Divi vs Elementor: Which Is Better?
Thinking of enlisting the help of a webpage builder? Check out this detailed comparison of Divi vs Elementor to decide which is the best for you.
What do you use to build your site? Do you craft it from scratch, do you outsource to a web-development company, or do you use WordPress?
Many big-name companies use WordPress. Some of these include The New York Times, Forbes, Best Buy, and Sony.
The notion that WordPress is only for small-time bloggers is a thing of the past. It’s a stigma long erased by the tool’s evolving efficiency.
If you aim to use WordPress you do have one important decision to make. Will you build your site with Divi or Elementor? Both are great WordPress site builders but which one is the optimal choice for your needs?
To find out which is the better choice, take a moment to go through this Divi vs Elementor comparison.
The Basics
Elementor is a plug-in. It doesn’t offer you any themes of its own and is compatible with any theme you have running at the moment. Its purpose is to give a GUI to build a site without any coding knowledge or experience.
Divi is both a plug-in and a WordPress theme. The developers, Elegant Themes, first released Divi as a standalone theme.
Later on, and to address updating issues, they then release the Divi Builder. This is a plug-in that you can use with any theme and not only the Divi theme. For this Divi vs Elementor comparison, we’ll take into consideration the full Divi Builder that comes with the Divi Theme since you get both upon paying for a subscription.
With the basics out of the way, the first thing you have to compare is their user interface. Both of these tools focus on giving users the opportunity to build a site with drag-and-drop options and no coding background.
User Interface
Both tools allow you to drag-and-drop to make a website. You can make a whole site without knowing a single line of coding. The big difference, though, is the level of customization you get.
Elementor only offers front-end editing. Whenever you add a new element and edit it, the changes appear in that instant. It’s an example of what-you-see-is-what-you-get.
Divi has front-end and back-end editing. Back-end editing allows editing on a blank space before implementing to see results. This is better for those who work with the big picture in mind.
While most people will prefer front-end editing, it is nice to see Divi offer both options. It gives you the freedom to switch back and forth.
It also supports text in-line editing. This means you can edit text right at the element instead of typing back in a separate sidebar.
In this Divi vs Elementor comparison, the former gets an edge with its user interface.
Shortcodes
Shortcodes have been around since the advent of WordPress 2.5 several years back. These are bits of code that let you achieve various tasks with little time and effort needed. You can do more with less time and less coding required.
Divi uses shortcodes and some people look at this as a negative. When you move from Divi to another site builder, you have to do it by hand because the new builder might not read the shortcodes Divi utilized. This is why you’ll hear them saying “Divi is for life” since there’s the notion you are stuck and reliant on it.
That’s not the case. If you do move onto a new builder or theme, you can still use the shortcodes since you can still use the Divi Builder as a plug-in.
The more important question is: why shy away from shortcodes?
WordPress gets new updates all the time and instead of eliminating shortcodes, the platform continues to show support for it.
Shortcodes improve efficiency since you don’t have to repeat the same line of code for repeating functions. They also allow custom markup that makes your WordPress site look unique compared to the others. You can add a text widget straight into your header, something you shouldn’t be able to do.
Without shortcodes, your site will look generic and will not be as efficient as you’d hope. This gives Divi a major advantage in the Divi vs Elementor comparison.
Pre-Made Templates
This is another aspect where the Divi vs Elementor conversation can end in a tie. Both tools offer a wide array of templates you can use, especially if you don’t want to build a site from scratch.
At first glance, it may seem like Elementor has the advantage. Upon looking into its library of templates, you’ll see that it offers more than what you get from Divi. This is if you don’t dig in a little further.
Getting a paid subscription for Divi unlocks a wider library of pre-made templates. You also get new templates, made by other users, on a weekly basis. This focus on user-generated content makes Divi feel like a stronger, connected community.
This gives Divi a slight advantage over Elementor in this regard.
Styling Options
Elementor has elements and Divi has modules. Though the terms are different, their functions are the same. These are the drag-and-drop tools to make your site.
Both offer the most basic tools for adding:
- Text
- Images
- Headers
- Footers
- Buttons
They do come with a few exclusives. Some of the elements from Elementor include:
- Testimonial
- Portfolio grid
- Price tables
Divi also comes with these tools but it has special modules you won’t find anywhere else. Some of these exclusive modules include:
- WooCommerce support
- Email Opt-ins
- Video slider
- Social media follow
In the discussion between Divi vs Elementor, it is important to point out that both also support drag-and-drop widget-support. The lead still goes to Divi, however, because over time it earned a few more modules to offer compared to the elements that Elementor has.
Third-Party Support
Both Divi and Elementor allow you to tweak things further with third-party plug-ins, PHP coding, and CSS coding. The reason why Divi gains the advantage here is that it has been around for much longer.
People turned to Divi as early as 2013, right when blogging was still in its infancy and still gaining traction. Elementor, on the other hand, is fairly new to the WordPress market. This means more themes and plug-ins are compatible with Divi.
Divi is the go-to tool for building and is the most popular choice.
There are over 1.2 million WordPress sites built with Divi. The next tool behind it is Avada, with over 414,000 sites using it. This goes to show how many people and professional developers rely on Divi to design and operate their websites.
Elementor doesn’t even come close. It is gaining popularity nowadays, along with Beaver Builder, but they are still very new to the game. You won’t see full third-party support until after a few years and by then Divi will gain even more traction.
For this Divi vs Elementor review, Divi gets a big lead here.
Built-In Tools
This is where the Divi vs Elementor debate favours only one side. Divi gains a big advantage because while they both feature great built-in tools, it has an A/B split testing tool called Divi Leads.
Divi Leads allows you to test different versions of your site and modules to determine which one will perform better. Now you can run both versions of your site and see which version will get more conversions, more engagement, and more sales.
Why split-test? You need to determine whether or not the design you have is the optimal one to achieve higher conversions and profit without spending too many resources.
Another built-in tool that Divi offers is the Role Editor. Now, with an intuitive graphical dashboard, you can control how much access each WordPress user gets when they log in and work on your site.
Price
Elementor has three pricing options:
- $49 per year for use on 1 site
- $99 per year for only 3 sites
- $199 per year for an unlimited number
All three do come with unlimited access to all of the annual updates and features. Still, if you like building several websites to connect multiple business or blogs then Elementor may be too expensive; it’s also limited compared because of how few websites you can build with the money you pay for.
Divi only has two payment options but either one is a better choice than what you get with Elementor. With Divi, you can either pay:
- $89 per year for unlimited website usage
- $249 for lifetime usage
Both plans come with unlimited access to all of Divi’s other tools and updates. You also get access to all of Elegant’s other themes and plug-ins. That means access to the Divi Builder and over 80 other WordPress themes.
Like the advantage of having Divi Leads, the pricing makes all the difference between the two. If you want an affordable option that gives you more utility and practical tools then Divi is the better choice.
Divi vs Elementor: The Verdict
At the end of the day, both Divi and Elementor are some of the greatest site builders for the WordPress platform. Both offer a lot of flexibility and options to help you design the kind of website you want.
If you have to choose between Divi vs Elementor, there’s no doubt that Divi is the clear winner. It’s more affordable, it has better exclusive tools like Divi Leads and Role Editor, and its newer updates ensure it doesn’t get outdated.
Do you think Divi is the best site builder for your needs? Do you want custom plug-ins and other Divi-compatible tools to help you achieve the design you want?
Get in touch with us now and we can help you build your site with Divi and other useful tools.
