Over the last few years, we’ve been using several WordPress drag and drop page builder plugins, like SeedProd, Beaver Builder, and Thrive Architect for different projects. We’ve been using them to launch a landing page quickly and even build a website from the ground up.
After much trial and error, the biggest lesson we learned is that not every plugin is created equal. In fact, choosing the right plugin can be intimidating since there are tons of options available on the market.
In this article, we’ll explain everything we learned from testing the best options on the market. We’ll also narrow down the best page builders, so you can easily choose the right one for your needs.
In a hurry? No worries! Take a look at our top picks, so you can quickly choose the right page builder for your site.
🥇First choice
Pricing: Starts at $39.50/yr
Easily build a complete custom site with one-click
Comes with a theme builder (with headers & footers)
300+ pre-built templates
Fast loading, bloat free pages
Dynamic text replacement
🥈Second choice
Pricing: Starts at $99/yr
Conversion focused landing page builder
Easy A/B testing with Thrive Optimize
200+ pre-designed layouts
Native integration with 3rd party apps
700+ custom fonts
🥉Third choice
Pricing: Starts at $99/yr
Drag & drop website builder for agencies
Use on number unlimited websites
170+ pre-built templates
30-day money back guarantee
White labeling support
How We Test & Review Page Builder Plugins?
- We used them for our projects: For different projects, we used several page builder plugins for our PPC landing pages. Some of our websites are built completely with website builders.
- We also tested the most popular ones: We tested some of the most popular plugins on the market to see if they’re worth the hype. We analyze those plugins based on the following factors: ease of use, features, customization options, number of templates and pricing.
- We categorize them based on your needs: When it comes to page builders, there is no one-size-fits-for-all solution. We analyze the features and help you decide if it’s the right plugin for your unique needs.
Why Trust WPBeginner?
At WPBeginner, we’re dedicated team of people with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, design, and online marketing. Our WordPress experts extensively review each plugin or tool that is featured here and thoroughly test them on real websites. To learn more, see our complete editorial process.
WordPress Page Builders: Frequently Asked Questions
Before we get to the list of the best WordPress page builders, let’s answer some basic, frequently asked questions about page builders.
What is a WordPress page builder?
A WordPress page builder, also known as site builder, is a plugin that extends WordPress’s built-in website editing features. It makes building a page or an entire website on WordPress much easier and more customizable.
Some page builder plugins also call themselves theme or website builders. This is because they allow you to edit not just pages but also other parts of your site like the navigation menu, header, footer, sidebar, and so on.
Do I need to use a WordPress site builder?
If you find WordPress difficult to use, then using a site builder can be a good idea. Most WordPress website builders offer a drag and drop function that lets you easily arrange your content elements exactly to your liking.
We noticed that when users just use WordPress’s built-in features, the website may look not very unique, making it difficult to stand out. Many page builders offer tons of customization options so that you can create a truly custom theme.
Do I need to install a theme to use a WordPress website builder?
WordPress comes pre-installed with a theme, so you don’t have to worry about installing another theme if you want to use a page builder plugin.
A WordPress theme and a page builder are two different things. A theme is like a skin that controls the visual appearance of your website, while a website builder is a tool to customize how your skin or in other words, your website looks.
Popular page builders are compatible with most WordPress themes. Unless there is a compatibility issues with your theme and the page builder of your choice, you don’t necessarily need to switch to a different theme.
Do I still need a page builder if I am using the WordPress Full Site Editor?
Having said that, let’s take a look at the best page builders for WordPress on the market.
During our testing, we decided to compare and rank the top WordPress page builders and website builders so you can choose the right solution for your needs. Our criteria for comparing these WordPress page builders are ease of use, flexibility, and design output.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading.
1. SeedProd
SeedProd is a premium WordPress theme and page builder plugin. Unlike many other page builders, it lets you create custom WordPress themes from scratch without writing any code.
You can choose from hundreds of beautiful pre-made layouts or create a completely custom website template with an easy-to-use drag and drop visual builder.
There are ready-made 300+ website kits and templates for landing pages, sales pages, thank you pages, webinar registration pages, coming soon pages, maintenance mode pages, 404 pages, eCommerce product pages, and more.
SeedProd is built with website speed and SEO in mind. It ensures that your pages are the fastest so that you can rank higher in the search results.
It comes with a smart design system, so you can save time by re-using elements instead of doing repetitive work. You can define color schemes, save font combinations, page templates, custom blocks, sections, and more.
SeedProd has all the blocks and features you’d expect from a powerful page builder, such as opt-in forms, social profiles, countdown timers, contact forms, buttons, various content blocks, and more.
The best part is that some of these blocks have pre-made templates, so you can speed up the design process by adapting your favorite 1-click block templates.
It even comes with a smart AI (artificial intelligence) website builder. With the click of a button, you can automatically generate high-quality images and text like headlines, descriptions, and other content. The AI Website Builder can also instantly translate your site into 50+ languages.
You can use SeedProd’s custom domain mapping feature to create micro-sites within WordPress. Agencies use this feature to manage multiple client landing pages from a single WordPress installation.
This WordPress page builder works with all popular themes and plugins, including WooCommerce. It also comes with WooCommerce blocks so that you can create custom checkout pages, cart pages, product pages, and more.
It also has built-in subscriber management, and you can easily connect it with popular email marketing services like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, and more.
Over 1 million users are using SeedProd to make better website layouts.
Why we recommend it: SeedProd is the fastest theme and page builder plugin on the market. It is also the most affordable. Its large library of pre-built templates and pro blocks is a huge time saver, and the ability to customize every little detail makes it the perfect solution for all WordPress users.
Pricing: Starting from $39.50 for a single site license. There’s also a free version with limited features.
For more details, see our complete SeedProd review.
2. Thrive Architect
Thrive Architect is a powerful, fast, and easy-to-use page builder. It lets you create beautiful pages, layouts, and content in WordPress without touching a line of code.
The WordPress site builder includes 357+ pre-designed layouts for homepages, sales pages, webinar pages, lead generation pages, application pages, and more.
Every single detail of the templates can be customized using the front-end visual editor. Simply point and click to edit, move, or delete any page element.
You can also quickly add pre-made conversion elements to your pages. Choose from building blocks like call-to-action buttons, testimonials, countdown timers, guarantee boxes, and more.
With Thrive Architect, you can even create custom blog post layouts. You can add blocks like highlight boxes, styled lists, and click-to-tweet boxes to make your WordPress blog more engaging.
Plus, there are more helpful web design elements you can use, such as flexible column layouts, hover effects, total font customization, and more.
You can also connect Thrive Architect with the Thrive Optimize addon to split-test your pages. This lets you compare two versions of the same web page to find out which converts best.
Why we recommend it: Thrive Architect is an easy and highly intuitive WordPress page builder. The huge template library and fast front-end visual editor make it simple, even for beginners, to create custom pages and layouts in WordPress.
Pricing: Starts at $99 per year for the standalone plugin. Or, you can purchase the entire Thrive Suite of plugins, which includes the Thrive Theme Builder, starting at $299 per year.
For more details, just see our Thrive Architect review.
3. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a popular drag and drop page builder plugin for WordPress.
You can quickly familiarize yourself with the interface and get started with the built-in onboarding tour.
Beaver Builder comes with a live drag and drop interface. You get to see all your changes as you add them by dragging elements from the right sidebar and dropping them on your page. You can click on any element on a page to edit its properties.
There are modules that let you add almost everything you may want, including sliders, carousels, backgrounds, content blocks, buttons, and more.
The WordPress drag and drop builder also comes with over 170 beautifully designed templates for landing pages that make it super easy and super fast to create stunning website layouts.
We find Beaver Builder to be very beginner-friendly. Just check out our tutorial on how to create custom WordPress layouts with Beaver Builder.
Wondering if it is compatible with the new WordPress version? Yes, it is. Beaver Builder has been updated to work alongside the WordPress Gutenberg editor.
Why we recommend it: Beaver Builder is a popular page builder option. It comes with pre-made templates to help you get started. A lot of web professionals use Beaver Builder to create their client sites and custom themes.
Pricing: Starting from $99 for unlimited sites.
You can see our full Beaver Builder review for more information.
4. Divi
Divi is a professional drag and drop theme and WordPress page builder plugin. It is extremely easy to use and comes with hundreds of layout packs for different kinds of websites.
Similar to SeedProd and Beaver Builder, the Divi Builder comes with a true WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) visual editor with visual drag and drop functionality.
You can directly click on your page and start editing in real time with a live preview of all changes. So you don’t need to save and click preview to see your new design.
Divi comes with dozens of content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere in your layout. It lets you arrange these modules in multiple section types and row types. And you can customize each element using its advanced design settings.
With Divi, you can create any type of custom page layout within a few minutes. You can then save these Divi layouts for future use on your site. You can also export a layout from one Divi installation into another.
The Divi Builder plugin is the backbone of the Divi theme, yet it works well with any other popular WordPress theme.
Best of all, Divi has very attractive pricing options. For a single price, you’ll get the Divi theme, the Divi page builder plugin, and all other Elegant Themes products, such as Extra and Bloom.
This means you can use the Divi theme or install the Divi Builder plugin on any other theme.
Why we recommend it: Divi is a great SeedProd builder alternative. It has a powerful page builder with limitless design possibilities. The large number of content modules allows you to create literally any type of website that you really want. The lifetime plan also makes it one of the best deals on the market.
Pricing: Starting from $89 per year (a lifetime access plan is also available)
Check out our complete Divi review for more information.
5. Elementor Pro
Elementor Pro is a powerful drag and drop WordPress page builder plugin. It is a live page builder plugin, which means you can your changes live as you make them.
Start by creating sections and select the number of columns for each section. You can then drag and drop widgets from the left panel into your section.
Elementor comes with tons of widgets, including the most commonly used website elements. These range from basic image and text widgets to advanced accordions, sliders, testimonials, icons, social media, tabs, and more.
Each widget is independent and comes with its own settings. Elementor will also let you add widgets created by other WordPress plugins.
Don’t want to build your own layout?
Elementor comes with many ready-to-use templates that you can easily insert into your pages. You can simply point and click to edit any item on the page, replace the content, and you’re done.
Why we recommend it: Elementor is a popular page builder plugin for WordPress. It is easy to use, has a large extensions ecosystem, and comes with tons of modules and templates that you can use to build a custom website. However, the code output is less efficient, and users often report slower page speed.
Pricing: Starting from $59 for a single site license.
To learn more, check out our complete Elementor review.
6. Visual Composer Website Builder
Visual Composer Website Builder is a user-friendly WordPress website editor that helps you create custom website layouts, fast.
It comes with a simple drag and drop builder, out-of-the-box content elements, professional templates, and a host of powerful features to make a website.
Similar to SeedProd and Beaver Builder, it also provides a real front-end editing experience for designing a website. But there’s a lot more you can do with this WordPress site builder.
With the exception of SeedProd, Visual Composer is the only other plugin that allows you to edit all aspects of your landing page, such as logos, menus, headers, footers, and sidebars.
That’s why the team decided to call it a website builder instead of just a page builder.
The plugin features powerful design options to customize the appearance of any element on your page. You have easy options to add stylish backgrounds, including parallax, gradient, slideshow, carousel, zoom in and out, video, and more. It also comes with flexible rows and columns for creating grid layouts on your site.
Visual Composer works well with all WordPress themes. This allows you to switch your themes without losing the custom layouts that you created with Visual Composer.
It also includes support for the Gutenberg editor, Google Fonts, and Yoast SEO.
Visual Composer is designed for professionals, which is evident by their attention to detail, such as remembering your color choices. This allows you to easily use the same color palette for consistency throughout your design.
Why we recommend it: Visual Composer is a great plugin for beginners to start a website. It provides powerful features for website making in a simple manner. Website editing is made super simple with the front-end drag and drop editor. However, the interface is a bit different than typical WordPress plugins, so it can feel confusing to new users.
Pricing: $49/year for one site license
7. Themify Builder
As a freemium WordPress website builder, Themify Builder is pretty unique. With this plugin, you get two types of interfaces: a drag and drop WYSIWYG to customize the design of your page and a backend to move around your content elements.
During our testing, we found it a bit tricky to use at first. However, we can imagine how useful it is when you just want to focus on editing the structure of your page.
Themify Builder comes in two versions: a free plugin and a Pro plan. The free plugin is more like a page builder as it lets you create a custom page using its 40+ layouts, but not other parts of your site.
Meanwhile, Themify Builder Pro allows you to modify all your page templates, from headers and footers to single post templates and custom post types. The plugin offers professional-looking pre-designed themes and templates.
Themify Builder Pro also offers a Display Conditions feature. You can use this to display certain templates on specific pages only rather than on your entire site. This can be helpful in for showing promotional banners on relevant product pages.
Why we recommend it: Themify Builder is a great WordPress site builder if you are looking for a slightly more advanced option. It comes with features that you may not easily find in other WordPress page builders. However, for beginners, it’s not the most user-friendly pick.
Pricing: Themify Builder Pro costs a one-time fee of $69. A free plugin is also available.
8. Brizy
Brizy is a WordPress website builder made for agencies and SaaS companies, but any user with any skill level can still use it. After installing the plugin, you can simply choose one of the 50 free starter templates for businesses, online stores, wedding sites, and more.
The free plugin only comes with basic content elements like text, images, and buttons, though a contact form is available. We recommend getting a pro plan to get more content elements and other features like a popup builder and user access settings.
The editing interface itself looks clean and feels straightforward to use. It’s not cluttered with too many settings and you can easily figure your way around it without any pointers.
Besides moving elements around, you can save layouts for future use, change the page’s global typography and color scheme, and preview your page on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
The reason this WordPress page builder is intended for agencies is that its White Label plan lets you brand the plugin using your own logo and business name. It’s a cool perk if you work with many clients and want to maintain a consistent brand experience.
Why we recommend it: As a free WordPress page builder, Brizy‘s user experience is beginner-friendly, but it’s not the most powerful. If you want to make the most out of this plugin, then we recommend getting a paid plan to get more out-of-the-box features.
Pricing: Starting from $60/year for 1 website. A free version for personal use is available.
9. Live Composer
Live Composer is a completely free WordPress site builder. To use it, you will need to enter your email on the website and they will send you a download link to install and activate the plugin.
This WordPress page builder has a WYSIWYG drag and drop editor, with a bottom side panel to insert content blocks. While the plugin itself is free, it offers some elements that you may find in a paid page builder, like accordions, galleries, and progress bars.
When we used Live Composer, we realized that the plugin also allowed us to create custom post types for downloadables, partners, projects, staff, testimonials, and galleries.
These are all excellent custom post types for a business website or a digital product store, and you can use them to fill out your pages if needed.
If you want to extend the plugin further, then you can get an extension pack that includes add-ons for adding a contact form, embedding videos, restricting content, and so on.
Why we recommend it: Live Composer is a good free WordPress site builder for people on a budget. But we think users will need to get the extension pack or installing other plugins as some essential elements like contact forms and video embeds aren’t available in the free version.
Pricing: Free plugin, but the extensions pack starts from $69/year for 1 website.
10. SiteOrigin
SiteOrigin is another free WordPress page builder. You can use it with your existing WordPress theme, but works best with a SiteOrigin theme.
This plugin is technically a drag and drop builder, but when we tried it, it worked pretty differently from other options on the list.
For one, even though it comes with a live preview, you must add and move elements on the side panel rather than directly on the page. So it’s similar to the WordPress Theme Customizer, but it comes with a drag and drop editor.
It can seem tricky at first. However, one cool feature is that it lets you resize rows and columns in a page section easily by dragging a slider instead of sticking with the default section sizes. This can be useful if you want to have more control over your layout.
Additionally, you can adjust layouts specifically for mobile to ensure your site looks good on smaller screens.
SiteOrigin also provides a premium add-on bundle that includes extra widgets like video backgrounds, WooCommerce templates, tooltips, and more.
Why we recommend it: As a WordPress page builder, SiteOrigin offers everything needed to build a fully functional site, but it can seem too advanced for beginners. That’s why we recommend it more for experienced WordPress users looking for more control over their themes.
Pricing: Free, but there are premium add-on packs that start from $29/year for 1 site.
11. Oxygen
Like Brizy, Oxygen is a WordPress drag and drop builder designed for WordPress professionals. What makes it different is that it offers no free plan, so you have to purchase a plan to use it.
At a glance, the interface looks similar to a photo editor like Photoshop, which can intimidate beginners. However, it offers tons of control over how your site looks.
For example, the drag and drop editor doesn’t just allow you to move elements around. You can also adjust an element’s padding and margins to ensure your content is readable.
Additionally, this WordPress site builder provides a historical view for each element added to your page so that you can track all the changes that were made to it.
Oxygen also has an excellent dynamic content support. With this, you can insert real-time content into your website elements. This can be beneficial if you have an online store and need to display product prices dynamically based on discounts, sales, or location.
Why we recommend it: If you are a WordPress developer looking to speed up your website building, then Oxygen is a great WordPress website builder to consider. It can be quite an investment at first, but it’s easy to use and has plenty of advanced customization.
Pricing: Starting from $129 for a lifetime license.
12. Page Builder Sandwich
If you’re looking for a simple WordPress page builder, then Page Builder Sandwich can be a good pick.
The plugin comes in two versions: free and paid. When reviewing the plugin, we found the free option better suited for a personal, non-commercial site. There are not a lot of block options, and all the page template options are premium.
That said, you can still use the page builder to edit your existing theme.
On the other hand, the paid version offers all the essentials needed to create a website. You will get 10 page templates, 40+ pre-designed sections, and newsletter integration to build your audience.
Why we recommend it: Page Builder Sandwich is a pretty simple WordPress website builder compared to the other options on this list. The feature set is not as rich, but we think it’s a good option if you want something straightforward that sticks to the basics.
Pricing: Starting from $29/year for 1 website. A free plugin is also available.
13. Spectra
Spectra is a WordPress website builder developed by the same team that created the popular Astra theme.
What makes it different from the rest of the plugins on the list is it works right in the Gutenberg block editor. This makes it a good option for people who are familiar with the built-in editor but want some extra features to modify their web pages.
Out of the box, Spectra offers 30+ essential blocks and 100+ pre-built templates to speed up your website creation.
It also offers an AI generative feature called Zip AI so that you can craft copy for your landing pages quickly. Free Spectra plugin users can get 1000 free credits to use this feature.
Spectra is optimized for speed. When we tried the plugin, it did not take long for it to load and there were no performance issues. It also uses advanced tech like the Just-in-Time compiler to make the plugin more efficient.
Why we recommend it: Spectra is an easy-to-use WordPress site builder that packs in a lot of features. It’s an excellent choice for those looking to extend their existing block editor with some extra Gutenberg blocks and templates. Plus, the AI feature will come in handy for writing content to grow your site.
Pricing: Starting from $49/year for 1 website. A free plugin is available.
14. Zion Builder
Zion Builder is a WordPress drag and drop builder that’s made to run fast. The team behind this plugin makes sure that the templates use clean and lightweight code so that your website has high performance and is SEO-friendly.
This WordPress site builder’s 250+ templates and blocks also have professional designs. You can simply pick one from various industry categories, from blogs and restaurants to businesses and real estate.
During our tests, one feature that stood out to us was the tree view mode. With this, you can get an overview of how your elements are stacked and arranged.
Sometimes, when there are multiple, nested blocks, it can be difficult to click on the element you want to customize. The tree view mode helps with this exact problem.
Zion Builder also has a conditional logic function to display specific elements based on certain criteria. For example, you may want to show different content depending on whether a user is logged in or not.
Why we recommend it: As a WordPress website builder, Zion Builder is fast and powerful, providing both speed and a wide range of features. It also has great ease of use with its drag and drop feature and tree view mode to make moving your content around much easier.
Pricing: Starting from $39/year for 1 website. A free version is available.
15. Cornerstone
Last but not least, we have Cornerstone. This WordPress website builder is one of the more advanced options on the list. Like Oxygen, beginners may take some time to get used to the slightly more complex drag and drop interface.
But once you get around it, you can make the most out of Cornerstone. This WordPress site builder has 100+ fully customizable elements for page layouts, dynamic content, WooCommerce, and so much more.
You can even create a custom element from scratch and save it for future use.
Other than that, Cornerstone has a feature to add unique effects to your elements like filters, interactions, masking, and so on. You can combine these effects to make your website more interactive for users.
Cornerstone is also SEO-friendly. It uses a lean codebase with structured schema markup to make sure your website has the best chance of appearing in search engines.
Why we recommend it: We were impressed by Cornerstone‘s vast features and out-of-the-box SEO-friendliness. Not many WordPress website builders focus on SEO. That said, this plugin is not the most beginner-friendly due to its advanced interface.
Pricing: Starting from $69 for a lifetime license. If you want to use their custom integrated theme framework, then the price starts from $99/year for 1 website.
What Is the Best WordPress Page Builder Plugin?
As we compared different drag and drop WordPress page builders, one thing became very clear: SeedProd, Thrive Architect, and Beaver Builder are the top 3 choices. Divi and Elementor Pro are other great alternatives.
We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress drag and drop page builder plugins for your site. You may also want to learn how to increase your blog traffic or see our list of the best WordPress contact form plugins.
Se questo articolo vi è piaciuto, iscrivetevi al nostro canale YouTube per le esercitazioni video su WordPress. Potete trovarci anche su Twitter e Facebook.
Disclaimer: We could have included many other page and site builder plugins in this list, including WPBakery and WP Page Builder. But we decided to only include the very best WordPress page builder plugins to help you avoid choice paralysis.
Bruno
Hey guys, I changed my page builder plugin but now all my pages are blank.
What can i DO!?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Bruno,
Please contact the page builder plugin’s support for help. You can also activate the plugin temporarily and then try importing content manually. See the page builder plugin’s documentation for that.
Admin
Robin
Just a heads up for others out there. I have tried Divi and want to pull my hair out. Their tutorials are outdated and so if you want user friendly – this is not.
I often am instructed to go to a certain drop down menu, and it isn’t there. I am instructed to “simply” look for a button option and it not in the place they say it is. I find it somewhere else 20 minutes later… It has become VERY time consuming and frustrating.
I found myself at this article looking for another drop and drag software option because after months of struggling with Divi, I’m done!
sangam kr
I am looking for a page builder similar to hub pages. can you suggest one for me
Doug Byrd
I already have a WooCommerce website that I am perfectly happy with. If I get one of these page builder plugins, can I keep my present website the way it is? Will the plug-in integrate into my website?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Doug,
Yes, just don’t edit any of your existing pages with the page builder.
Admin
Nuno Pereira
Hi there,
What do you think of Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)? Would they be a good alternative to page builders? Could a non-developer create and customise page layouts using ACF rather than page builders?
I have to decide between using ACF or a Page builder. The agency that will develop my website recommends ACF, but I think it’s because they want to push me to use them again in the future, since any changes require the involvement of a developer.
So, I’m a non-developer, I’m the typical digital marketer who knows some HTML/ CSS and I know how page builders work, but I’m not sure about ACF…
I’s important for me to have the flexibility to customise page layouts if needed. For instance, would I be able to create a new page with a new layout by copying existing sections from other pages (e.g. create page #3 using the “testimonial” section from page #1 and “customer logo” section from page #2)?
Let me know what you think,
WPBeginner Support
Hi Nuno,
Your developers will recommend a solution based on your needs. If you are unsure, then you need to ask them why they would prefer ACF over a page builder plugin. If they are unable to convince you, then you can reconsider your options.
Admin
Junaid
Can one use different page builders in a website for different pages therein?
WPBeginner Support
Yes, but we will not recommend it. You will need to keep them installed, which will slow down your admin screens and may even result into conflicts when writing posts or creating pages.
Admin
Hadi
hi,
tnx for this perfect article.
I have a question:
when we wanna use a page builder like elementor or beaverbuilder is it important what theme we have?(i mean a free theme or pro theme)
if yes, can you give me names of some of the appropriate free and premium wordpress themes?
(if the answer of the first question is yes)what does make pro themes different from free themes?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Hadi,
Most page builder plugins are compatible with any standard compliant free or paid WordPress theme. However, some themes may not have a full-width page template in which case page builder may have to fit its layout inside the page container. In that case you have the option create your own full-width page template or you can use page builder’s canvas template which will do the samething and provide you a blank canvas to use as template.
Admin
Eduardo
Hello, im new in this. What about if i want to make a platform were my clients can chose there template and edit it with one of those drag and drop builders. Is it posible tu include one of them like seperadly with every registered clientes?
Stacy
Do page builders slow your site down?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Stacy,
They can. Some page builders may load additional scripts and stylesheets which may slightly increase your page load time. However, with proper WordPress performance optimization you can easily negate their impact.
Admin
Kris
Elementor every time for me. I think it’s streets ahead of the competition.
Daniel Lee
Yes but how about its problem with a lack control over responsive breakpoints?
Joris
What about the code quality of these page builders? Using a page builder seems to me like putting an awful lot of trust in a plugin to handle the layout as opposed to handcrafting templates yourself. Then again, page buildes cut the development time considerably.
Editorial Staff
These page builders are top-notch in their rights and have huge communities around them. Of course, you’re having to trust the developers of the page builder to maintain the platform, but most of these companies have build sustainable businesses.
Admin
Anthony Pero
I think in a lot of cases, you can limit the output of the page builder to the_content(). So, you can design a theme, but instead of creating custom templates, or using ACF and custom post types, you can just go with Posts and Pages, and either build some defaults for the client, or allow them to add blocks and widgets to design their own one-off layouts.
Richie Trice
Is there any builder out there I can use to create the layout of a single blog post but have user adding content use the classic wordpress editor? I am looking for a drag and drop builder to do this, I am sure it can be done with custom coding.
mike
The beaver themer will create the layout for posts….
Jeff Moyer
Great article I personally user Divi regularly but am exploring more options because I don’t like the lack of drop down menu options. Want to give Beaver Builder a try soon…
Jim B.
Elementor is actually free.
Elementor Pro starts at $49.
Pro adds a number of impressive and useful features, but for a basic site, the free version is more than capable.
Raju Kumar
Want to tell DIVI builder so flexible best and fast. Another thing a lot off free layouts are available and you can import 10 layouts and can select some portions from some layout and then can create your won layout you want which is very very easy.
a tool is god if lot of fre goodies available , Other I have tested and complex and speed is very poor and flexibility is very very poor. All other stuff are paid in those builders.
Sarah Duffy
If I have zero coding skills but want to learn how to blog and eventually grown into paying someone for a sophisticated site, does it behoove me to work with a developer at first or Can I jump right in with beaver builder lite and a free theme or Vogue I think works with Beaver builder lite.
Titus
Please, can page builder be used on free wordpress theme? I am a newbie, I just got disappointed with my website I paid a company to design for me,. I have asked them to make some changes which they refused. So I am considering re-designing it myself but looking at the challenges involving in switching theme is making that option a daunting task.
But I am willing to try if I can get the right guidance.
Thanks for the article all the same
WPBeginner Support
Hi Titus,
Yes, page builder plugins work with any standard compliant free WordPress theme.
Admin
Roxy
How would these compare to the Avada theme?
Nadine
ok, I am glad that I found this as I really need to build a word press site fast .
Looks like Divi is not that bad but Beaver Builder is more solid as the post states and Elementor is ok. I read all the comments and these two seem like the best choices. If anyone has any insight on where I can get my domain free, it will cut down pricing. I am trying to figure this all out, but once I do, I will continue to learn. I need to create a bunch of things in Photoshop and only one user said they like the ease of transitioning between Photoshop and Divi. Thanks for everone’s response.
Tousif
Please don’t go for a free domain. Even the one that comes with your hosting should not be opted. Nothing is truly free. You may end up getting a free domain for a year, however the renewal costs associated with it will be higher than the one you get from the domain registrars. If you want to buy domain, you can use namecheap and you will get a domain for around $9.
Lois
Can anyone recommend a theme builder that will allow me to download the themes. I am looking to design themes to sell them on my website.
Thanks in advance!
Keith
Beaver Builder is praised for its ease and excellence by a very large following. Some of my contacts love it…L-O-V-E it!
Beaver Builder has not worked out at all for my situation. Actually, it has been a nightmare to set up and get running on a simple blog. It’s not for everyone, which does underscore that developers should be encouraged that the market is open to other options.
BKF
Keith: Thanks for taking the time to talk about your experiences with Beaver Builder.
Could you be more specific about why BB hasn’t suited your situation? I’m in the market for a builder and themes. I’m considering Themify with Parallax as my first choice.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Rohit Km=umar
Thanks for suggesting me a good plugin very helpful.
Gustavo
I think Beaver is very good, Elementor is good and Divi is fantastic!
Kevin
Divi is really slow compared to the others and leaves a lot of waste code behind if you remove it from wordpress.
It also requires a lot of css to do things with compared to themes like elementor which require none.
Rob
I’ve used divi a few years now on multiple sites and now I’m in the process of moving all of my sites out of it. When it was new to me, I thought it was great, but the more I work with it the more I’ve come to hate it. I find it very slow, and a pain to work with their editor. More than once when they have updated I’ve had css issues.
As a lot of people have said, once you go divi you’re married to it. When you try and transfer articles or pages over into something else it’s just full of code that you have to get go through and edit out. Though I would say any system that uses short codes for everything would have the same issue.
Pamela
Hey everyone, may I ask a personal opinion?
Which one do you think is best considering performance and maintenance: a page builder plugin or set custom fields with ACF plugin?
Thanks.
Kev
ACF Everytime. If you have the skills to build a website yourself, use a barebones theme and build your own html and stylesheet in around it. It will reduce the need for all of the add-on plugins and limitations of a paid for theme. Once you have a solid template, use this as you basis.
Will
From the original comments, this post is several years old. Granted, you can repurpose it, however its tough for me to know if you are truly comparing 2017 apples to 2017 apples. I say this because after reviewing BB, Elementor and Divi, I chose Divi. Now I have run into a few issues (color overlay on images, which would seem basic builder features, but its UI and overall experiences is far better than the other two.)
So when you are comparing, it would be best to say Divi 2.0 or Divi 3.0 as they are very different. I’ve worked with BB and it feels like a big slab of old code in comparison Divi 3.0.
Thank you.
Jeni
Thank you for pointing this out – a lot changes over 12 months and I am seeking the best, flexible and speed friendly page builder and theme system to get into.
The date makes a difference!
This thread started in 2015 folks.
Rogher
What page builder there are for Woocommerce?
Milan
Update on pricing (May 2017)!
Beaver Builder starts with a premium version at $99 for UNLIMITED site use. This is quite cheap compared to other plugin pricings.
Yuvraj Zala
May I ask which Social Media Sharing plugin you are using?
WPBeginner Support
Hey Yuvraj,
It is custom made specifically for WPBeginner.
Admin
Denise
When using Site Origin’s Page Builder or Beaver Lite, if the plugin is deactivated will the page be blank?!
Milan
Can’t speak for Site Origin but BB Lite does leave your text in place when all the page builder code around it is deleted.
So the posts or pages are filled with the orginal copy.
Paige
I loved building my website with Page Builder by Site Origins because I was an absolute newbie but I have found that it interferes with other elements of my website. I am constantly having to pay my go to guy on Fiverr to find my issues and more often than not, he finds that it is a conflict with Page Builder. The other place I run into issues is with Slider Revolution and it appears that Slider Revolution and Page Builder don’t like each other. Remember I was a newbie and am working to replace the sliders because I keep reading that sliders suck. (I kind of like them since we are a photography company but…)
Should Beaver Builder help with these issues? And how hard is it to change the site from Page Builder to Beaver Builder?
Milan
There will allways be some plugin conflicts between plugins. Only use the best plugins (free or premium), then there will be less conflicts.
For a slider plugin I suggest:
Soliloquy Lite
armoic
So the C grade to Divi is just because the shortcode thing?
David
I would give Divi a C- because it is not as intuitive nor as easy to use as advertize.
Every time I ask a question on how to do basic things, like setting the height of a slider I have to use CSS code to do it.
Sarath
Is Elementor JS secure? I saw lots of Vulnerability in Visual Composer, and it’s good that they often update. However, is Elementor JS secure enough and does the community frequently update their plugins?
WPBeginner Support
Hello Sarath,
Elementor is open source, regularly updated, and well maintained. Just like WordPress, it uses the same GPL license which allows anyone to study the code and submit bug reports.
Admin
Karakaplan
I use only Visual Composer in my 10 sites.
You did not mention about it.
As if it is not best selling builder in Codecanyon !
Andrew Peters
Are use the visual composer for a number of years before I discovered beaver builder about a year ago. I was using it on a few dozen sites. Since moving to beaver builder I’ve gotten significantly less support requests, much less bugs in general, and much much much happier clients. VC I was pretty much the only decent option for a while. That’s just not the case anymore. I was pretty much the only decent option for a while. That’s just not the case anymore.
Michael Zorko
Woo this is tough. Back in the old days I was a staunch purist. I would often start with a base Wordpress theme/framework and build pages with good old fashion css/html/php – Then I found Visual Composer. I was in heaven. I used it a great deal – for about 10 clients. Loved the ease of use – creating templates. Then there was a change. I rehab a great deal of websites. I took over for someone that had their own proprietary drag and drop. Then I looked at the code. OHMYGOODNESS. Have you guys every looked at the raw code left behind by these programs?
Let’s call drag and drop editors what they are. They are simply advanced shortcode programs (we have been using shortcodes forever) – that take typical code blocks – simplify them for ease of use, and quick placement. However they leave behind a great deal of bloat. Think about it – we trade standards compliant code, for a proprietary code, that is only useful with use of the governing plugin, to make life easier. For anyone that is concerned with code to text ratios or multiple http calls – this can be an issue. HOWEVER – life is not so bad anymore.
With the advent of http2 protocols, these things don’t matter anymore –
I like drag and drops – I use an Avada theme that has a really great drag and drop included – same issue – tons of bloat code – but easy to use – but I cloud host all my sites with an http2 protocol, so it just doesn’t matter anymore –
So I say this – GiddyUp
Andrew Peters
That’s one of the things I love about beaver builder. The stuff that divi and visual composer add and leave begind isn’t an issue with BB.
Guy Ludig
I think that Beaver is probably the best for WordPress beginners, but there are a lot of possibilities missing. I prefer VC (waiting for the new one that will be launched soonest) with a real frontend editor and DiVI. But as I mentioned they are perhaps overwhelming for beginners.
I never had problems with VC or Divi, but ok for slow servers they may become critical.
jayati Creative
In my opinion Visual builder is heavy weight… it eats load on server
And I prefer siteorigin page builder as it has recently launched visual editing also.
Divi builder good for Divi theme only
eric
do wordpress install have problems with multiple builders inside one installation?
Asumpta
Thank you so much for this post. Has helped people like me struggling with code!
Jason
What about Visual Composer. Which is better, Vissual composer or Wp Beaver Builder
Andrew Peters
BB, hands down.
ejesh
if there are free plugins why then buy?
Azrin
Just use a divi plugins if you want to change theme. Should be an A+
LEOPOLDO PIRELA
I have been using visual composer for about 2 years now. It is a good page builder, until I started to use Divi…….It really changed the way we can go from PSD to Wordpress and create great websites. One of the things I like the most about it, is how fast it is compare to visual composer.
Raitis
Hi Leopoldo, I believe you are talking what is now know as WPBakery Page Builder. The new product – Visual Composer Website Builder (pay attention to the website builder part) is a React-based solution which is fast
Would be great if you can try it out – I’m sure you will find a good fit for it.
Amelie Jons
Hello Syed Balkhi,
Thanks for sharing this awesome collection of best drag and drop page builder plugins!!!
Beaver Builder is one of my favorite amongst all these plugins.
Keep updating.
Darron
Velocity really?
no mention of KingComposer or Elementor?
Mohammmad chebaro
Divi worth A+, it has live editing also. Many freebies and online communities. I vote DIVI all the way
TEEJ
100% agree with you
Derek Brown
100% Disagree. I had to remove DIVI from a multisite of over 30 sites because their tech support could not, and finally gave up fixing their blurbs element, which unfortunately I had used on every site. I move an install to staging for them to look at. 2 months later, as you can see, still no fix.
Now I am stuck with changing ALL sites to a new layout. Now that I have made that change I realize just how bloated and slow DIVI was. Upsets me that this product is on most page builder lists
Prince
I didn’t see Visual Composer!
Edit and include it, then give it an A+
Vion
Hi,
I’m looking for a way to add a nofollow to a link via page builder. I tried to activate some plugins for that but apparently no one is working.. Could you please tell me if there is a plug in which could do this?
Thanks
Lawrence ADEBOYE
Thanks for the information
Sahrudin
I love theme divi,, very easy drag drop bulider
Patricia
Awesome list but I think Page Builder Sandwich should be there somewhere. It’s one of the newest and easiest frontend page builder plus real time editing.
Well, I am still quite new to WP but I can say that Page Builder Sandwich’s just like using MS Word.