Page builder plugins are a new revolution in web building. With a page builder installed on your WordPress, you will be able to create a beautiful website without writing a single line of code. With over 8 million active installs, Elementor is the most used page builder plugin on WordPress.
Discover How to install Elementor on WordPress
Elementor itself is a freemium plugin. Although you can use it for free, there are a lot of benefits if you upgrade to the pro version. But before you upgrade to Elementor Pro, you might be wondering what are the differences between Elementor Free and Elementor Pro?
This article will have you covered.
In general, what differentiates Elementor Pro from Elementor Free is the features offered. Elementor Pro, of course, offers more features than Elementor Free. Here are the features of Elementor Pro that are not available on Elementor Free.
- Pro widgets
- Theme Builder - Theme Builder
- Popup Builder - Popup Builder
- WooCommerce Builder - WooCommerce Online Store Builder
- Third-party tool integrations
- Pro Models
Let's cover them one by one.
Elementor Free vs Elementor Pro: Widgets
Just like other page builder plugins, Elementor also comes with a visual drag and drop interface. To create a page, you just need to drag the widgets from the widget panel (panel on the left side) to the edit area. With Elementor Free you only have access to around 30 widgets while with Elementor Pro you have access to over 90 widgets.
Lire aussi How to create a custom header in WordPress with Elementor
Crucial widgets such as Form, Call To Action, Posts and Nav Menu are only available on Elementor Pro. Here are the widgets offered by Elementor Free and Elementor Pro.
Elementor Free Widgets
| Inner Section -Interior Section | Image Box - Image Box | Accordion - Accordion |
| Heading - Title | Icon Box - Icon Box | rocker |
| Image | Star Rating - Star | Social Icons - Social Icons |
| Text Editor - Text Editor | Image Gallery - Image Gallery | Alert - Alert |
| Video | Image Carousel - Image Carousel | SoundCloud |
| Button - Button | Icon List - Icon List | Shortcode |
| Divider - Divider | Counter - Counter | HTML |
| Spacer - Spacer | Progress Bar - Progress Bar | Menu Anchor - Menu anchor |
| Google Maps | Testimonial - Testimony | Lateral bar |
| Icon - Icon | Tabs - Tabs | And more |
Elementor Pro Widgets
All widgets on Elementor Free plus:
| Posts - Articles | Share Buttons | Post Excerpt - Excerpt from publication |
| Portfolio | Blockquote - Block Quote | Featured Image - Featured Image |
| Slides - Slides | facebook button | Author Box - Author Box |
| Form - Form | Facebook Comments | Post Comments - Post comments |
| Login | Facebook Embed | Post Navigation |
| Animated Headline - Animated Title | Facebook Page | Post Info - Article Info |
| Price List - Price List | Template - Template | Products - Products |
| Price Table - Price List | Site Logo | WooCommerce Breadcrumbs - WooCommerce breadcrumbs |
| Flip Box - Flap Box | Site Title - Site Title | Custom Add to Cart - Add to custom cart |
| Call to Action - Call to action | Page Title - Page Title | WooCommerce Pages - WooCommerce Pages |
| Media Carousel - Media Carousel | Nav Menu - Navigation menu | Product Categories - Product Categories |
| Testimonial Carousel - Testimonial Carousel | Search Form - Search form | Menu Cart - Menu Cart |
| Reviews - Reviews | Sitemap - Sitemap | PayPal Button - PayPal Button |
| Countdown - Countdown | Post Title - Post Title | Code Highlight - Code Highlight |
| Video Playlist - Video Playlist | Hotspot - Access point |
WooCommerce widgets will only appear if WooCommerce is installed and activated on WordPress.
Read also: How to create a footer in WordPress with Elementor
With more widgets, you will be more flexible when creating a web page. Please note that the table above does not list all widgets available on Elementor Pro. We only select the key widgets. If you're using Yoast, for example, a Breadcrumbs widget will also be available on Elementor Pro.
Theme Builder
Before the page builder era, this was just a dream for a WordPress user who has no programming skills to create a theme. To create a WordPress theme, you need to be proficient in PHP, CSS, and HTML. These days, the vast majority of WordPress themes also use JavaScript scripts.
Today that era is over thanks to page builders. Most of the page builder plugins come with a theme builder feature. In Elementor, the Theme Builder is only available on the pro version.
If you've ever noticed it, a WordPress theme consists of the following:
- Header - Header
- Footer
- Single post template - Single post template
- 404 page - Page 404
- Category page - Category page
- Author page - Author page
- Tags page - Page Tags
- Etc…
Elementor's Theme Builder feature allows you to create the above key elements.
Every theme element you created with Elementor will replace the element in your active theme. For example, if you create a header with Elementor and publish it, that header will replace the header of your active theme. Before you publish the header, along with other theme elements, Elementor lets you set a display condition. You can apply the header to the entire website or to a specific page or pages.
See also How to Create a Unique Post Template with Elementor Pro
If you are curious about what websites made with Elementor look like, you can visit the page Elementor Showcase. The Elementor team organizes the best websites built with Elementor and displays the selected sites on this page (updated monthly).
Popup Builder
After installing Elementor on your WordPress you will see a new menu item called Models on the left panel. There is an element called Popups under this menu item. You will not see anything other than a "Get Popup Builder" message when you click pop-ups, unless you are using Elementor Pro.
Lire aussi Elementor Pro: 10 Awesome Features to Unlock - Part I
Popup Builder is a feature that is only available on the pro version of Elementor. You can use this feature to create any kind of popup. From banner ads to subscription forms, announcements to release intentions, etc.
You can also use the Popup Builder feature to create a beautiful website menu like this.
If you have no idea what Popup concept you want to create, Elementor has some templates you can use. A pop-up window itself can be displayed on some pages using certain settings. For example, you can display a pop-up window on a landing page after the page has fully loaded.
You can also display a pop-up window based on triggers. For example, you can display a pop-up after your visitors click a button (like the screenshot above).
WooCommerce Builder
If you use WooCommerce to create an online store, Elementor Pro is a great plugin that you can install. Elementor Pro comes with a WooCommerce builder, which lets you customize every part of WooCommerce.
You can create a unique personalized product page, an archive product page, a shop page, etc. Elementor Pro offers around 6 WooCommerce widgets:
- Products
- WooCommerce Breadcrumbs
- Custom Add to Cart
- WooCommerce Pages
- Product Categories
- Cart menu
There are also templates that you can use to create a custom part of WooCommerce.
Third-party tool integrations
If you are using Elementor Pro, you will have access to premium widgets including Form. This widget (Form) is crucial enough for a business website. You can integrate this widget with third-party marketing tools like MailChimp, GetResponse, MailerLite, and HubSpot.
Not being able to use Form is a huge loss. You won't be able to apply popular marketing techniques like building email subscribers.
Third-party tools supported by Elementor Pro include Yoast, the most widely used SEO plugin on WordPress. You can add breadcrumbs to your unique post template by integrating Yoast with Elementor Pro.
Another downside of not using Elementor Pro is that you won't be able to access the pro icons on Font Awesome. Using Elementor Pro also allows you add custom fonts.
Pro Models
To save you time in creating a page, Elementor offers templates. The templates or templates offered by Elementor range from home pages to about, contact, landing pages, single post, section, etc.
Recently, Elementor released a new feature called Template Kit - Template Kit. A Template Kit is a collection of templates (home page, about page, contact page, single post layout, etc.) designed with the same design concept, and which allows you to create a website in minutes by simply importing templates.
However, not all Elementor templates are available for Elementor Free. Some templates can only be used by Elementor Pro users because they contain pro widgets. Pro Elementor models have a “PRO” label.
The verdict
Over 8 million users can't be wrong. Elementor is without a doubt the most popular page builder plugin for WordPress. We don't say "the best" because (to be honest) we haven't tried other page builders.
But sometimes we don't need to try something else if something we are using is able to provide everything we need. Elementor is capable of delivering almost anything that a page builder can provide. From theme builder, to popup builder, from WooCommerce builder to templates and widgets.
Also, it has a very intuitive user interface which is the main reason it is hard to look away.
You can use Elementor for free, but the free version of Elementor only allows you to touch the surface of Elementor. You need Elementor Pro to dive deeper into it.
Here are the feature comparisons between Elementor Free and Elementor Pro.
| Elementor Free | Elementor Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of widgets | 30 | 90+ |
| Number of models | 40 | 300+ |
| Theme Builder | No | Yes |
| Popup Builder | No | Yes |
| WooCommerce Builder | No | Yes |
| Form Builder | No | Yes |
| Third party integrations | No | Yes |
| Custom fonts | No | Yes |
| Global Widget | No | Yes |
| Full site editor | No | Yes |
| Motion effects | No | Yes |
| Custom CSS | No | Yes |
| Dynamic content | No | Yes |
| Role manager | No | Yes |
Get Elementor Pro Now!
Conclusion
Here ! That's it for this article which presents you with a detailed comparison of the features of the different versions of Elementor. If you have any concerns on how to get there flet us know in the Comments.
However, you can also consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation or the one on Divi: the best WordPress theme of all time.
But meanwhile, share this article on your different social networks.
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