Attempting to resolve between Elementor vs Avada to construct your WordPress website?
Elementor and Avada are related in that they each allow you to design fully customized WordPress websites utilizing visible, drag-and-drop builder interfaces.
Nevertheless, in addition they have some massive variations in how they strategy constructing your website, so it’s vital to know how these variations will have an effect on issues.
Normally, I feel that Elementor is the higher possibility for most individuals due to its plugin-based strategy, superior interface, and pricing mannequin.
Nevertheless, to know the place that conclusion got here from and whether or not or not you slot in the “most individuals” class, you’ll need to hold studying our full, hands-on Elementor vs Avada comparability.
Elementor vs Avada Abstract
For those who’re in a rush, right here’s a fast breakdown of the important thing particulars with Avada and Elementor:
| Elementor | Avada | |
| Kind of extension | Plugin | Theme |
| Free model? | ✅ | ❌ |
| Beginning worth for Professional | $49 | $69 |
| Builder sort | Visible, drag-and-drop | Visible, drag-and-drop |
| Importable demo websites | 100+ | 88+ |
| Use with any theme? | ✅ | ❌ |
Primary Introductions to Elementor and Avada
Earlier than we get into the extra nitty-gritty Elementor vs Avada comparability, let’s go over some basic comparisons between these two instruments.
Elementor Introduction
Elementor is the most well-liked WordPress web site builder plugin. The truth is, it’s not simply one of the widespread “web site builder plugins”, it’s actually one of the widespread WordPress plugins — interval.
In line with WordPress.org, it’s energetic on over 5 million websites, which is the best distinction.
Nevertheless, the true energetic depend is probably going a lot increased, because the Elementor plugin has been downloaded over 190 million instances. Fairly spectacular, proper?
You possibly can set up Elementor alongside any WordPress theme to immediately add visible, drag-and-drop design capabilities.
You possibly can both design particular person posts and pages. Or, you may design your precise theme templates, which provides you 100% management over each a part of your website.
Avada Introduction
Avada is the most well-liked WordPress theme at Envato’s ThemeForest market. Whereas it solely is available in a premium model, it’s been bought nicely over 800,000 instances.
Meaning it has generated gross income of over $50 million {dollars} throughout its lifetime. Whereas that also doesn’t match the recognition of Elementor, it ain’t nothing to sneeze at.
It affords an all-in-one strategy to constructing any sort of WordPress web site, from blogs to enterprise web sites, eCommerce shops, portfolios, and extra.
As a result of it’s a theme, you’ll depend on Avada to regulate each facet of your website’s design. As with Elementor, you may as well use the visible builder to design your precise theme templates.
Elementor vs Avada — Plugin vs Theme
At a excessive stage, Elementor and Avada have plenty of similarities in how they allow you to construct each single a part of your website with visible, drag-and-drop interfaces.
Nevertheless, they’ve one crucial distinction that, whereas it may appear easy at first, really has some fairly massive implications for the way you construct your website:
- Elementor is a plugin.
- Avada is a theme.
So — why does that matter?
Benefits of the Plugin Method (Elementor)
Elementor’s plugin strategy offers you just a little extra flexibility as a result of you need to use Elementor with any theme.
Now, in case you’re going to make use of Elementor Professional’s theme builder function to design 100% of your website (extra on that later), your theme won’t matter, wherein case this won’t be a significant distinction. In these instances, Elementor really affords its personal light-weight base theme named Hi there Elementor.
Nevertheless, lots of people like pairing Elementor with an precise theme. You should use your theme to regulate basic areas and Elementor to surgically regulate issues the place wanted, reminiscent of designing your homepage or making a particular single submit template.
For instance, in case you’re constructing a enterprise web site, you possibly can pair Elementor with Sydney.
Or, in case you’re constructing a WooCommerce retailer, you possibly can pair Elementor with a theme reminiscent of Botiga, which provides you some distinctive WooCommerce-specific options that you simply won’t get in any other case.
This additionally makes it simpler to create fast-loading websites with Elementor, since you don’t must depend on the visible builder to customise each single aspect of your website.
As an alternative, you need to use your theme for the inspiration and simply tweak issues with Elementor the place wanted.
Lastly, you’re additionally free to alter your theme sooner or later — you’re by no means locked into the preliminary theme that you simply select.
Benefits of the Theme Method (Avada)
The primary benefit of Avada’s all-in-one theme strategy is that the whole lot is constructed to work collectively, which affords a extra seamless expertise.
You additionally don’t must depend on instruments from totally different builders — you simply set up the Avada theme, and you’ve got the whole lot wanted to construct your website.
Total, whereas there are professionals and cons to every strategy, I typically suppose that most individuals will discover Elementor’s plugin-based strategy to be superior due to the added flexibility that it affords in relation to design, efficiency, options, and so forth.
Arms-On with the Visible Builders
The core of each Elementor and Avada are the instruments’ visible, drag-and-drop builders, so let’s check out these subsequent.
Right here’s a fast comparability of key interface particulars — hold studying for a hands-on look.
| Elementor | Avada | |
| Visible design | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drag-and-drop | ✅ | ✅ |
| In-line textual content enhancing (sort on web page) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Responsive previews | ✅ | ✅ |
| Responsive edits | ✅ | ✅ |
| Proper-click help | ✅ | ✅ |
| Copy-paste parts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Copy-paste types | ✅ | ❌ |
| Wireframe enhancing mode | ❌ | ❌ |
| DOM format view | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add customized CSS to web page | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add customized CSS to particular person modules | ✅ | ❌ |
| Darkish mode (interface) | ✅ | ❌ |
On a extra subjective be aware, I personally discover Elementor’s interface to be superior as a result of it requires fewer clicks to get issues accomplished and offers you extra management when inserting new parts.
Nevertheless, you may want Avada as a substitute, so I encourage you to think about each interfaces.
Elementor Builder
If you launch the Elementor builder, you’ll see a big preview of your design on the appropriate and a sidebar on the left.
This sidebar is the place you’ll handle the whole lot, together with including parts and enhancing settings.
You possibly can’t change its location by default, however you may simply conceal it if you need a full-screen preview. There are additionally third-party plugins that offer you extra management over the sidebar.
So as to add a brand new widget, you may drag it straight from the sidebar to any location in your design. I discover this strategy to be superior to Avada, as you’ll see in a second.
To edit a widget’s settings, you may click on on it to open its settings within the sidebar.
For textual content, you may as well simply click on and sort on the web page.
You additionally get another helpful interface options.
First, you get a Navigator view that allows you to see the high-level construction of your web page, together with the flexibility to rename sections that can assist you keep in mind them:
You too can use right-click to carry out quite a lot of actions, together with copy/pasting full widgets or simply types:
For responsive design, you may simply activate responsive previews (with help for customized breakpoints).
You too can regulate your designs for various gadgets:
Avada Builder
If you launch the Avada Builder, you’ll see a full-width preview of your design with a toolbar on the high:
To edit, transfer, or add parts on the web page, you may hover over the web page:
- Click on the plus icon so as to add a brand new aspect. You possibly can solely add a component beneath an current one — you may’t free-form drag new parts wherever on the web page as Elementor permits. Personally, I discover this to be just a little annoying, however you won’t thoughts.
- Use the arrow icons to drag-and-drop parts.
- Click on the edit icon to open a component’s settings within the sidebar.
For textual content, you may simply click on and sort on the web page.
Right here’s what it seems to be like so as to add a component:
After which right here’s what it seems to be prefer to edit a component’s settings:
For those who don’t like having the sidebar on the left, you may transfer it to the appropriate or change it to a popup dialog. This can be a good little bit of customization, as Elementor doesn’t allow you to regulate its interface by default.
To see a extra high-level have a look at your design, you need to use Avada’s Navigator mode (which replaces the older wireframe builder).
Like Elementor’s Navigator, this allows you to view the entire content material parts and increase/collapse varied sections:
For responsive design, you may change to a responsive preview.
You additionally get choices to regulate your designs on totally different gadgets:
Choices for Pre-Constructed Templates
| Elementor | Avada | |
| Full demo websites | 100+ | 88+ |
| Particular person web page templates | 300+ | 20+ |
| Part/block templates | ✅ | ❌ |
| Different templates (headers, popups, and many others.) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Save your personal templates | ✅ | ✅ |
Each Elementor and Avada offer you the entire instruments that you might want to construct customized web sites from scratch.
Nevertheless, to avoid wasting you time, each builders additionally include a bunch of pre-built templates.
With Avada, you get entry to 88+ pre-built demo websites. These are full websites that include the entire core pages, headers, footers, and so forth. You simply import them and customise them to your wants.
With Elementor, the template choices are available in a number of totally different codecs, relying on what you’re constructing.
Probably the most analogous to Avada’s pre-built web sites are Elementor’s Website Kits, that are themed units of templates that enable you construct an entire web site.
At present, Elementor affords 100+ Website Kits. Nevertheless, you’ll want the premium model to entry them, with some “Skilled”-level web site kits requiring higher-tier plans to entry.
The best way to Construct Your Website
As a result of Elementor is a plugin and Avada is a theme, the best way that you simply construct your website might be just a little bit totally different.
Let’s have a look.
Elementor
With Elementor, you’ll first want to decide on your base theme.
For instance, you possibly can use Sydney for a enterprise web site or Botiga for a WooCommerce retailer. Alternatively, you may as well use the clean canvas Hi there theme (however provided that you’re utilizing Elementor Professional’s Theme Builder).
Then, you may set up the Elementor plugin and begin constructing.
You possibly can both begin from scratch or import one of many premade web site kits:
If you wish to design a person piece of content material, you may launch the visible builder from the WordPress submit editor.
If you wish to design theme templates with Elementor Professional (slightly than relying in your precise theme), you may go to the particular Theme Builder interface:
This may launch the common editor, however you’ll get some particular widgets that can assist you dynamically populate your template.
If you publish your template, you need to use conditional guidelines to regulate when to make use of that template:
Avada
With Avada, you’ll first set up the Avada theme and its companion plugins.
Then, you may both begin constructing immediately or import one of many 88+ demo websites:
To configure theme-wide settings, you get an in depth backend settings space:
Or, you may work from Avada Stay, which can also be the place you may entry the visible, drag-and-drop editor:
You too can entry the Structure Builder to arrange your site-wide layouts.
Different Notable Options in Elementor and Avada
| Elementor | Avada | |
| Popup builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Kind builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Full theme builder help | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dynamic content material help | ✅ | ✅ |
| Devoted touchdown web page device | ✅ | ❌ |
| Collaboration notes (like InDesign) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cloud-hosted model (no must self-host WordPress) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Customized font help | ✅ | ✅ |
Total, each Elementor and Avada do a very good job of supplying you with entry to useful options reminiscent of a popup builder and type builder, which may eradicate the necessity to use separate plugins for these options.
Nevertheless, Elementor does have a number of tips up its sleeve that may assist in sure use instances:
- Non-technical customers – the Elementor Cloud Website possibility is nice for non-technical individuals since you don’t must take care of buying internet hosting or putting in WordPress. You additionally don’t must take care of most upkeep. As an alternative, you may simply construct!
- Entrepreneurs – the flexibility to separate touchdown pages into their very own interface is fairly useful. Whereas you may as well use Avada to construct touchdown pages, Elementor simply makes it extra handy.
- Designers who must collaborate – the collaboration notes function is useful for working with purchasers or different members of your group.
Elementor vs Avada Efficiency
Web page load instances are an vital consideration when constructing a web site as a result of how shortly your website hundreds will have an effect on the whole lot from primary person expertise to conversion charges and search engine marketing (search engine optimization).
Utilizing a visible builder is all the time going so as to add some weight to the web page versus utilizing the default WordPress block editor, however totally different builders may be heavier or lighter than others.
Sadly, it’s onerous to check Elementor vs Avada velocity and efficiency on a one-to-one foundation as a result of one is a plugin and the opposite is a theme.
There are simply too many variables to run an goal check that may apply universally.
With that being mentioned, I’ve used each of those instruments a bunch, so I may give you my basic efficiency conclusions based mostly on expertise.
If you wish to construct the quickest loading website, Elementor offers you that chance, however it’ll rely on the way you make your website.
If you wish to obtain the quickest web page load instances, my suggestion is to make use of Elementor to design pages/templates visually when wanted, however depend on a light-weight theme reminiscent of Sydney for the whole lot else.
However, if you wish to use a visible builder to design actually each a part of your website, together with each template, then you definitely received’t discover as a lot of a efficiency distinction between Elementor vs Avada.
Regardless of which device you employ, I like to recommend putting in a efficiency optimization plugin reminiscent of WP Rocket. WP Rocket does so much to optimize the code of your builder, reminiscent of eradicating unused CSS and delaying JavaScript. You possibly can study extra in my full WP Rocket overview.
Avada additionally has its personal Efficiency Wizard function that gives a number of the identical options that WP Rocket does, together with code optimization. Nevertheless, I nonetheless advocate utilizing WP Rocket as the 2 pair nicely collectively. WP Rocket will even detect which Avada efficiency options you’ve enabled and routinely disable these options in WP Rocket to keep away from overlap or compatibility points.
Third-Get together Integrations
Whereas each Elementor and Avada are very succesful instruments by themselves, there may come some extent while you need to add performance that goes past the built-in options.
That will help you obtain this, each builders help third-party extensions from different builders.
Nevertheless, there’s actually no comparability right here:
Elementor affords a far bigger and extra helpful third-party extension library.
With Avada, there are just a few dozen third-party add-ons, so that you don’t have a ton of selection.
In distinction, Elementor has tons of of third-party add-ons that offer you all types of useful options, together with new design widgets, new design options, and so forth.
You possibly can even discover Elementor add-ons for distinctive options reminiscent of designing customized electronic mail templates and working A/B/n break up exams.
To see some examples, take a look at my roundup of the very best Elementor add-ons.
Total, Elementor’s bigger extension market is a vital consideration as a result of it means you’ll have extra flexibility for including options to your websites.
Elementor vs Avada Pricing
Normally, Elementor is extra inexpensive than Avada, each for a single website and in case you’re constructing a number of websites. It’s not 100% clear-cut as a result of they’ve totally different billing fashions, although.
First off, Elementor has a practical free model, whereas Avada solely is available in a premium model. The free model of Elementor doesn’t embody the theme-building options (it solely enables you to design particular person pages), nevertheless it’s very succesful exterior of that.
By way of premium variations, Elementor has an enormous benefit at first look:
- Avada makes you buy a full-price license for every particular person website that you simply apply it to.
- Elementor affords multi-site license choices that decrease the per-site price.
Nevertheless, Avada additionally has an enormous pricing benefit up its sleeve that performs out over the long-term: lifetime updates at no additional price.
In distinction, you’ll must renew your Elementor license yearly to proceed receiving help and updates.
Nevertheless, it’s vital to notice that Avada does not provide lifetime help. When you get lifetime updates, you solely get six months of help (although you may lengthen the help interval to a yr for an additional $21 or so).
Elementor Pricing
Avada Pricing
Elementor vs Avada Lengthy-Time period Worth Comparability
Right here’s a comparability desk of the preliminary pricing:
| Elementor | Avada | |
| 1 website | $49 | $69 |
| Three websites | $99 | $207 |
| 10 websites | $199 | $690 |
| 25 websites | $199 | $1,725 |
| 100 websites | $999 | $6,900 |
| 1,000 websites | $999 | $69,000 |
Nevertheless, right here’s how the pricing variations shake out over a number of years. These are the cumulative prices:
After two years of utilization:
| Elementor (2-year cumulative price)* | Avada (2-year cumulative price)* | |
| 1 website | $98 | $69 |
| Three websites | $198 | $207 |
| 10 websites | $398 | $690 |
| 25 websites | $398 | $1,725 |
| 100 websites | $1,998 | $6,900 |
| 1,000 websites | $1,998 | $69,000 |
*To make that clear, which means Elementor Professional prices $49 for the primary yr and $49 for the second yr renewal. Collectively, that makes a cumulative price of $98 for 2 years of utilization.
After three years of utilization:
| Elementor (3-year cumulative price) | Avada (3-year cumulative price) | |
| 1 website | $147 | $69 |
| Three websites | $297 | $207 |
| 10 websites | $597 | $690 |
| 25 websites | $597 | $1,725 |
| 100 websites | $2,997 | $6,900 |
| 1,000 websites | $2,997 | $69,000 |
Pricing Conclusions
Total, listed below are some primary pricing conclusions:
- For those who’re constructing 10+ websites, Elementor Professional might be cheaper even when factoring within the renewals. Avada will get very costly in case you’re constructing tons of websites due to its per-site licensing mannequin.
- For those who’re constructing fewer than 10 websites, Elementor Professional remains to be less expensive for the primary yr.
- Nevertheless, in case you’re beneath 10 websites, the value benefit can flip to Avada’s favor after ~2-Three years or so due to lifetime updates for Avada. So whereas the upfront price is increased, the long-term price is decrease (assuming you’ll nonetheless be utilizing/sustaining all of these websites for a number of years).
Elementor Cloud Website
All the small print above assume that you simply’re going to buy Elementor Professional and set up it by yourself self-hosted WordPress website.
Nevertheless, Elementor additionally has an Elementor Cloud Website possibility that features built-in internet hosting together with all of the Elementor Professional options.
For those who like this built-in internet hosting strategy, Elementor Cloud Website prices $99 per yr per website. You possibly can study extra in my Elementor Cloud Website overview.
Ought to You Use Elementor or Avada?
Ultimately, selecting between Avada vs Elementor actually comes all the way down to your particular state of affairs.
With that being mentioned, if I needed to make one blanket suggestion, I feel that Elementor is a greater possibility for most individuals for a number of causes:
- It’s a plugin and never a theme like Avada. This provides you extra flexibility for constructing your website as a result of you may pair Elementor with a theme reminiscent of Sydney or Botiga as a substitute of needing to do the whole lot with the visible builder.
- Extra alternatives for efficiency optimization. As a result of Elementor is a plugin, you may depend on a light-weight theme to energy plenty of performance, which might help you create a faster-loading web site. Nevertheless, be aware that in case you use Elementor Professional’s theme builder to design 100% of your website, this won’t apply.
- Quicker constructing expertise. Whereas that is considerably subjective, I personally suppose that Elementor’s builder is simpler to make use of and allows you to create completed designs in much less time.
- Useful free model. This makes it nice for people who find themselves on a funds.
- Bulk licensing for Elementor Professional. For those who’re an company or freelancer constructing a lot of websites, Elementor’s bulk licensing mannequin will in all probability be much more cost-effective than Avada’s single-site license mannequin. Nevertheless, that’s not all the time the case due to one-year renewals vs lifetime updates — use the pricing comparability tables above to do the mathematics in your state of affairs.
- Extra third-party add-ons. Whereas each instruments help third-party add-on plugins, Elementor has a a lot bigger market. Once more, this provides you much more flexibility with Elementor.
To study extra, you may learn our full Elementor Professional overview.
With that being mentioned, Avada remains to be an ideal theme with a really highly effective builder — there’s a purpose it’s the best-selling theme of all time at ThemeForest. I simply suppose that Elementor is higher for most individuals for the explanations above.
For those who like Avada’s all-in-one strategy that integrates the theme and the visible builder however are postpone by the value and single-site license mannequin, you additionally may need to think about the favored Divi theme.
Divi makes use of the identical basic strategy as Avada, nevertheless it affords an infinite website license (as a one-year or lifetime license) that makes Divi much more cost-effective than each Avada and Elementor when utilizing it for plenty of websites.
You possibly can study extra in our Divi overview, or our Divi vs Avada and Divi vs Elementor comparisons.
Last Ideas on Elementor vs Avada
Elementor and Avada are two high options for constructing any sort of WordPress web site with a visible, drag-and-drop builder.
Nevertheless, Elementor is probably going a greater possibility for most individuals for the explanations that I’ve mentioned above, which is why it’s grown to be the most well-liked WordPress web site builder (and one of the widespread WordPress plugins of all time).
If you wish to get began, buy Elementor Professional immediately to unlock the complete energy of what Elementor can do.
Do you continue to have any questions on Avada vs Elementor? Tell us within the feedback.
