Divi vs Elementor is the classic page builder question, and both tools changed a lot recently. Divi 5 was rebuilt from the ground up, while Elementor now ships version 4 of its editor. In short, Divi is a paid membership with unlimited sites and a lifetime option. Elementor, on the other hand, has a free plugin and per-site Pro plans. We compared both on October 19, 2026, using only the official pages. So here is an honest look at price, builder, templates, AI, speed claims and lock-in.

Divi vs Elementor at a glance

Pricing: Divi vs Elementor Pro

This is where the two differ most. Divi charges one price for unlimited websites. In contrast, Elementor prices its Pro plans by the number of sites.

According to Elementor’s pricing page, Essential costs $60 per year for 1 site. However, it leaves out the popup builder, custom code and eCommerce features. Advanced Solo costs $84 for 1 site, Advanced $108 for 3 sites and Expert $204 for 25 sites. Elementor One costs $180 in the first year and $228 after that. Finally, One Agency is the only unlimited plan, at $432 in year one and $540 per year after that.

Divi, meanwhile, costs $89 per year or $249 once, always for unlimited sites. Divi Pro adds AI, cloud storage, VIP support and team seats for $277 per year. For the full breakdown, see our Divi pricing guide.

So which is cheaper? For one site, Elementor is cheaper: Essential costs $60 and Advanced Solo $84. From two sites up, however, Divi costs less. Elementor’s 3-site plan is $108, and its 25-site plan is $204. One more note: Elegant Themes’ own comparison table still shows Elementor at $399 for 1,000 sites. That plan is not on Elementor’s current pricing page, so we used Elementor’s own numbers.

Free version: Elementor wins here

Elementor has a real free plugin. On WordPress.org, it shows 10+ million active installs and a 4.5-star rating from 7,319 reviews. Version 4.3.5 was updated on 13 October 2026. Elementor says the free plugin includes 32 widgets and the core drag-and-drop editor. Also, the free Hello Elementor theme is built to pair with it.

Divi, by contrast, has no free version. You can test the builder in a live demo on the Elegant Themes site. After that, the 30-day refund is your safety net.

The builders: Divi 5 vs Elementor Editor V4

Divi 5 is a full rewrite. Elegant Themes says it rebuilt Divi on a new tech stack and removed a decade of technical debt. The interface now has a layers panel, global design variables and presets. You can also resize and move panels and switch to dark mode. As you can see above, you edit the page visually while the settings sit beside it.

Elementor’s editor is now in version 4. Its product page shows a new panel of atomic elements, such as div blocks, flexbox containers and tabs. Furthermore, Elementor says it offers over 100 design, marketing and eCommerce widgets across its plans. Both builders edit on the front end with drag and drop. So in daily use, the choice is mostly about which workflow feels natural to you.

Templates and design systems

Divi includes more than 2,600 premade layouts in every plan. In addition, Divi Quick Sites can generate a complete starter site. Elementor, meanwhile, offers a template library with hundreds of layouts and pre-designed blocks. Its Pro plans also store 10 to 5,000 cloud templates, depending on the plan.

Both tools now treat design as a system. Divi 5 uses class-based presets and global variables. Likewise, Elementor uses global styles and settings. For a list of themes built for Elementor, see our best Elementor page builder themes.

AI tools compared

Divi AI writes text, generates images, writes code and builds layouts inside the builder. Existing Divi members can add it for $193 per year, currently a limited-time 33% discount, and it is included in Divi Pro. On top of that, the Divi AI Agent builds and edits pages from plain-language commands. It works only in Divi 5 and includes $5 of agent spend per month. To learn more, read our Divi AI review.

Elementor’s AI is called Angie. According to Elementor, Angie has a free plan with daily credits. Meanwhile, the Elementor One plans add AI generation through a monthly credit pool, 25,000 credits on One and 350,000 on One Agency. The Essential to Expert plans do not list AI features.

Speed and performance: what we can say

Both companies make speed claims, and we could not verify them independently. Elegant Themes says Divi 5 loads scripts on demand and generates critical CSS automatically. It also says Divi sites can score 100 in Google PageSpeed, though its published demo test dates from August 2021. Elementor, for its part, calls its builder performance-optimized. Its One plans add image optimization to WebP and AVIF.

In practice, your hosting, images and plugins affect speed as much as the builder does. Therefore, build a test page with each tool and measure it on your own host before you decide.

Lock-in: what happens if you leave?

Older Divi versions stored layouts as shortcodes, which made switching hard. Now, Elegant Themes says Divi 5 no longer uses shortcodes and saves content in a block-based format instead. Still, your design lives in Divi’s modules. So moving to another builder still means rebuilding pages.

Elementor has a similar catch. Its help center says that if Pro expires, free features keep working. However, Pro updates stop, and you may only have limited access to existing Pro features. With Divi, if a yearly plan ends, you can keep using the themes you downloaded, but updates and support stop. In short, both are long-term choices, so pick the one you want to stay with.

Divi or Elementor: who should pick which?

Choose Divi if you build many sites, for clients or for yourself. Unlimited sites, a lifetime option and the included Extra, Bloom and Monarch make it good value at scale. It also suits people who want one membership instead of add-ons. Read our full Divi WordPress theme review for more.

Choose Elementor if you run one or two sites, or want to start for free. The free plugin is a real starting point, and Essential at $60 is cheaper for a single site. It is also a good fit if you prefer a large add-on ecosystem around a free core.

Still unsure? Then try both. Install the free Elementor plugin, and open the Divi live demo. Both sides also give you 30 days to ask for a refund. Ready to try Divi? Then see the current Divi plans on the official site. You can also browse our drag and drop WordPress themes.

Try Divi Risk-Free

Updated on October 19, 2026 by Miloš Novaković in Blog.

Hey, like this post? Why not share it with a buddy?

Tweet