Webflow vs Elementor: Hosted Visual Builder or WordPress Page Builder?
Quick verdict: Elementor is a visual page builder that runs inside WordPress. Its paid plans are cheap per site ($60–$432 a year as listed in November 2026), but you also need WordPress hosting, and you run the WordPress stack yourself. Webflow is a hosted platform where the design tool, CMS and hosting come together, priced per site: $15–$25/mo billed yearly for most sites. Choose Elementor if you're committed to WordPress or build many client sites on a tight budget. Choose Webflow if you want one vendor to handle hosting, security and the CMS, and you're happy paying per site.
Facts as of Nov 2026. Prices come from elementor.com/pricing (Elementor's published plan list, last updated November 9, 2026) and webflow.com/pricing, both checked November 14, 2026. All prices are USD; Webflow adds applicable taxes at checkout. Elementor's page says plans "renew at regular rate," and that renewal figure is filled in on the live page, so we couldn't verify it. Check the renewal price at checkout.
See Webflow's current plans Opens webflow.com. We may earn a commission.
The core difference
| Webflow | Elementor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted website platform: visual Designer, CMS, hosting | Page/site builder plugin for WordPress |
| Hosting | Included in the Site plan (global CDN) | Not included in Elementor Pro or One; "Elementor Host is a separate offering" |
| Where content lives | Webflow's CMS | WordPress (posts, pages, custom post types) |
| Free option | Starter plan: webflow.io subdomain, 2 static pages | Free Elementor Editor plugin (you still need WordPress hosting) |
| Updates and security | Handled by Webflow | You (or your host) update WordPress, themes and plugins |
| Ecommerce | Webflow Ecommerce plans | Via WooCommerce; Elementor's "eCommerce features" are on Advanced Solo and up |
| Pricing unit | Per site (+ Workspace seats for teams) | Per plan, covering 1, 3, 25 or unlimited sites |
Pricing compared
Elementor (official, Nov 2026, billed annually)
| Plan | Price | Sites | Notable inclusions/limits (as listed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $60/yr (shown as $5/mo) | 1 | 57 Editor Pro widgets, Theme Builder, 10 cloud templates; no Popup Builder, custom code & CSS, eCommerce features or Collaborative Notes; form submissions and custom fields/post types "not available in this plan" |
| Advanced Solo | $84/yr ($7/mo) | 1 | 85 widgets, Popup Builder, custom code & CSS, eCommerce features, form submissions |
| Advanced | $108/yr ($9/mo) | 3 | Same features as Advanced Solo, 30 cloud templates |
| Expert | $204/yr ($17/mo) | 25 | Same, 5,000 cloud templates |
| One | $180/yr ($15/mo) | 1 | Editor Pro plus 25,000 monthly credits for AI, image optimization, accessibility fixes, email deliverability, cookie consent, site management |
| One Agency | $432/yr ($36/mo) | Unlimited | One features plus 350,000 monthly credits shared across client sites |
Elementor lists a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its FAQ says One credits don't roll over, and that Elementor One does not include hosting.
Webflow (official, Nov 2026)
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Free | webflow.io subdomain, 2 static pages, 1 GB bandwidth, 50 CMS items |
| Basic | $15/mo | $25/mo | Custom domain, 300 static pages, no CMS |
| Premium | $25/mo | $39/mo | CMS: 20,000 items, 40 Collections |
| Ecommerce Standard | $29/mo | $42/mo | 500 items, 2% transaction fee |
| Core Workspace (teams) | $19/mo | $28/mo | More staging sites, code export, collaboration |
Every Webflow price includes hosting for that site. Every Elementor price excludes hosting. That's why sticker prices aren't directly comparable.
Worked examples (list prices, before tax)
- One blog/marketing site: Webflow Premium costs $300/yr billed yearly. Elementor Advanced Solo costs $84/yr plus WordPress hosting, which we haven't priced here because it varies by host. Elementor is cheaper if your hosting costs less than about $216/yr.
- Three small sites: Webflow needs three Site plans, for example 3 × Basic = $540/yr. Elementor Advanced covers 3 sites for $108/yr plus hosting for each.
- 25 client sites (freelancer): Elementor Expert covers 25 sites for $204/yr, with hosting extra (often billed to clients). On Webflow, each live client site needs its own Site plan, usually paid by the client, plus your Workspace plan (Freelancer is $16/mo billed yearly).
Editorial take: Elementor wins on software cost per site. Webflow's price buys you out of hosting, updates and plugin maintenance. Which is cheaper overall depends on your hosting bill and how much you value your maintenance time.
Design and building experience
- Webflow exposes web layout concepts directly (boxes, classes, flexbox/grid, interactions), so the output is clean HTML/CSS you control visually. The learning curve is steeper, but the control is closer to hand-coding.
- Elementor works as a drag-and-drop editor on top of a WordPress theme, with widgets (57 on Essential, 85 on paid tiers above it), a Theme Builder for headers, footers and templates, and responsive controls for mobile, tablet and desktop, according to Elementor's FAQ.
- AI: both now sell AI building tools. Webflow AI uses Workspace AI credits (200/month on the free Starter Workspace). Elementor's AI features use One credits (1–40 credits per AI action, per Elementor's FAQ).
CMS and content
- Webflow CMS: Collections and items with plan limits (Premium: 20,000 items, 40 Collections), editing in the Designer or Editor, and REST APIs for content.
- Elementor: content lives in WordPress, so you get WordPress's posts, pages and custom post types. Elementor's dynamic content (custom fields and post types) is not available on Essential but is included from Advanced Solo up, according to the plan list.
If you have a large existing WordPress site, Elementor keeps everything where it is. Moving to Webflow means a migration; see our WordPress to Webflow migration guide.
SEO
Both can produce well-optimized sites; neither guarantees rankings.
- Webflow includes SEO settings in the platform. Paid plans unlock items like 301 redirects, and the pricing page lists sitemap controls, robots.txt and schema support (some need a paid Workspace on Starter sites). See best website builder for SEO.
- Elementor sits inside WordPress, so SEO is usually handled by WordPress plus an SEO plugin of your choice. Elementor's FAQ mentions "built-in SEO tools" in Elementor Pro but doesn't list them on the pricing page, so we don't characterize them further.
Ecommerce
- Webflow Ecommerce: Standard $29/mo yearly (500 items, 2% transaction fee), Plus $74/mo (5,000 items, 0% fee), Advanced $212/mo (15,000 items). See Webflow ecommerce.
- Elementor: "eCommerce features" are listed on Advanced Solo and above, and Elementor's FAQ describes "WooCommerce integration for online stores". The store itself runs on WooCommerce in WordPress, so payment and hosting costs depend on your setup.
Ownership and lock-in
- Elementor/WordPress: WordPress is open-source (GPLv2), and your site runs on hosting you choose, so you can move hosts. Pages built with Elementor depend on the Elementor plugin for their layouts.
- Webflow: hosting is tied to Webflow. Paid Workspace plans offer code export of static HTML/CSS, but Webflow notes that "Dynamic content (CMS items/pages) can't be exported" that way.
Who should pick which
Choose Webflow if you: - want hosting, security and updates handled by one vendor - design visually and want clean, controllable layouts - run a small number of high-value marketing sites
Choose Elementor if you: - are already on WordPress or need specific WordPress plugins - build many sites cheaply (Expert: 25 sites, One Agency: unlimited) - are comfortable managing hosting and WordPress updates
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FAQ
Is Elementor cheaper than Webflow? On software cost, yes: Elementor Pro starts at $60/yr for one site, while Webflow's cheapest custom-domain plan is $180/yr (Basic, billed yearly). But Elementor prices don't include hosting, and Webflow's do.
Does Elementor include hosting? No, not Elementor Pro or Elementor One. Elementor says "Elementor Host is a separate offering."
Is there a free version of each? Yes. Webflow has a free Starter plan on a webflow.io subdomain, and Elementor has a free Editor plugin for WordPress.
Can I move an Elementor site to Webflow? Not as a one-click design conversion. Elementor layouts don't carry over, so you rebuild the design in Webflow and import the content: Webflow supports CSV import into Collections, and a free third-party Marketplace app can move posts, images, tags and categories. See our migration guide.
Sources (checked November 14, 2026)
- Elementor, Pricing (markdown version, last updated 2026-11-09): plans, sites, features, credits FAQ, hosting FAQ, 30-day money-back guarantee
- Webflow, Plans & pricing: Site, Ecommerce and Workspace plans, comparison tables
- WordPress.org, About / license (GPLv2)