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Elementor
The most widely installed visual page builder for WordPress, with a free drag-and-drop editor and Pro plans adding theme, popup, form and WooCommerce builders.
Free installs10M+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~5.7MLikely 3.7M–8.6M
Vendor claims22M+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.5/57,322 reviews
Price from$60/yrFreemium
Last updated2 Nov 2026Version 4.3.6
Overview
Elementor is a drag-and-drop visual editor that replaces the standard WordPress content area with a live, front-end design canvas. The free plugin on WordPress.org has more than 10 million active installs and covers the core page-building workflow: flexbox and grid containers, 40+ basic widgets, per-breakpoint responsive settings, global colours and fonts, entrance animations, revision history and a template library.
Version 4 (the new default for fresh sites since April 2026) introduces atomic elements with classes, variables and states, aimed at producing lighter markup than the older widget system. Existing v3 layouts keep working, and the two systems can be mixed on the same page.
Free vs Pro
Most site-building tools sit behind Elementor Pro. The Essential plan ($60/year, one site) adds the Theme Builder, dynamic content, a basic form widget and 57 Pro widgets. To get the Popup Builder, form submissions storage, the WooCommerce builder, Loop Grid, element-level display conditions and custom CSS you need Advanced Solo ($84/year) or higher. The separate Elementor One bundles add AI credits and site tools such as image optimisation and accessibility scanning.
Strengths
- Huge ecosystem of third-party add-ons, templates, tutorials and developers.
- Capable free version for building individual pages.
- Pro covers headers, footers, archives, popups, forms and WooCommerce in one product.
- Documented developer API for custom widgets and dynamic tags.
Limitations
Plan tiers are fiddly: the cheapest Pro plan omits popups, WooCommerce and custom CSS. Pages built with v3 widgets produce heavier output than lean builders such as Bricks or Oxygen, and designs depend on the plugin staying active. There is no official white-label option, and Elementor One plans renew at a higher price than the first year.
Who should pick it: anyone who wants the largest pool of tutorials, add-ons and freelancers, and is happy to buy Advanced Solo or higher for a full site-building toolkit.
Best for: Site owners and freelancers who want a popular, well-documented visual builder with a huge add-on ecosystem.
Elementor remains the default choice for most people because the free editor is capable and help is easy to find. For full site building budget for Advanced Solo or above, and consider leaner builders if raw front-end performance or developer workflows matter most.
Pros
- Free version is genuinely usable for building individual landing pages
- Largest ecosystem of add-ons, templates, tutorials and freelancers
- Pro bundles theme, popup, form, loop and WooCommerce builders
- Version 4 atomic elements bring classes, variables and lighter markup
- Editor Pro plans renew at the same price as year one
- 30-day money-back guarantee on annual plans
Cons
- Entry Essential plan lacks popups, WooCommerce, Loop Grid and custom CSS
- Legacy v3 widgets produce heavier HTML than lean builders
- No official white-label option for agencies
- AI credits are mostly reserved for the pricier One plans
- Layouts lose their design if the plugin is removed
Key features
What Elementor highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Drag-and-drop front-end visual editor
- 40+ basic widgets
- Flexbox and grid containers
- Custom responsive breakpoints
- Global colours, fonts, classes and variables
- Entrance animations and transforms
- Revision history with undo and redo
- Template library and website kits
- Floating buttons and link-in-bio widget
- AI tools with limited free credits
- Developer API and MCP integration
- 60+ languages with RTL support
Pro / paid adds From $60/yr
- 85 extra Pro widgets
- Theme Builder for headers, footers, archives
- Dynamic content and custom fields
- Popup Builder with triggers and conditions
- Form builder with stored submissions
- WooCommerce builder with 20+ widgets
- Loop Grid and Loop Carousel
- Element-level display conditions
- Custom CSS and custom code
- Motion effects and custom fonts
- Cloud templates library
- Collaborative notes
Feature checklist
23 of 25 features we track in Page Builders, feature score 90/100
Editing 7/8
Visual front-end editor Key
Edit pages visually on the front end, seeing the real design as you build.
Live drag-and-drop editing on the front end in the free plugin.
Included
Built on the block editor
Works inside Gutenberg as blocks rather than a separate editor.
Uses its own separate editor rather than Gutenberg blocks.
Not included
Responsive controls Key
Separate settings per breakpoint for desktop, tablet and mobile.
Per-device settings with custom breakpoints in the free version.
Included
Global styles & design tokens
Site-wide colours, fonts and spacing reused across elements.
Global colours and fonts, plus v4 classes and variables, are free.
Included
Flexbox & CSS grid layouts
Modern container layouts using flexbox and CSS grid.
Flexbox and grid containers are part of the free editor.
Included
Custom CSS per element
Add custom CSS to individual elements or sections.
Per-element and page custom CSS need Advanced Solo or higher.
Paid version Advanced Solo
Revision history & undo
Step back through changes and restore earlier versions.
Revision history and undo/redo are included free.
Included
AI assistant
Generate layouts, text, images or code with built-in AI.
AI for text, images, code and layouts with limited free credits; larger allowances come with One plans.
Partial
Elements & templates 5/5
Template library Key
Ready-made page and section templates.
Free template library and kits; Pro unlocks more templates.
Included
Large element library
Wide range of widgets/elements (sliders, tabs, galleries, pricing tables and more).
40+ free widgets; Pro adds up to 85 more such as sliders and pricing tables.
Included
Popup builder
Design popups with triggers and display conditions.
Popup Builder with triggers and conditions starts at Advanced Solo.
Paid version Advanced Solo
Built-in forms
Contact or lead forms built into the builder.
Form widget in Essential; stored submissions require Advanced Solo.
Paid version Essential
Motion effects & animations
Entrance animations, scroll and hover effects.
Entrance animations free; scroll and mouse motion effects are Pro.
Included
Theme & dynamic 6/6
Theme builder Key
Design headers, footers, archives and single templates.
Headers, footers, singles and archives in every Pro plan.
Paid version Essential
Dynamic content Key
Pull post fields, custom fields and site data into designs.
Dynamic tags for post and site data from Essential upward.
Paid version Essential
ACF / custom field support
Use Advanced Custom Fields, Meta Box or similar in designs.
Full custom-field and custom post type support listed from Advanced Solo.
Paid version Advanced Solo
Query loops & listings
Build custom post grids/listings with your own loop design.
Loop Grid and Loop Carousel are in Advanced Solo and higher.
Paid version Advanced Solo
Display conditions
Show elements or templates based on rules (user role, page type, date…).
Element display conditions by date, role or page type need an Advanced-level plan.
Paid version Advanced Solo
WooCommerce builder Key
Design product, shop, cart and checkout templates.
Product, shop, cart and checkout templates from Advanced Solo.
Paid version Advanced Solo
Performance & workflow 5/6
Lightweight output Key
Minimal markup/CSS/JS on the front end; assets loaded only when used.
v4 atomic elements render leaner HTML; legacy widgets add wrapper markup.
Partial
Content survives deactivation
Pages keep readable content (not shortcodes) if the builder is removed.
Content is kept on removal, but layouts and styling depend on the plugin.
Partial
Role & client permissions
Limit what clients or roles can edit.
Free can block roles from the editor; Pro adds content-only editing.
Partial
White label
Rebrand the builder for client sites.
No official rebranding option; agencies rely on third-party plugins.
Not included
Developer API
Hooks/APIs for custom elements and integrations.
Documented APIs for custom widgets, controls and dynamic tags.
Included
Cloud templates / multisite
Save and reuse templates across sites (cloud library).
Cloud Templates reusable across sites; 10 items on Essential, more on higher plans.
Paid version Essential
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Essential
$60per year1 site
Theme Builder, dynamic content, basic form widget (no stored submissions), 57 Pro widgets, 10 cloud templates. Renews at the same price.
Advanced Solo
$84per year1 site
All 85 Pro widgets, Popup Builder, WooCommerce builder, Loop Grid, custom CSS/code, form submissions, notes.
Advanced
$108per year3 sites
Same features as Advanced Solo for three sites.
Expert
$204per year25 sites
Advanced features for 25 sites; 5,000 cloud templates.
One
$228per year1 site
Pro editor plus AI credits and site tools (image optimisation, accessibility, cookie consent); first year shown at $180.
One Agency
$540per yearUnlimited
One bundle for unlimited sites with 350,000 monthly AI credits; first year shown at $432.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Elementor?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
10M+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
22M+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~5.7M
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder elementor-pro) on 2,910,855 live sites; they find the free version on 5,179,119 sites against about 13M WordPress.org installs, so each site found stands for about 2.4, giving 7M. About 13M free installs x 5.6% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid, lower for very large free bases) gives 700K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 5.1M. The vendor claims 22M+ sites in total. Taking away about 13M free installs leaves 9.5M, and 80% of that is 7.6M. Vendor totals are loose, so we only move our figure part of the way toward it, from 5.1M to 5.7M. Likely range: 3.7M to 8.6M. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
1,183,493 downloads last week, 912.1M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 4.3.6 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 2 Nov 2026 (1 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.8+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 46 of 69 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 30 May 2016 |
Company & policy
| Founded | 2016 (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (annual plans) (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
Elementor compared
Alternatives to Elementor
Bricks Builder
Premium site builder delivered as a WordPress theme, popular with developers for clean output, query loops and every feature in every plan.
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Divi
Premium visual theme and builder from Elegant Themes with unlimited-site licences, 2,000+ layouts and the rebuilt Divi 5 engine.
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Beaver Builder
Stable, developer-friendly front-end page builder with a free Lite version; paid plans now include the Beaver Themer theme builder.
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Oxygen Builder
Developer-focused visual builder from Soflyy with direct CSS control, sold as one lifetime licence for unlimited sites; Oxygen 6 runs on the…
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Brizy
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FAQ
Is Elementor free?
Yes. Elementor has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $60/yr.
How many sites use Elementor?
WordPress.org reports 10M+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 22M+ sites in total. We estimate around 5.7M sites run the paid version.
Does Elementor have visual front-end editor?
Yes: included. Live drag-and-drop editing on the front end in the free plugin.
Does Elementor have responsive controls?
Yes: included. Per-device settings with custom breakpoints in the free version.
Does Elementor have template library?
Yes: included. Free template library and kits; Pro unlocks more templates.
Does Elementor have theme builder?
Yes: paid version (Essential). Headers, footers, singles and archives in every Pro plan.
Does Elementor have dynamic content?
Yes: paid version (Essential). Dynamic tags for post and site data from Essential upward.
Does Elementor have woocommerce builder?
Yes: paid version (Advanced Solo). Product, shop, cart and checkout templates from Advanced Solo.
Does Elementor have lightweight output?
Yes: partial. v4 atomic elements render leaner HTML; legacy widgets add wrapper markup.
Is the free version of Elementor enough to build a whole site?
It can build individual pages, but headers, footers, archive templates, popups, forms and WooCommerce layouts need Elementor Pro. Most full sites end up on a Pro plan.
Which Elementor Pro plan should I buy?
Essential ($60/year) covers the Theme Builder and dynamic content. Advanced Solo ($84/year) adds popups, the WooCommerce builder, Loop Grid, custom CSS and form submissions, which most business sites need.
What changed in Elementor 4?
Version 4 adds atomic elements with classes, variables and states for cleaner markup. It became the default on new sites from April 2026, and older v3 widgets continue to work alongside it.
What happens if I stop using Elementor?
Your content is not deleted, but layouts built with the editor lose their design if the plugin is deactivated. Pro-only designs stop displaying if Pro lapses or is removed.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.