Elementor360 Newsletter Issue 27: Which Elementor Addons Are Actively Adding New Features?
Instead of looking at a single addon and its features, I thought I would do something a bit different, so I looked at the 2022 change logs for 10 popular Elementor addons to see which ones are more active. In this issue I answer the question, which Elementor addons are continuing to add value and which ones feel like they are in maintenance mode?
Elementor has been optimizing editor output and adding features like the flexbox container, all of which require addons to make adjustments to stay up to date. An addon with few or no updates is a sure warning sign.
Please note, the numbers are “approximate” because not everyone uses the same terminology. Some say “added” when they do a fix, for example, or say feature when it is an enhancement of something that already exists. I’ve tried to parse the change logs to account for this, so there could be minor errors, but this compilation is more than sufficient for seeing trends. The list starts with the least active and progresses to the most active.
Number 10 – Elementor Extras
Elementor Extras includes 28 widgets and 5 extensions. They have a lifetime package that is relatively inexpensive.
Looking at the change logs, the last new features were added over a year ago and there has been no release this year.
Number 9 – Ultimate Addons for Elementor
Ultimate Addons for Elementor is from the same team as the popular Astra theme and it is included in a “Growth Bundle” that is a good value. It comes with more than 40 widgets, more than 100 pre-designed templates, and more than 200 pre-designed sections. I was surprised to find that there is no longer a lite version in the WordPress plugin directory. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs, there were 6 releases so far this year. There were no new features, approximately 3 enhancements to existing features, and 28 fixes.
Number 8 Tied – Unlimited Elements
Unlimited Elements is a unique addon. It includes a full featured widget creator where you can build an Elementor widget that includes dynamic data, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and images. Possibly because it has this widget creator, it comes with a huge number of widgets, 200+. It also has several extensions. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Unlimited Elements has a free version with more than 100,000 active installs, but they keep just one change log that includes both. Looking at the change logs, there were 21 releases so far this year. A large number of the improvements to Unlimited Elements are for the widget creator, which I’m counting as enhancements. There were approximately 0 new features added, 61 enhancements to existing features, and 56 fixes.
Number 8 Tied – Essential Addons for Elementor
Essential Addons for Elementor has the distinction of being the Elementor addon with the most active installs, over a million active installs of the free version. It includes 70+ widgets and 10+ extensions. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs for the free version, there were 17 releases so far this year. There was approximately 1 new feature added, 16 enhancements to existing features, and 85 fixes.
Looking at the change logs for the Pro version, there were 13 releases so far this year. There was approximately 1 new feature added, 3 enhancements to existing features, and 47 fixes.
Number 6 – PowerPack Elements
PowerPack Elements from IdeaBox includes 70+ widgets and 9 extensions. A number of the widgets are geared towards WooCommerce. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs for the free version that has more than 80,000 active installs, there were 10 releases so far this year. There were approximately 0 new features added, 38 enhancements to existing features, and 20 fixes.
Looking at the change logs for the Pro version, there were 13 releases so far this year. There were approximately 4 new features added, 72 enhancements to existing features, and 69 fixes.
Number 5 – ElementsKit
ElementsKit includes 72 widgets and 8 extensions and advanced features. There is a free and a pro version. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs for the free version that has more than 70,000 active installs, there were 11 releases so far this year. There were approximately 5 new features added, 9 enhancements to existing features, and 22 fixes.
Looking at the change logs for the Pro version, there were 6 releases so far this year. There were approximately 4 new features added, 10 enhancements to existing features, and 22 fixes.
Number 4 – Happy Addons
Happy Addons is one of the larger and more encompassing addons. It includes over a hundred widgets and 17 extensions. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs for the free version that has more than 200,000 active installs, there were 9 releases so far this year. There were approximately 3 new features added, 20 enhancements to existing features, and 16 fixes.
Looking at the change logs for the Pro version, there were 8 releases so far this year. There were approximately 6 new features added, 13 enhancements to existing features, and 19 fixes.
Number 3 – The Plus Addons for Elementor
The Plus Addons is a larger and more encompassing addon. Many of the widgets have support for dynamic data. It includes over 150 widgets and two dozen extensions and extra features. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs for the free version that has more than 70,000 active installs, there were 6 releases so far this year. There were approximately 4 new features added, 18 enhancements to existing features, and 8 fixes.
Looking at the change logs for the Pro version, there were 5 releases so far this year. There were approximately 11 new features added, 69 enhancements to existing features, and 27 fixes.
Number 2 – Crocoblock Suite
The Crocoblock Suite includes 20 plugins, a theme, and a number of additional features. They cover the range from creating Custom Post Types and custom fields, to WooCommerce, frontend filters, widgets for blogging, booking, and much more. They have annual packages and an all-inclusive lifetime package.
Talk about challenges in counting, they have 18 change logs. Aggregating the logs together, there were 69 releases so far this year. There were approximately 15 new features added, 106 enhancements to existing features, and 183 fixes.
Number 1 – Dynamic.ooo – Dynamic Content for Elementor
Dynamic Content for Elementor includes 82 widgets and 53 extensions. This is the most powerful Elementor addon with a mix of features for working with Dynamic Data and ones geared towards designers. They have annual and lifetime packages.
Looking at the change logs, there were 24 releases so far this year. There were approximately 20 new features added, 48 enhancements to existing features, and 94 fixes.
Discussion and Conclusions
The first thing that I noticed was that Elementor Extras, with no updates this year, is not even in maintenance mode. If it was, it would at least have updates to maintain compatibility with Elementor updates. I was surprised to see that Ultimate Addons seems to be in maintenance mode, at least temporarily. At least they are keeping it up to date with Elementor. Ultimate Addons and PowerPack Elements have always tracked closely together releasing new features at a similar rate. No more. With Astra and the new development of their Gutenberg plugins, perhaps the team has been stretched a bit thin. My expectation is that Brainstorm Force will pick up development of the plugin again in the near future. Elementor Extras and Ultimate Addons comprised the lower group.
Unlimited Elements, Essential Addons, PowerPack, and Elements Kit are the middle group. They had a good number of releases, a fair number of new features and enhancements, and lots of fixes. Personally, I don’t think seeing lots of fixes is a cause for concern. Rather I like seeing companies aggressively attend to issues raised by users.
Happy Addons, The Plus Addons, Crocoblock, and Dynamic.ooo are the top tier. They had a good number of releases, a good number of new features and enhancements, and lots of fixes. Not surprisingly, these Elementor Addons are the more expensive ones. It is good to see that they are continuing to add significant value for their users.
Well, that’s it for this issue. Happy Elementoring.