Which Should You Use: Elementor Pro vs. Free

The core difference is scope. Elementor Free handles page-level design: you build individual pages with the basic widget set, arranging sections, columns, headings, images, and buttons through the drag-and-drop editor. It is everything you need to make good-looking pages, but it stops at the page.

Elementor Pro moves up to site-wide design. The Theme Builder lets you control headers, footers, single post templates, archive pages, and 404 screens from inside the same editor, so your whole site shares one consistent look. On top of that, Pro adds advanced widgets, a form builder, popups, dynamic content, WooCommerce design tools, and priority support.

So the decision is simple to frame: Free is for designing pages, Pro is for designing an entire site and the systems around it. The sections that follow look at each side in detail so you can see which fits your project.

When looking at the free version, you can instantly see why this is one of the most popular drag and drop builders. You can do an immense amount of work on your website to give it that branded look you want to achieve. You can create unique looking pages, posts and other content types that can radically alter the look of your website.

This also means that pages can look different from other pages on your site, removing confusion from audiences as they navigate around. It also allows you to optimize content on a page so it is better suited for that page’s goal.

Remember each page on your website needs to have a specific goal and this can’t always be the same as the previous. For instance, a product page is one that should entice the customer to add the product to the cart whereas a contact us page needs to encourage the user to contact you.

With Elementor, you can complete this to some degree. You can even create multi-column pages which are sorely missing from the default features in WordPress.

The free version also allows you to create templates and store them for use later on in your designing phase. This helps to create a cohesive structure and style across your website, which is better for converting and maintaining a brand image. This is also a great way to save time and prevent small mistakes while also developing your site’s branding.

The free version also allows you to complete the designing on the go with the help of mobile editing. This is 100% responsive and allows you to create templates from your phone or tablet.
To help create your front pages, there are more than 30 elements that can be inserted into pages.

There are numerous concerns that any page builder is hard to use and that is why they stick to generic WordPress themes. After all, WordPress themes are there to provide you with a ready made website.

However, you can take your website to the next level by using a page builder and they are really easy to use, sometimes easier than using the theme customization options. Elementor is even a step above most page builders and is probably the simplest to use that is available on WordPress.

All you need to do is to select the number of columns, select the element you want to use, drag it into the right place and then edit that element. Editing an element is as simple as adding in the text that you want for that page or assigning an image.

Elements are varied from text, video and images to call-to-action buttons and slideshows. This easy-to-use system means that anyone, even those without any knowledge of coding can get to grips to the system and make the most out of their website, even with the free version.

Unlike with other page builders, and even other plugins on WordPress, the free version of Elementor isn’t lacking in features. And it doesn’t prevent you from making a great website without the need to spend any money. However, that doesn’t mean that the pro version doesn’t take you to the next level and help your website even further.

In fact, the pro version of Elementor is a great tool and for some websites it would be a critical investment.

To start with, the pro version of Elementor does everything that the free version offers, obviously. The style and mechanics of the plugin don’t change. Therefore, if you want to ‘try out’ Elementor without investment, you can. You have the free version for a while, check you’re happy with using it and then upgrade to a paid version when you’re ready.

However, Elementor Pro unshackles your creativity and allows you to not just edit your website in the content areas but also across your website to nearly every single part of it. The potential of this freedom is amazing. You no longer have to worry about how your popup elements are going to look or whether your eCommerce pages are going to be good enough to convert because Elementor Pro allows you to alter them to be better at selling.

So, lets have a look at some of the key aspects in the Elementor Pro vs. free debate.

In the pro version you don’t have to stick to the same header and footer design that you have to with the free. You can change these to be more consistent with the branding. This means you can create footers that have more meaning to your site and a header that can be really eye-catching to audiences as soon as they land upon your page.

At the same time, you can edit content elements like archives and single post pages that weren’t available in the free option. For these content types you can create templates, save them and apply them to specific pages (like for those doing reviews, product lists or general advice) or you make them the default page style.

If you’re becoming a little more of an advanced user, you can take advantage of the custom post type templates. From here you can include dynamic content from custom fields. And with the larger range of widgets, templates and elements available to you: you can really let your creativity flow and get that perfect brand design.

And if you’re a business that wants to have lots of forms, sliders and sells the same product but at different pricing tiers (membership site, software licenses, etc.) then you should really look into Elementor Pro. With the upgrade you can start to create unique forms to collect information from users that you can use in e-mail marketing, sliders for displaying key content and pricing tables to get more sales.

It also means that with the help of these elements, you can have a wider range of pages with more diverse, unique and compelling content for your website. And with less need of those extra plugins you can see several other benefits including:

• Less chance of an error happening on your website from incompatibility issues between plugins and themes/bad coding from updates.
• More secure website as there are less entry points into the backend of your website.
• Faster loading times as less plugins mean less code for the browser to request and receive better ranking on Google and other search engines.

The Elementor Pro version is a great way to save more time. For instance, you can add custom CSS directly into widgets, instead of trying to get that code inserted elsewhere and thus make widgets more useful and valuable to your brand. You can also make global widgets that can be used on numerous pages, in different locations but editing them all can be done in one location.

The way these little additions can be used are numerous. But think about having a widget that highlights your email newsletter. This should be placed at different locations throughout your website, where it makes most sense on the page. In the free version of Elementor, you would have to place different widgets or different forms in the places manually. This is the same if you don’t Elementor at all.

If you change your offer (for instance changing from a 5% discount to a 10% discount) could mean having to go through dozens, if not more, pages to change this.

A global widget with one edit location means changes can be done once and you can have the changes go throughout the website. It saves you time and prevents errors from occurring (especially if you lower the offer value but customers see the old, higher value).

Support

Support is one of the clearest splits between the two versions. With Elementor Free, help comes from the community: the WordPress.org support forum, a large user base sharing fixes, and Elementor’s public knowledge base of articles, guides, and video tutorials. For common questions and beginner problems, that is often enough, though answers depend on when someone volunteers to reply.

Elementor Pro includes ticket-based premium support directly from the Elementor team, with faster response times than you would get waiting on a forum thread. When a deadline is close or a client site is broken, that priority access is genuinely useful. If you build sites professionally or run a business that cannot afford downtime, the official support alone can justify the subscription.