Elementor is the best page builder plugin for WordPress, hands down. It has gained popularity in the WordPress community due to its ease of use and the ability to create beautiful designs without any coding knowledge. As I’m sure you know already, Elementor comes in two versions – Free and Pro. In this post, we will discuss the advantages of Elementor Pro over the free version and help you decide whether Elementor Free is good enough for your needs.
What is Elementor?
Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder plugin that helps you create detailed and bespoke website designs without any coding knowledge. It has a simple and intuitive interface that allows you to design and see your website in real-time. With Elementor, you can create just about any type of page you can imagine – from landing pages to blog posts to product pages.
What is Elementor Free?
Elementor Free is the basic version of the Elementor page builder plugin. It comes with limited features and functionality compared to Elementor Pro. Elementor Free is available for download from the WordPress plugin library and can be used for free on any WordPress website.
So is Elementor Free good enough?
Let’s have a look at what you miss out on if you don’t get Pro
1. More Widgets and Templates
The Widgets and Templates are really what sets Elementor apart from other builders. Elementor Pro comes with over 50 widgets and 300+ templates, while Elementor Free has only 30 widgets and 100+ templates. With Elementor Pro, you have access to more widgets like forms, pricing tables, and WooCommerce widgets, which are essential for creating an online store. These save so much time when you’re designing your site.
2. Theme Builder
Of all of the features I missed when I tried to design a super-low-budget website without Elementor Pro, this was it. Elementor Pro comes with a powerful theme builder that allows you to create custom headers, footers, and archive pages/templates. This feature is not available in Elementor Free, which means you will have to use the default WordPress template for these elements, which honestly, is not it. You’re left with the bog standard layout with the “Next Post” and “Previous Post” stuff at the bottom. Big Windows 97 vibe.
3. Popup Builder
Elementor Pro comes with a popup builder that allows you to create custom popups and display them on specific pages or triggers. The beatury of this is that you can build it the same way, with Elementor’s super easy drag-and-drop builder. This feature is not available in Elementor Free, which means you will have to use a separate plugin for popups, which you’ll need to pay for anyway if you want a nice custom design.
4. Dynamic Content
Elementor Pro comes with dynamic content features that allow you to display content dynamically based on user behaviour or other criteria. For example, you can display different content to logged-in users and non-logged-in users. This feature is not available in Elementor Free.
5. WooCommerce Builder
This is similar to point 2 on this list but for your product pages. Elementor Pro comes with a WooCommerce builder that allows you to create custom product pages and category pages. This feature is absolutely essential for creating an online store, and it is not available in Elementor Free.
6. Custom CSS
Woah, I know this is coding but before you go, you don’t really need to know CSS to use it easily. There are thousands (if not millions) of CSS tutorials out there built specifically for Elementor, which you can just copy and paste in. Elementor Pro allows you to add custom CSS to your website directly from the Elementor editor. This feature is not available in Elementor Free, and honestly it’s so worth it.
7. Custom Fonts
With Elementor Pro, you can add your own custom fonts to your website. This feature is not available in Elementor Free, which means you will have to use a separate plugin or custom code to add custom fonts.
8. Support
This is a big one, if you get stuck with something, with Elementor Pro, you’re not on your own. Simply log into your account and Elementors Support team will get back to you with a solution on their livechat or if they’re super busy, within a few hours tops.
So, Is Elementor Free good enough?
Elementor Free is an excellent page builder plugin for beginners who want to create simple pages and blog posts. However, if you want to create a more unique website with custom headers, footers, popups, and dynamic content, then Elementor Pro is a better choice.
Conclusion
Elementor Free is a still a great page builder for WordPress and I’d still use it before I’d use Divi Builder or Beaver Builder. That being said, Elementor Pro is really not in the same league. It makes your web design life just so much easier. Even for the sake of being able to use the thousands of YouTube tutorials there are on every aspect of web design with Elementor Pro, it’s worth it. Plus, if you’ve looked at the price of some plugins for WordPress, Elementor is really not remotely expensive at all. Many plugins out there are $200+ a year. Elementor Pro is just $59 a year for a 1 site license and it’s worth every cent.
