7 Best Divi Alternatives 2024

Searching for some Divi alternatives for your WordPress site?

Many people love Divi (our review) because it lets you build a custom WordPress site with visual, drag-and-drop design — no code required.

However, Divi isn’t the right solution for everyone, and when it comes to visual design on WordPress, you can find lots of other high-quality tools that make a great alternative to Divi.

But which is the best option for your situation?

Below, we’ve curated our picks for the seven best Divi alternatives based on our hands-on experience using WordPress and all the popular site-building tools.

Because Divi comes as both a theme and a plugin, we’ve included both themes and plugins on our list. The one commonality between all of these tools is that they help you build a great-looking custom WordPress site without any code.

For each alternative, I’ll share the following:

• A general introduction to the tool
• Pros and cons of the tool versus Divi
• What it’s like to build your site with each tool
• Pricing information

Let’s dig in!

1. Sydney

Sydney is a performance-focused, multipurpose WordPress theme that you can use as an alternative to Divi for business websites, blogs, portfolios, WooCommerce stores, and pretty much anything else.

While Sydney doesn’t have its own built-in builder like Divi, it does integrate tightly with the Elementor plugin. This includes adding a bunch of custom Elementor widgets and letting you use the free version of Elementor to design templates, mega menus, popups, and more.

To help you get up and running, Sydney offers 24+ different demo sites, as well as very detailed options in the real-time WordPress Customizer.

Pros and Cons of Sydney vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Sydney

Once you install and activate Sydney, you have two options for how to set up your site:

1. You can import one of Sydney’s 24+ starter sites, which are professional designs that you just need to customize to your needs.
2. You can build your site from scratch using Sydney’s flexible options and tight Elementor integration.

If you use one of the starter sites, you can import it with just a few clicks.

Then, you can:

1. Customize everything about the theme using Sydney’s detailed Customizer controls. You can also access other options, such as a custom template builder, mega menu builder, and more.
2. Use Elementor to design individual pieces of content. If you import a starter site, all of the demo content uses Elementor for easy drag-and-drop customization.

Pricing for Sydney

The core Sydney theme is available for free at WordPress.org, which includes access to six free starter sites and core design features. You can pair it with the free Elementor plugin and create a very strong free alternative to Divi.

If you want to access more design options, features, and starter sites, you can also purchase Sydney Pro starting at $69.

Here’s a partial list of some of the biggest features that you get with Sydney Pro:

• Access to 24+ starter sites (versus 6 in the free version).
• Custom template builder module to use the free version of Elementor to build custom headers, footers, singles, archives, content blocks, WooCommerce single products and shop pages, and more.
• Mega menu builder.
• Modal popup and offcanvas panel builder.
• … and lots more — check out the full free vs Pro comparison here.

2. Elementor

Elementor is a WordPress page builder plugin that lets you build your entire WordPress site using visual, drag-and-drop design, just like the Divi Builder.

With the free version, you can design individual posts and pages, while with the Pro version, you can build your entire theme from scratch, including your header, footer, and content templates.

Because it’s a plugin and not a theme like Divi, you’ll also need to pair it with a theme. It works great with some of the other Divi alternatives on this list as well as other lightweight themes such as Sydney and Botiga.

Pros and Cons of Elementor vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Elementor

With Elementor, you have two options for building your site.

First, you can pair it with a regular theme and only activate the Elementor builder when you want more control over the design for a specific page. This would be similar to the “classic” Divi approach where you use the Divi theme to control basic templates and then activate the Divi Builder when you need more flexibility.

Second, you can use Elementor Pro’s theme builder, which lets you use Elementor’s visual interface to design all of your site’s templates. This would be similar to the new theme builder feature that Divi introduced in Divi 4.0.

If you want to exclusively use Elementor’s theme builder features, I recommend pairing Elementor with the official Hello theme, as it provides the most lightweight canvas possible for your designs.

Here’s a great video on the basics of building a site with Elementor:

Pricing for Elementor

The core Elementor plugin is available for free at WordPress.org. However, you’ll almost certainly want Elementor Pro if you want to use it as a Divi alternative.

Elementor Pro starts at $59 for use on a single site, which gets you access to all of the features, including the theme builder and popup builder.

👉 Read these posts for more details on Elementor:

• Elementor vs Divi
• Is Elementor Pro Worth It?

3. Astra

Astra is a lightweight, multipurpose WordPress theme that makes a great alternative to Divi.

Unlike Divi, Astra does not come with its own visual, drag-and-drop builder. Instead, it’s built to pair with whichever builder you prefer, which lets you choose the design experience that best fits your needs.

It offers pre-built demo sites for the following builders:

• Native block editor (Gutenberg)
• Elementor
• Beaver Builder

However, you aren’t limited to just those options, and it will also work well with pretty much any other builder plugin. You could even use it with the plugin version of Divi Builder if you want!

Pros and Cons of Astra vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Astra

Astra is a theme, so you’ll use it just like any other theme. It’s very flexible and, via its Customizer controls, you can design your header, footer, blog post templates, and so on.

Astra’s Customizer controls are excellent — you even get a drag-and-drop header and footer builder:

To add a full visual, drag-and-drop design, you’ll want to pair Astra with a page builder plugin. The free version of Elementor is one popular option, but Astra will work well with pretty much any page builder plugin.

Or, you can always stick with the native WordPress block editor if it has enough design flexibility for your needs.

Pricing for Astra

The core Astra theme is available for free at WordPress.org. With just the free theme, you already get a lot of flexibility, which makes Astra one of the best free Divi alternatives.

However, serious users will probably want to add the Astra Pro extension because it adds the following features:

• More flexible layout options
• More advanced menu/header options
• A lot more customization options in the WordPress Customizer
• More importable demo sites (only with the agency license, though)

Astra Pro costs $59 for use on unlimited sites, but you’ll need the pricier Agency license to access the premium demo sites.

👉 Read this post for more details on how Astra compares to Divi:

• Astra vs Divi

4. Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder is a WordPress plugin that offers a visual, drag-and-drop builder, much like Elementor.

However, the developer also offers a Beaver Builder theme you can pair with the builder to create a fully Divi-like experience.

If you use the Beaver Builder plugin and theme at the same time, the experience is pretty much the same as the Divi theme. But the nice thing about Beaver Builder is that it also pairs well with other themes, so you have some added flexibility compared to what Divi offers.

There’s also an official Beaver Themer extension that adds full theme building support to Beaver Builder, much like you get with Divi’s theme builder.

Pros and Cons of Beaver Builder vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder gives you a lot of flexibility for how you build your site. It can mimic the same approach as Divi, or you can use it as a standalone page builder plugin with or without the theme builder add-on.

The first option is to use both the Beaver Builder Theme and the plugin. With this setup, you’ll use the theme for global styling and areas such as your header and footer while the page builder plugin for your actual content. This approach is pretty much identical to Divi.

The second option is to use the Beaver Builder plugin with a different theme. It pairs well with both Astra and GeneratePress, which are other excellent Divi alternatives on this list.

Finally, you can also create your own theme with Beaver Themer, which gives you access to full theme building support so that you can design your header, footer, and content templates using Beaver Builder.

Here’s a great video that compares the approaches of Beaver Themer and the Beaver Builder Theme:

Pricing for Beaver Builder

The core Beaver Builder plugin costs $99 for use on unlimited sites via the Standard plan, which puts it in the same realm as Divi.

However, if you want access to the Beaver Builder Theme, you’ll need the $199 Pro plan. And, if you want to use the theme building functionality, you’ll also need to purchase the Beaver Themer extension for $147 for use on unlimited sites.

In these situations, Beaver Builder is a little more expensive than Divi.

👉 Read these posts for more details on Beaver Builder:

• Beaver Builder vs Divi
• Beaver Builder review
• Elementor vs Beaver Builder

5. Avada

Avada is probably the most one-to-one Divi alternative on this list because it uses the exact same approach as the Divi theme.

Avada is also a WordPress theme that comes bundled with its own visual builder called the Avada Builder. That’s just like how Divi is a WordPress theme that comes bundled with its own visual builder called the Divi Builder. 

However, Avada isn’t as performance-optimized as Divi which released its performance-focused update in Divi 4.10.

To optimize Avada, I recommend using a performance plugin such as WP Rocket so that your site loads quickly (you can learn more in my WP Rocket review).

Pros and Cons of Avada vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Avada

At a high level, Avada works pretty much the same as Divi. You install the Avada theme, and it bundles in the Avada Builder as well. Then, you can either use the theme options to control the basic design or create your own theme using Avada’s theme building functionality.

Pricing for Avada

Like Divi, Avada only comes in a premium version. It costs $69, which gets you lifetime updates but only for a single site. 

This is a big difference from Divi, which allows usage on unlimited sites on all of its plans.

In terms of Avada vs Divi pricing, it works out like this:

• Avada is cheaper if you only need it for a single site.
• In terms of receiving lifetime updates, purchasing separate Avada licenses is cheaper than Divi’s lifetime membership ($249) for up to four sites. After that, you’re paying more for Avada than for Divi.

👉 Read this post for more details on Avada:

• Avada vs Divi

6. Oxygen

Oxygen is an excellent Divi alternative for more advanced users who prefer cleaner code output and stronger support for dynamic content and custom content sites.

It’s technically a WordPress plugin, but Oxygen completely replaces your theme and lets you design everything using a visual, drag-and-drop interface.

When you install it, Oxygen will deactivate your theme. So, there will be zero traces of your active theme on the frontend and only the templates that you’ve designed with Oxygen will show up. In that way, Oxygen is acting more like a WordPress theme than a plugin.

As I mentioned, I think that Oxygen is a good alternative for more advanced users. Here are some of the advantages that Oxygen has over Divi:

• Cleaner HTML output. The new version also won’t be shortcode-based like Divi (Oxygen is moving to a JSON approach to store designs).
• Sticks closer to true HTML in the editor. For example, the editor lets you directly add <div> containers.
• Flexbox controls.
• Much stronger support for dynamic data. For example, you can create loops/repeaters and use conditional rules to change things based on the data in a custom field.

Pros and Cons of Oxygen vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With Oxygen

When you install Oxygen, it will deactivate your existing WordPress theme so that you can build your entire site using its visual, drag-and-drop builder.

Oxygen offers premade site templates that you can use as a base, or you can design everything from scratch, including your header, footer, single and archive templates, and more.

Here’s a great product tour of Oxygen’s interface and key features:

Pricing for Oxygen

Oxygen only comes in a premium version. There are three different pricing plans depending on exactly which features you need, with prices starting at $129.

All of the plans offer lifetime support and updates, which is very generous. Because of this, Oxygen is cheaper than Divi across the board when it comes to Divi vs Oxygen pricing.

7. GeneratePress

Like Astra, GeneratePress is another WordPress theme that gives you a lightweight, customizable foundation to match what Divi offers.

GeneratePress doesn’t offer its own custom visual builder, but it does integrate tightly with the WordPress block editor as well as page builder plugins — so you can easily pair it with a visual builder to create an experience like Divi.

It also comes with some interesting block-based theme building functionality, though this doesn’t match the flexibility of Divi’s theme building.

Pros and Cons of GeneratePress vs Divi

How You Build Your Site With GeneratePress

GeneratePress is very flexible with how it lets you build your site. There are three main approaches that you can take.

First, you can use GeneratePress’s advanced Customizer controls and the native WordPress editor (along with the GenerateBlocks plugin for more flexibility).

Second, you can swap out the native editor for your favorite page builder plugin. GeneratePress works great with Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and pretty much all page builder plugins.

Third, you can use the new block-based theme builder features released in GeneratePress 3.0. These aren’t as beginner-friendly or flexible as Divi, but they do let you design custom layouts and templates using the native WordPress block editor.

Or, you can mix and match all three approaches! You aren’t limited to just one.

Here’s a quick promo video of GeneratePress’ block-based theme builder — it’s very unique and something you won’t find in many other WordPress themes:

Pricing for GeneratePress

The core GeneratePress theme is available for free at WordPress.org.

However, you’ll need the GeneratePress Premium add-on to unlock all of the customization options, the block-based theme builder, and the importable demo sites.

GeneratePress Premium costs $59 for a one-year license for use on up to 500 sites. There’s also a lifetime plan that costs $249 (same as Divi).

Additionally, you might want to purchase GenerateBlocks Pro, as the two pair very well together. If you do, GenerateBlocks Pro starts at $39 for use on a single site. There’s no lifetime option for GenerateBlocks Pro.

Which Is the Best Divi Alternative for Your Needs?

Choosing the best Divi alternative depends on what you’re looking to accomplish, so I’m going to break my recommendations down into a few different scenarios.

1. Theme + Page Builder Approach

If you like the “traditional” Divi approach where you use a theme to control global templates and style rules and a visual builder to design individual pages, here are my recommendations.

First off, if you want the theme to have its own builder, then your best bets are as follows:

• Avada
• Beaver Builder + Beaver Builder Theme — if you pair these two together, it’s pretty much the same as Divi

However, my personal recommendation would be to choose a lightweight and flexible base theme and pair it with your favorite drag-and-drop builder. Your three best options here are:

• Sydney
• Astra
• GeneratePress

First, this approach is best from a performance perspective because Sydney, Astra, and GeneratePress are all very lightweight.

All three themes also give you a ton of options in the WordPress Customizer, which opens up a lot of flexibility. You’ll get many more options than the Divi theme.

You can also pair them with any builder. If you like Elementor, you can use Elementor. If you prefer Beaver Builder, you can use Beaver Builder. Heck, you could even use the plugin version of Divi Builder if you still prefer the Divi Builder interface!

In the case of Sydney Pro, you even get a special Elementor integration that adds new widgets and design capabilities to Elementor, such as the ability to design your theme template files with the free version of Elementor, along with mega menus, modal popups, off-canvas panels, and more.

Basically, this approach usually gives you more flexibility and better performance versus using Divi.

2. Full Theme Building Solution

Next, let’s say that you’re looking for a true visual website builder/theme building experience where you can design your entire site using a visual interface, including the header, footer, and single/archive templates. Like Divi’s theme builder feature.

In this case, I would recommend Elementor or Elementor Pro to most people for a few reasons:

• It’s just as user-friendly as Divi (I think more so, personally).
• You get the same detailed design options as Divi.
• It offers a popup builder in addition to the theme builder.

As an alternative, you could also use Sydney Pro with the free version of Elementor, as Sydney Pro adds its own Elementor-powered theme building and template building functionality — no need to purchase Elementor Pro.

Beaver Builder and Beaver Themer are also good options here, though I think Elementor Pro has the edge for most people (and Elementor Pro will be a lot cheaper if you’re only building a few sites).

On the other hand, for more advanced users, I would recommend Oxygen. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you’re the type of person who complains about how bloated a page builder’s code output is, that’s probably a sign that you’ll fit well in the Oxygen camp.

Beyond that, Oxygen is also way stronger with dynamic content, which is important if you’re building custom content sites with custom fields.

3. Best Free Divi Alternatives

If you’re specifically looking for free Divi alternatives, here’s my recommendation.

First, pick a flexible base theme — the free versions of Sydney, Astra, and GeneratePress are all excellent options.

Second, pair them with the free version of Elementor, which adds support for visual, drag-and-drop building like you get with Divi.

This combination will get you close to what Divi offers at zero cost.

Build Your Website Today!

A lot of people love Divi, but it’s not the best WordPress website building solution for everyone.

Thankfully, there are tons of excellent Divi alternatives, which come in both theme and plugin formats.

In this article, I did my best to highlight the seven best options for most people. By following the guidance in the previous section, you should be able to pick the tool that’s right for your needs.

Do you still have any questions about picking the best Divi alternative for your situation? Let us know in the comments!

Colin Newcomer

Colin Newcomer is a freelance writer for hire with a background in SEO and affiliate marketing. He helps clients grow their web visibility by writing primarily about digital marketing and WordPress.