower use case (landing pages only, not full page building)

6. Replo

Our data: Not detected | External data: Small but growing

Replo targets performance-focused brands with a developer-friendly, React-based page builder.

• Free plan: Yes (limited)
• Paid plans: From $99/mo
• Best for: Technical teams and agencies that want code-level control with visual editing
• Key features: React-based rendering, component library, team collaboration, headless-compatible
• Limitations: Higher price floor; requires more technical knowledge than drag-and-drop alternatives

7. Instant

Our data: Not detected | External data: ~3,400 installs (Store Leads)

Newer entrant with a focus on speed and simplicity.

• Free plan: Yes
• Paid plans: From $29/mo
• Best for: Merchants who want a simple, fast page builder without the complexity of full-featured options
• App Store rating: 5.0/5 (203 reviews, small sample)
• Key features: Clean editor, pre-built sections, fast rendering

8. Beae

Our data: Not detected | External data: Growing

Beae positions itself as a beginner-friendly builder with generous free-tier limits.

• Free plan: Yes (generous)
• Paid plans: From $14.90/mo
• Best for: New merchants on a tight budget who need basic custom pages
• Key features: Drag-and-drop editor, mobile preview, template library, SEO-friendly output

Comparison Table

Adoption by Traffic Tier: Who Actually Uses Page Builders?

Page builder adoption varies by store size, but remains low across all traffic tiers.

The mid-tier stores (50K-200K monthly visitors) have the highest adoption rate at 3.3%. These are stores that have outgrown basic themes but haven't yet moved to fully custom builds. They're the sweet spot for page builders: enough traffic to justify conversion optimization, but not enough budget for a custom Shopify theme development.

At the highest traffic tiers (200K+), adoption actually drops. These stores are more likely to have custom-built themes or headless commerce setups that make third-party page builders unnecessary.

PageFly vs Shogun by Traffic Tier

The pattern is clear: PageFly dominates at smaller and mid-sized stores, but Shogun closes the gap significantly at higher traffic tiers. At 200K+ monthly visitors, PageFly and Shogun are nearly even. This aligns with Shogun's positioning as the enterprise-grade option with built-in analytics and testing.

Shopify Plus Stores Are 2.75x More Likely to Use Page Builders

Shopify Plus merchants adopt page builders at nearly triple the rate of standard plan users. This makes sense: Plus stores typically have higher revenue, more resources for conversion optimization, and more complex product lines that benefit from custom landing pages.

Among Plus stores, PageFly holds a 2.8% adoption rate and Shogun 0.6%. Shogun's share of Plus merchants is proportionally higher than its overall market share, confirming its enterprise focus.

Page Builder Adoption by Niche

Which industries invest most in custom page design?

Health & Wellness leads at 3.8%. Supplement brands, skincare companies, and wellness products often need educational landing pages that explain ingredients, clinical studies, and before/after results. Standard product pages can't handle that level of storytelling. PageFly is the top choice across every niche.

Fashion has the lowest adoption at 1.5%. Fashion stores rely more on visual themes with strong photography than on custom-built pages. Premium themes like Prestige, Impulse, and Focal already include lookbook layouts, size guides, and collection page designs that handle most fashion use cases natively.

The Profile of a Page Builder User

Stores with page builders look measurably different from stores without them.

Page builder users are power users by every metric. They install 83% more apps on average, run a third more pixels, and carry larger product catalogs. Their average lead fit score of 77.6 (vs 65.8 for non-users) puts them firmly in the "high-quality lead" category for agencies and service providers.

This matches the pattern we see in our tech stack by growth stage data: as stores mature and scale, they add more tools to their stack. Page builders are part of that maturation.

What Other Apps Do Page Builder Users Run?

The ecosystem data tells us what kind of stores invest in page builders.

Both PageFly and Shogun users heavily invest in email marketing (55-60%) and product reviews (31-36%). The notable difference: Shogun users are nearly twice as likely to use a customer support app (15.4% vs 7.9%), suggesting Shogun's user base skews more toward established brands with dedicated support teams and tools like Gorgias or Zendesk.

When to Use a Page Builder (and When to Skip It)

Based on the data, page builders make sense for a specific set of use cases. They're not for everyone.

Use a page builder when:

• You run paid traffic to landing pages. Custom landing pages for Facebook/TikTok ad campaigns need specific layouts, social proof placement, and CTA positioning that standard product pages can't provide. This is Zipify's entire value proposition.
• Your products need education. Supplements, beauty devices, and technical products benefit from long-form landing pages with ingredient breakdowns, clinical data, and FAQ sections. Health & Wellness stores have the highest page builder adoption for this reason.
• You're A/B testing page layouts. If you're systematically testing headlines, hero images, and CTA placements, Shogun or GemPages with built-in split testing saves you from adding a separate analytics tool.
• Your theme limits your design. Some free themes like Dawn are minimal by design. If you need complex layouts but don't want to switch themes or hire a developer, a page builder fills the gap.

Skip the page builder when:

• Your theme already handles your layout needs. Premium themes like Prestige, Impact, and Symmetry include advanced section types (lookbooks, comparison tables, video heroes, testimonial carousels) that cover most use cases. Our theme data shows top stores often rely on theme sections alone.
• You have a developer. Custom Liquid sections and Shopify's Online Store 2.0 architecture give developers full control without the overhead of a page builder app.
• Page speed is critical. Page builders add JavaScript overhead. Every builder claims to be "fast," but none of them are faster than a well-built native theme section. If your Core Web Vitals are already borderline, adding a page builder may hurt more than it helps.
• You're on a tight budget. 98% of stores operate without a page builder. If you're early-stage, invest in a quality theme instead. Our best Shopify themes guide covers the options.

Prospecting Angle: Finding Stores That Need Page Builders

If you're an agency selling Shopify design services or page builder setup, this data reveals the opportunity.

The market is massive. 181,718 stores in our database don't use a page builder. Even among stores with 50K+ monthly visitors (the segment most likely to benefit), 96.7% don't have one installed.

Target stores with these signals:

• Traffic tier of 50K-200K (highest adoption propensity)
• Health & Wellness, Electronics, or Outdoor niches (highest adoption rates)
• Running Meta Pixel or TikTok Pixel (indicates paid traffic that could benefit from custom landing pages)
• Using Klaviyo or other email marketing tools (indicates marketing sophistication)
• On a free or basic theme like Dawn (most likely to need design help)

You can filter stores by these criteria in the StoreInspect dashboard to build targeted outreach lists. Combine with the store's tech stack gaps to craft personalized pitches: "I noticed you're driving 80K monthly visitors to a standard Dawn theme. Here's what a custom landing page could do for your conversion rate."

For cold email templates tailored to this pitch, see our cold email guide for Shopify stores.

How to Choose the Right Shopify Page Builder

Decision framework based on the data:

Budget under $30/mo: Start with PageFly (free plan or $24/mo) or EComposer ($19/mo). Both offer enough for basic landing pages and product page customization.

Need A/B testing: GemPages ($59/mo Optimize plan) or Shogun ($149/mo Measure plan). Shogun's testing is more capable but costs significantly more. If budget is a concern, pair a cheaper page builder with a separate analytics tool.

Running paid traffic funnels: Zipify Pages ($67/mo) is purpose-built for this. Its templates are designed by a team that has generated $62M+ in their own ecommerce revenue. Pricey, but the templates are conversion-tested.

Technical team or agency: Replo ($99/mo) gives you React-based control and works with headless setups. Best if you have developers who want visual editing without sacrificing code quality.

Just starting out: Use Shopify's built-in theme editor first. Upgrade to a page builder only when you hit a specific limitation. Beae ($14.90/mo) or EComposer ($19/mo) are the lowest-cost entries if you do need one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Shopify have a built-in page builder?

Yes. Shopify's Online Store 2.0 includes a visual theme editor with drag-and-drop sections that handle most page customization needs. You can rearrange sections, customize settings, add blocks, and preview changes across devices. For 98% of stores in our dataset, this is enough. Third-party page builders add advanced features like A/B testing, AI-assisted design, and more granular layout control.

Is PageFly the best Shopify page builder?

PageFly is the most widely installed page builder on Shopify, with roughly 179,000 active stores and a 4.9/5 rating from 5,773 reviews. In our data, it holds approximately 85% of the detectable page builder market. Whether it's "best" depends on your needs: PageFly excels at flexibility and value, but Shogun offers better built-in analytics, GemPages has stronger AI features, and EComposer beats everyone on price.

Do page builders slow down Shopify stores?

Page builders add JavaScript to your storefront, which can impact load times. The degree varies by builder and by how many custom pages you create. If page speed and Core Web Vitals are priorities, test your pages with Google Lighthouse before and after installing a builder. Native Shopify theme sections will always be faster than third-party page builder output because they don't require additional JavaScript libraries.

What's the cheapest Shopify page builder?

Beae starts at $14.90/mo with a generous free plan. EComposer starts at $19/mo. PageFly starts at $24/mo. All three offer free plans with limited published pages, so you can test before paying. For comparison, Shogun starts at $39/mo with no free plan, and Zipify Pages starts at $67/mo.

Can I use multiple page builders on one Shopify store?

Technically yes, but our data shows it's extremely rare. Only 4 out of 3,714 page builder users (0.1%) have two builders installed simultaneously. All four cases were PageFly plus Shogun. Running multiple builders adds unnecessary JavaScript overhead and creates maintenance complexity. Pick one and commit.

PageFly vs GemPages: which should I choose?

PageFly has a larger install base (~179K vs ~63K stores), a lower starting price ($24/mo vs $29/mo), and supports native Shopify Sections. GemPages offers AI-powered image-to-layout conversion, built-in A/B testing at a lower price tier ($59/mo vs PageFly's higher plans), and is growing faster (+45.4% vs +30.7% YoY). Choose PageFly for value and flexibility; choose GemPages for AI features and testing.

PageFly vs Shogun: which is better?

PageFly dominates at smaller stores (5.7:1 ratio at stores with less than 50K monthly visitors), while Shogun closes the gap at larger stores (nearly 1:1 at 200K+ visitors). PageFly is cheaper ($24/mo vs $39/mo) and has a free plan. Shogun has better built-in analytics and A/B testing. If you're a growing DTC brand that needs testing, Shogun justifies the premium. For most other merchants, PageFly offers more value per dollar.

Should I hire a developer instead of using a page builder?

If you have budget for a Shopify developer ($75-150/hr), custom Liquid sections will be faster, lighter, and more maintainable than page builder output. Our data shows that stores in the 200K+ traffic tier are less likely to use page builders than mid-tier stores, suggesting that larger brands invest in custom development instead. Page builders are best as a bridge: useful when you need custom pages now but can't justify developer costs.

What happens to my pages if I uninstall a page builder?

This depends on the builder. Most page builders store their custom pages as metafields or in their own cloud storage. If you uninstall, those pages typically revert to blank or broken layouts. PageFly and some others offer export-to-Liquid features, but the output requires cleanup. This is one of the biggest hidden costs of page builders: vendor lock-in. Consider this before committing to a builder long-term.

Which page builder is best for conversion optimization?

For pure conversion focus, Zipify Pages and Shogun stand out. Zipify's templates are built by a team with $62M+ in ecommerce revenue and are specifically designed for paid traffic funnels. Shogun offers built-in A/B testing and analytics starting at $149/mo. GemPages adds A/B testing at $59/mo. PageFly and EComposer rely on external tools like Google Analytics or Triple Whale for conversion tracking.

How popular are page builders compared to other Shopify app categories?

Page builders have one of the lowest adoption rates among major app categories. Compare: email marketing apps are installed on 24% of stores, review apps on 33%, and upsell apps on 8%. Page builders at 2% are closer to niche categories. This reinforces that page builders are a specialized tool, not a must-have for every store. For the full picture of what stores install at each stage, see our Shopify tech stack guide.

Summary: Page Builder Market at a Glance

The page builder market on Shopify is smaller than most listicles suggest, dominated by PageFly, and primarily used by mid-market stores investing in paid traffic and conversion optimization. For 98% of stores, Shopify's built-in editor handles the job. For the other 2%, the right page builder can be a significant lever for custom landing pages, A/B testing, and conversion-focused design.

Browse all page builder apps in our page builder category directory, or explore the full Shopify app directory to see what top stores are running.