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By Dhaval Jul 22, 2024

It seems like almost weekly I’m hearing of a new WordPress page builder. Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen page builders come and go. Some are good, some are great, and some plain terrible. However there are two that have stood the test of time: Elementor and Divi. The Divi vs Elementor debate is as old as Elementor itself (Divi has been around longer). As soon as Elementor started to pick up steam, people started asking which one of these page builders is better.

Here in this article, we will be drawing a well-crafted Elementor vs Divi comparison. I will do my best to show the differences along with the similarities, and give an in-depth analysis based on common criteria, such as ease of use, performance, 3rd party market/ecosystem (such as Divi Layouts, or Elementor addons), product support, and more. So without further adieu, let’s dive into it.

Divi vs Elementor, What to Look For?

Here are the common criteria that you need to look for while choosing a WordPress page builder:

Also, read our article on Elementor vs Beaver Builder. An in-depth comparison to help you choose the page builder you need.

What is a WordPress Page Builder?

You came here for the comparison of Divi vs Elementor, and we will get to that, I promise! But it’s important for you to have a proper understanding of WordPress page builders first, before you can properly compare.

WordPress page builders are plugins or themes that let you completely design a website without having any coding knowledge. Professional web developers can hand-code a website completely from scratch. But for non-developers, using a CMS like WordPress with a page builder (such as Divi or Elementor) is necessary to be able to design a website entirely. Before page builders, WordPress themes would include “page templates” that would give the user pre-designed layouts that could be customized with pre-set controls. But the design, layout, and content of those templates was limited to what the developer of the theme allowed you to do. Page Builders break you free from the limited page templates of old school WordPress themes, and give you complete control over the design, layout, and content of the website— all without touching a line of code!

So, you need a tool that can help. Page builders are the ready-made tools to help you build completely functional websites with ease. WordPress plugins like Elementor and Divi come with loads of widgets. The Elementor widgets or Divi widgets are simple to use. Suppose, you want to add a section that contains texts. What will you do? That’s easy. Just pick a text editor widget, and place it where you want it to be on the web page.

Similarly, when you want to add a CTA button, just drag the button widget into the page. In short, WordPress page builders are to make your life easier when you are building a website. Okay, that’s a lot of talks already. Now jump into what you have come to know here.

Elementor vs Divi: Features They Share

Do you know, Elementor and Divi both are WordPress page builder plugins? Just kidding. Everybody knows that already.

(Our HR told me to put that joke, so we had to. He has a very bad sense of humor anyway.)

Basically, the whole point was, before the start of Elementor vs Divi battle, let’s look at the things they have in common. In recent times, Divi and Elementor are matching up to each other. Likes of drag & drop interface, inline editing, responsive design settings have brought them closer in feature.

Easy to use visual interface

The feature that brings them together most is the drag-and-drop content editor interface. A basic but important feature for most of the users. Especially when you are a non-technical person. You do not require any coding knowledge. Thanks to the drag and drop capability of both page builders.

With Elementor, you have a sidebar always visible on the left. All the elements you can find there. Drag one from the sidebar and you will be adding it into your design. When you click on a element, the editor panel appears on the same left sidebar. Configuration options are available there.

In terms of Divi, there is an expandable editor. Instead of a fixed full-width editor, you have a button that expands all the options when you click on it. Overall, both interfaces have their advantages. While Elementor interface gives everything close to your hand, the Divi interface gives a more clear view of the design you are editing.

Frontend design flexibility

Both of the plugins offer an extensive number of customizable features. You have the freedom to design each element to your wish. Features like shape dividers, custom spacing, and loads of many are common to each.

Elementor and Divi, both show a live preview of your site while you are editing. You can see instant outcomes when you make any changes to it.

Inline Editing is there as well. Just click on any text content and edit it on the live design. There are way too many design features to mention in a short overview article. But none of the page builders will disappoint you while it comes to design flexibility.

Custom theme building capability

If you are looking for creating a customized theme for your WordPress site, Divi and Elementor both are designed to make it easy. With any compatible theme, you can design templates for your single posts or pages. So are the header and footers for individual pages.

Both the page builders give you a lot of flexibility in designing custom templates and layouts.

Solutions to responsive web design

Designing responsive websites is essential now. You simply cannot ignore any device, while designing your WordPress. Thus, it is also important to consider responsive design settings in an Elementor vs Divi comparison.

Both Elementor and Divi come up with the ultimate responsive editing settings. They will help you to get your design to look perfect across all devices. The design that you create with Elementor or Divi is responsive by default.

The responsive setting will let you design customized styles for different devices.

Third-Party element support

Third-party add-ons include more functionalities to the default features. You will need those additional functionalities to make your design unique and add more features to your website.

Therefore considering availability of third-party add-ons is important while choosing a page builder for you.

A good number of add-ons are available both with Divi and Elementor. If there is a feature that you cannot find with Divi or Elementor, there is a good possibility you will find an add-on that includes that feature. For example, Divi Life’s plugins are a fantastic choice for adding additional functionality to your Divi website.

Divi vs Elementor: The Comparison

At this point let’s consider some essential parameters for page builders. Take a look at where Divi and Elementor stand there. And, let’s see if we have a winner in the Elementor vs Divi race.

Performance

Firstly, remarks on the performance. A simplified performance report from kinsta.com shows the comparison between Divi and Elementor.