Elementor Pro vs Elementor free? I never asked this question, it never existed for me… I don’t know why, but most people are against paid subscriptions, the free version is always better than the paid, no matter the value that you’re looking for and getting in return of the payment. Here’s why I eventually decided to upgrade to Elementor Pro, My experience with Elementor…
Table of content:
- How I used to create websites?
- Advantages of Elementor free
- Disadvantages of Elementor free
- Why I decided to upgrade to Elementor Pro
- My experience with Elementor Pro
- Elementor Pro vs Elementor free
- The ShortestCut – Sum up in a paragraph
How I used to create websites?
This is simple, don’t pay a penny, download and activate multiple free plugins to achieve a certain task and/or functionality. I won’t lie to you, it did work for me, and I praised myself for doing everything using only free plugins, and especially not using Elementor Pro.
Right after installing WordPress and Elementor I used to move on to installing Elementor addon plugins, 4-5 at that.
To replicate modern and beautiful functionalities I had to try 5-10 plugins, codes and tricks before either giving up or finding something that works, in which case I shouldn’t update the theme or the plugins because the functionality might stop working, and I wouldn’t remember how I built it.
In short, the process was a headache. I never thought about buying Elementor Pro, I didn’t know the advantages, and didn’t think that it would make much difference.
Anyway, my point is that Elementor free is definitely usable and very practical, but that shouldn’t be your website’s limits. Nor should your time and energy be treated as waste. We’ll get back to this later. Now let’s discuss Elementor free’s advantages.
Advantages of Elementor free
There are a lot, Elementor is my favorite tool, I simply love it, but we’re talking strictly on the free version, so let’s go:
1. 30+ Widgets:
The free version of Elementor offers more than 30 basic widgets to use on your pages and design them.
2. Very customizable:
Even for the free version, Elementor’s customizable builder is another level, I don’t know of any other tool that gives that much customization for free.
3. Tons of addons:
There are hundreds of add-on plugins that make Elementor free even a better plugin to use and work with.
4. Responsive design capabilities:
You can have two completely designs for desktop and mobile, and both would work perfectly fine.
Here are articles on design customizations and functionalities with Elementor free:
- Create and design custom 404 error pages on Elementor FREE
- How to create glitch effect texts in Elementor
- Install custom fonts on Elementor Free & WordPress
- How to create a coming soon page on Elementor
- Create sticky transparent header on Elementor for free
- Create a sticky vertical menu on WordPress & Elementor – ALL FREE
Disadvantages of Elementor free
There aren’t any main disadvantages to Elementor free, they are simply the limitations that come with the free version and the sense of freedom that the Elementor Pro gives. I will name some, not all but just a few to get my point through.
- No scroll effects
- Doesn’t have custom CSS option for each section/column/element
- No form widget – So you have to use Contact Form 7, which is not so easy
- Goes without Theme builder option
- Doesn’t have popup builders with trigger conditions
- No custom fonts
- Lack of important widgets
Why I decided to upgrade to Elementor Pro
To be honest, my mindset just changed. After Your Man Nar showed a bit of success I decided to invest more in it. I wanted the website to have better effects, I wanted the look & feel of the website to express the branding that I had on paper.
The decision took me a split second. I thought to myself, man, the set of sushi I ate yesterday cost me 70$, and what? Where is it now? What the heck is 49$ that I’m just not buying it, it made no sense to me and I felt so stupid helding back for so long. That was it, I created my account, and bought the pro version.
My experience with Elementor Pro
As someone who has used Elementor the free version for 8 years, I can’t express and describe how my website-building experience changed in a matter of minutes. It was a relief, the fact that now I get to use Elementor Pro, the one thing I avoided in my career (but secretly wished to have).
The first thing I did was play around with the scrolling effects of elements, see how they worked, then I checked all the pro templates and kits. After that I tried the form widget, I couldn’t believe I was missing this form widget and using Contact Form 7 for my whole life. This was next-level.
Then I saw there was the ‘Popups’ section, I didn’t know it had popups, I tried it, I tested it, it worked, it did in fact, work!!
I checked the theme builder I’ve been watching tutorials about, it was a time-saving beast.
In short, the freedom & relief I felt was unprecedented. It was amazing, it still is, I’m super happy I made the decision.
It costs 49$ and it is worth it. See Elementor Pro’s pricing and package comparison.
Elementor Pro vs Elementor free
I will not talk about the technical and selling differences that are present on Elementor’s page. I’ll share my experience with both and their differences.
Let me try to tell you the difference in a sentence then show you the comparison table – I decided to always upgrade to Elementor Pro from now on, I don’t care what the client or the website needs, Elementor Pro is part of the package now.
Comparison table
Elementor Pro | Elementor free | |
---|---|---|
Freedom | The definition of freedom when it comes to building websites | The limitations that the free version has makes you feel incapable or always in search for something |
Customization | This goes without saying, Elementor Pro’s customization options are far beyond the necessary into the realm of amazing | The customization options here are limited to necessaity |
Design | With over 60 pro widgets, templates, kits and designs, Elementor Pro’s design capabilities are simply astonishing. | It all comes down to you, and your ability be able to replicate what you’ve seen elsewhere. |
Animations | The scrolling effects are one of my most favorite abilities in Elementor Pro. They’re amazing. | Only entrance animations. |
Functionalities | Theme builder + popup conditions + form widget + Custom CSS + Attributes + Custom fonts | Non of the mentioned functionalities in the Pro section |
Winner: Elementor Pro – all it costs is 49$/annually
The ShortestCut
To sum up in a paragraph, Elementor free is all good and smooth but Elementor Pro will take your website building experience, your website and the entire the look & feel of your website to a whole new level.
Elementor Pro is simply awesome and an inseparable part of my website building projects.