Starter Templates vs Essential Addons for Elementor
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Starter Templates v4.7.9 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Essential Addons for Elementor v6.8.7 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | 1M+ |
| Last updated | October 20, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Editions | Starter Templates · Essential and Business Toolkits ($) | Essential Addons for Elementor · Essential Addons for Elementor - Pro ($) |
| Pros | Large library of free website and section templates; Works with Elementor, Spectra, Beaver Builder and the block editor; Onboarding installs the needed plugins | Large set of widgets added to Elementor; Form widgets for Gravity Forms, WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms and Ninja Forms; WooCommerce product widgets such as product compare |
| Cons | Premium templates need a toolkit licence key; AI builder and image features call external services | Premium widgets and extensions need the Pro version; Some widgets call third-party services such as OpenSea and Facebook |
| 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 ($) | Filterable gallery widget, Data table widget, Event calendar widget with Google Calendar source, WooCommerce product compare widget, NFT gallery widget, Twitter and Facebook feed widgets, TypeForm embed widget, Essential Addons admin menu page |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | — | WP Insights usage tracker (opt-in) |
| Social | — | X (Twitter) API, Facebook Graph API |
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | Elementor | Elementor, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Ninja Forms |
| Other | ZipWP API | Formstack, Google Calendar, TypeForm API, OpenSea |
| Requires WordPress | 6.6 | 5.3 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| 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 | api.twitter.com, graph.facebook.com, send.wpinsight.com, www.googleapis.com, opensea.io, magiceden.io, api.typeform.com |
| Blocks | 1 | — |