When editing your WordPress site, you can essentially choose between two approaches: WordPress’s built-in, block-based editor (Gutenberg), or a page builder plugin that needs to be installed separately, such as Elementor.

Gutenberg (block editor)

Gutenberg has been the default editor since WordPress 5.0, building page content from separate blocks (paragraphs, images, galleries, buttons, columns, etc.). Since WordPress 5.9, block themes have made it possible to edit the entire page (header, footer, templates) using blocks via the Appearance > Editor menu.

Advantages:

• It does not require a separate plugin and evolves alongside WordPress updates,
• It is lightweight and loads very little CSS and JavaScript,
• The content is stored as plain HTML, so it remains readable even after a theme change,
• Ready-made layouts can be inserted using patterns.

Elementor

Elementor is a popular ‘drag-and-drop’ page builder plugin that offers more detailed visual customisation than Gutenberg: precise layout, animations, a template library and different settings for mobile views – all without the need for programming knowledge. In addition to the free version, there is also a paid Pro version, which includes, for example, the ability to edit the entire theme (header, footer, archive pages), as well as forms and pop-ups.

Which one should you choose?

• Gutenberg is ideal if you want a simpler, fast-loading website (such as a blog, a personal website or a small business website) and do not need a complex, bespoke layout.
• Elementor is ideal if you want to create a visually complex, custom-designed page without coding, or if you’re working with a theme, template or agency workflow that you need to build upon.

Does this affect the speed of the website?

Elementor and similar page builders typically load more CSS and JavaScript files, as well as more complex HTML, which can slow down the site compared to Gutenberg if not optimised. Newer versions of Elementor (container-based layout, conditional loading of necessary files) have improved this significantly, but the difference is still noticeable. The Elementor editor also requires more memory on the server, so the PHP memory limit should not be set too low; the article on the ‘Select PHP Version’ interface covers PHP settings.

You can read more about speed in our article ‘How can I speed up my WordPress site?’, which also covers caching and image optimisation.

What happens if you want to switch providers at a later date?

This is one of the most important considerations when making this decision. The layout of pages created with Elementor is stored in Elementor’s own format: if you deactivate the plugin, only the raw text remains on the pages, and the layout will need to be rebuilt. Gutenberg’s blocks, by contrast, are saved as standard HTML. If you’re unsure, and the page doesn’t require a specialised design, you’ll be taking less of a risk with Gutenberg.

Try it out without a live site

You can try out the two editors in a test environment without putting your existing site at risk; the article on setting up a WordPress staging environment explains how to do this. The WP Toolkit staging environment is available in all our WordPress hosting plans.

For a more detailed overview of this topic, see our blog post: Elementor vs Gutenberg: Which is the better choice in 2026?