Best WordPress theme? Divi, Elementor, Astra and block themes compared

The answer in four points

• If you mainly manage text and images, I recommend the core blocks of WordPressWordPress The world's most widely used system for building and managing websites.More about this term. That is my view.
• If you want to keep tweaking layout and design yourself, DiviPage builder An additional program in WordPress that allows you to build pages by dragging and dropping components.More about this term 5 or Elementor is a suitable choice. That is my view; I build with Divi 5 for clients who want it.
• In my two tests, a page built on the core blocks of WordPress was distinctly lighter on mobile than on Divi 4; on desktop, the difference was small. I have not measured Divi 5 in the same way.
• Switching themesTheme The design package that determines the appearance of a WordPress site.More about this term takes work and affects your rankings. How I approach that is set out in Switching WordPress themes without losing rankings.

I build websites using EQwise Blocks, my proprietary building blocks on top of the standard core blocks of WordPress, and for clients who prefer it, also in Divi 5. For anyone who mainly manages text and images, I recommend the core blocks of WordPress. Anyone who wants to keep tweaking the layout themselves can get Divi 5 from me: I do not recommend it, but the option is available. For Divi, the condition is: if you cancel the annual plan, updates and support end. For EQwise Blocks, the condition is: the software from EQwise (theme, blocks, pluginsPlugin An extension you add to WordPress for extra functionality, such as a form or a translation.More about this term) is never transferred. You may continue using it on your own domain name, but not on another domain name. You only receive updates with a maintenance contract. Your domain name and your content remain in your name.

A WordPress theme determines how your site looks: typefaces, colours, header and footer, and page layouts. The content (text, images, and page URLs) sits in WordPress itself, not in the theme. Switching a theme therefore changes the appearance, whilst your text remains intact. Any additional functionality introduced by the theme, however, may disappear or change.

When choosing, you face two decisions. The first is the theme itself. The second is how you manage the layout: with a page builder (a separate layout editor, such as Divi and Elementor) or with standard WordPress blocks. An explanation of the term is available in Theme in the glossary.

Each option is assessed against the same four questions: what does it cost, how widespread is it (with source), what lock-in do you face if you move away, and who is it suitable or unsuitable for? Speed is not included as a column in the table, because I did not measure all four options on identical pages. What I did measure is described under “What did my tests reveal about the speed of Divi 4 and the core blocks of WordPress?”.

In short: if you mainly manage text and images, a block theme is suitable; if you want to tweak the layout yourself, Divi or Elementor is a fit; and Astra is a widely used theme that I describe below only in terms of costs, usage and lock-in. The usage figures in the table come from various sources and cannot be added together. All prices are in dollars and are subject to change.

Twenty Twenty-Four and Twenty Twenty-Five carry the label for block themes (full site editing) on WordPress.org. Astra and Hello Elementor do not carry that label.

On 12 November 2026, WordPress.org shows “1+ million” active installations for Hello Elementor, Astra and Twenty Twenty-Five each. Because WordPress.org does not show a higher figure, they cannot be ranked against each other. Kadence, GeneratePress and Twenty Twenty-Four each show “500,000+”, OceanWP “400,000+” and Blocksy “300,000+”. The Elementor plugin is in the plugin directory with 10 million or more active installations. Divi is not in the WordPress.org theme directory.

On 11 November 2026, the measurement platform wmtips measured 4,046,818 websites with a recognised WordPress theme. Divi is on 4.3% of those sites, Avada on 2.6% and GeneratePress on 2.4%. The platform only tracks 11 themes and not Astra, Hello Elementor or Kadence. Those three can therefore fall into the “Other Theme” category, a theme that is not one of the 11 tracked. That category accounts for 89.6%.

A widely used theme is not automatically a suitable theme. Usage indicates that many sites have it, not that the administrators are satisfied with it.

In my two tests, a page built on the core blocks of WordPress was distinctly lighter on mobile than on Divi 4; on desktop, the difference was small. The first test was a webshop with 662 products, measured on the same test environment in September 2026 with LighthouseLighthouse A free measurement tool from Google that tests a page's speed, accessibility, and SEO.More about this term 13.4, mobile. The page weight of the homepageHomepage The first page of a website, which you see when you only type in the domain name.More about this term went from 730 to 420 kB, the category page from 1,205 to 272 kB and the product page from 1,224 to 371 kB. The Lighthouse score of the homepage went from 65 to 90. Part of the gain came from cleaning up and not from the switch alone. This was measured on Divi 4; I have not measured Divi 5 in the same way. The Divi specialist blog Divi Guru writes that Divi 5 has come much closer in speed (9 October 2026).

Divi 5 is suitable for those who want to keep tweaking the layout and design themselves: moving sections, adjusting colours, creating new layouts. I build in Divi 5 for clients who want it. In my view, Divi is not suitable for those who mainly manage text and images; for that, I recommend the core blocks of WordPress. Regarding the switch from Divi to the core blocks of WordPress, I wrote Divi to Gutenberg, featuring two of my own tests. Information about the switch from Divi 4 to Divi 5 can be found in a dedicated block on Switching WordPress themes without losing rankings.

Elementor is suitable for those who want a visual editor and have a team that already works with it. The Elementor plugin is free and is in the WordPress.org plugin directory; Elementor Pro is optional and costs from 60 dollars a year for 1 site, excluding VAT (elementor.com, 12 November 2026). Elementor stores the layout as JSON (developers.elementor.com, 12 November 2026). In my view, Elementor is not suitable for those who mainly manage text and images.

Astra is suitable for those looking for a widely used theme: 1 million or more active installations according to WordPress.org on 12 November 2026. That is a usage figure and not a judgement on quality. The theme is available for free in the theme directory; Astra Pro is optional and costs 99 dollars a year as an introductory price and 149 dollars a year thereafter, for up to 3 sites (wpastra.com, 12 November 2026). Astra is less suitable for those who want to build the layout with standard WordPress blocks: Astra is not listed as a block theme on WordPress.org.

A block theme is suitable for those who mainly manage text and images and can build the layout with standard WordPress blocks. A block theme is not suitable for those who want to design every page completely freely without extra blocks. Twenty Twenty-Four and Twenty Twenty-Five are free block themes in the WordPress.org theme directory (12 November 2026).

Do not switch if your current theme does what you need, if your rankings are in order and you have no reason other than personal taste. Also, do not switch in the middle of a campaign or a busy sales period. If you have a disappointing rankingPosition Your position is the place your website holds in the search results for a specific keyword. Position 1 is the top organic result.More about this term, first find the cause: a new theme is not the first step in that case. If you only want to adjust the look and feel, that can be done within your current theme.

1. Write down who manages the site and what that person does weekly: changing text, building pages or adjusting design.
2. Record what you pay today for the theme, builder and maintenance.
3. Ask for each option what you will lose if you ever stop.
4. Measure the current site before you change anything, so you can see afterwards whether the choice yielded results.
5. If you are unsure whether switching is necessary, take the free website scan: ten questions, a draft plan within two working days.

If you decide to switch WordPress themes, the risk lies in the migrationMigration A migration is the process of moving a website to a new system, a new server, or a new address.More about this term and not in the choice. How to do that without losing rankings is set out in Switching WordPress themes without losing rankings. If you have me do it, the approach is described in Website migration. Having a new site built is described in Website development.

• There is no single best WordPress theme, but there is one that fits the person managing the site.
• For those who mainly manage text and images, I recommend the core blocks of WordPress; those who want to tweak the layout themselves can choose Divi 5 or Elementor. That is my view.
• In my two tests, a page on the core blocks of WordPress was distinctly lighter on mobile than on Divi 4, on desktop the difference was small; Divi 5 has not been measured in the same way.
• Usage figures from WordPress.org and wmtips cannot be ranked against each other: WordPress.org shows “1+ million” as the highest figure and wmtips only tracks 11 themes.
• In my view, the question with the most weight is what you are locked into if you leave the theme or the builder.
• Do not switch without a reason and without a baseline measurementBaseline Measurement The measurement of the initial situation before any changes are implemented.More about this term.