Bootstrap builder
Mobirise is a free Bootstrap builder: you place ready-made Bootstrap 5 blocks on a page, edit them where they sit and export the HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It runs in a browser, or offline as an installed app on a Windows, macOS or Linux computer.
Updated October 2026 · by the Mobirise team
Key facts for Bootstrap users
- Type of tool
- A visual Bootstrap 5 builder for whole websites: every theme sits on Bootstrap 5, and each block is marked up with Bootstrap's grid and classes.
- Systems and installers
- MobiriseSetup.exe (roughly 105 MB) for Windows 7 and later; two .dmg builds, Apple Silicon and Intel (roughly 134 MB each), for High Sierra 10.13 and later; a .deb (roughly 102 MB) for Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux. Version 6.1.12; the identical engine also works in a browser.
- Cost
- $0 for personal or commercial work, with the basic theme and its 200+ blocks. Paying for KIT, $149 a year, adds 220+ premium themes and extensions, among them the Code Editor.
- Code access
- The Code Editor rewrites the markup and CSS of any block or page. Without it, export the site and use any editor.
- Output
- Static HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which the desktop app writes out on any plan, the free one included. Send it over FTP or FTPES, to GitHub Pages or into a folder, for any number of sites.
- Optional AI
- Mobirise AI turns a short description into four designs with copy and pictures, refined by chat or by hand. Free accounts get three generations a month.
- Limits
- The editor loads only projects created in Mobirise, so an existing Bootstrap site or bought template can't be opened. No visual control hides or moves elements per device.
In its 2015 review, Network World called Mobirise “a free, simple, drag and drop mobile responsive Web site builder”.
How Mobirise uses the Bootstrap 5 grid
Bootstrap arranges a page as containers, rows and a twelve-column grid. As a Bootstrap website builder, Mobirise keeps every block to that pattern, so a Bootstrap user can read the exported markup at once.
The sample is the features block of the medical management system demo, first of the three sites pictured above (the others: a solar panel installer and a marketing agency).
Start from the outside. container-fluid spans the window; blocks on container stop at a set width per screen size. A row holds the columns, and col-12 gives a column all twelve tracks, so on a phone everything stacks. From 992 pixels, col-lg-7 and col-lg-5 split the heading row seven to five, and col-lg-4 puts the cards in one line.
justify-content-center is a Bootstrap flex utility. The mbr- classes, the display-* type presets and the block's unique cid- class point to the theme file mbr-additional.css, where the cid rule here sets a padding of 5rem at the top and bottom plus the background colour: values of the kind the parameters panel controls.
<section data-bs-version="5.1" class="features03 specialtym5 cid-vdJCkTr7dA">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-12">
<div class="card-wrapper large-radius">
<div class="row content-wrapper justify-content-center">
<div class="col-12 col-lg-7 card">
<h2 class="mbr-section-title mbr-fonts-style display-2">
Advanced Medical Management System</h2>
</div>
<div class="col-12 col-lg-5 card">
<p class="mbr-text mbr-fonts-style display-7">…</p>
<a class="btn btn-secondary-outline display-4" href="#">View More</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row items-wrapper justify-content-center">
<div class="item features-without-image col-12 col-lg-4">
<h4 class="item-title mbr-fonts-style display-5">Records Management</h4>
<p class="item-text mbr-fonts-style display-7">…</p>
</div>
<!-- two more cards: Smart Scheduling, Reporting Tools -->
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
Source: the features block of the SpecialtyM5 medical management system demo on mobirise.com, with inner wrappers, icons and body text cut. Bootstrap's own classes are in amber, Mobirise theme classes in blue.
An exported site, like the demo, keeps Bootstrap's CSS and JavaScript bundle, the theme styles and the images in an assets folder; the HTML page builder guide covers those files.
Mobirise and six other Bootstrap tools, side by side
8B AI and Webflow are not Bootstrap tools, but people shopping for a Bootstrap site builder often weigh them too. Rows where Mobirise comes off worse stay in.
| Mobirise | Bootstrap Studio | Pinegrow | 8B AI | Shuffle | bootstrap.build | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bootstrap version | 5, in every theme and block | 3, 4 and 5 | Tools for 3 to 5, plus Tailwind CSS and plain HTML | Not Bootstrap-based | 5; the same editor handles Tailwind, Bulma and Material UI | 5 | Not Bootstrap-based |
| How you build | Place pre-built blocks, type over their content, set columns, spacing and background per block | Drag and drop components, with visual controls for each part | A visual view and the code together, on ordinary HTML and CSS files | One sentence in, a generated design out; no templates | Drag components from UI libraries in the browser; an AI agent can build pages | No pages: you change Sass variables against a live preview | Visual Designer; desktop styles are the base, overridden for tablets and phones |
| Editing code | Code Editor, a paid extension; free users edit the exported files | Built-in, VS Code-like editor for HTML, Sass and CSS, JavaScript, JSON | Full code editing beside the visual view | You get the real HTML and CSS; changes through AI chat on Pro | 500+ Bootstrap variables; finish in your IDE (a VS Code extension exists) | Sass variables only | Code Embed element with a paid Workspace or site plan |
| Themes and templates | Basic theme with 200+ blocks free; 220+ premium themes and extensions in paid plans | Template library; one or more premium templates with a purchase | Starter templates; Pinekit, a free Bootstrap 5 library | None: every design is generated | 3,800+ Bootstrap UI components; Bootstrap 5 templates | Free templates to download | 7,000+ free and premium templates |
| Price and billing basis | $0 to start; KIT $149, BASE $199, GROW $249, each per year; the top two add hosted sites on your domain and more AI | Standard: $29 once, upgrades for a year. Lifetime: $59 once | $99 a year; monthly and one-time licences too; free trial | Designing free; Pro $9/month, billed annually | Developer: $24 monthly, $99 yearly or $249 once (to rise to $349 on 16 October 2026); demo, no free plan | Free, no account | Free plan on webflow.io, with Webflow's badge; Basic site plan $15/month on yearly billing |
| Without internet | Editing and previews keep working in the desktop app; AI and publishing need a connection | Fully offline desktop app for Windows 10+, macOS and Linux | Installed app (Mac, Windows, Linux) on local files; offline use isn't stated | Browser-only | Online editor | Browser tool | Browser-only, with no installable app |
| Output and publishing | The desktop app exports static files on every plan and sends them by FTP or FTPES, to GitHub Pages or a folder; free mobirisesite.com subdomain; custom domains on Mobirise hosting from BASE up | Static HTML with local assets; SFTP publishing; 5 sites on its own hosting (1 year with Standard, for life with Lifetime) | Standard HTML and CSS files you own, hosted anywhere | Pro adds hosting with SSL and the complete HTML export; the free plan can't publish | Download all sources, or deploy to Git or over SSH | Sass or compiled CSS | Hosted on Webflow; exporting code needs a paid workspace plan |
| Opens an existing Bootstrap site | No; the editor loads Mobirise projects only | Yes, drag in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images | Yes, opens Bootstrap files and projects you already have | Not published | Not published | No, it styles Bootstrap rather than pages | Not published |
| Best for | Free visual Bootstrap 5 sites, with files you keep and an offline app | One payment and fine control of Bootstrap components | Developers who write code and want to see it visually | Trying an AI-generated design free, paying only to publish | Developers assembling Bootstrap 5 layouts online | A custom Bootstrap theme for code you write yourself | Designers who want breakpoint control without Bootstrap |
Facts gathered on 13 October 2026 from each vendor's own site, price list and help pages, in US dollars before sign-in. One-time prices are per licence; Mobirise plans are billed yearly. Sales, regional prices and plans change often, so recheck with the vendor before you pay.
Which Bootstrap builder to choose
Every tool here ends in responsive pages. They split by who they serve: people who arrange finished blocks, people who write classes, and people who need only a theme file.
- Free, visual, files stay yours
- Mobirise: Bootstrap 5 blocks, a no-cost desktop app and code export on any plan.
- One payment, every Bootstrap component
- Bootstrap Studio: a one-time licence, Bootstrap 3 to 5, and site import.
- Editing code you already have
- Pinegrow: it opens existing Bootstrap files and shows the rendered page next to the source.
- An AI design to judge before paying
- 8B AI, provided Bootstrap markup doesn't matter to you.
- Bootstrap 5 components online
- Shuffle: a large component library, downloaded and finished in your IDE.
- Just a theme: colours, fonts, variables
- bootstrap.build, free, giving Sass or CSS for your own build.
- Layout tuned breakpoint by breakpoint
- Webflow, if you can do without Bootstrap.
- Keeping a Bootstrap 3 or 4 project alive
- Bootstrap Studio or Pinegrow. Mobirise themes use Bootstrap 5.
- An admin dashboard for a web app
- A Bootstrap admin template. Mobirise makes websites, not application screens.
Bootstrap 5 breakpoints and what they change in a block
Bootstrap works mobile first: a class takes effect at its breakpoint and on every wider screen. Widths are from Bootstrap's documentation; behaviour is from the three demo sites pictured above, where nearly every column is col-12 plus a col-lg value.
Under 576 px
No infix. A plain container fills the screen, each col-12 column takes a full row, and content stacks in reading order. The menu hides behind a toggle button.
sm, from 576 px
The container caps at 540 px. The demo blocks stay as they were; their form fields carry col-sm-12 and remain full width.
md, from 768 px
The container reaches 720 px. In the booking form, the submit button's column becomes col-md-auto and narrows to the button itself.
lg, from 992 px
The step most blocks are designed around: col-lg-7 and col-lg-5 put a heading beside its text, col-lg-4 sets three cards in a row, and navbar-expand-lg swaps the toggle for the full menu. Container: 960 px.
xl, from 1200 px
Columns keep their lg arrangement while the container widens to 1140 px, so text lines lengthen instead.
xxl, from 1400 px
The container stops at 1320 px. Blocks on container-fluid, like the sample, stretch to the window's edges.
Set a block's column count in its parameters and check it in the phone, tablet and desktop previews. To change where a layout switches, or to hide something on small screens with d-none d-lg-block, edit the markup in the Code Editor; the demo pages load Bootstrap's complete stylesheet, so such utilities work. No visual switch does this per device.
Customising Bootstrap output in Mobirise
Most adjustments need no code. The controls, from quickest to most technical:
Block parameters
Open a block's panel to set its spacing and background, switch items on or off and choose how many columns it has.
Style Editor
Restyle the theme from the Style Editor, whose font list grew in the 6.x releases.
Heading levels
Choose the H tag for every title. Tag and size preset are independent, like the h4 with display-5 in the sample, so the outline stays correct.
Clone Block
Duplicate a block you have already tuned, then change only what differs instead of redoing its settings.
Code Editor (paid)
Edit HTML and CSS per block or per page: turn col-lg-4 into col-md-6 col-lg-4, add a utility class or write your own rules. Comes with every paid plan.
AI for single blocks (paid)
On the premium AI plans, Generate Block with AI makes a new block from a request; its Edit counterpart changes an existing one.
WebP and focus outlines
Images convert to WebP automatically, and keyboard users see a clear focus outline. Neither needs a setting.
Export and carry on
Take the files into your own editor or build process, and keep the Mobirise project as the master copy: edited files can't be reopened in it.
When Mobirise is the right Bootstrap tool, and when it isn't
A good fit
- Designers and freelancers who want Bootstrap 5 sites without typing the grid by hand
- Developers who need a quick static front end to extend later in their own editor
- Anyone who wants to own the code and pick the host, even without paying
- People working on a laptop away from steady Wi-Fi; the offline website builder guide lists what keeps working
- Beginners who would rather arrange blocks than learn classes; see our drag and drop builder comparison
Look elsewhere if
- Your starting point is a Bootstrap site or template you already have; Bootstrap Studio imports one, and Pinegrow edits the files directly
- You maintain Bootstrap 3 or 4 projects
- You want to write and watch every class as you go; a code-first editor such as Pinegrow suits that better
- All you need is a theme file with your colours and fonts; bootstrap.build does it for free
- You want hide and move controls per device in the visual editor; Webflow lets you override styles at each breakpoint
- You expect free code editing inside the builder; the Code Editor needs a paid plan
- You are building an application with a backend and user accounts
Bootstrap builder FAQ
What is a Bootstrap builder?
A Bootstrap builder produces pages with the Bootstrap framework's grid, components and classes, so you get responsive layouts without writing that markup. Mobirise and Bootstrap Studio are visual site builders; Pinegrow edits code you already have, and bootstrap.build only adjusts theme variables.
Which Bootstrap version does Mobirise use?
Bootstrap 5. Every theme is built on it, each block uses its grid and classes, and the demo pages load Bootstrap's own CSS and JavaScript bundle. If a project must stay on Bootstrap 3 or 4, Bootstrap Studio and Pinegrow still work with those versions.
Is there a free Bootstrap builder?
Yes. Personal and commercial sites can be built in Mobirise without paying, and its desktop app exports the full code on the free plan. bootstrap.build is free too but produces only a theme file. Pinegrow offers a trial, and Bootstrap Studio is a paid one-time purchase.
Can I edit the Bootstrap code in Mobirise?
Yes, with the paid Code Editor extension, which edits the HTML and CSS of any block or page. On the free plan, export and change the files elsewhere; Mobirise can't load them back, so finish layout work in the project first.
Can I import an existing Bootstrap template or site?
No. Only projects made in Mobirise open in the editor, so a template bought elsewhere or a hand-coded site can't be loaded. Rebuild it from Mobirise blocks, or choose Bootstrap Studio, which imports HTML, CSS and JavaScript, or Pinegrow, which edits existing Bootstrap files.
How do Mobirise blocks behave on phones and tablets?
They follow Bootstrap's breakpoints. In the demo sites most columns run full width below 992 pixels, so content stacks, and sit side by side from lg up. Each block adapts by itself, so there is no phone-only version to keep in sync.
Do I need to know Bootstrap to use Mobirise?
No. You work with blocks and their parameters, and the classes are written for you. Knowing the grid pays off in the Code Editor or the exported files, where you can shift breakpoints and add utilities yourself.
Can I host the exported Bootstrap site anywhere?
Yes. Whatever your plan, the desktop app publishes by FTP or FTPES, to GitHub Pages or into a local folder, and the result is plain static files an ordinary web host can serve. Up to 3 online sites can also live on mobirisesite.com subdomains, with HTTPS, free.
How is Mobirise different from Bootstrap Studio?
Both have desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. Mobirise is free to start, builds from pre-designed blocks and also runs in a browser with an optional AI start. Bootstrap Studio is a paid one-time licence with a component-level editor, built-in code editing, Bootstrap 3 to 5 and site import.
Can I use Mobirise as a Bootstrap template builder?
Yes, in two ways. Inside a project, Clone Block reuses a tuned block across pages; outside it, an exported page becomes the starting point for hand-coded work. Keep the project if you want to edit the template visually later.
Build your first Bootstrap 5 page from blocks
Install Mobirise on your Windows, Mac or Linux machine, or open the same builder in a browser tab. Export the code whenever you want it.