Starter Templates vs Elementor Beta (Developer Edition)
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| Feature | Starter Templates v4.7.9 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Elementor Beta (Developer Edition) v1.1.4 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 5.0/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | 30,000+ |
| Last updated | October 20, 2026 | March 4, 2025 |
| Editions | Starter Templates · Essential and Business Toolkits ($) | Elementor Beta (Developer Edition) |
| Pros | Large library of free website and section templates; Works with Elementor, Spectra, Beaver Builder and the block editor; Onboarding installs the needed plugins | Switch between Elementor core and Pro versions; Test development releases before stable; Usage tracking is a separate opt-in choice |
| Cons | Premium templates need a toolkit licence key; AI builder and image features call external services | Development releases contain experimental changes by design; Version switching depends on WordPress.org release data |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Full website template import, Import of site options from a template, AI website builder, Plugin install and activation during onboarding, Licence check for premium templates ($) | Switch Elementor core version, Switch Elementor Pro version, Admin bar link, Developer edition settings page |
| Integrations | ||
| Plugins | Elementor | — |
| Other | ZipWP API | WordPress.org API |
| Requires WordPress | 6.6 | 5.8 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 5.6 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 6.7 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | api.zipwp.com, fonts.googleapis.com, ipwho.is, api.ipify.org, credits.startertemplates.com, app.zipwp.com, websitedemos.net | go.elementor.com, api.wordpress.org |
| Blocks | 1 | — |