When creating a landing page for a campaign on Shopify, a comparison article on page builder apps often appears. However, most of these articles focus on the "intuitive" user experience and the "abundance" of templates, leaving out two crucial pieces of information that are necessary for making an informed decision.

One is how much you can do with the standard theme editor. The other is what happens to the pages you've created when you stop using the app.

The latter is particularly important. Among the four apps we researched, one deletes all public pages immediately upon uninstallation and cannot be recovered, while another saves the pages as pure HTML. The behavior can vary significantly even within the same category of apps.

We organize the materials based solely on the documentation provided by Shopify's official documentation and each app's official help. The research was conducted on September 1, 2026.

Conclusion

For pages that fit within 20 sections, the standard theme editor is sufficient. You can duplicate an alternative template and do so without any additional cost.

For one public page only, the free plans of GemPages or LayoutHub are sufficient. The former offers one public page, while the latter offers up to three slots for free.

If you want to create pages without worrying about costs, the GemPages Build plan ($29/month) is the fastest to reach "unlimited public pages."

If you plan to stop using the app in the future, Shogun is the safest choice. It is the only app that explicitly states that public pages will be saved as pure HTML, as mentioned in its official help. However, it requires a minimum of $39/month to be active.

If you want to edit in Japanese UI, only PageFly is available among these four.

How Far Can You Go with the Standard Theme Editor

The premise that "you can't make an LP without a page builder" is inaccurate. The theme editor also has a limit defined by numbers.

Numerical Limitations

Shopify's developer documentation lists the upper limits for themes. Here are the relevant ones:

Item	Limit
Number of sections in a single JSON template	25
Number of blocks per section	50 (can be further reduced by the theme developer)
Total number of blocks per template	1,250
Theme block nesting levels	8
Number of JSON template files per theme	1,000
Number of section groups per theme	20
Maximum size of JSON template files	512KB

The limit of 25 sections is surprisingly large in practice. Even with one section for each of the hero, features, comparison, customer testimonials, FAQs, and CTA, a typical landing page can fit within 10 to 15 sections.

What You Can Do with Standard Features

For product pages, collection pages, pages, blog, and blog posts, you can create alternative templates. Creating a new template based on an existing one replicates the same section structure, allowing you to reuse an "LP template" and manage up to 1,000 templates.

These templates can be assigned to products and pages through the "Theme Templates" section in the management dashboard. You can also assign templates in bulk.

You can also connect dynamic sources to section settings using metafields and metaobjects. You can create template types specifically for metaobjects, allowing you to handle "creating the same format of pages in bulk" with just the standard features.

Where Standard Features Fall Short

However, there are also limitations defined in the official documentation.

The types of blocks a section can accept are limited by the theme developer. A single section can only accept either a theme block or a section block, but not both. If the theme design does not include "adding this element to this section," it cannot be done through the theme editor.

Theme block nesting itself is theme-dependent. Themes without a blocks folder in the code editor sidebar cannot use an 8-level nested structure.

Dynamic sources are only available for JSON template themes, and not all sections and blocks are supported.

Renaming and deleting templates can only be done through the code editor. You can only create templates through the theme editor, and organizing them requires touching the code.

The Shopify Help Center itself suggests editing the theme code or contacting the theme developer as a workaround when the desired settings are not available. This is the reason for the existence of page builder apps.

The Limit on Theme Count Varies by Plan

Another lesser-known constraint is that the number of themes you can add to a store varies by plan.

• Starter Plan: Only Spotlight themes
• Basic, Grow, Advanced Plans: Up to 20 themes
• Shopify Plus Plan: Up to 100 themes

You can trial up to 19 paid themes at once. Once you reach the limit, you cannot add more until you delete existing themes. "Copying a theme for each LP" will hit the 20 limit early.

Comparison of the Four Apps

As of September 1, 2026, there are 371 apps in the Shopify App Store under the "Page builder" category. Here, we compare the popular PageFly, GemPages, Shogun, and LayoutHub, which has the "Built for Shopify" badge.

App Name	Rating (Reviews)	Built for Shopify	Japanese UI	Free Slot	"Unlimited" Reach Price	Main Billing Unit
PageFly ✦ AI Page Builder	4.9 (5,681)	No	Yes	1 public slot	$99/month	Public slots + AI credits
GemPages Landing Page Builder	4.9 (4,048)	No	No	1 public page	$29/month	Public pages → Theme sections
Shogun ‑ Landing Page Builder	4.8 (1,869)	No	No	0 (draft only)	$199/month	Public pages
LayoutHub ‑ Easy Page Builder	5.0 (1,332)	Yes	No	3 public slots	$59.99/month	Public slots

Insights from the Comparison Table

The main billing unit for all four apps is the number of public pages, but the counting method and price range are significantly different.

The price to reach "unlimited" varies by 7 times. GemPages' Build plan ($29/month) already offers unlimited public pages. PageFly's Accelerate plan ($99/month), LayoutHub's Premium plan ($59.99/month), and Shogun's Grow plan ($199/month) are higher. If you plan to create more than 10 public pages, this difference translates to annual cost differences.

Only PageFly counts "pages" and "sections" in the same unit. PageFly's official help states that "1 slot is equivalent to 1 page or 1 section" and "slots are counted equally regardless of the type of page." Whether you embed a section in an existing theme page or create a separate LP, it consumes only 1 slot. The Builder plan ($24/month) starts at 5 slots, and you can purchase additional slots in increments of 5, each costing $5.

Only Shogun does not allow public pages in its free plan. The Draft Mode is free, but it only allows "creating draft pages without publishing." You can try the visual builder and templates, but you need the Build plan ($39/month, up to 25 pages) to publish. This contrasts with the other three apps, which allow you to publish 1 to 3 pages for free.

GemPages offers a phased approach to reaching "unlimited" public pages. The Build plan ($29/month) promises "unlimited public pages," but it also has a limit of "20 theme sections" and "300 AI Image to Layout sections." The Optimize plan ($59/month) removes the AI limit and adds sales funnel and post-purchase upsell features.

Only LayoutHub has the "Built for Shopify" badge. While PageFly, GemPages, and Shogun, which are at the top of the reviews, do not have the badge, it signifies meeting performance and design standards, not pricing or support language guarantees.

Only PageFly offers a Japanese UI. The only app with Japanese in the list of supported languages is PageFly, while GemPages, Shogun, and LayoutHub do not offer Japanese.

What Happens to Pages on Uninstallation

This is where the four apps differ the most. We check the official help documentation for each.

PageFly: All public pages are deleted immediately

PageFly's official help includes the following warning:

Important Warning: Once uninstalled, all PageFly data and published content will be permanently deleted, and cannot be restored even if the app is reinstalled.

The items to be deleted include not only the app's pages, sections, analytics data, A/B test results, and saved templates, but also public PageFly pages and sections on the theme side. It also states that "deletion will be executed immediately after confirmation and cannot be undone" and "PageFly does not keep a backup of data after uninstallation."

FAQ includes a question asking if data can be restored after uninstallation, to which the answer is "no." It continues, stating there is no grace period or temporary data storage. The live store reverts to the default theme template where PageFly was active.

The recommended workaround by PageFly itself is not uninstallation, but downgrading to the free plan. However, the free plan only covers one published slot, so any additional pages must be unpublished by the user. The official help clearly states, "Once you drop to the free plan, there is no way to publish beyond the first two pages except by upgrading to a paid plan."

Note that while search results still mention that pages remain and data is held for 24 hours after uninstallation, the current official help page does not contain this information. This article adopts the current page's information.

GemPages: Pages Remain but May Render Incorrectly

The official GemPages help states:

Uninstalling GemPages may cause issues with the display of live pages due to the deletion of certain files and scripts. Reinstalling GemPages will automatically restore these files, and the pages should function as expected.

The pages themselves do not disappear, but their functionality is not guaranteed. This is a key difference from PageFly.

GemPages also recommends downgrading to the free plan. It states, "Pages remain live and can be edited within GemPages," but notes that "publishing more than two pages is not allowed."

For personal data, it is automatically deleted 48 hours after uninstallation, with an email notification before deletion.

Shogun: Pages Remain and Do Not Disappear

The official Shogun help differs fundamentally from the other two:

After uninstallation, all live and draft pages are retained. Published pages remain as live pages on the store in pure HTML format, so they do not disappear.

However, there are caveats. It warns, "Editing these pages outside of Shogun may cause the platform to strip the page's style, requiring re-publishing from Shogun."

The data deleted by Shogun includes analytics data, audit logs, collaborator and user information, form data, Instagram integration, and synchronization data. It states, "After uninstallation, Shopify will notify you to delete this data within 14 days. Reinstallation before the deletion date can prevent deletion."

The practical pitfall is that Shogun form elements will no longer function after data deletion. If forms like contact or email registration are placed within an LP, the page will display but the forms will not work. Forms implemented within the page will continue to function.

LayoutHub: Documentation Not Found

For LayoutHub, the article could not find documentation on the behavior during uninstallation. It is recommended to contact support before installation.

Notes on Page Speed

When comparing page builders, page speed is often discussed, but there are no third-party benchmarking data. Each company's claims must be taken as self-reported.

The official PageFly help states, "PageSpeed is influenced by various factors, but PageFly does not affect the store's PageSpeed." It also mentions that "experts recommend a page weight of less than 4MB, ideally less than 2MB," and that using the Gen 2 editor can reduce nested container counts and improve loading times.

GemPages has a help article on optimizing load speed, delving into individual Core Web Vitals metrics. Shogun also has a help article on interpreting page speed reports. These are all self-reported by each company.

To judge page speed, the only reliable method is to measure with your own theme and content during the free trial.

Case-by-Case Selection

First, Try Without Additional Costs

Create alternative templates using the standard theme editor. Consider app alternatives when you reach the 25-section limit or need elements not in the theme.

Sufficient for 1-3 Published Pages

Use the free GemPages plan (1 published page) or the free LayoutHub plan (3 slots for published pages). LayoutHub also allows up to 10 draft pages.

More Than 10 Published Pages

The GemPages Build plan ($29/month) is the quickest route to unlimited published pages. However, since there are separate section slots, consider higher plans if you are embedding sections into existing themes.

Want to Introduce Japanese UI to Your Team

PageFly is the only option. Note that the billing is per slot, and sections consume the same 1 slot as pages. The Builder plan (starting at $24/month) allows up to 5 slots.

Want to Consider the Option of Stopping the App

Shogun is the safest choice. It is the only app that explicitly states that published pages remain as pure HTML. However, you need the Build plan ($39/month) or higher to publish, and to go to the Grow plan ($199/month) to have no limits. Consider that forms will no longer function on pages with many forms.

Conversely, if you choose PageFly, you must decide to uninstall rather than downgrade to the free plan when stopping the app.

Pre-Installation Checklist

1. Confirm if the standard theme editor and alternative templates can be used.
2. Ensure the number of sections for the desired pages is within 25.
3. Verify that the current theme supports theme blocks (blocks folder).
4. Compare the number of pages to be published with the free plan limits and the cost to reach unlimited.
5. Understand that sections in the PageFly plan consume the same 1 slot as pages.
6. Check the vendor's official help for what happens to pages during uninstallation.
7. Decide whether to use the app's forms or implement custom forms.
8. Confirm that the team members can use the UI in the language they speak.
9. Measure the actual page speed with your theme during the free trial.
10. Confirm that a page backup (export function) is available.

Summary

The order of judgment is as follows:

1. Know the limits of standard features first. 1 template with 25 sections, 1 section with 50 blocks, 1,000 templates. If within these limits, no additional costs are needed.
2. Compare at the cost of "unlimited." GemPages at $29/month, PageFly at $99/month, Shogun at $199/month.
3. Confirm the exit strategy. PageFly deletes all published pages on uninstall, GemPages leaves them but may function abnormally and can be restored by reinstalling, Shogun leaves them as pure HTML. This difference cannot be changed after installation.
4. Narrow down by the language of the editor. Only PageFly has a Japanese UI.

Plan and pricing may change. The article notes that the app store page and official help for PageFly show different plan structures. Always check the latest published content before installation.