Elementor vs WPBakery: Which Page Builder Wins in 2024?
Choosing the right page builder can have a huge impact on your WordPress site, affecting everything from design flexibility to user experience. As 2024 comes to a close, the debate between Elementor vs WPBakery continues to be a hot topic for WordPress users, with each tool offering distinct advantages for different needs.
Page builders play a key role in WordPress by allowing users to design and customize pages visually, often without any coding. This has made website creation accessible for beginners and pros alike, enabling anyone to achieve professional-level designs with ease.
Elementor stands out for its rapid frontend editing and robust feature set, while WPBakery (formerly Visual Composer) is appreciated for its dual editing modes and compatibility with many premium themes. In this article, we’ll dive into a detailed comparison of Elementor vs WPBakery across user interface, design options, performance, WooCommerce integration, and pricing, helping you make the best choice for your site as we move into 2025.
For building standout WordPress websites, two page builders lead the pack: Elementor and WPBakery. Both offer unique features catering to different user needs, making them popular choices in the WordPress community. Let’s explore what sets these tools apart.
Launched in 2016, Elementor has rapidly grown into one of the most popular page builders for WordPress, powering 16.3% of all websites with a known content management system. Its popularity is due to its ease of use and comprehensive feature set, which has attracted both beginners and professional developers.
Key Features of Elementor:
Elementor Free vs. Elementor Pro: Elementor Free offers basic design capabilities, while Elementor Pro unlocks advanced features like the theme builder and dynamic content.
WPBakery, originally launched as Visual Composer, has been a leading page builder in the WordPress market for many years. It is widely popular among theme developers due to its long-standing reputation and integration with a wide variety of premium themes. As of 2024, WPBakery powers 6.3% of websites with a known CMS.
Key Features of WPBakery:
When comparing Elementor and WPBakery, their user interfaces are key to how easily you can design your site. Each offers features that cater to different preferences, shaping the overall design experience.
Elementor’s user interface is designed for ease of use, offering a simple layout that caters to both beginners and experienced users, with all tools easily accessible for efficient design work.
The interface is designed with a layout that includes a sidebar displaying widgets, settings, and elements, while the central area provides real-time updates as you make changes. With drag-and-drop functionality, adding elements like images, text, and buttons is effortless—just drag them to your desired location.
Inline editing allows you to click directly on elements on the page to edit text or images, offering immediate visual feedback without requiring separate menus. The intuitive interface features a clean design that is easy to navigate, making it perfect for beginners.
Additionally, Elementor includes unique features such as right-click options and keyboard shortcuts, which streamline workflow and improve efficiency, giving users greater control over their design process.
WPBakery offers dual editing modes—frontend and backend—that cater to different design preferences. The backend mode provides a structured view of the layout, while the frontend mode enables live changes directly on the page.
Elements are added through a grid-based system, where predefined sections offer structure but limit flexibility compared to Elementor’s free-form approach. Each element includes a settings panel for customization, which can feel more complex and less fluid than Elementor’s inline editing capabilities.
Additionally, WPBakery’s shortcode system and less intuitive interface introduce a steeper learning curve, especially for beginners. While the interface provides greater control, it demands time and effort to master.
Elementor excels with advanced design features like its Template Library, Global Widget, and responsive editing tools. In contrast, WPBakery offers a grid system and customizable templates but lacks the same flexibility. Understanding these differences can help you choose the right tool for your project.
Elementor offers over 300 pre-designed templates and 35+ template kits – covering various industries and styles.
The global widget feature allows you to create widgets that can be reused across multiple pages, ensuring design consistency with the ability to update them automatically.
Theme style settings enable site-wide changes to typography, colors, and buttons, creating a unified appearance throughout your site. Advanced design options offer flexibility through custom positioning, motion effects, and precise spacing controls.
Additionally, responsive editing makes it simple to tailor the appearance of your site for mobile, tablet, and desktop devices, ensuring a fully optimized user experience.
WPBakery offers a Template Library with fewer pre-designed layouts, including basic content elements for quick insertion.
Users can create and save custom templates for reuse, making it easier to maintain consistent designs across multiple pages. Its row and column grid-based system gives structure but can be less intuitive than Elementor’s free-form drag-and-drop editor.
While WPBakery includes design features such as parallax effects, it lacks the advanced motion and animation options offered by Elementor.
Additionally, responsive design options are available but offer less granular control compared to Elementor’s more advanced customization for different devices.
Elementor offers a wide range of free and pro widgets, providing greater flexibility, while WPBakery relies more on add-ons for extended functionality. Each builder has its strengths, with Elementor offering more variety and WPBakery expanding through external integrations. Let’s compare their widget and element offerings.
Elementor offers a wide range of widgets, both in its free and pro versions, giving users the flexibility to design custom websites without limitations.
Elementor provides a large selection of widgets in both the free and pro versions. The pro version unlocks additional advanced widgets. It includes popular widgets such as the Heading, Image, Button, and Form widgets. Elementor also includes some unique widgets like the Price Tables, Motion Effects, and Advanced Form Builder.
Furthermore, users can easily integrate custom third-party widgets to further enhance functionality, offering nearly endless possibilities for customization.
WPBakery also offers a comprehensive library of content elements, though it relies more on third-party add-ons for additional functionality.
WPBakery includes basic elements like text blocks, images, and sliders as well as more unique features like parallax effects and certain advanced layout options, though it is less extensive than Elementor’s offerings.
WPBakery extends functionality via add-ons, allowing users to install third-party tools for added customization, but it requires additional setup and can be more complex than Elementor’s integrated options.
Both Elementor and WPBakery have performance pros and cons. Elementor includes optimization features but may slow down with heavy content, while WPBakery generates more code, affecting load times. Let’s examine how each handles performance and speed optimization.
Elementor’s code is a bit heavy, but it performs well overall with optimization features like lazy loading. However, users should be cautious of third-party add-ons that may slow things down.
Elementor’s code is often considered bloated, but it generally performs better than WPBakery. Performance can slow down with many elements, animations, or complex layouts. It includes tools like lazy loading, minification, and caching to improve speed. However, many of these features are still in the experimental phase.
Additionally, third-party add-ons can significantly slow down site speed. It’s important to avoid using unnecessary add-ons to maintain optimal performance.
WPBakery produces more code and relies on shortcodes, which can affect page speed. To improve performance, users often need external plugins to optimize loading times.
WPBakery tends to generate more HTML and CSS code than Elementor, which can affect page load times. The Shortcodes WPBakery uses add complexity to pages, leading to slower load times and potential compatibility issues with other plugins.
Users often need additional plugins for caching and optimization to improve site speed, adding complexity and the risk of conflicts.
Templates simplify website creation, particularly for non-designers. Elementor provides a broader and more flexible template library, while WPBakery offers fewer built-in options but still allows for customization. Let’s take a closer look at what each builder offers in terms of templates.
Elementor’s extensive library, featuring 300+ pre-designed page templates and 35+ template kits, allows easy customization with flexible import options. You can even access additional templates from third-party sources, giving you endless design possibilities.
Users can import entire pages, individual sections, or full Template Kits, adaptable to various projects. In addition to built-in templates, users can access thousands of community-created templates available for purchase.
While WPBakery offers fewer built-in templates, it allows for grid-based layout control. To expand your options, users often turn to third-party sources for additional templates, offering more control but less variety than Elementor.
Users often need to purchase additional templates from external marketplaces. The grid-based system offers more precise control but with fewer template options than Elementor.
Both Elementor and WPBakery integrate with WooCommerce to help you build eCommerce sites, but they offer different approaches in terms of ease and functionality.
Elementor makes customizing WooCommerce stores simple with dedicated widgets and pre-designed templates. Its visual editor allows seamless modifications to product pages and checkouts. Let’s look into how Elementor streamlines eCommerce site design.
Elementor includes dedicated WooCommerce widgets that let you easily customize product pages, shop pages, carts, and checkout with specialized widgets.
Additionally, ready-made templates are available for quicker product page setup.
WPBakery supports WooCommerce but lacks specific tools. Users must rely on shortcodes and third-party add-ons, making customization more manual. Let’s explore WPBakery’s approach to WooCommerce and its limitations.
WPBakery works with WooCommerce – but lacks WooCommerce-specific features for eCommerce. Any customization requires manual work with shortcodes and third-party add-ons.
There are no dedicated WooCommerce modules, so users need custom coding or WooCommerce shortcodes for additional functionality.
Elementor and WPBakery have different pricing structures, which can impact your choice based on budget and project needs. Understanding their plans will help you select the best option for your goals.
Elementor’s pricing offers flexibility for different needs. The free version includes basic tools, while Elementor Pro’s three paid tiers—Personal, Plus, and Expert—provide advanced features, additional widgets, and premium support based on your plan
WPBakery’s pricing is simple and budget-friendly, with a one-time payment that includes lifetime updates and support. This structure, featuring regular and extended licenses, appeals to users seeking cost efficiency, though extra features might require third-party purchases.
Elementor and WPBakery each offer unique strengths and weaknesses that affect your website-building experience. Understanding their pros and cons will help you make an informed decision. Let’s explore how they compare.
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When comparing Elementor and WPBakery, each has its distinct advantages. Elementor is well-suited for beginners, small businesses, and eCommerce sites due to its user-friendly interface, WooCommerce integration, and visual design tools. WPBakery, on the other hand, appeals to budget-conscious developers who prefer a one-time payment model and backend editing. The best choice largely depends on your specific needs—whether you prioritize ease of use, performance, or cost-effectiveness.
If you’re seeking an alternative to both Elementor and WPBakery, Breakdance could be the perfect solution. Known for its modern, streamlined approach, Breakdance stands out with advanced styling controls, native WooCommerce support, and an emphasis on clean code and performance. Unlike Elementor and WPBakery, Breakdance addresses common frustrations like slow load times and bloated code. If you’re aiming for speed, efficiency, and flexibility, Breakdance might be the builder you’ve been searching for.
