Offline website builder
Install an offline website builder and you can design, edit and preview pages with no connection at all. Mobirise does this free of charge on Windows, macOS and Linux; you go online only to publish, generate with AI or download new themes.
Updated October 2026 · by the Mobirise team
Installers, price and files
- What it is
- Offline website builder software: the Mobirise engine wrapped as a program for your computer. You place prepared blocks with the mouse and fill them with your own words and photos; every project lives on your own disk.
- Installers
- MobiriseSetup.exe for Windows 7 or later, roughly 105 MB. Two .dmg builds for macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later, Apple Silicon (M1–M4) or Intel, around 134 MB apiece. A .deb for Debian-based Linux such as Ubuntu, close to 102 MB.
- Version
- Mobirise 6.1.12. Every release and its download links sit in the version history.
- Price
- Costs nothing, commercial projects included, with a single basic theme, 200-plus blocks and no cap on offline projects. KIT ($149 a year) opens the whole premium catalogue of 220+ themes and extensions, with no Mobirise branding on your pages.
- Your files
- Choose a local folder as the publish target and you get ordinary HTML, CSS and JavaScript. GitHub Pages and FTP/FTPES uploads come with all plans, free included.
- Online only
- Publishing to a server or the free subdomain, AI generation, signing in, buying a plan, and fetching updates or themes not yet installed.
- Not the best fit for
- Changing a site made in another tool, because Mobirise can only open projects it created, or AI work somewhere with no signal.
What works offline and what needs internet
Offline covers most of the building, not all of it. This is the exact split in the desktop app, so you know what to prepare before the connection goes.
Works with no connection
- Page editing. Add blocks, change their order, and rewrite headings, paragraphs and images right where they sit.
- Block parameters. Each block's panel sets its spacing, background, number of columns and which parts it shows.
- Installed themes and blocks. Everything already on the computer stays usable, including the free theme's whole block library.
- Previews. Look at any page in the phone, tablet or desktop preview whenever you like.
- Your projects. They are kept on your computer, so opening and saving them never waits for a server.
Needs an internet connection
- AI generation. Designs from a typed description, a drawing or a screenshot, plus Generate or Edit Block with AI on the premium AI plans.
- Publishing. Sending files by FTP or FTPES, pushing them to GitHub Pages, or using a free subdomain on mobirisesite.com.
- Account actions. Signing in and buying a plan.
- New material. App updates, and themes you have not downloaded before.
Before a trip, install the latest update and every theme you expect to use while you still have a connection. After that the laptop carries all the editor needs for pages you build by hand.
Which offline website builder to choose
The best offline website builder for you depends on your operating system, whether you write code, and whether you would rather pay nothing, once or yearly. Some of these picks suit people better than Mobirise does.
- Free, no code, any desktop system
- Mobirise, for Windows, macOS or Linux, exporting to hosting you pick.
- You write HTML and CSS yourself
- Pinegrow, which edits standard files both visually and in code.
- Editing an existing site
- Pinegrow or Bootstrap Studio. Both can work with HTML made elsewhere; Mobirise cannot.
- Bootstrap sites for a small one-off fee
- Bootstrap Studio, from $29 paid once.
- A Mac app you pay for once
- Blocs, with a free version for trying it out.
- A Mac app that outputs Tailwind CSS
- RapidWeaver Elements, on a yearly plan.
- Windows, free positioning, local AI
- WYSIWYG Web Builder, which can run AI models on your own PC.
- Nothing to install, AI design first
- 8B AI. Being browser-only, it cannot be used offline.
- Many people editing one site
- A hosted content management system, which handles shared editing better than project files on one computer.
For platform-specific advice, see our guides to Mac web design software and Windows web design programs.
Desktop and offline builders compared
Six pieces of offline web design software, plus 8B AI as a browser-only reference point. Mobirise is our product, so the table also shows where other tools do better.
| Mobirise | Bootstrap Studio | Blocs | 8B AI | Pinegrow | WYSIWYG Web Builder | RapidWeaver Elements | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows 7 or later; macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later, in Apple Silicon and Intel builds; Debian-based Linux such as Ubuntu; plus the same engine in a browser | Linux, macOS, Windows 10+ | Mac, with separate iPad and iPhone apps | A web browser on any device, phones too; nothing to install | Windows, Linux, and Mac with Apple Silicon or Intel downloads | Windows only | Mac only, from macOS 13 Ventura |
| Price and billing basis | The app is free. KIT costs $149 a year (premium themes, extensions). BASE at $199 or GROW at $249 a year add online sites and AI generations | Paid once: Standard $29 including one year of upgrades; Lifetime $59, every future version included | Paid once: Blocs 6 Standard $112.99, Plus $179.99, tax included | Designing costs nothing; publishing needs Pro, $9 per month charged annually | Yearly subscription $99, monthly $12, or a $149 one-time payment for the current version plus 12 months of updates; a 50% discount was showing when checked | Paid once for version 21: $59.95, shown at $39.95 in an autumn sale; Plus $66.95; VAT extra | Yearly plans: $99 Base, $149 Plus, $249 Pro; if the plan lapses, the installed app still runs, minus updates |
| Free version or trial | Free version with no time limit, commercial use allowed | No trial; refund within 30 days | Free version that cannot export or publish | Free designing, no publishing | Trial with every feature unlocked | 30-day fully working trial | Free to try; publishing requires a paid plan |
| Works offline | Yes: page editing, previews and installed themes | Yes, after the first launch checks the key online | Yes, listed among its features | No | Yes, according to its FAQ | Installed program; activation contacts the vendor's server; offline editing is not spelled out on its site | Yes, listed among its features |
| AI | Needs a connection: 4 designs per request from text, a drawing or a screenshot; three free generations monthly | AI Assistant, unlimited with your own API key | None listed | Generates a complete design from a single sentence at no cost; chat-based AI edits come with Pro | Built-in assistant; pay with Pinegrow AI credits or connect a key from your AI provider | Text or image to website through OpenAI or Gemini, or local Ollama and LM Studio models that run on your PC | None listed |
| Export and hosting | Plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript via a local folder, FTP/FTPES or GitHub Pages on all plans; or a free subdomain | Static HTML export, SFTP publishing, and 5 slots on its own hosting | Export to code and publishing to your hosting with Standard or Plus | On Pro: SSL hosting, custom domain, complete HTML export | Saves standard HTML and CSS files; hosting not included | One-click upload to any host via FTP, FTPS or SFTP | Amazon S3, FTP, SFTP or a local folder; also its own hosting service |
| Edit HTML made elsewhere | Not possible: only its own projects | Yes, by importing the HTML, CSS, JS and image files | Plus imports content from live websites | Not published | Yes, any standard HTML and CSS | Not published | Not published |
| Learning curve | Low: place blocks, type over text, adjust a settings panel; code editing optional through the paid Code Editor | Moderate: drag and drop on Bootstrap components, with full code editing beside it | Visual, no code required by the vendor's description | Low: one sentence of description is enough to start | Steep without HTML and CSS; the vendor says so itself | Drag and drop, with both flexible and absolute layouts | No coding needed, the vendor says |
| Best for | Free no-code sites on any desktop system, with files you keep | Bootstrap projects for a low one-time price | Mac users who want to pay once | An AI design in the browser with no install | Developers who write code or maintain existing sites | Windows users who want layout freedom and optional local AI | Mac users fine with a yearly plan and Tailwind output |
Sources: the pricing, product and support pages on each vendor's site, read on 13 October 2026. Figures are in US dollars with the billing basis stated per cell; Blocs quotes prices with tax, WYSIWYG Web Builder without VAT, and two vendors were running limited-time discounts. Older reviews often repeat outdated prices and plans change, so check with the vendor before you buy.
Build a site offline in four steps
From installer to a live address. Only the first and the last step need a connection; everything between them can happen on a train.
Install the app
While you are online, download the right file from history.mobirisesite.com: the .exe for Windows, the Apple Silicon or Intel .dmg for a Mac, or the .deb for Linux. Add the themes you want now.
Start from a theme
Open a new project on the free basic theme, or on any theme you added earlier. Pages are made of blocks, so headers, text sections, galleries and forms are ready to fill in.
Edit and preview offline
Drop blocks onto the page, replace the placeholder words and pictures, and tune each block in its parameters panel. Use the phone, tablet and desktop preview modes to check every page.
Publish once you are back online
Upload by FTP or FTPES, send the files to GitHub Pages, use a free mobirisesite.com subdomain, or pick a local folder to receive the HTML files themselves.
When an offline builder is the better choice
On a fast, steady line a browser builder works well. These are the situations where a website builder that works offline, with the editor on your own disk, changes how the work goes.
Travel
Flights, trains and hotel Wi-Fi that drops every few minutes. You keep editing in the air and publish after landing.
Weak or metered connections
Rural areas, capped mobile data, or one line shared by a busy office. The editor does not depend on any of them.
Private drafts
A project you build by hand stays on your computer until you decide to publish, which suits a product launch or a redesign you are not ready to show.
Client work on a laptop
Open the project in a client's office, change wording during the meeting and show the phone view without asking for their Wi-Fi password.
Keeping your own files
The finished site is a folder of standard web files to back up, archive or move to another host, rather than an account on someone else's platform.
Classrooms and workshops
Install the app on each machine and the lesson no longer hangs on the school network. Students can preview pages without putting anything online.
An offline tool is the weaker option when AI should do most of the design and writing, since generation always needs a connection, or when a team edits the same pages at once. Then the online Mobirise editor is the more practical start.
Good fit and poor fit for the Mobirise app
A good fit
- People who build on the move or on a slow, capped or unreliable connection
- Freelancers who make sites on a laptop and hand clients the finished files
- Anyone who wants plain HTML output on a host of their choosing, without paying for the builder
- Linux users: of the desktop tools in the table, only Mobirise, Pinegrow and Bootstrap Studio have a Linux version
- Beginners who want a working site without learning code first
Look elsewhere if
- Your work depends on AI while offline; Mobirise AI runs online, and WYSIWYG Web Builder can use a model installed on your PC
- You must open and change an existing HTML site; Mobirise reads only what it created, while Pinegrow and Bootstrap Studio work with existing files
- You plan on lots of AI work at no cost; the free tier stops at three generations per month
- You need a phone-only layout or controls to hide and move elements per device; in Mobirise, one responsive layout serves every screen size
- You want to build on a phone or tablet; the Android app, AI Website Builder: Mobirise, generates and publishes sites online rather than editing offline, and on an iPhone or iPad you use the browser builder
- You want a large theme library without paying; the free version includes one basic theme
Questions about building offline
Is there a free offline builder?
Yes. Mobirise is a free offline website builder for Windows, macOS and Linux, for personal and business sites alike, and the number of projects you keep on your computer is unlimited. The free edition ships one basic theme containing 200+ blocks; premium themes and extensions belong to the paid plans. Blocs offers a free tier too, though it cannot export or publish.
Can I build a website without internet?
Yes, as long as the app and the themes you need are already installed. Page editing, block parameters and the three preview modes all run without a connection. You need to be online again to publish, to generate with AI and to download updates.
Where are my projects saved?
On your computer. The desktop app keeps projects locally rather than on a server, which is why you can open and change them on a plane. Back them up the way you back up any other work files.
Can I move the site to hosting later?
Yes. Once you are online, upload it to any host over FTP or FTPES, send it to GitHub Pages, or publish to a local directory and copy those files anywhere. None of this needs a paid plan, and switching hosts later is just a matter of publishing to the new server.
Does AI work offline?
No. Generating with AI needs a connection, whatever you feed it: words, a rough sketch or a screenshot. Once you are online, a draft is usually on screen in under a minute. Import by Link then copies the generated site into your desktop app, and from that point you can edit it with no connection.
Offline builder or WordPress on localhost: which is easier?
WordPress on your own computer needs a local web server with PHP and a database, and moving it to real hosting later means migrating that database as well. Mobirise produces a static site: install the app and nothing else, and what you publish is files that any host can serve. WordPress is the stronger option if you need plugins, user accounts or a large blog.
Is there an offline website builder for Mac?
Yes. Mobirise comes in separate Mac builds for Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and for Intel, each a roughly 134 MB .dmg, and it runs on macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later. Blocs and RapidWeaver Elements are Mac-only alternatives listed in the table above.
Do I need coding skills?
No. You build pages from ready-made blocks and change them through text, images and settings panels. If you can code, the Code Editor extension, part of the paid plans, opens the HTML and CSS of each block and page for direct changes; see what that markup looks like in our guide to the HTML page builder.
Can I open a site made with another program?
No. Dreamweaver, WordPress or hand-coded HTML can't be imported or edited, because Mobirise reads nothing but its own projects. To keep an old design, recreate it with blocks, or show the AI a screenshot or describe it while online. If you must edit the original files, Pinegrow or Bootstrap Studio is a better match.
How does the app differ from the browser version?
Very little in the editor itself, since both run one Mobirise engine; the desktop edition is that engine wrapped for Windows, macOS and Linux. The differences come down to the connection and to export: the app keeps working offline and saves HTML on every plan, while exporting from the browser editor requires BASE or GROW.
Download Mobirise and keep building offline
Version 6.1.12 is free for Windows, macOS and Linux. If an AI draft is your preferred starting point, generate it online first, then use Import by Link to open it in the app.