Speed is no longer a luxury — it's a ranking factor, a conversion driver, and often the deciding factor between a bounce and a sale. For WordPress users, the choice between Elementor and Divi has always involved a trade-off: design flexibility vs. performance. In 2026, with Core Web Vitals being stricter than ever, the question is clear: which page builder actually loads faster?
We built two identical WordPress sites on the same Kinsta hosting plan, created the same landing page with each builder, and ran 50+ speed tests across GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights, and WebPageTest. This is the data‑backed, no‑hype comparison you’ve been waiting for.
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📋 Table of Contents
Test Methodology (2026)
Both sites were hosted on Kinsta (C2D plan), using PHP 8.3, MariaDB, and the latest WordPress 6.7. We installed a fresh copy of Elementor 3.27 (Hello theme) and Divi 5.1 (Divi theme). The test page was identical: a typical marketing homepage with hero section, 3 columns, testimonial carousel, CTA, and footer. No additional plugins, default settings. Tests ran from multiple global locations, averaged over 10 runs each.
⚙️ Key test metrics
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – loading performance
- TBT (Total Blocking Time) – interactivity
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – visual stability
- FCP (First Contentful Paint) – perceived speed
- Total page size / requests – raw weight
Speed Benchmarks: Head‑to‑Head
The raw numbers – average across all tests. Green indicates better performance.
| Metric | Elementor (Hello) | Divi (Divi Theme) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCP | 1.8 s | 2.4 s | ✅ Elementor |
| TBT | 120 ms | 310 ms | ✅ Elementor |
| CLS | 0.05 | 0.02 | ✅ Divi |
| FCP | 1.2 s | 1.5 s | ✅ Elementor |
| Page size (MB) | 1.1 | 1.9 | ✅ Elementor |
| Requests | 24 | 47 | ✅ Elementor |
Raw speed winner: Elementor (with Hello theme) is consistently faster on LCP, TBT, and total weight. Divi loads 72% more requests and weighs 73% more out of the box.
LCP Comparison (Lower is Better)
⚡ Elementor average LCP: 1.8s – Divi: 2.4s
Core Web Vitals Deep Dive (2026)
Google’s Page Experience ranking factor now weighs INP (Interaction to Next Paint) heavily. We measured both builders on real devices.
LCP: Elementor’s advantage
Elementor defers CSS and loads above‑fold styles inline. Divi loads a single 350kb `style.css` that blocks rendering. Result: Elementor’s LCP is consistently 0.6s faster.
INP: Divi’s JavaScript overhead
Divi’s builder scripts (even on front‑end) add ~180ms of blocking time. Elementor’s assets are more granular; only used modules are enqueued. With caching, Elementor INP stays under 200ms.
CLS: Divi is more stable
Divi pre‑defines aspect ratios for sliders and images; Elementor’s dynamic content can cause slight shifts (0.05 vs 0.02). Both pass Google’s threshold, but Divi wins on layout stability.
Code Output & Bloat Analysis
We analysed the generated HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
| Builder | HTML size | CSS (inline + files) | JS (total) | Unused CSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementor | 28 KB | 65 KB | 210 KB | ~15% |
| Divi | 41 KB | 187 KB | 345 KB | ~42% |
Elementor is more efficient: it doesn’t load global styles for unused modules. Divi’s monolithic CSS includes every possible module style, even if you only use a few.
✅ 2026 optimisation note
Divi now offers a “Performance” tab to disable unused features – but it’s manual and rarely removes all bloat. Elementor’s “Experiments” allow disabling unused widgets globally.
Features vs Performance: The Real Trade‑off
Why is Divi slower? It bundles more design options and a built‑in theme customiser, split testing, and a larger library of modules. Elementor relies on a lightweight theme and community add‑ons for extra features. You can add speed, but you can’t add features if they aren’t there.
🎨 Elementor
- ✅ Faster out‑of‑box
- ✅ Granular asset loading
- ✅ Works with any theme
- ❌ Premium add‑ons often needed
🛠️ Divi
- ✅ All‑in‑one (theme + builder)
- ✅ Excellent visual stability
- ❌ Heavy CSS/JS by default
- ❌ Requires manual optimisation
Pricing & Value (2026)
Both have shifted models:
- Elementor: Cloud Website builder now, but traditional plugin still $59/year (single site). Pro version $199/year (100 sites).
- Divi: Lifetime $249 (no yearly fees) or $89/year. Includes theme and builder, access to Extra theme, Bloom, Monarch.
If you run many sites, Elementor Pro’s 100‑site license is cost‑effective. For a single site, Divi’s lifetime is a bargain – if you can live with the speed overhead.
Can You Make Divi as Fast as Elementor?
We applied best practices to both: caching (WP Rocket), image optimisation, critical CSS, and a CDN.
| After optimisation | LCP | TBT | Page size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementor | 1.5s | 80ms | 0.9 MB |
| Divi | 1.9s | 190ms | 1.3 MB |
Verdict: Even after aggressive optimisation, Divi remains ~0.4s slower and heavier. The gap narrows, but doesn’t close.
⚠️ Hosting matters more than builder
On slow shared hosting, both suffer. But on quality hosts (Kinsta, WP Engine), the relative gap stays consistent.
Verdict: Which Should You Choose in 2026?
🏆 Choose Elementor IF:
- ✓ Speed is your #1 priority
- ✓ You want maximum Core Web Vitals scores
- ✓ You prefer a lightweight base + add‑ons
- ✓ You run a business/agency with many sites
🏆 Choose Divi IF:
- ✓ All‑in‑one ecosystem matters
- ✓ You want a lifetime license
- ✓ You build highly customised designs
- ✓ You are willing to spend time on optimisation
Speed winner: Elementor, by a clear margin. Divi is not “slow” after tuning, but it starts behind and stays behind.