Elegant Themes vs StudioPress: Which WordPress Powerhouse Wins in 2025?
If you’re building a WordPress site, the right theme provider can save you hours of frustration—and a lot of money. In this face-off between Elegant Themes and StudioPress, we’re not just comparing features. We’re testing vision, versatility, and value. Spoiler: Elegant Themes comes out on top. Here’s why.
1. Design Versatility
- Elegant Themes: Home of the Divi Builder, Elegant Themes gives you total design freedom. Whether you’re building a portfolio, an eCommerce site, or a business homepage, Divi adapts—drag-and-drop, no coding required.
- StudioPress: Built on the Genesis Framework, StudioPress themes are lean, fast, and minimal—but rigid. Customization often requires coding or hiring a developer.
Winner: Elegant Themes – Flexibility trumps minimalism.
2. Ease of Use
- Elegant Themes: Divi’s visual editor is intuitive. You build what you see. You tweak on the fly. No developer required.
- StudioPress: Not beginner-friendly. The Genesis Framework is powerful, but expects you to be familiar with WordPress templates and hooks.
Winner: Elegant Themes – Perfect for non-techies and power users alike.
3. Performance
- StudioPress: Fast-loading out of the box. Genesis themes are lightweight and optimized.
- Elegant Themes: Divi used to be bloated, but recent updates improved speed dramatically. Built-in performance settings let you defer scripts, enable lazy loading, and more.
Winner: Tie – StudioPress is faster by default, but Divi now holds its own with tweaks.
4. Built-in Tools & Features
- Elegant Themes: Advanced visual builder, A/B testing, built-in marketing tools, lead capture forms, and WooCommerce modules. Everything is included—no need to stack extra plugins.
- StudioPress: Focused on being a framework. You’ll need to add other plugins for forms, popups, or advanced layouts.
Winner: Elegant Themes – One subscription. Everything you need.
5. Pricing & Value
- Elegant Themes: $89/year or $249 for lifetime access. Unlimited sites. Updates. Support. Done.
- StudioPress: Themes cost $360/year (Genesis Pro), or $129.95+ each for standalone themes.
Winner: Elegant Themes – Lifetime deal is unmatched.
6. Community & Ecosystem
- Elegant Themes: Massive user base. Endless third-party layouts, templates, and add-ons for Divi. You’re never alone.
- StudioPress: Strong among developers, but smaller and quieter. Fewer layout packs and child themes in circulation.
Winner: Elegant Themes – Community equals speed and support.
Final Verdict: Elegant Themes Wins Over StudioPress
StudioPress is great—if you’re a developer who values simplicity and speed above all else. But Elegant Themes is where power, design, and usability meet. You get unmatched creative control, a huge ecosystem, and long-term value that scales with your business.
If you’re building for clients, your personal brand, or anything ambitious—Divi is the better bet.
Key Takeaways:
- Divi offers better customization and design freedom than Genesis.
- Elegant Themes includes more built-in tools—StudioPress requires add-ons.
- Elegant Themes offers more value, especially with the lifetime plan.
- StudioPress is faster by default, but Divi has improved.
FAQs
Can I use Elegant Themes on multiple websites?
Yes. One Elegant Themes license covers unlimited websites.
Is Divi better for agencies than StudioPress?
Absolutely. It’s built for scalability, reusability, and quick deployment across multiple projects.
Which one is faster?
StudioPress is faster out of the box, but Elegant Themes/ Divi can be optimized to match performance with its built-in tuning tools.