Elementor Pro vs Elementor Free: Complete Comparison 2023

Elementor Free vs. Elementor Pro Review – detailed features comparison

You have been looking at Elementor Pro for a while now, and it’s time to decide if you should buy Elementor Pro or not. Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder that will help you create your website from scratch, but can Elementor Pro do everything? This blog post will discuss whether Elementor Pro is worth the price.

What are the benefits of using a WordPress website builder plugin?

First, a short introduction to WordPress page builders. Are you struggling to build and modify your site? It’s where website builders come into play. Website builders are plugins (or, in some instances, themes) that act like drag-and-drop software. It allows you to design the site with a lot of ease, just by dragging and dropping blocks or modules wherever you want on your page.

Page builders allow you to do almost everything with your site. You will create and edit images, post widgets, share buttons, etc., to make the best website that perfectly fits your needs and requirements.
There are many page builders (Divi) & drag and drop WordPress themes (Kadence or Blocksy) out there for all kinds of niches, but some excel more than others. Elementor Pro is one such plugin.

Elementor Pro is a complete plugin that offers you a fantastic page builder with multiple features, including Elementor’s unique drag-and-drop editor. It has the expertise to develop your site. This easy-to-use layout tool can also make changes in design without any coding skills required. Elementor Pro Page Builder provides various functions to help you build website pages more effortlessly.

Elementor Free vs Pro – My favorite WordPress page builder

In another post, I compared Elementor vs. Divi. Page builders: which one should I use? The next few paragraphs are dedicated to Elementor Pro vs Free. Pro is the version that requires payment. It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Elementor Pro for WordPress. 

A page builder for WordPress that truly sets it apart in 2022 is Elementor. A visually rich website without coding is what you’ll get with Elementor if you’re creative. You’d want the Pro version once you’ve worked with the free version for a while.

Flexbox (Container) – New widget in Free Elementor

Elementor 3.6 introduces Flexbox Containers, a foundational feature that allows for an infinite number of nested widgets. Containers mark a transformative shift in building websites using Elementor’s builder. With Flexbox Containers, you can easily create complex layouts with ease.
Flexbox is one of the most important features introduced in CSS3, and all modern browsers support it.

The container is available in Elementor 3.6 Free Version. It’s not a Pro feature.

What is a Flexbox Container?

Flexbox is a layout mode that allows you to create complex responsive layouts easily. It is an experimental feature that you can turn on in Elementor by going to Elementor, settings, tab ‘experiments,’ set ‘Flexbox Container to active. However, you will not be able to add new sections or columns while the experiment is on. Use containers in place of sections, inner sections, and columns.

Adding a container is easy. Just click on the ‘+’ symbol in the editor, or drag the Container widget to the editor. Once you have added a Container, you can then start adding widgets. Widgets can be placed directly inside a Container.

To create a layout with several widgets in a row, you had to set the width of each widget or create a section with four columns. You can now create a single container and add logos with flexbox. You then have control over how they are justified using the justify-content property. This makes creating complex layouts much easier and faster.

Elementor Free features – Save as default

With the Save as a Default feature of Elementor’s widgets, you can save the settings and content of your widget as a default. When you create a new widget, it will automatically be set to the same settings as before, so you don’t have to reset them every time.

For example, if you have an Icon Box widget to display contact information, you can set up the font, font size, icon, background color, padding, and other settings as your default. Then any time you create a new Icon Box widget in Elementor, these settings will be pre-loaded for you, so you don’t have to set them up again.

It is a great way to streamline your workflow and ensure all widgets look consistent.

Elementor Free feature: Copy & Paste Between Websites

You can quickly transfer elements between sites and speed up your workflow. No longer will you need to create a JSON file, export it and import it from one website to another – copy the element with the CMD/CTRL + C command or right-clicking the element and choose ‘Copy’, then paste it into the Editor of another website by right-clicking your mouse where you want to paste it in the Editor and selecting ‘Paste from another site.’

This feature is perfect for those who require efficient content management across multiple platforms and helps maintain design consistency amongst all sites.

Elementor Free vs Elementor Pro – What can you do only with the Pro version?

People who use Elementor often wonder if they should get the Pro license or stick with the free version. The Pro version has specific features that the free version does not have.

If you manage a Woocommerce website, it is highly recommended to buy the Pro version. Elementor Pro 3.5 (released November 2021) enhanced the customization of every aspect of your store, including the product catalog, individual product pages, the add-to-cart process, the checkout page, and my account page. Release 3.5 added new widgets for woocommerce. Boost your store’s traffic with custom landing pages, popup advertisements, etc.

Elementor Pro 3.6 (released January 2022) adds two new features to complete Woocommerce widgets. Purchase Summary (thank you page) and customizing the Woocommerce notice. The purchase summary widget allows online store owners to create customized order confirmation pages. The WooCommerce Notices widget allows you to specify the position of WooCommerce notices on every page and adjust their style to match your brand.

Now you can design the complete checkout process with Elementor Pro.

In addition, to customize the header and footer, you would need the Pro version too.

The following feature and widgets are available only in the Pro version.

• Elementor Pro template library – over 200+ beautifully designed
• Global widget -Save your favorite widget settings and reuse the widget on any page with a simple drag and drop.
• Popup Builder – Popup Builder allows you to create pixel-perfect popups, including advanced targeting options.
• Theme Builder – Use Elementor’s industry-leading Theme Builder to edit every part of your site without code.
• Motion effects – Add interactions and animations to your site using Scrolling Effects and Mouse Effects.
• Form Widget – Goodbye, backend! Create all your forms live, right from the Elementor editor.
• Testimonial Carousel widget – Increase your business’ social proof by adding a rotating testimonial carousel of your most supportive customers.
• Countdown widget – Increase the sense of urgency by adding a countdown timer to your offer.
• Action links – Easily connect with your audience via WhatsApp, Waze, Google Calendar & more apps.
• Display Conditions – Decide exactly where your global templates appear across your site.
• Header and Footer – Customize your site’s header and footer areas visually, without any code.
• Sticky Header – Add a sticky header to any page, or across your website, with a click of a button. No additional plugins are needed.
• 404 page – Visitors can be directed to custom 404 pages built entirely within Elementor.
• Archive page – Design your entire blog in Elementor or designate different templates for different areas of your blog.
• Single Post – Create your blog post template and attribute it across your site or to any category, page, or taxonomy.
• Nav Menu Widget – Use WordPress’s most advanced Menu Builder and customize it visually; no coding is needed.
• Table of Contents – Make your long-form content more readable for site visitors & search engines by adding a TOC
• Price Table Widget – Create advanced price tables that display your products or services.
• Woo Product Widget – Display your WooCommerce products and filter the exact products you want to display.
• Full Site Editing: Change the header, footer, and more in one place!
• Image Hotspot (new in 3.3)
• Video Playlist (new in 3.3)
• Woocommerce widgets for the checkout process (new in 3.5)
• Purchase summary, Woocommerce notice (new in 3.6)
• Notes, activate it in experiments settings, and a new note button will appear at the top. Leave a note to your clients or co-worker anywhere on the page (new in 3.7)
• Stripe widget, The stripe button widget is functional and does not need WooCommerce installed. (new in 3.7)
• Loop Builder, The Loop Builder enables you to create and design the main item for repeating content (i.e., loops), such as listings, and customize its layout on the page.  (new in 3.8)
• Loop Builder added Woocommerce support (new in 3.9)
• Loop Carousel, in addition to Loop Builder (new in 3.11)
• and more

Elementor Pro vs Free Comparison table

Starter Template and Template Kits

Elementor ships with over 100+ designer-made premade templates. Covering almost all industries. All you need to do is replace the content and customize it. It’s a great starting point to get some inspiration. 

All templates have a fully responsive layout and are shipped with the creatives. Adding just a section from the template to your webpage is also possible. 

Elementor recently added a new feature called ‘Template Kits’, which allows designers to create their templates. With a template kit, you get ready-made web pages for each type of content — home page, about us, services, products, blog posts, events, etc. You don’t need to spend hours creating them from scratch.

Elementor is working toward making the Template Kits fully compatible with the Flexbox Container.

Disable Google Fonts (entirely)

Google Fonts has been a popular online library but recently violated GDPR and privacy regulations. To ensure your website complies with these laws, Elementor users can remove all Google fonts.

By disabling Google Fonts, you no longer have access to the online font library within the Editor; instead, only seven fonts are available on your website. Any existing fonts applied through Google Fonts will default back to one of the seven available fonts if Google Fonts is disabled.

You can upload locally hosted fonts into Elementor with the built-in ‘Font Manager’ feature to keep using your favorite fonts. It allows you to remain compliant with legal regulations while still being able to use the fonts that make your website unique!

Visual Elementor theme builder in Pro only

Have you ever tried the new Elementor Pro visual theme builder?  The theme builder is much more attractive than the text-based theme builder under Templates in the WordPress dashboard. Right inside, you can click “Add new” and select for which part of your website you want to create a template—for example, header, footer, body text, and so on. Then, the visual builder opens, and you can choose from a full-page template or a block. Another option is to use your saved customized template to create a new template or close the wizard and open the visual editor with a blank template.

When you create a theme element, it will replace an element of the active theme. In the example above, if you make a header and publish it, the new header will replace the existing one. Before posting any theme element, you can set a display condition. Then, apply the header to the entire website or a specific page(s).

Popup builder Pro only.

Under Templates, there is an item called Popups. Unless you use Elementor Pro, clicking Popups will only display a “Get Popup Builder” message. You can use this feature to create any popup, from ad banners, subscription forms, announcements, exit intents, etc. Click “add new” to give your popup template a name, and choose premade popups. It’s convenient to get some ideas.

It is possible to display popups on some pages by setting specific parameters. For instance, you could display a popup right after the landing page has completely loaded. Triggering a popup is another option. A popup can be displayed after your visitors have clicked a button.

I recommend using popups very sparingly. When the advertisement appears too prominent, visitors tend to leave the site. Do not use too much text in popups or use them in the footer. It is possible that it could hurt SEO insofar as Google will index the pop-up as part of the page.

Popup building just got more advanced with Elementor Pro 3.9. With the Popup Builder, it is now easier than ever to create popups that effectively target your website and visitors. With the Popup Advanced Rule tool, you can determine precisely when and where you want a popup to appear for up to X amount of times within a predetermined duration, such as a session, day, week, or month – depending on your preference.

Dynamic Content Pro only

Dynamic content is a term that refers to building pages with dynamic widgets. These widgets can create fluid website content based on your visitors’ actions. To build dynamic content, you’ll need to use the color field in the widget builder and have a PRO account.

Additionally, landing pages are created by taking static websites and adding dynamic features such as animations or interactions based on visitors’ actions.

Blog pages can be designed to provide a customized experience for different users. Blogs can create unique experiences with dynamic content by automatically building custom pages and content.

Dynamic Content is an effective way for websites to build their user base because it allows them to show more relevant information based on what people are looking for.

Elementor Pro theme – Integrates easily with most themes and plugins

Since Elementor works with nearly any WordPress theme and plugin, you can continue using your favorite tools to enhance your work. I do not recommended to use Elementor with another page builder like Divi or Oxygen. Elementor developed its own theme Elementor Hello. It’s free.

I recommend using Elementor with the Astra theme or Kadence theme.

Elementor Pro Price plans

There are different pricing plans: Essential, Expert, and Agency. The only downside is that you can’t get a Lifetime plan. The Pro Pricing plan includes a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee For New Purchases​. Renewal is 25% OFF.

The Elementor Pro Advanced plan is still available for three website activation. It’s not in the pricing table highlighted. Click the link “Get 3 PRO website activations for 99 USD”.

The following subdomains do not require an Elementor Pro license:

• dev.* (dev.example.com)
• local.* (local.example.com)
• test.* (test.example.com)
• staging.* (staging.example.com)

If you’re working on an Elementor website for a client, you may wonder about the best licensing strategy. Elementor offers two license types: a personal license and a business license. If you’re building the website on a subdomain that doesn’t require an Elementor Pro license, you can use a single Elementor Pro license for the client. Once the website goes live, you can ask the client to purchase their own Elementor Pro license.

This pricing strategy is a great way to save money, starting with Elementor Pro. However, if you use Elementor Pro on multiple websites, it’s important to note that each site will need its separate license. Elementor Pro licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed annually to continue receiving updates and support.

People post discount codes on blogs or the internet about Elementor Pro discount coupons. The statements are untrue. There are no coupons available through Elementor. Exclusive sales of Elementor Pro will be available only on the company’s website. I also do not recommend a “nulled” version from a doubtful source. It could contain some harmful codes.

Do not waste time trying to find a discount code.

What can you expect in the upcoming Elementor release?

Elementor changed its release schedule and updated Elementor Free and Elementor Pro simultaneously. As of March 2023, we have seen new features for both versions at the same time in the last four months.

Elementor is working on performance improvements with every new release. The company is continuously working to streamline the framework to optimize performance. The release of the Flexbox Container has added benefits for faster webpage loading and reduced asset loading.

In the coming month, I expect further optimization, like lazy loading of images, even better responsiveness options, and much more. The last months have shown that the development team’s speed is on a fast track.

How does Elementor Pro compare with Divi Theme Builder?

Read my post Elementor vs Divi, and I’ll compare Elementor Pro with Divi Theme Builder, two popular WordPress page builders.

When creating WordPress websites, there are two main types of builders: those that use Elementor Pro or Divi and those that use Gutenberg Blocks. In this post, we’ll look at Elementor and Divi’s pros and cons and see which one comes out on top.

Support

The level of support you will receive depends on the plan you purchase. You only get premium support for the Essential, Advanced, and Expert plans. The Studio and Agency plan to add VIP support.

What is Premium Support?

• Ask any question and get answers within one day.

What is VIP support?

• Chat live with the support team and get priority support within 30 minutes.

In addition to the Expert up to the agency plan, you get an Elementor Premium profile. Showcase your at any time with the chance to get hired.

You will get all the support options when you purchase any plan with an active license. You need to have an active license; if not, you do not get any support.

Online Support

Elementor offers a vast help center with online documentation, knowledge base articles, and video tutorials, and recently launched the Elementor Hub (community)

You must first log in to your portal to open a support ticket and not go through the help center. Elementor tries to guide you first to the knowledge base and find an answer before contacting Support. Then click on the left side Support, followed by Support Center, Find a solution, Click the red button Contact Support, choose a category, choose a topic, and finally get to the contact formula where you can write your problem and upload a file.

I find this not user-friendly because we know our problem best and if we need to contact Support directly or search for an answer in the help center. There should be a way without wasting time to contact Support directly. 

I hope Elementor will work on its support process.

My recent experience with Elementor email support was exceptional, though.

Elementor Cloud, a new way for WordPress hosting

Elementor Cloud is the perfect package for WordPress beginners looking for an easy start crafting their homepage. Elementor Pro with the drag-and-drop page builder and hosting on Google Cloud are included in the Elementor Cloud package.

Pay a single yearly fee, including Elementor Pro license, hosting, and premium support. Read more here

Frequently Asked Questions

Summing up Elementor Pro vs Free

Pro feature to create sliders with ease. Elementor Pro has many features that the free version does not have. The widgets in the Pro version are worth paying for because they make designing websites much easier, and there are many of them to choose from.

In conclusion, Elementor Pro is worth buying if you want more control over your website design process without coding experience or HTML/CSS code knowledge.

The Pro version is a bit expensive for some users, but I think the price is worth every penny. It provides more advanced features than the free version and allows you to create almost anything quickly. Elementor Pro has many pros over its free counterpart.

My friend Imran from the UK, who has a web agency, made a video called “Should you just use Elementor Free and Not Elementor Pro?” It is worth watching and tells you some good arguments for Elementor Pro instead of using Elementor Free with Elementor Addons.

If you have questions about Elementor Pro, please email me at info@edywerder.ch or leave a comment below.