A new WordPress page builder called Kirki launched on 7 July 2026, built around what its creators call an infinite canvas: a freeform design surface with no rigid row-and-column structure, where you can see desktop, tablet and mobile layouts side by side while you edit, and set as many custom breakpoints as you want.
The Part That Should Get a WordPress Developer's Attention
Independent testing cited in Smashing Magazine's review found Kirki produces measurably cleaner code output than Elementor: fewer DOM elements, no unnecessary wrapper divs, and better Lighthouse scores as a result. That is the part that usually gets ignored in page builder marketing and it is the part that actually affects whether your site loads fast on a South African mobile connection. Kirki also supports Figma-to-Kirki imports and real-time multi-user co-editing, useful if more than one person touches a site's design.
Where It Sits Against What You Already Use
Kirki is free at a feature-complete tier from WordPress.org, with paid plans starting at $59 a year for one site or $499 for a lifetime licence. That puts it in direct competition with Elementor Pro and Divi on price as well as performance. It is brand new, which means the plugin ecosystem, third-party integrations and battle-testing that Elementor and Divi have built up over a decade are not there yet.
Should You Switch
Not yet, not for a client site that needs to work reliably today. But if you are starting a fresh WordPress build and performance matters more than plugin depth, it is worth a test project before committing a client to it. For anyone already frustrated with how much render-blocking CSS a typical Divi or Elementor site carries, this is the first real challenger in years claiming to fix that at the tool level rather than asking you to hand-optimise around it.