Website widgets you pay for
once and own forever
Website widgets you actually own. Event calendars, restaurant menus, reviews showcases, team showcases, announcement bars, social proof toasts, countdown timers, FAQ accordions, pricing tables, testimonial sliders, and more. Free embed or one-time purchase — no monthly fees, no view limits. The Elfsight alternative that respects your budget.
Free tier — no signup required
Live on your site in 60 seconds
Copy the embed code
Grab the snippet from the free plan below.
Paste into your site
Works anywhere you can add HTML.
Done — it just works
Auto-sizes, mobile ready, zero config.
WordPress · Squarespace · Wix · Shopify · any HTML website
Choose a Widget
18 widgets. Buy once, own forever. Click any card to explore.
How does this compare to monthly subscriptions? →
The one-time purchase alternative to Elfsight
Pay once, own forever. No subscriptions, no view limits, no vendor lock-in.
| Salt n' Fork | Elfsight | Common Ninja | POWr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $12–35 once | $6–24/mo | $2.50–70/mo | $5–70/mo |
| Cost after 1 year | $12–35 | $72–288 | $30–840 | $60–840 |
| Cost after 3 years | $12–35 | $216–864 | $90–2,520 | $180–2,520 |
| View limits | Unlimited | 200–150K/mo | 300–unlimited | Limited |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No | No | No |
| Page speed impact | Zero — no external calls | Loads from their servers | Loads from their servers | Loads from their servers |
| Works offline | Yes | No | No | No |
| Widget count | Unlimited | 1–21 | 1–unlimited | 1–unlimited |
| Dark mode | Built-in | No | No | No |
| Branding | Removable | Their branding | Their branding | Their branding |
| Dependencies | None — pure HTML/CSS/JS | Their servers | Their servers | Their servers |
Why pay monthly for a website widget?
Embeddable widgets without the subscription
Most website widget providers — Elfsight, Common Ninja, POWr — charge $6–99 per month for basic components like event calendars, reviews showcases, countdown timers, team showcases, announcement bars, social proof toasts, FAQ accordions, and testimonial sliders. That adds up to $72–$1,188 per year for elements that haven't changed since you installed them.
Salt n' Fork widgets are a one-time purchase. You pay $12–35, download the HTML file, and host it yourself. No monthly bills, no view caps, no surprise price increases. The widget runs entirely on your server with zero external dependencies.
Built for speed — no external scripts
Subscription widget services load their code from external servers on every page visit. That means extra DNS lookups, render-blocking scripts, and slower Core Web Vitals. Salt n' Fork widgets are self-hosted — the code lives on your server, loads instantly, and works even offline. No API calls, no tracking pixels, no third-party cookies.
Works on any website platform
Every widget is a single HTML file with no framework dependencies. Add a countdown timer to WordPress, embed an FAQ accordion on Squarespace, drop a pricing table into Shopify, place an announcement bar on Wix, add an event calendar to Webflow, add a reviews showcase to Google Sites, add a team showcase to Weebly, or embed a testimonial slider on Carrd or any custom HTML page. If your platform supports an HTML embed block, our widgets work.
Dark mode, responsive, and customizable
Every premium widget includes built-in dark mode (auto-detects user preference), full color customization, responsive design for all screen sizes, and a custom CSS field for advanced styling. Features that subscription services charge extra for come standard with every widget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a widget to my website?
Copy the free embed code from our site and paste it into any HTML page. For WordPress, use a Custom HTML block or widget. For Squarespace, use an Embed block. For Wix, add an HTML iframe element. For Shopify, paste into a Custom Liquid section. The widget loads instantly — no signup, no API key, no configuration required.
What's the difference between the free and premium widgets?
Free widgets are hosted on our servers and include Salt n' Fork branding. Premium widgets are self-hosted HTML files you own forever — no branding, full color customization, dark mode, custom CSS injection, and advanced features like recurring countdowns, FAQ schema markup, video testimonials, category filtering, image lightbox, and more. Our Restaurant Menu, Event Calendar, and Reviews Showcase widgets are premium-only and include full visual admin panels with live preview, drag-and-drop editing, and 25+ features each.
Do I need to pay a monthly subscription?
No. All premium widgets are a one-time purchase. Elfsight charges $6–24 per month ($72–288 per year), Common Ninja charges $2.50–70 per month, and POWr charges $5–70 per month. With Salt n' Fork, you pay once ($12–35) and own the widget forever with no recurring costs, no view limits, and no restrictions.
Do the widgets work on WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix?
Yes. The widgets are plain HTML files with zero external dependencies — no jQuery, no React, no CDN links. They work on WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow, Carrd, Google Sites, GoDaddy, Weebly, and any custom-built website. If your platform has an HTML embed option, our widgets work on it.
Are there any view limits or usage restrictions?
No. Both free and premium widgets have unlimited views. There are no traffic caps, no usage meters, and no throttling. The premium file runs entirely on your own server with no calls back to ours. Use it on as many pages as you want, on as many sites as you want.
How do I customize the widget's colors and settings?
Some widgets (like the Restaurant Menu, Event Calendar, and Reviews Showcase) include a built-in visual admin panel — just open the file in your browser and use the drag-and-drop editor with live preview. For other widgets, open the HTML file in any text editor (Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code). The configuration section is at the very top with clear labels and examples. Change colors, text, timing, layout options, and more. Save and upload to your site — changes take effect immediately.
How much does an Elfsight alternative cost?
Salt n' Fork widgets are a one-time purchase at $12–35 per widget. Our Restaurant Menu widget is $35, Event Calendar and Reviews Showcase are $25, and simpler widgets like team showcases, announcement bars, social proof toasts, countdown timers, and FAQ accordions are $12–15. Compare that to Elfsight's ongoing subscription at $12–24 per month ($144–288 per year). Our widgets include the same core features — plus dark mode, self-hosting, and zero view limits — for a fraction of the cost.
Do the widgets affect my site's page speed?
No. Unlike subscription widget services that load external scripts from their servers (adding DNS lookups and render-blocking resources), Salt n' Fork premium widgets are self-hosted. The code lives on your server, loads with your page, and makes zero external network requests. This means no impact on your Core Web Vitals or Google PageSpeed score.
Can I use the widgets on client websites?
Yes. Once you purchase a widget, the HTML file is yours. You can use it on your own sites, client projects, or any website you build. There are no per-site licenses, no domain restrictions, and no additional fees for multiple installations.