How Much Does Elementor Cost, and Why Do We Use It?
Elementor is a great visual editor and website builder for WordPress. It is a plugin that is readily available and well respected by website developers.
We use Elementor on every website we build. We spent a lot of time researching the various website editors. We wanted to find one that would work best for what we wanted to do as designers and developers, but also one that was extremely easy for our clients to use.
Elementor was the clear, hands-down winner.
With Elementor, there is a basic version that is readily available in the WordPress directory of plugins. That version is completely free. There is also Elementor Pro, which includes many additional tools and features.
The Pro version costs between $60 and $100 per year. Unless you host your website with Full Scope Creative. Then Elementor Pro is included as part of your yearly hosting.
The Basic Version of Elementor Is Free
The basic version of Elementor is free and can be downloaded from the WordPress plugin directory. It can then be installed and used immediately. It is essentially just like almost any other WordPress plugin.
With the basic version, you will have the tools and widgets to do things like:
- Build page layouts.
- Add text, photos, buttons and columns.
- Create responsive designs.
- Make basic website edits through a visual interface.
There is nothing wrong with the basic or free version of Elementor. We used it plenty of times when we first started building websites with Elementor.
It is a very usable website editor that makes updates and content additions easier for many small businesses.
There are times, however, when the basic options are just not quite enough. The basic version works well for simple websites and brochure-style websites. Once a website moves into more custom features, the basic version of Elementor can start to run into limitations.
That is an important part of answering the question, “How much does Elementor cost?” Elementor itself can be free, but many of its most useful and powerful features require the paid Pro version.
If your website requires things like custom templates, dynamic information or more advanced features, you will probably want to explore Elementor Pro.
What Do You Get With Elementor Pro?
With the Pro version of Elementor, you do not merely get a few extra design widgets to use.
Instead, it opens your website up to some of the most powerful features Elementor has to offer. These features give us, as developers and designers, amazing tools for customizing a website. They also allow us to make the website even easier for our small business clients to manage.
There are many great reasons to use Elementor Pro, but these are some of our favorites.
Theme Builder
With the Theme Builder, you can design and manage important sections of your website and its overall design.
You can create a header and footer that can be used throughout the entire website. Some of the other common sections and templates we use on almost every website include:
- Blog posts.
- Archive pages.
- Search results.
- 404 pages.
Without a Theme Builder, many of these areas would be controlled by the WordPress theme. That can create difficulties with customization and even cause them to look different from the rest of the website.
The Theme Builder gives greater control over the look and feel of the entire site. Best of all, it is still extremely easy to update by anyone.
Dynamic Content and ACF Integration
With a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields, a website can be set up with custom post types and features that are very easy to manage.
We have built many ACF features on client websites. Never once have those clients needed to learn coding to update or manage the information.
With Elementor Pro, all of that information can be entered into WordPress and then displayed throughout the website.
Some examples of ACF features include:
- Project details.
- Team member information.
- Products.
- Events.
- Property listings.
A client could add a new team member by using fields for their name, photo, job title and biography. Elementor Pro can then place all of that information into the correct design. Every time.
The client does not need to rebuild the page or worry about matching the layout. They simply enter the information, and the website handles the rest.
With the Pro version of Elementor, there are many additional widgets and features available to display this information.
Loop Builder
My favorite way to display ACF content is through the Loop Builder.
The Loop Builder is an Elementor Pro tool that allows you to create a design and then repeat that design for different pieces of content.
With the Loop Builder, you can easily display things such as:
- Blog posts.
- Projects.
- Products.
- Team members.
- Resource libraries.
So many of these are features we have built for clients using Advanced Custom Fields. ACF makes it easy for clients to manage those posts and add new ones. Elementor Pro makes it easy for us to display those posts in an organized and engaging way on the website.
For example, we can design one project listing with a photo, project title, short description and button. The Loop Builder can then automatically use that same layout for every project added to the website.
You’ll have great website features that are easy to update and that visitors enjoy using.
We simply build the layout once, reuse it wherever it is needed, and the client can easily add new content at any time.
How Much Does Elementor Pro Cost?
If you’re worried about how much Elementor Pro costs, it’s very affordable. It is actually one of the lowest cost pro level plugins we work with at Full Scope Creative For one website, Elementor Pro will cost between $60 and $100 per year depending on your exact license.
For many small businesses, the single-site plan is all they would need.
Once purchased, the license can be activated inside the admin area of the WordPress website. That activation will unlock all of the additional Elementor Pro widgets and features.
It is not a one-time purchase, though. Elementor Pro is a yearly subscription that needs to remain active.
That means the website owner has another yearly cost to remember. They also need to make sure the license stays connected and that Elementor and Elementor Pro are both kept updated.
The cost itself is not necessarily unreasonable. Elementor Pro includes many useful tools that can replace the need for other plugins or custom programming.
The bigger concern for many small business owners is simply having one more website expense and one more license to manage.
Elementor Pro Is Included With Full Scope Creative Hosting
There is another way to get Elementor Pro without having to purchase and manage the license yourself.
With our Security Essentials hosting plan or higher, the Elementor Pro license is included in the yearly hosting fee.
There’s no need to buy the plugin separately. No need to keep track of the license renewal. You do not need to worry about finding the activation code or reconnecting the license if anything happens. Full Scope Creative is there to manage all of that.
We manage all of that for you.
We handle the Elementor Pro license activation and keep both Elementor and Elementor Pro updated. We also monitor the website after updates to make sure everything continues working the way it should.
This is an important part of professional website hosting and maintenance.
Simply clicking the update button is only part of the process. Someone should also be checking the website and making sure the update did not cause a problem.
That is part of what we manage for our hosting clients.
Is Elementor Pro Worth the Cost?
For a very basic website, the free version of Elementor may be enough.
It is a good editor and includes many of the basic tools needed to create pages and update website content.
For a professionally built business website, however, Elementor Pro is usually worth the cost.
The Theme Builder gives us more control over the full website design. Dynamic content and Advanced Custom Fields allow us to create useful custom features. The Loop Builder gives us a better way to display projects, team members, products, blog posts and other collections of content.
These tools allow us to build websites that look better and are easier for our clients to update.
For websites hosted with Full Scope Creative, all of that is already taken care of.
Get Elementor Pro With Your Website Hosting
The basic version of Elementor is free and can be a great option for a simple WordPress website.
Elementor Pro costs more, but it includes some of the best tools Elementor has to offer. For many business websites, those tools make a major difference in what can be built and how easy the website is to manage.
So, how much does Elementor cost?
It can cost nothing if the free version meets your needs. Elementor Pro generally costs between $60 and $100 per year if you purchase it yourself.
Or, it can be included as part of your yearly website hosting with Full Scope Creative.
With our Security Essentials hosting plan or higher, we provide the Elementor Pro license and manage the activation, renewal and updates for you.
You get access to the better version of Elementor without having another license or yearly subscription to worry about.
Talk with us about moving your WordPress website to Full Scope Creative hosting and letting us handle the technical side of the website for you.