Elementor Pro is the most popular WordPress builder plugin for good reason. It allows you to quickly and easily create beautiful, responsive websites using drag-and-drop components. However, it’s not the only option out there.
Some popular alternatives to Elementor Pro are Divi, Beaver Builder, Brizy, Bricks, Breakdance, Oxygen, Visual Composer, and WP Bakery. Looking beyond WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and Webflow are all popular visual website builders.
In this article, we’ll compare the best alternatives to Elementor Pro so you can choose the right one for your needs and budget.
Block Editor and Block Plugins
The WordPress block editor, Gutenberg, is a great alternative to Elementor if you want a free option. It comes with a variety of built-in blocks that you can use to create your pages and posts. Plus, many block plugins are available that extend Gutenberg’s functionality.
One of the advantages of using the block editor is that it’s very lightweight. Your pages will load faster, which is essential for SEO and user experience.
A block plugin such as Stackable or Kadence Blocks will extend the default block editor further. These plugins fill in the gaps giving you more options for responsive design and common design patterns.
However, the block editor can be challenging when producing a layout beyond the standard design patterns. Unless you use a block plugin such as Stackable, the available blocks aren’t as robust as those in Elementor Pro.
Gutenberg and Block Plugins vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starting at free |
| Lifetime license: | Depends on the block plugin |
| Ease of use: | Good |
| Gutenberg vs. Elementor: | Gutenberg wins on cost and the variety of block plugins available. Elementor wins on usability. |
Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is another popular WordPress page builder plugin. Like Elementor, it offers a drag-and-drop interface for creating your pages. And it includes a variety of built-in modules and templates.
Beaver Builder is very user-friendly. Beaver Builder is easy to use and an excellent option for a new website, even if you are new to design and not familiar with coding.
Beaver Builder integrates with most WordPress themes, meaning you can use it with your existing theme or switch to a new one without losing any of your content.
Perhaps best of all, the Beaver Builder licensing option is less expensive than Elementor. It starts at $99 per year for unlimited sites, while Elementor licensing begins at $49 per year for just one website.
The Beaver Builder plugin ecosystem is not quite as extensive as Elementor. If you’re looking for a page builder with many features and add-ons from other developers, you may want to stick with Elementor Pro.
Beaver Builder vs. Elementor Pro
| Cost: | Starts at $99 |
| Lifetime license: | No |
| Ease of use: | Great |
| Beaver Builder vs. Elementor: | Beaver Builder wins on pricing. Elementor wins on features and ecosystem. |
Divi Builder by Elegant Themes
Divi Builder is one of the most popular WordPress site builders. Divi Builder is a WordPress plugin and part of the Divi theme by Elegant Themes. It’s a visual site builder that allows you to create beautiful, responsive websites efficiently.
Divi Builder includes many built-in modules, including social media integration, forms, e-commerce, and design split testing. Plus, a library of pre-made Divi layouts will help jump-start your design.
The Divi Builder works with other WordPress themes besides the Divi theme. You can stick with your existing theme or switch to a new one without losing your content.
Elegant Themes offers two pricing options for Divi Builder: $89 per year for unlimited sites or a $249 one-time fee for unlimited sites. The fee includes access to other products from Elegant Themes, including Extra, Bloom, and Monarch.
Divi Builder is a viable alternative to Elementor if you’re looking for a WordPress page builder with a more extensive set of tools and you want the option of a one-time fee.
Divi Builder vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starts at $89 per year |
| Lifetime license: | $249 |
| Ease of use: | Excellent |
| Divi vs. Elementor: | Divi wins on pricing and a comprehensive suite of tools. |
WPBakery Page Builder and Visual Composer
WPBakery Page Builder and Visual Composer are two popular WordPress page builders. They utilize a drag-and-drop and visual editing interface for creating your pages. However, they are a little different than the block builder plugins and can have some drawbacks.
WPBakery Page Builder and Visual Composer are similar products, and there is some confusion around the naming. To make a long story short, WPBakery Page Builder was spun off from Visual Composer and is bundled with premium themes from ThemeForest. Visual Composer is a new, separate product for designing complete websites, not just a page builder.
If you’ve ever used a premium theme from ThemeForest, you have probably encountered WPBakery or Visual Composer. Popular themes such as Salient, Uncode, and Bridge use the WPBakery Page Builder.
Since Visual Composer is now a stand-alone product, you’ll need to subscribe to try it out. But you may have used it in the past as the WPBakery Page Builder but under the Visual Composer name.
WPBakery is included with premium themes, and the cost varies depending on the theme. Uncode, Bridge, and Salient are all $60-70 per license, for example.
Envato does offer the Envato Elements creative assets subscription, which includes WordPress themes. It starts at $16.50 per month. Visual Composer is available as a separate yearly subscription, starting at $49 per year for one website.
WPBakery Page Builder is straightforward to use and is an excellent alternative to other page builders, especially if you purchase it as part of a premium theme bundle.
However, it does have some drawbacks. First, it’s not as extendable as other plugins since it’s more closely tied to the theme. WPBakery Page Builder also uses WordPress shortcodes, which cause trouble when you try and switch themes.
WPBakery Page Builder vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Depends on the theme and starts at about $60 per license |
| Lifetime license: | One-time fee per website |
| Ease of use: | Excellent |
| WP Bakery vs. Elementor: | WPBakery wins on features and pricing. Elementor wins on code output. |
Brizy
Brizy is a newer WordPress page builder plugin that’s quickly gaining popularity. It’s a visual, drag-and-drop page builder with a similar interface to Elementor. However, Brizy’s interface is more refined and modern.
While Brizy has many of the same features as other WordPress page builder plugins, it is one of the easiest to use. Brizy is your best option if you want something close to Wix or Squarespace within WordPress.
Brizy includes pre-designed templates and blocks, inline text editing, animations, global styling, and other features. Brizy is well-designed for landing pages and marketing sites with an integrated popup builder and built-in integrations with marketing platforms such as Campaign Monitor, HubSpot, and ConvertKit.
Brizy offers a free version with limited features. The premium version starts at $49 per year for one website. Unlike some competitors, you have the option to purchase a lifetime license with Brizy, which can save you money in the long run.
With its intuitive design, features, and lifetime license, Brizy is a suitable alternative to Elementor Pro. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for something similar to Elementor but with a one-time fee.
Brizy vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starts at $49 per year |
| Lifetime license: | Starts at $149 |
| Ease of use: | Excellent |
| Brizy vs. Elementor: | Brizy wins on pricing and usability. Elementor wins on stability and features. |
Bricks
Bricks takes a different approach than other WordPress page builders. Bricks is a theme that allows you to edit the entire website and not just individual pages.
Bricks includes pre-designed templates, sections, and blocks for those wanting a jump start on the design. Developers can extend Bricks further with custom code and the well-documented Bricks API.
The Bricks developers have made performance a focus and reduced the front-end code bloat that comes along with other page builders. Per their speed tests, a site built with Bricks scores 98 at both Pagespeed and Pingdom.
Bricks also includes unique features such as an integration with the Unsplash image library, CSS transformations, and SVG image support.
Bricks is still early in its development, and the company is offering reduced lifetime pricing, starting at $79 for one site and $199 for unlimited sites.
It’s something to watch, and there is a demonstration version linked from the Bricks website if you want to try it out before buying it.
Bricks vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starts at $79, one-time fee |
| Lifetime license: | $79 or $199 |
| Ease of use: | Excellent |
| Bricks vs. Elementor: | Bricks wins on pricing and ease of use. |
Breakdance
Breakdance is another new full-site editor from the team that developed the Oxygen builder. Like Bricks, it’s still in early development. However, it already shows much promise as an Elementor Pro alternative.
Breakdance is unique among the other WordPress page builder plugins because it’s designed for sites with complex content types and data relationships. This makes it ideal for large news sites, e-commerce stores, and intranets.
Breakdance includes full-site editing, a form builder, dynamic data support, and integration with popular plugins like WooCommerce, Advanced Custom Fields, Toolset, and Metabox.
The developers have also made performance a priority with Breakdance. The resulting code is lightweight and free from bloat, significantly improving site speed and performance.
Like Bricks, Breakdance is in the early stages of development and is available at a reduced price of $149 per year for unlimited sites. The pricing is more competitive than Elementor Pro, but unfortunately, there is no lifetime license option.
Breakdance will appeal to those that want a different experience from Elementor. The interface is clean and modern, and the pricing is a better deal with multiple websites.
Breakdance vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starts at $149 per year |
| Lifetime license: | No |
| Ease of use: | Excellent |
| Breakdance vs. Elementor: | Breakdance wins on usability, features, and pricing. |
Oxygen
Oxygen is a full-site editor and WordPress page builder built by the same team behind Breakdance. It’s basically an earlier version of Breakdance. While Oxygen is built with Angular, Breakdance uses the more modern Vue.js JavaScript library.
Oxygen has similar features to Breakdance, but we recommend Breakdance instead since it is the more modern incarnation of Oxygen. However, Oxygen has a lifetime pricing option and can still be a good backbone for your WordPress site.
Oxygen includes dynamic data support, WooCommerce integration, and full-site editing. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for an alternative to Elementor that’s more developer-friendly. The starting lifetime license price is $129 for unlimited sites.
Oxygen vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Starts at $129 one-time fee |
| Lifetime license: | $129 or $149 |
| Ease of use: | Good |
| Oxygen vs. Elementor: | Oxygen wins on pricing but is more complicated to use. |
SiteOrigin Page Builder
SiteOrigin’s Page Builder is a good option if you want a free page builder. It’s a popular plugin with over 2 million active installs.
SiteOrigin Page Builder is similar in feel to WPBakery Page Builder. The interface is intuitive with a drag-and-drop approach and easy for beginners to use.
There is also a premium version of the plugin with additional features, including custom post type support, block animations, a lightbox, WooCommerce support, and more. The premium version starts at $29 per year for one site.
While not quite as feature-rich, SiteOrigin Page Builder is a good free alternative to Elementor. The premium version gives you additional features and is less expensive than Elementor Pro.
SiteOrigin Page Builder vs. Elementor
| Cost: | Free or $29 per year |
| Lifetime license: | No |
| Ease of use: | Good |
| SiteOrigin Page Builder vs. Elementor: | SiteOrigin wins on cost but is less feature-rich than Elementor Pro. |
Wrapping Up
There are many excellent alternatives to Elementor Pro available. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, so be sure to try any available demos and choose the one that works for your projects.
For similar tools with a lifetime license, Brizy or Divi are great choices. If you need something more suited to complex content types, Breakdance or Oxygen may be a better fit. And Page Builder by SiteOrigin is hard to beat as a budget option.
Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference, price, and available features. Our suggestion is to try out your top picks before committing to them. Whichever you choose, any of these site builder plugins make great alternatives to Elementor Pro.
