For new or existing WordPress users considering page builders to design a more customized website, Divi and Elementor inevitably will come up. These impressive WordPress plugins provide the ability to use drag and drop editors to build your ideal website or specific pages. 

WordPress is well loved by site managers across the world for good reason. It offers a seemingly endless number of third-party themes and plugins, the architecture needed for SEO, and a simple interface. But a common complaint, especially when compared to competitors like Wix, is the lack of drag-and-drop, no-code customization. 

This is where Divi and Elementor plugins come in, enabling WordPress users to have full control over their page and site design with intuitive tools to create responsive, beautiful site experiences. While both are impressive page builders, there are some key differences you should be aware of before you make your pick. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to pick the right visual page builder for your site. 

What is a Page Builder? 

Before diving into the differences between Divi and Elementor, it’s important to understand what a page builder is at its core. 

A page builder for WordPress can refer to a number of different types of tools but in general it’s a plugin. These plugins enable users to create more custom web pages without the use of code. Using a page builder, a site designer can drag or create desired elements like text, images, or even more unique elements like a login box on whichever part of a page you’d like.

In recent years, page builders including Divi and Elementor have introduced theme builder capabilities to their plugins so users can design exactly what they’d like their entire site to look like from header to the footer without code. 

The next section will cover the most pressing pros and cons of both Divi and Elementor to know and the following sections will unpack essential details of these plugins’ design features, pricing, and more. 

Pros and Cons: Divi vs Elementor

These are the core strengths and weaknesses of Divi and Elementor you should be aware of. This list isn’t exhaustive so read on for additional insights into other elements of these page builders. 

Read on for more strengths and weaknesses for both Divi and Elementor, beginning with design.

Design: Building pages with Divi vs Elementor

Currently in WordPress, users utilize content blocks to adapt pages to their liking, adding elements to fixed spaces down each page. Divi and Elementor provide the ability to have more design control over each page or your site in general. 

With Divi, you can build a page from scratch, choose a premade layout, or clone other pages if you’ve already created them. From there, you can add elements to the page or page builders like Divi’s true strength, modules. 

These modules allow you to add key page features without coding knowledge. For example, you can add a sidebar to your page, fixed video elements, email opt-ins in more. Divi offers far more options for page design with modules than the normal WordPress editor which requires numerous plugins for this level of customization. 

On top of this, Divi allows you to design responsive pages which adapt to the device visitors are viewing your site on.

Elementor likewise offers responsive page design as well as the ability to edit mobile or tablet views of pages, for example removing elements that don’t adapt well to differently sized pages. For fans of the WordPress layout, Elementor’s editor layout will be familiar with the different element options clearly listed for addition on the side of the page. 

Both Elementor and Divi provide the ability to design your full theme, including your pages’ header and footer, a clear value add for design control.

Both Divi and Elementor offer right-click support, meaning you can right click on elements and have copy/paste, delete, and other functionality available with programs in the Google and Microsoft Suite but not normally available in WordPress.

Key Takeaway: In the design category, Elementor and Divi are tied. Both offer excellent page builder solutions with unique takes – Divi is a more curated experience and Elementor offers more freedom.

Templates and Layout Kits: Divi vs Elementor

If you’d rather not build out your own pages with Divi or Elementor, you can lean on templates they’ve made available to easily populate pages. Both offer a slew of template and layout options but there are key differences in their offerings you should be aware of. 

Divi offers over 140 layout kits and 880 layouts, or templates, to beautify pages on your site. You can edit these layout kits to your specifications. Layout kits are multiple templates that could be applicable to your business niche and allow you to have similarly designed templates for different page needs. 

Elementor offers 200+ free and pro templates, or layouts, for your site. These beautiful templates are perfect depending on your business or site niche whether you offer courses, are a restaurant, or fall into some other common category. 

Unfortunately, Elementor doesn’t yet offer layout kits for users but their templates are professional and you’ll likely find the right one for you.

Key Takeaway: In this category, Divi edges out Elementor as they offer far more templates as well as layout kits to customize multiple pages across your site. 

Widgets and Modules: Divi vs Elementor

When choosing between Divi and Elementor, one of your key considerations should be which has the native and third-party widgets and modules you need to build your ideal page. Widgets and modules will allow you to add the functionality needed for you to convert customers or engage readers. Here’s what you should know for this category. 

Elementor offers 29 free widgets and if you upgrade to Pro, you’ll unlock 40 more. Pro widgets include call to actions, logins, and price tables. 

Divi offers fewer premium offerings and their third-party marketplace similarly has few offerings because there isn’t a free version of Divi to attract developers. Divi also doesn’t offer a native popup builder, which Elementor does, but does offer the ability to acquire one through their third-party marketplace. A popup builder is a prime way for a site manager to gather email signups and acquire new customers with offers. 

Divi does allow users to split test, or a/b test, elements on their designs like buttons or headers to maximize effectiveness of newly built pages. 

Key Takeaway: In this category, Elementor is the clear winner with more offered widgets or elements, including a native popup builder. 

WordPress Theme Compatibility

Both Divi and Elementor should be functional on any WordPress theme you plan to use them on that follow WordPress best practices. If you have any concerns about compatibility with, say an existing theme you utilize on your site, you should reach out to Divi or Elementor support and ask if users have experienced issues with said theme.

In addition, Elegant Themes, which created Divi, offers a Divi theme, which likely will be the most compatible theme/page builder union possible as it’s custom built. 

Divi also recently rolled out a Theme Builder, meaning you can create an entire theme just for your site using Divi page builder tools. This exciting development is sure to change the WordPress themes game. Elementor also offers the ability to build themes.

Key Takeaway: If you’re looking for WordPress theme compatibility, matching Divi and the Divi Theme for WordPress is likely to be the best union possible. 

Pricing: $49 a month to $249 for life

While pricing shouldn’t be your top consideration when choosing either of these plugins, it should be factored into your decision making. One important difference between your options is that Elementor’s pricing is annual and the plans offer varying options for multi-domain use. Divi offers an annual access offer and a ‘for-life’ plan for unlimited websites.

Elementor 

All Elementor pricing is based on annual pricing and offers a range of access to templates, widgets, support, updates, and more. 

Divi

Key Takeaway: Divi is the better option if you’re interested in building pages for just one domain, especially for a long-term project you can use the lifetime pricing for. If you’d like to build pages for multiple domains, Elementor is the better pick.

SEO: Which page builder is better for organic traffic?

Page builders can cause anxiety among those concerned about SEO. Generated code can sometimes affect the ability of search engine crawlers to parse page information, leading to affected rankings. Fortunately, any issues with short code used by Divi or Elementor can be resolved with the use of their recommended SEO tools like RankMath for Elementor or SEOPress for Divi. 

Commentators online have also raised concerns about Divi’s site load speed which can be remedied with the use of the Hummingbird or Fast Velocity Minify plugins. Elementor similarly has experienced page load speed issues whether you use a template or build from scratch (although templates performed better). 

So both Divi and Elementor experience some SEO issues due to additional code but these can be resolved with SEO plugins like SEOPress and RankMath. Any speed issues can also be resolved with compressing and optimizing elements. Otherwise, both provide the tools necessary to help your pages gain organic traffic. 

Is Divi bad for SEO?

No, Divi is not bad for SEO if you use proper SEO best practices and helpful plugins like SEOPress. Any page load speed issues with Divi can be remedied with plugins as well. 

Is Elementor bad for SEO?

No, Elementor is integrated with RankMath, a top SEO tool to ensure Elementor-built pages won’t affect your SEO. Any page load speed issues can be resolved by optimizing element compression and using available plugins to increase speed. 

Key Takeaway: Both Divi and Elementor experience some SEO issues due to elements loading, additional code, and general page load speed so they’re tied in this category. 

Final Takeaway: Which page builder is right for you?

Divi and Elementor are both very powerful and capable tools for making your website. As detailed, Divi is more of a curated experience, while Elementor has more freedom and offers unique features such as a native popup editor. 

Both page builders offer unique features and value adds, as well as pricing models. One upfront perk of choosing Divi is you’ll also gain access to all of Elegant Themes’ products like Monarch, a social media sharing plugin, and Divi, a top WordPress theme. 

For users planning on using their page builder across multiple websites, Divi is a better pick. If you’re also starting out with page builders, Divi is a better choice because it’s more curated than Elementor. If you’re not a beginner, want to use the page builder on one site, and value design freedom, Elementor is the better pick.

If you value widget access, Elementor will be the right choice for you and if you’d rather have a large library of templates to use, then go with Divi. 

Despite both being right for users based on these factors, both Divi and Elementor are excellent page builders and you’d be hard pressed to go wrong with either.