When it comes to building websites with WordPress, Elementor and WPBakery Page Builder are two of the most popular page builder plugins. Both provide drag-and-drop interfaces that make it easier to create stunning pages without needing to write any code. However, they differ in various aspects, including features, ease of use, pricing, and flexibility.
Let’s take a closer look at both page builders to help you decide which one is the best fit for your needs.
1. User Interface (UI) and Ease of Use
- Elementor:
- Elementor is known for its modern and intuitive interface. It offers both a frontend and backend editing option. The live editor allows you to make changes directly on the page, giving a real-time preview of how your website will look.
- Its drag-and-drop interface is simple to use, and it has a wide range of widgets that can be used easily, such as text, images, buttons, forms, etc.
- Elementor also provides a style panel for customizing design elements without a steep learning curve.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- WPBakery offers both frontend and backend editors, but its backend editor tends to be more complex and less intuitive than Elementor’s.
- While the frontend editor provides a visual experience, the backend editor requires you to interact with shortcodes and text-based options, which could be challenging for beginners.
- WPBakery has a more traditional approach and requires users to switch between the backend and frontend editor, which can be slightly cumbersome compared to Elementor’s seamless live editor.
Winner: Elementor (due to its user-friendly, intuitive interface)
2. Design Flexibility and Features
- Elementor:
- Elementor offers a wide range of pre-built templates and widgets, including advanced design elements like sliders, forms, pop-ups, and animations. It also supports advanced styling options such as typography, custom margins/paddings, and animations.
- It allows for complete creative control, offering many advanced design tools in the free version, such as grid layouts, global styles, and responsive controls.
- With Elementor Pro, you can unlock even more features, including theme building, custom headers and footers, and dynamic content.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- WPBakery offers many pre-designed templates, but its customization and styling options are not as advanced as Elementor’s. While WPBakery has a good set of content elements (like text blocks, images, accordions, etc.), it lacks the extensive design control that Elementor offers, especially when it comes to advanced layout and customizations.
- WPBakery is more limited in terms of design flexibility, as it doesn’t offer the same advanced theme building features (like creating headers and footers).
Winner: Elementor (due to its better design flexibility and advanced customization options)
3. Performance and Speed
- Elementor:
- Elementor generally produces lighter code and provides better performance in terms of loading speed when used properly. However, because it offers many design features, complex pages with a lot of widgets can slow down the site if not optimized properly.
- Elementor comes with built-in performance optimization features, such as lazy loading for images and custom CSS.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- WPBakery is known to generate heavier code and can result in slower page load times compared to Elementor. Since it relies heavily on shortcodes for many elements, it can create bulky HTML and slow down page performance, especially on larger websites.
- WPBakery offers basic optimization options but may require additional tools or plugins to speed up your website.
Winner: Elementor (for better speed and performance optimization)
4. Pricing
- Elementor:
- Free Version: Elementor offers a highly functional free version with basic widgets and templates.
- Pro Version: The Pro version of Elementor starts at $59 per year for a single site license. It unlocks more advanced design features, templates, and tools like pop-ups and theme building.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- Paid Version Only: WPBakery is a premium plugin, which costs $64 for a regular license (one-time payment) and comes with lifetime updates. There is no free version available.
- WPBakery does not offer a free version, so you have to purchase it to access its features.
Winner: Elementor (due to the availability of a free version with most features)
5. Theme Compatibility and Integrations
- Elementor:
- Elementor is compatible with almost every WordPress theme, and it works especially well with Elementor-specific themes that are designed to work seamlessly with the builder.
- It also integrates with WooCommerce, popular third-party plugins, and supports dynamic content, making it versatile for creating blogs, business sites, and e-commerce stores.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- WPBakery is also compatible with most WordPress themes and works with third-party themes. However, it may not be as compatible with certain modern themes as Elementor.
- It offers good integration with WooCommerce and other plugins, but the overall user experience can be slightly less seamless compared to Elementor’s robust integrations.
Winner: Elementor (for better theme compatibility and more seamless integrations)
6. Support and Community
- Elementor:
- Elementor has a large, active community with various forums, Facebook groups, and resources. It provides extensive documentation, video tutorials, and premium support for Pro users.
- WPBakery Page Builder:
- WPBakery has a good support system, but its community is not as vast as Elementor’s. There is also less third-party support, and some users find the documentation harder to navigate.
Winner: Elementor (due to a more vibrant community and better support)
Conclusion: Which One is Best?
- If you’re looking for ease of use, advanced design flexibility, and better overall performance, Elementor is the clear winner. The free version is quite powerful, and the Pro version offers a robust feature set with tools that allow you to fully control your site’s design and layout.
- On the other hand, if you prefer a one-time payment model and don’t mind working with shortcodes, WPBakery Page Builder is still a solid option. It’s not as feature-rich as Elementor, but it gets the job done for creating basic websites.
Final Recommendation:
- For beginners, designers, and those seeking creative flexibility, Elementor is likely the best choice.
- If you’re a developer or want a simpler, one-time purchase option without worrying about subscriptions, WPBakery could be a better fit.