Elementor popularity continues to grow and it’s currently one of the most widely used WordPress site builders. However, there are other decent alternatives, in case you want to try something different.
At a glance, drag and drop builders such as Elementor are not so different from each other, but there are reasons to take a second look at the competition.
In this article, I will list the 5 best Elementor alternatives and explain which WordPress site builder is better for your needs. So, let’s get started.
1. Beaver Builder
Best for: users with some technical knowledge
Choose Beaver if: you need simplicity and like building things from scratch
While Elementor is a more recent builder, Beaver is considered one of the first builders in the market. Elementor was released in 2016, while Beaver was launched in 2014. Beaver is older and is more developer focused.
Over time, both tools evolved pretty fast and by 2017 the differences between them became clear. Elementor provided a big variety of widgets, templates and integrations, while Beaver managed to keep things simple and intuitive.
On one hand, Elementor’s free version allows you to build a website without using the Pro version, and even if you need to upgrade, it’s only $59 per site.
On the other hand, Beaver wants you to use it at full power – and many times, the free version translates as a trial version. Once you try out Beaver free, it’s very likely that you will want to upgrade.
The good news is – it’s pretty affordable, meaning that you only have to pay $99 / year for a Standard plan and use it on unlimited number or websites. That’s a great deal!
Beaver editor
Beaver key features
- Developer friendly
- Compatible with popular WordPress themes and plugins
- Unlimited site usage
- Optimized for SEO
- Beaver builder theme
- Header/footer builder
- WooCommerce integration
- Multisite compatible
- White labeling
- 40% discount on renewals
- 30 days money back guarantee
2. Divi Builder
Best for: users in need of appealing layouts
Choose Divi if: you care about design and don’t mind the steeper learning curve
Divi is one of the most widely used premium WordPress themes/builders created by EleganThemes. They have been in the business since 2008 and have a very loyal and huge community of more than 880k premium users.
Compared to Elementor which has both a free and Pro version, Divi is only available as a premium product. After all, great features have their price tag. Divi is very affordable though, it’s only $89 / year for an unlimited number of sites.
Not sure which one to choose? Check my comparison here: Divi Builder vs Elementor Pro.
Divi is more than a WordPress theme, it’s a fully featured website builder. In other words, you can build on Divi, or you can build with Divi.
Divi builder is focused on design and easily outshines the other site builders when it comes to visual appearance. It also offers a huge selection of designs – there are more than 240 pre-made templates and over 1,000 layouts to choose from.
Over the years Divi evolved from a multipurpose theme into a powerful website builder and generated a whole ecosystem around it, where you can buy 3rd party child themes, layouts and extensions. All are available in Divi Marketplace.
Divi editor
Divi key features
- High quality designs
- Front end page builder
- Thousands of pre-made layouts
- Theme builder
- Header/footer builder
- Access to all plugins: builder, Monarch, Bloom
- Divi Marketplace (3rd party products)
- WooCommerce integration
- Great customer support
- 30 day money back guarantee
3. Brizy Builder
Best for: non-techies
Choose Brizy if: you’re familiar with Elementor but need an easier builder
Brizy is similar to Elementor. However, it focuses on simplicity and user experience. It’s meant for users with no coding skills, who want to create a website visually, by dragging and dropping design blocks and elements.
Maybe Brizy is not the most sophisticated WordPress site builder, but it’s definitely easy to use and provides appealing and modern looking layouts. I like the way the present things, so they definitely have a great taste.
I think that Brizy is the winner when it comes to user experience and user friendliness.
Brizy is priced at €45 / year for 1 website and €179 / year for 500 websites. If you need a hosted solution (where hosting is included), you can go for Brizy Cloud which starts at €69 / year for 1 website and €339 / year for 100 websites.
Brizy editor
Brizy key features
- Visual editing (no coding skills required)
- Global colors and fonts
- Over 100 design templates
- Contact form and popup builder
- White label
- Collaboration features
- Multiple integrations (WooCommerce, Mailchimp, Google Maps, etc.)
- Active community and handy documentation
- Multisite compatible
- Self hosted and hosted solutions
4. Oxygen Builder
Best for: web developers, advanced users
Choose Oxygen if: you need performance and advanced functionality, and you know what you’re doing
If you are looking for a developer friendly WordPress site builder, then you should probably choose Oxygen. It has a steeper learning curve, but offers powerful features and more flexibility.
Unlike other builders, Oxygen doesn’t offer a theme and completely disables the WordPress theme system. This gives you more control over your website and makes it lightweight by default.
This also means that you won’t be able to use the builder with a regular WordPress theme.
Oxygen is not free. It starts at $129 (one time fee) and you can use it on an unlimited number of websites.
Oxygen editor
Oxygen key features
- Developer friendly
- Generates lightweight and clean code
- Performance and SEO oriented
- Header builder
- Dynamic data
- WooCommerce integration
- Gutenberg integration
- Pre-made designs and elements
- Lifetime support and updates
5. Gutenberg Editor
Best for: users who like the default editor
Choose Gutenberg if: you don’t need advanced functionality and are familiar with default features
For simple layouts, or if you’re just trying to build a website, Gutenberg is a good option. It’s free and it’s built-in WordPress. It offers a wide range of blocks with limited customization options.
That’s pretty much it. I don’t particularly like the default Gutenberg editor, you can check my opinion here.
A better option would be Kadence Blocks plugin, which excels where the default editor lacks. In case you didn’t know, Kadence Blocks is a block/page builder for Gutenberg editor. It’s way better than the default solution.
Gutenberg editor
Gutenberg key features
- Integrated into WordPress
- SEO and performance oriented
- Default blocks and patterns
- Reusable blocks
- Visual/code editor
If you want to explore more options, I’ve created a curated list of WordPress website builders. You might find a builder that better suits your needs. There are plenty of notable providers in the industry.
Wrapping things up
While Elementor is a great all-round website builder for WordPress, there are use cases when you might want to use an alternative.
Here is what you should keep in mind when deciding which builder to get:
- Beaver requires some technical skills and is focused on simplicity
- Divi is only paid, it offers appealing designs and is a bit harder to learn
- Brizy is good for starters, it’s easy to use but not as advanced as others
- Oxygen is mainly for developers and those who need advanced features
- Gutenberg is free and pretty basic, use Kadence Blocks instead
Let me know if you consider any of these tools or already using one of them.
