Elementor Free is a full drag-and-drop page builder for individual pages. Pro adds the site-wide and working parts: the Theme Builder for headers and footers, forms, popups, Loop Grids, dynamic content and WooCommerce design. The cheapest Pro plan, Essential, leaves out popups, stored form submissions and the WooCommerce Builder, so most business sites need Advanced Solo or higher.
Two mistakes come up again and again when business owners choose an Elementor plan. The first is assuming the free version is a toy. The second is buying the cheapest Pro plan and discovering the one feature they needed isn’t in it.
This guide sets out what each version does, where the real dividing lines are, and which one suits which kind of site. Elementor changes its plans fairly often, so the prices and plan details below are as published by Elementor at the time of writing (late 2026). Check Elementor’s own comparison before you buy.
What the free version does well
Free Elementor is a genuine drag-and-drop page builder. You get:
- The visual editor, where you design pages by dragging in elements and editing them on screen
- Flexbox containers for layout
- The core widgets: headings, text, images, buttons, video, icons, spacers, image galleries and the like
- Responsive controls for tablet and mobile
- Site-wide global colours and fonts
- A library of templates
For a handful of simple pages, that’s enough. A sole trader building a five-page brochure site could get by with it.
What Pro adds
The difference isn’t the editor. It’s the site-wide features and the widgets that do real work. According to Elementor’s own free vs Pro breakdown, the main additions are:
| Feature | What it’s for | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theme Builder | Designing headers, footers, blog post layouts, archive pages and 404 pages in Elementor | No | Yes |
| Form widget | Contact and quote forms, with email notifications and integrations | No | Yes |
| Popup Builder | Announcements, sign-up offers and exit prompts | No | Yes |
| Posts and Loop Grid | Automatically listing blog posts, projects, team members or products in a designed grid | No | Yes |
| Dynamic content | Pulling content from custom fields (ACF, Pods) into a template | No | Yes |
| WooCommerce Builder | Designing product, shop, cart and checkout pages | Basic only | Yes |
| Custom code and fonts | Adding tracking scripts, uploading brand fonts | No | Yes |
| Role Manager | Limiting what staff can change in the editor | Basic (on or off per role) | Yes (including content-only editing) |
Why the Theme Builder matters most
Without the Theme Builder, your header and footer come from your WordPress theme, not Elementor. That means they’re designed somewhere else, with different controls, and often can’t match the rest of the site properly. Your blog posts also use the theme’s layout.
For any business that cares about how the whole site looks, not just individual pages, this alone usually justifies Pro.
Forms are the second reason
Free Elementor has no form widget. You can add a separate free form plugin instead, and some people do. But you’re then styling the form in another tool, and matching fonts and buttons becomes a fiddle. Elementor Pro’s forms sit inside the design and match everything else.
Loop Grid and dynamic content
These matter for sites with repeating content: a builder’s project gallery, a clinic’s practitioner profiles, a real estate listing page. You design one card, and Elementor fills it in for every item automatically. Add a new project and it appears in the grid with no layout work. Without them, every new item means editing the page by hand.
The Essential plan trap
This is where people get caught. Elementor changed its entry-level Essential plan for new purchases from December 2023. Per Elementor’s announcement of the change, Essential still includes the Theme Builder and the basic Form widget, but the following moved to Advanced and higher:
- Popup Builder
- Form Submissions (storing form entries inside WordPress) and Form Integrations (sending entries to Mailchimp, CRMs and so on)
- Custom Code, Custom CSS and Global CSS
- ACF and Pods integrations for dynamic content
- WooCommerce Builder
- PayPal and Stripe buttons
- Global Widgets, Custom Attributes, Notes and Role Manager
So if you need a popup, want your form entries saved in WordPress as a backup when emails go missing, or plan to run a WooCommerce shop, Essential won’t do it. That’s a lot of sites.
Plans and prices
At the time of writing, Elementor’s blog lists these annual prices in US dollars:
| Plan | Sites | Price per year (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | 1 | $60 |
| Advanced Solo | 1 | $84 |
| Advanced | Up to 3 | $99 |
| Elementor One | 1 | $168 (adds AI credits, image optimisation and priority support) |
| Agency tiers | 25 to unlimited | $204 to $444 |
Prices are billed in US dollars, so the Australian cost moves with the exchange rate. Check whether the price you’re shown is a first-year promotional price, and what the renewal will be.
Who needs which
Stick with Free if: you’re building a few simple pages yourself, you’re happy using your theme’s header and footer, and you’ll use a separate plugin for your contact form.
Essential may be enough if: you have a single brochure site, need the Theme Builder for a properly designed header and footer, want a basic contact form, and don’t need popups, stored submissions or e-commerce.
Choose Advanced Solo (or higher) if: you want popups, stored form submissions, CRM or Mailchimp integration, dynamic content, WooCommerce design control or custom code. For most small business sites with any ambition, this is the realistic starting point.
Choose a multi-site or agency plan if: you’re a developer or run several sites. Note who owns the licence, though (see below).
Licensing: the bit people forget
What happens if it expires? Elementor says your site stays online and existing Pro widgets keep displaying. You lose updates, support, and the ability to add or edit Pro widgets in the editor. The site won’t fall over the day after the licence lapses, but running a page builder without security updates is a risk that grows every month.
Who holds the licence? If your developer bought Pro under their agency account, your site depends on them continuing to pay. That’s not necessarily bad: agency licences are often cheaper per site, and a good host or developer will manage renewals as part of looking after the site. But you should know whose account it’s under and what happens if you part ways. It belongs on the list in who should own your domain, hosting and logins.
Nulled copies. “Free Elementor Pro” downloads from unofficial sites are a common source of malware. Don’t.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start on Free and upgrade later?
Yes. Pro installs alongside the free plugin, and pages you’ve already built keep working. You simply get access to the extra widgets and features.
If I cancel Pro, will my site break?
Not immediately. Pro elements still display, per Elementor’s own guidance, but you can’t update the plugin or edit those elements properly. Plan to renew or rebuild those sections.
Is Elementor AI included?
The Elementor One plan bundles a monthly AI credit allowance. For other plans, check Elementor’s current pricing page, because these terms change.
The call to make
If your site is a few simple pages you’ll build yourself, try Free first. If it’s your main source of enquiries, budget for Advanced Solo or higher, and make sure someone is responsible for the renewal. We explain why we build on Elementor Pro in the first place in why we build every WordPress site in Elementor.
Not sure which plan your current site runs on, or whose account it sits under? It’s a quick check for us from the WordPress dashboard, so ask us if you can’t find it. Licence moves and plan upgrades are routine WordPress and Elementor jobs for us. If you’re planning a new site, our web design page explains how we scope the licence along with everything else.