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The Best Gutenberg Block Plugins for WordPress

The WPML team compared three Gutenberg block plugins to find the best ones for building complete, multilingual websites in the block editor.

Brainstorm Force

WP Developer

OnThe GoSystems

What Gutenberg Block Plugins Do

Gutenberg block plugins extend WordPress's built-in editor with additional blocks, templates, and advanced features. Below are the main capabilities to look for.

Expand Your Block Library

Buzzwords: Gutenberg Blocks, Gutenberg Widgets.

Beyond default WordPress blocks, Gutenberg block plugins add unique blocks that let you add sliders, accordions, boxes, advanced galleries, and more.

Spectra

37

free

12

paid

Essential Blocks

57

free

13

paid

Toolset

—

free

34

paid

Templates & Starter Sites

Buzzwords: Pre-built sites, Gutenberg templates, Pattern library.

Templates are pre-designed sections or pages you can insert and customize. Starter sites go further — they import a complete, multi-page website with content and design already in place, giving you a working foundation rather than a blank canvas.

Spectra

100s

templates

310

starter sites

Requires Starter Templates (free)

Essential Blocks

1,400+

templates

280+

starter sites

Requires Templately (free)

Toolset

—

templates

—

starter sites

Dynamic Content

Buzzwords: Custom fields, Post meta, Dynamic tags, Field binding.

Dynamic content lets you build a single template — for a post type, an archive, a product page — and populate it with different data per entry. Design the layout once; the blocks pull in the right title, image, or field for each item automatically.

Spectra

Premium

Essential Blocks

Premium

Toolset

Premium

Loop Builder

Buzzwords: Query loop, Post grid, Custom queries, Archive templates.

A loop builder lets you design a layout for a single post or item, then apply it automatically to every item in a list. You control what shows up, in what order, and can filter by category, tag, custom field, or any other criteria.

Spectra

Premium

Essential Blocks

Premium

Toolset

Premium

AI Features

Buzzwords: AI generation, Layout AI, Content writing, AI templates.

AI in block plugins can mean generating text, images, or entire page layouts from a prompt. Some plugins generate full page layouts from a description — solving the blank-page problem entirely. Others focus on text and image generation, letting you write copy and create visuals without leaving the editor.

Spectra

Included

Full layouts · Includes 1k credits/m, then 200k annually for $39/y

Essential Blocks

Included

Text + images only · Requires your own OpenAI API key

Toolset

—

Custom Post Types & Fields

Buzzwords: CPTs, Custom taxonomies, Custom fields.

WordPress ships with posts and pages. Custom post types let you add your own content structures — properties, events, team members — each with their own fields and taxonomies to keep everything organized and queryable.

Spectra

—

Essential Blocks

—

Toolset

Premium

What They Look Like

Spectra

Essential Blocks

Toolset

Quick Comparison

Plugin

Stand-out Strengths

Considerations

WPML Compatibility

Spectra


Stand-out Strengths

  • Built-in AI layout generator
  • 37 free blocks
  • 12 paid blocks
  • 310 starter sites

Considerations

  • Dynamic content and loop builder require Pro
  • Starter Templates is a separate add-on free ✔

Translation Convenience

Compatible ✔

Essential Blocks


Stand-out Strengths

  • 57 free blocks
  • 13 paid blocks
  • 1,400+ templates
  • AI text & image generation

Considerations

  • AI requires your own OpenAI API key
  • Dynamic content and loop builder require Pro

Translation Convenience

Compatible ✔

Toolset


Stand-out Strengths

  • Custom post types, fields & taxonomies
  • 34 paid blocks
  • Dynamic content
  • Loop builder

Considerations

  • No free plan
  • No templates or starter sites

Translation Convenience

Compatible ✔

Conclusion

All three plugins are WPML-compatible and work well for multilingual sites. For standard page building, Essential Blocks offers the most generous free tier, while Spectra adds a built-in AI layout generator that's hard to match at its price. If your site needs structured custom content — post types, fields, and queryable data — Toolset is in a different category entirely and is the only option here built specifically for that use case.