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by Colin Newcomer
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Looking for the best Elementor themes?
If you’re here, you’ve probably decided to join the three million plus other people using the Elementor page builder plugin.
However, if you want to build a custom website with Elementor (affiliate link), you need more than just the plugin — you also need a theme!
But here’s the thing:
Some themes work better than others with Elementor. It’s just not about basic compatibility (though that’s important!), it’s also about helpful features, like page-level controls to create the perfect canvas for your Elementor designs or importable demo sites built with Elementor.
So how do you pick the best Elementor theme?
Well, Elementor has a public list of themes that “work best with Elementor”, but it’s pretty barebones.
To make your decision a lot easier, we’re going to take that same list from Elementor, add a little curation, and break down each theme by the features that matter most to you.
And, if that’s not enough to help you make your decision, we’ll also share some data from a poll of over 800 Elementor users.
By the end of this post, you should be able to pick the right theme to set your Elementor website up for success.
Let’s jump in.
Hello Elementor (affiliate link) is the official theme from the Elementor team. It’s designed to provide the most lightweight foundation possible to pair with Elementor Pro (affilate link) and Elementor Theme Builder. To achieve that, it doesn’t come with any of its own styling, which is why the screenshot above looks so basic.
Think of it as a 100% blank canvas for your Elementor Pro Theme Builder templates.
Hello Elementor is the last theme I am going to need to build beautiful websites using Elementor Pro.
Finally, I no longer have to jump around in theme settings anymore.
Alok Sharma
If you’re planning to use Elementor Theme Builder to design your entire theme, Hello Elementor is the best option if you want to create a lightweight, performance-friendly website.
However, if you’re not planning to use Theme Builder, this theme is not a viable option because it doesn’t include its own styling — it’s just a lightweight canvas for you to build on.
Astra (affiliate link) is a lightweight, customizable, free theme that pairs exceptionally well with Elementor thanks to its page-level controls and detailed customization options. It also includes integrations with other WordPress plugins to help you create online stores or courses.
It’s active on over 600,000 sites while maintaining a perfect five-star rating, which makes it one of the most popular Elementor themes on this list.
There’s also a premium add-on that tacks on extra functionality, but the free version has quite a few bells and whistles built right in.
Based on my personal experience and the Elementor Facebook groups that I’m in, Astra is probably the most popular theme that people pair with Elementor.
If you’re looking for a good multipurpose starting point, this is it. It offers a huge collection of pre-made demo sites built with Elementor, tons of customization options, and plenty of helpful integrations with other tools.
If I had to describe GeneratePress in one word, it would be “lightweight”. It’s about as performance optimized as possible while still giving you multipurpose flexibility and tons of options in the WordPress Customizer.
Yes — that’s me, the guy writing this post. I use GeneratePress on my portfolio site.
GeneratePress is a great option if you value performance, which you should. Despite its lightweight package, it still gives you tons of customization options and you can use it for any type of website.
However, it doesn’t have quite as many design customization options as some other themes on this list, so there is still a small trade-off.
OceanWP is an incredibly flexible theme that comes with a dizzying array of style and customization options in the visual WordPress Customizer.
It’s still fairly lightweight, but it puts more emphasis on flexibility than achieving the absolute fastest foundation.
If you want the absolute most style and customization options, then OceanWP might be the best Elementor theme for you. While GeneratePress and Astra both give you lots of options as well, OceanWP takes things even further.
However, you will sacrifice a bit of performance for that flexibility. OceanWP clocks in more around ~250 KB, whereas both Astra and GeneratePress are under 50 KB.
OceanWP does include a tool to conditionally disable scripts, though, which can help you make it a little leaner.
Along with GeneratePress, Neve (affiliate link) is one of the most lightweight themes on this list, while still managing to pack in demo sites built with Elementor and tons of options in the WordPress Customizer.
There’s also a premium add-on that gives you more control over your header, footer, and WooCommerce store.
Neve is another great option if you value performance but still don’t want to skimp on design flexibility. Along with GeneratePress, it’s one of the fastest themes that I’ve tested.
If you use Neve, I’d definitely recommend considering the premium add-on for its header and footer builders.
Sydney is a flexible WordPress website theme that pairs well with Elementor.
Whereas many of the other Elementor themes on this list are multipurpose offerings that you can adapt to any niche, Sydney is specifically focused on helping small businesses and freelancers create an online presence.
I have not done any coding in about 10 years, and was a little intimidated to design my own website through WordPress. Fortunately this theme was easy to set up and any time I ran into an issue, I was able to find similar questions already answered on the support forums.
childersdavidson
Sydney is a great option if you want to build a business website with WordPress and Elementor. It’s not multipurpose like the other Elementor themes, but if you are looking to build a business website, that specificity can actually work in your favor.
Rife brands itself as a “creative multipurpose” theme and you can see evidence of that aesthetic in the seven importable demo sites, all of which are built with Elementor.
The same developer also offers an Elementor extension plugin with the same name that adds new templates and custom widgets.
I have used both paid and free products from this designer/author and have been fully satisfied with their products!
ryazhari
While you can use Rife for any niche, you can definitely see its creative focus evident in the demo sites and templates. For that reason, I think Rife makes an especially good option if you are looking to build a creative site, like a photography portfolio.
As the name suggests, Page Builder Framework is built specifically to pair with WordPress page builder plugins, including Elementor.
The basic idea is that you use Page Builder Framework to control your header, footer, and other non-content areas. Then, you can use Elementor for everything else.
The core features are available in the free theme, and there’s also a premium add-on with more features.
Page Builder Framework is specifically built to pair with Elementor (and other page builders), so it’s got everything that you need and nothing that you don’t. You can use Elementor to build out your content areas while leaving everything else to Page Builder Framework.
It’s the same basic approach as a theme like GeneratePress or Astra, though, so your decision should really come down to whether you like Page Builder Framework’s unique cocktail of customization options more than the others.
Zakra is another lightweight multipurpose theme in the vein of GeneratePress and Neve. At 37.2 KB, it’s performance friendly, but it also doesn’t skimp on customization options and comes with tons of pre-built demo sites built with Elementor.
Zakra hasn’t been around for as long as something like Astra, but it’s quickly made a name for itself and offers another great option if you want a lightweight, multipurpose theme to go underneath Elementor.
If one of the demo sites catches your eye, you should give it a go.
Phlox is a popular Elementor theme that focuses on design flexibility and style. It includes a huge array of importable demo sites built with Elementor, as well as 30+ exclusive Elementor widgets that you can use in your designs.
Phlox puts more emphasis on style and design flexibility than creating the most lightweight foundation possible, which is a philosophical difference between it and a lot of the other Elementor themes on this list.
If you’re willing to sacrifice a little performance for that creative freedom, Phlox might be the theme for you.
Like Sydney, Ashe bucks the multipurpose trend of themes on this list, instead opting to focus specifically on blogging. It has a nice minimal design that works great for all different kinds of WordPress blogs.
Ashe is a little bit more niche-focused than the other Elementor themes, but I would say that it’s a great option if you’re looking to start a blog in the fashion, lifestyle, or creative niches.
Hestia is a multipurpose WordPress theme that implements material design principles, which gives it a unique look in comparison to many of the other themes on this list. It also uses a one-page design out-of-the-box, which is another unique feature.
Hestia comes from the same developer as the Neve theme from earlier on this list.
The main reason to use Hestia over the other options on this list is if you like the material design styling. If you do, go with Hestia. Otherwise, you might prefer a more flexible theme to pair with Elementor.
Jupiter X is one of the all-time best-selling themes at ThemeForest, where it’s been purchased over 131,000 times.
It includes a massive collection of 290+ pre-made websites built with Elementor, as well as tons of detailed customization options.
Jupiter X costs $59, which gets you lifetime updates and six months of support.
The most unique thing about Jupiter X is its absolutely massive collection of 290+ pre-made websites built with Elementor. If you see a site you like, you can import it, tweak the content with Elementor, and be up and running in no time.
It also includes JetPlugins for Elementor which extends Elementor with a ton of new functionality that you can use in your designs. This bundled functionality can replace the need to purchase Elementor Pro.
All in all, if you like the abundance of demo sites, bundled plugins, and customization options, Jupiter X has a lot to offer.
However, it’s a bit bloated as compared to the more lightweight options like GeneratePress and Astra. If you value performance, I’d probably pick a different theme.
Still unsure which of these Elementor themes to choose for your site?
Don’t worry — you’re not alone!
There’s actually an entire Facebook group dedicated to the topic. It’s called Elementor + Which Theme? and it has over 3,800 members who were similarly vexed about how to pick the best Elementor theme for their websites.
If you’re still struggling with which theme to choose, here’s what the wisdom of the crowds says from a poll with over 800 responses:
That poll is a little old, so here’s the data from the new version of the poll, which doesn’t have quite as many responses yet:
Based on those two polls (and my own experience), Astra makes a great starting point if you’re still on the fence. It offers an enticing combination of “design flexibility + performance optimization” that’s tough to beat.
Unless, that is, you want to build your entire theme with Elementor Pro Theme Builder, in which case Elementor Hello might be a better choice.
Elementor gives you the power to design your content with a visual, drag-and-drop page builder, but you still need to pair it with a quality WordPress theme.
With one of the Elementor themes on this list, you can be confident that your Elementor content has a foundation that sets it up for success.
All you need to do is pick the best WordPress theme that’s right for you, install it, and start building out your site!
WordPress
Colin Newcomer