Divi vs. Elementor: a Battle of the Page Builders

For WordPress users, there are two popular page builders that stand out in the community: Divi and Elementor.

While both platforms offer similar features (live frontend editor, extensive list of modules to choose from) they differ greatly when it comes down to their learning curve, support, number of available templates/theme marketplaces, backend design, and performance impact on page speed.

Since they can become a real game-changer for content creators (bloggers), web designers, freelancers, or agencies this article compares them in order to provide you with all the necessary information needed before making your choice!

If you need help with a website or integration of page builders, talk to my brothers Jeff and Paul Helvin at BallenBrands.com (702) 917-0755.

Divi  vs. Elementor – Comparison Overview

1. Learning Curve & Ease of Use.

This is probably one of the most important factors to take into consideration when choosing the right page builder. While Elementor is user-friendly and can be mastered by beginners without any coding knowledge, Divi requires more time to learn especially if you plan on taking full advantage of its features. If you are not willing to put in some work, then using both platforms might become a hassle rather than a time saver!

2. Support.

When it comes down to technical difficulties or problems that need solving, there’s no better place than the official forums. Many issues are resolved within just a few hours thanks to Divi Team and Elementor Page Editor team so they both excel here!

3. Templates & Themes Marketplace.

Not only will these two save your day with their page builder, but they are also excellent tools for creating your website from scratch! Elementor offers the most extensive library of templates/themes (21 out-of-the-box premium websites), while Divi comes with 10 pre-made layouts that can be customized via child themes.

4. Frontend Performance.

One of the main reasons why people choose to use page builders is the speed and smoothness of their front-end editing. Elementor can have a significant impact on page speed, especially on older devices like smartphones or tablets.

5. Backend Design.

While both platforms offer a similar number of modules, Elementor allows you to get more creative with your design since it has a wider variety of settings and customizations available out-of-the-box.

In case you want to change the overall look and feel of it, there’s no need for any extra plugins or designers – just head over to Elementor Themes Market where you can find a plethora of premium themes that will perfectly fit into your website design.

6. Child Themes & Extensibility.

Divi comes with 10 pre-made child themes while Elementor supports only one default theme which is the same for all websites created using it.

On the other hand, Elementor can be extended with more than 20 different plugins while Divi has approx. 8 of them. What’s also great about Elementor is that developers are encouraged to create custom templates thanks to the official documentation which provides them with information on how to properly implement frontend editors.

7. Pricing

All of you have probably noticed that both platforms offer monthly subscriptions or lifetime licenses. You’ll get access to a premium page builder, but you’ll also be able to access their templates marketplaces with an unlimited number of layouts ready for use + have full support from the respective team.

8. Ease of Installation.

While Elementor is a standalone product which I strongly recommend checking out this tutorial.

9. Gutenberg Compatibility.

I’m currently using Elementor and it’s easy to create a post using the elementor templates or the Gutenberg blocks. You can also switch back from one to the other.

While Gutenberg is a drag-and-drop page builder on its own, it’s not quite ready to replace Divi or Elementor as a page builder.

2. Pros & Cons of using Elementor vs. Divi

While both page builders work pretty similar there’re still some differences between them that need to be mentioned:

PROS

1 . Frontend Design Flexibility.

Since you can see your changes instantly, it helps you get rid of all possible errors and make sure that everything looks perfect on mobile devices out-of-the-box (no custom CSS overrides required). While frontend editing might look cumbersome at first if you are not aware of proper HTML/CSS syntax, once you get used to it – there’s no turning back 🙂

2 . Live Edit & Design Mode.

While the latter one is available only for Elementor, you’ll be able to switch between design and live edit mode whenever needed. Still not enough? With the help of an external plugin, it’s also possible to enable instant preview on Google Chrome which comes really handy when checking out how your website will look like on different devices.

3 . UI Editor & Global Elements.

While both builders support this feature, you can make changes across multiple pages instead of updating each element separately – this definitely makes your workflow faster.

4 . Popularity & Price Point.

Since Elementor is used by more than 2 million users (and counting) there’re plenty of people willing to give feedback regarding their experience with using it – consider looking at their official Facebook page. This means that there’s no need to worry about potential bugs which means you can also be sure that all Elementor templates are well-tested and work perfectly on different devices.

The latter one is probably the biggest con since it comes only with the premium version – however, considering how popular this plugin is, I wouldn’t say that it’s too much of an issue.

5 . Pre-Built Themes & Templates.

While both plugins offer marketplaces full of custom layouts, Elementor has a slightly bigger variety available out-of-the-box.

6 . Code Restrictions & Custom CSS Integration .

Although you can still use custom CSS created for the Divi Builder plugin for free you don’t want to purchase Elementor, you can simply restrict a certain element from being edited on the frontend.

7. Custom Post Types & Built-in Widgets.

Even though this might not be counted as a feature of Elementor itself, it still counts since you can add custom widgets to your page builder.

Cons

1 . Front End Editing Restriction.

Although both plugins offer the same functionality in terms of editing backend and frontend, Divi comes with some restrictions when compared with Elementor – for example when using the latter one there’re no limitations regarding what kind of content you want to add (images, videos, or even shortcodes). Moreover, in case you want to switch between design and live modes you will need to use either WordPress’ official editor or an external plugin – with Elementor you’ll be able to switch between the two even on the frontend.

2 . Frontend Editing Restriction (Alternative).

Although this option isn’t available for free, it’s still worth mentioning since in case you don’t want to use Elementor’s frontend design features but need a quick and easy-to-use page builder, there’re plenty of third-party plugins available out-of-the-box.

3 . Limited Customization Options.

With Elementor being relatively new compared to Divi, this one definitely needs an improvement in terms of custom themes, templates, etc. This also depends on what kind of website you are planning to build, still, no one would say that there’re plenty of custom layouts to choose from – unfortunately, this is something you can find only with the premium version.

4 . Code Restrictions & Custom CSS Limitations (Alternative).

If you don’t want to purchase Elementor but would like to get rid of the above cons, all hope is not lost. By using a third-party plugin such as WP Frontend Editor it’s possible to remove design mode and edit frontend content without attaching restrictions or adding custom CSS limitations since this particular plugin makes use of WordPress’ official editor.  

5 . Continuous Development Cycle.

Considering how fast the web evolves these days it’s quite likely that Elementor adds new features when compared with Divi – if you need a simple yet effective page builder this could be an issue, however, I’m sure that they will solve this by adding new useful features and options.

6 . Content Blocks.

Although both Elementor and Divi support custom content elements such as testimonials and pricing tables, if we look at Divi’s official website we’ll notice that Elementor supports more types of custom modules – for example, countdown timers, subscription boxes, slideshows, or contact forms. Also, some users claim that their front-end editor is even more customizable compared to the one offered by the Divi Builder plugin.

7 . Custom Fonts & Google Fonts Integration.

Even though Elementor offers the possibility of using your own font libraries such as Google Fonts by adding a simple plugin, it seems like there’re some issues with it such as how elements will not be updated accordingly every time you switch between design and live modes. Even though this might not be counted as a huge issue, it’s still worth mentioning in case you are planning on creating unique website designs which require lots of front-end customizations.

8 . Sidebars.

Although this might not be one of the most important features you should keep in mind if you are planning on making changes to your sidebars during the design process, it’s quite worth mentioning that Elementor offers greater customization options – both plugins let users create as many sidebars as they wish, however, you can only use one global sidebar with Divi unless you purchase an additional plugin which will allow you to create unlimited page-specific sidebars.

9 . Live CSS Editor & Undo / Redo Functionality.

Even though both plugins let users edit their website designs directly from the frontend, Elementor comes with a unique feature called Live CSS which allows users to make changes without breaking any styles.

Similar to the Divi Theme Customizer, this particular feature lets you see changes in real-time which is definitely a plus since it allows users to make quick fixes without editing actual CSS files.

Closing

So which page builder is really better? Honestly, it all comes down to your personal needs and preferences when it comes to page building. Even though Elementor seems like a promising alternative when compared with Divi’s page builder plugin which is known for its many useful features and customization options, in case you prefer simple yet effective tools I’d say that both plugins can be considered as equals – in fact using either of them in conjunction with WP Frontend Editor will provide users with similar results.

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