Comparison
Gutenberg, Elementor or Divi? What suits your business.
I build websites with all three tools. Each has strengths, and each has drawbacks that are rarely talked about. Here you will find an honest comparison with costs and a clear guide to help you decide.
Pros and cons
Strengths and weaknesses, looked at honestly.
Gutenberg
with a custom theme
The editor that is already built into WordPress. Content is assembled from blocks: heading, text, image, button. Combined with a custom-built theme, you see the finished design while you edit. No additional software is needed.
A good fit if
you mainly manage text, images and pages, value speed and want to keep running costs low.
Pros
- Fast loading times, because no page builder is loaded on top
- No licence costs, no annual fees
- No dependence on a vendor: Gutenberg is a core part of WordPress
- Content is kept even if the design changes later
- Tidy editing: you manage content, the design stays consistent
Cons
- Less design freedom for you: you work with the building blocks created for your website
- New layout blocks have to be added by a developer
- More effort for the initial build, because the theme is custom made
Elementor
Page builder
A so-called page builder, an add-on for WordPress. Pages are designed by drag and drop in a separate interface. Elementor is the most widely used page builder. A basic version is free; most business websites need the paid Pro version.
A good fit if
you or your team want to design new pages and layouts yourselves on a regular basis, for example landing pages for campaigns.
Pros
- Extensive design freedom with drag and drop
- Widely used: many agencies and freelancers know Elementor, so help is easy to find
- Large range of add-ons and templates
- Forms, pop-ups and theme areas such as header and footer right in the builder
Cons
- More code on every page, so usually slower than Gutenberg
- Annual licence fee per website
- Strong lock-in: if Elementor is deactivated, the layout is lost and only text and images remain, without styling
- With several editors, the freedom quickly leads to an inconsistent design
Divi
Theme and page builder
Also a page builder, developed by Elegant Themes. Divi is theme and builder in one. You edit directly on the visible page. With Divi 5 the technology was fundamentally rebuilt. There is no free version.
A good fit if
you want to design visually yourself, run several websites or want to avoid annual licence costs in the long run.
Pros
- One-off lifetime licence available, no licence costs after that
- One licence covers any number of websites
- Editing directly on the visible page, very intuitive for beginners
- Many ready-made layout templates
Cons
- Strong vendor lock-in: moving away from Divi means rebuilding the pages
- Divi 5 changed the technology fundamentally, some older add-ons first need to be updated
- Slower than Gutenberg without targeted optimisation
Overview
Side by side.
| Criterion | Gutenberg | Elementor | Divi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading speed | very fast | medium, good with optimisation | medium, good with optimisation |
| Your own design freedom | within the blocks provided | very high | very high |
| Building new layouts yourself | with existing blocks, new ones added by the developer | yes | yes |
| Learning curve for editing content | low | medium | medium |
| Consistent design with several editors | very good | requires discipline | requires discipline |
| Effort for the initial build | higher | lower | lower |
| Licence costs | none | annual, per website | annual or one-off, any number of websites |
| Vendor dependence | none | high | high |
| Changing the design later | content stays, only the design is rebuilt | pages have to be rebuilt | pages have to be rebuilt |
Costs
What the tools cost.
Development and hosting costs are separate. This is only about the licences for the tools themselves. Vendor prices in US dollars, excluding VAT, as of October 2026.
Gutenberg
| Included in WordPress | $0 |
Elementor Pro (annual licence)
| Essential, 1 website | $60 per year |
| Advanced Solo, 1 website | $84 per year |
| Advanced, 3 websites | $108 per year |
| Expert, 25 websites | $204 per year |
Divi (Elegant Themes)
| Annual licence, any number of websites | $89 per year |
| Lifetime licence, any number of websites | $249 one-off |
Over five years, Elementor Pro costs at least $300 in licence fees for one website, Divi with a lifetime licence $249 once, Gutenberg nothing. For most businesses the difference is manageable. What matters more is what fits the way you work.
Important
Who owns the licence?
A point that hardly any comparison mentions: if the Elementor or Divi licence is registered to the developer and the collaboration ends, your website no longer receives updates. It keeps working at first, but over time it becomes a security risk.
My recommendation: the licence is bought in your company’s name. That way you own not only the website but everything it needs to run. With Gutenberg the question does not arise.
Conclusion
There is no best tool. Only the right one.
01
You mainly manage content and want a fast website with low running costs.
Gutenberg with a custom theme
02
You want to design new pages and layouts yourself on a regular basis.
Elementor or Divi. Elementor if a wide choice of add-ons and service providers matters to you. Divi if you run several websites or want to avoid annual costs.
03
Your website already runs on Elementor or Divi.
In most cases, stay with it and optimise where it counts. A rebuild is only worth it if the website is slow, hard to maintain or a relaunch is due anyway.
I work with all three and recommend the tool that fits your day-to-day work, not the one I like working with most.
Not sure what fits?
In a free initial call, we’ll work out what fits in a few minutes. You get a clear recommendation and then a fixed price.