WordPress Page Builders Compared: Elementor vs Divi vs Beaver Builder

WordPress page builders add visual, drag-and-drop design tools to WordPress. Instead of working within your theme’s fixed layouts or writing code, you design pages on screen and see the result as you build. This guide compares the three best-known builders (Elementor, Divi and Beaver Builder), plus two alternatives: the theme-based Bricks and WordPress’s own block editor.

Plan names, prices and features come from each vendor’s pricing page, and install counts from the WordPress.org plugin directory, all checked on November 1, 2026. Prices are in US dollars and billed annually unless stated.

Why Page Builders Exist

WordPress’s built-in block editor (often called Gutenberg) handles everyday content well and, with block themes, can now edit headers, footers and templates through the Site Editor. Page builders go further, with large libraries of design widgets, ready-made templates, pop-ups, form builders and fine-grained styling controls in a single visual interface.

The trade-offs are real. Every builder loads its own CSS and JavaScript, so it adds weight to your pages. And each one stores layouts in its own format, so a design built in one builder doesn’t carry over to another; switching usually means rebuilding layouts. Decide with both costs in mind.

Elementor

Elementor is the most widely used WordPress page builder. The free plugin lists more than 10 million active installations on WordPress.org, and W3Techs detects Elementor on 31.5% of WordPress sites. The free version covers the drag-and-drop editor and basic widgets. The paid plans add more widgets, the Theme Builder (for designing headers, footers and archive templates), dynamic content and the Form Builder.

Pricing (as of November 2026, billed annually):

Essential: $60 a year for 1 site, with 57 Pro widgets, the Theme Builder, dynamic content and the Form Builder. It doesn’t include the Popup Builder, custom code and CSS, or e-commerce features.
Advanced Solo: $84 a year for 1 site, adding 85 Pro widgets, pop-ups, custom code and e-commerce features.
Advanced: $108 a year for 3 sites.
Elementor One: $180 for the first year (renewing at $228), a bundle that adds AI credits, image optimization, accessibility and email deliverability tools.

Elementor offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.

Strengths: An interface beginners pick up quickly, a large template and widget library, many third-party add-ons, and abundant tutorials thanks to its size.

Weaknesses: The features many sites want (pop-ups, custom code and CSS, e-commerce widgets) start on the $84 plan rather than the cheapest one, and a large widget library makes it easy to add page weight.

Divi

Divi, from Elegant Themes, is both a theme and a visual builder. One license covers unlimited websites, which makes it popular with freelancers and agencies. Elegant Themes says Divi 5, now available, “adopts a Gutenberg-like approach, replacing shortcodes” (the format earlier Divi versions used to store layouts) and adds automatic Critical CSS generation to speed up loading.

Pricing (as of November 2026): $89 a year for Divi on unlimited websites, which includes Elegant Themes’ other themes and plugins, or $277 a year for Divi Pro, which bundles extra services such as Divi AI. A lifetime option is also offered, and there is a 30-day refund guarantee.

Strengths: Unlimited-site licensing at a flat price, hundreds of pre-built layouts and templates, and Elegant Themes’ other themes and plugins in the same subscription.

Weaknesses: Sites built with older Divi versions relied on shortcodes, so check how existing layouts migrate before upgrading a large site. And because the Divi theme and builder are designed to work together, moving away from Divi means rebuilding both your theme and your layouts.

Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder takes a more restrained approach than Elementor, with a smaller set of modules and an emphasis on stability. Its pricing page leads with “Stable updates. Clean code.” A free Lite version on WordPress.org lists more than 100,000 active installations.

Pricing (as of November 2026, per year): Starter $89 (1 site), Plus $179 (3 sites, adds Beaver Builder AI), Professional $299 (50 sites, multisite support) and Unlimited $546 (unlimited sites). Every plan includes the page builder plugin, the Beaver Builder Theme, Beaver Themer (for templates such as headers and archives) and WooCommerce support. White labeling, which lets agencies rebrand the builder for clients, is included only in Unlimited.

Strengths: A clean, uncluttered editor, a long track record (the company says it has been trusted since 2014) and agency-friendly features at the top tier.

Weaknesses: Fewer modules and templates than Elementor, a smaller add-on ecosystem, and white labeling only on the most expensive plan.

Bricks

Bricks is sold as a WordPress theme with a built-in visual builder, so it replaces your theme rather than working alongside one. It targets performance-conscious and technical users. Its own FAQ highlights class-based styling and custom CSS, JavaScript, PHP and HTML, and it offers display conditions for personalizing content.

Pricing (as of November 2026): Starter $79 a year (1 website), Business $149 a year (3 websites), Agency $249 a year (unlimited websites), or Ultimate Lifetime at $599 once (unlimited websites). Bricks offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Strengths: A lifetime-license option, developer-friendly features and full control over site templates.

Weaknesses: A smaller community and add-on ecosystem than Elementor’s, and a steeper learning curve for non-technical users. Because it is your theme, leaving Bricks means replacing your theme as well as your layouts.

The Block Editor with Block Plugins

WordPress’s built-in block editor improves with each release. Paired with a lightweight theme (such as GeneratePress, Kadence or Astra) and a block library plugin such as Spectra (more than 1 million active installations), GenerateBlocks (200,000+) or Stackable (100,000+), it can handle many layouts that once needed a dedicated builder.

Strengths: No extra builder to buy, maintained as part of WordPress itself, and the most portable content. WordPress’s developer handbook explains that blocks are saved as ordinary HTML in the post content, with HTML comments marking where each block begins and ends.

Weaknesses: Complex visual designs take more effort than in a dedicated builder, and there are fewer ready-made templates. Blocks from third-party plugins still depend on those plugins. The handbook notes that viewing stored content “without the corresponding machinery might degrade the experience”, especially for dynamic blocks.

Performance and Lock-In

Every option here adds some CSS and JavaScript, and how much depends heavily on how you build: the number of widgets, fonts, animations and third-party add-ons on a page matters as much as the builder itself. Rather than relying on vendor claims, measure your own pages with Google PageSpeed Insights before and after you add a builder. Our Core Web Vitals guide explains which numbers to watch.

On lock-in, the core block editor is the most portable, because content is stored as HTML in WordPress’s standard post content. Layouts built in Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder or Bricks depend on that builder, and switching from one to another generally means rebuilding the pages. Before you commit, consider how hard it would be to move a site with dozens of pages.

How to Choose

Choose Elementor if you want the largest ecosystem of templates, add-ons and tutorials, and you’re comfortable paying at least $84 a year for pop-ups, custom code and e-commerce features.

Choose Divi if you build many sites and want one flat yearly price ($89) for unlimited websites.

Choose Beaver Builder if you value a simpler, stable editor, especially for client work, and don’t need the biggest widget library.

Choose Bricks if you’re technically comfortable, want a theme-plus-builder in one, or prefer a lifetime license.

Stick with the block editor if your layouts are straightforward and you want to avoid extra cost and lock-in. New to WordPress? Start with our How to Set Up WordPress guide.

Key Takeaways

Page builders add visual design power beyond the core block editor, at the cost of extra page weight and lock-in
Elementor is by far the most used (10+ million active installs); its cheapest paid plan is $60 a year but pop-ups and e-commerce widgets start at $84
Divi costs $89 a year for unlimited sites, and Divi 5 drops the shortcodes earlier versions used
Beaver Builder runs from $89 a year for one site to $546 for unlimited sites with white labeling
Bricks is a theme-plus-builder from $79 a year, or $599 for a lifetime license
The core block editor is the most portable option and may be enough for simpler layouts

Sources

Elementor — Pricing — accessed November 1, 2026
Elementor — WordPress.org plugin page — accessed November 1, 2026
W3Techs — Usage statistics and market share of WordPress (subtechnologies) — accessed November 1, 2026
Elegant Themes — Divi pricing — accessed November 1, 2026
Elegant Themes — Divi 5 — accessed November 1, 2026
Beaver Builder — Pricing — accessed November 1, 2026
Beaver Builder Lite — WordPress.org plugin page — accessed November 1, 2026
Bricks — Pricing — accessed November 1, 2026
WordPress Block Editor Handbook — Data flow and data format — accessed November 1, 2026
WordPress.org plugin pages — Spectra, GenerateBlocks and Stackable — accessed November 1, 2026