Software Alternatives & Startups

Grav VS PRO Elements

Compare Grav VS PRO Elements and see what are their differences

Grav logo Grav

The modern open source flat-file CMS

PRO Elements logo PRO Elements

Free WordPress plugin that enables PRO features in Elementor
  • Grav Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • PRO Elements Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-16

Grav features and specs

  • Flat-file architecture
    Grav is a flat-file CMS, which means it doesn't rely on a database. It stores content in files and folders, making it easy to manage, version control, and requiring less server resources.
  • Performance
    Without a database layer, Grav can deliver faster load times and better performance, especially critical for high traffic websites.
  • Flexibility and Customization
    Grav is highly customizable with a flexible API that allows developers to build and extend functionalities effortlessly.
  • Ease of Installation and Setup
    Grav boasts a simple setup process. You can get started quickly without complex configurations, making it accessible for both developers and non-developers.
  • Strong Community and Documentation
    Grav has an active community that provides robust support. The extensive documentation helps users get through the learning curve quickly.
  • Security
    Flat-file systems like Grav are typically less vulnerable to common database-related security issues like SQL injection attacks.
  • Themes and Plugins
    Grav offers a variety of themes and plugins that enhance its functionality, allowing users to add new features without extensive coding.

Possible disadvantages of Grav

  • Learning Curve
    Although Grav has good documentation, it can have a steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with flat-file CMSs or who come from traditional database-driven CMS backgrounds.
  • Not Ideal for Large-scale Projects
    Flat-file systems can become cumbersome to manage as the scale of content grows, making Grav less suitable for large-scale websites with extensive content.
  • Limited Third-party Integrations
    Grav may not have as many third-party integrations available compared to more established CMS platforms like WordPress, potentially limiting its functionality.
  • Hosting Requirements
    While Grav doesn't need a database, it still requires a hosting environment that supports PHP. Some shared hosting services may not offer the ideal settings out-of-the-box.
  • Smaller Ecosystem
    Grav has a smaller user base compared to more established CMSs, which can mean fewer community-created plugins and themes.
  • No Default GUI for Content Editing
    Grav does not natively offer a graphical user interface for content editing, which can be a drawback for non-technical users. Though Admin Panel plugin exists, it is not default.

PRO Elements features and specs

  • Extensive Features
    PRO Elements offers a wide range of features including advanced design capabilities, allowing for detailed customization of web design projects.
  • Seamless Integration
    The platform integrates smoothly with Elementor, enhancing the capabilities of one of the most popular WordPress page builders.
  • Regular Updates
    PRO Elements is regularly updated with new features, bug fixes, and security improvements, ensuring that users have access to the latest tools.
  • High-Quality Support
    Users have access to responsive and knowledgeable customer support, helping to resolve any issues quickly.

Possible disadvantages of PRO Elements

  • Cost
    PRO Elements may have a higher price point than some competitors, which could be a barrier for small businesses or freelancers with limited budgets.
  • Learning Curve
    Because of its extensive features, new users might find it challenging to learn and may require time to get accustomed to all functionalities.
  • Dependency on Elementor
    Since it integrates with Elementor, users are dependent on having Elementor installed and updated, which could be a limitation for those using other page builders.

Analysis of Grav

Overall verdict

  • Grav is an excellent choice for those who need a fast, flexible, and lightweight CMS without the complexity of a database. It's particularly beneficial for developers who appreciate customizability and control over their project configurations. However, it may not be the best option for non-technical users who require a more traditional CMS experience with extensive support and resources.

Why this product is good

  • Grav is a modern open-source flat-file CMS that is designed for speed, simplicity, and flexibility. It requires no database, which makes it lightweight and significantly easier to deploy. Grav offers a powerful API, integrated package manager, sophisticated caching system, and an intuitive admin panel, making it a strong choice for developers who require customizable and scalable solutions.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a fast and flexible CMS.
  • Users who prefer flat-file over traditional database-driven CMSs.
  • Projects where performance and speed are critical.
  • Websites with less complex needs that don't require extensive plugins or themes.

Analysis of PRO Elements

Overall verdict

  • PRO Elements is a GPL-based repackaging of Elementor Pro that provides premium page-builder features for free, making it a budget-friendly option, though it comes with caveats around official support, updates, and security that make it less suitable for mission-critical or professional client projects.

Why this product is good

  • Offers Elementor Pro widgets and features (theme builder, forms, popups, WooCommerce elements) without the recurring subscription cost
  • Distributed under the GPL license, which legally permits redistribution of the code
  • Can be a low-cost way to learn and experiment with advanced page-building capabilities
  • No usage or site limits since it is not tied to a paid license key

Recommended for

  • Hobbyists and beginners experimenting with WordPress page building on a tight budget
  • Developers testing features before committing to an official Elementor Pro license
  • Personal or non-critical projects where lack of official support and updates is acceptable
  • Users comfortable manually managing plugin updates and accepting potential security risks

Grav videos

GRAV Dugout Review

More videos:

  • Review - Newest GRAV Hand Pipes
  • Review - Upline Collection from GRAV // 420 Science Club

PRO Elements videos

No PRO Elements videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Grav and PRO Elements)
CMS
96 96%
4% 4
Blogging
97 97%
3% 3
WordPress
0 0%
100% 100
Blogging Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Grav and PRO Elements

Grav Reviews

11 Popular Free And Open Source WordPress CMS alternatives in 2021
It comes with a powerful API and extensive hooks that allow for plugins to extend Grav. Flexible Twig templating allows the easy realization of your designs.
Source: medevel.com
Top 5 Open-Source CMS Platforms
As fascinating as its logo, the Grav CMS platform is another modern, sleek, and interactive cross-platform compatible platform to design and create websites. Not as popular as others in the list, i.e., WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, this CMS platform is yet a tough competitor of the existing CMS giants. The open-source CMS platform was launched in 2014 and since then the...
Source: linuxways.net
Resources20+ Non-Traditional Tools to Make Your Website
Modern open source flat-file CMS to build faster http://s/. Grav is a fast, simple, and flexible file-based web-platform. There is zero installation required. Grav focuses primarily on your content and turns your content structure into a navigable site.
CMS comparison 2018: The 5 most popular open source systems
Grav places a high value on speed, but doesn’t disregard the aesthetic aspect. On the official website, you can find both the installation data (a small ZIP archive) as well as individual themes that can be used to customize the design. You can also extend the functionality with more than 300 plugins, with which you can set up the backend for administration work, for...
Source: www.1and1.com
Goodbye Statamic. Hello Grav.
Whilst looking for other options, I stumbled upon Grav, which as far as I've been able to tell is incredibly similar to Statamic. It has a really nice admin interface, plugins including search, and best of all it's completely free. The community seems strong, and I've not had too many issues trying to find help. It took me the best part of a day to switch my little site here...

PRO Elements Reviews

We have no reviews of PRO Elements yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Grav should be more popular than PRO Elements. It has been mentiond 59 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Grav mentions (59)

  • Apple is increasing my cortisol levels
    I don't even track the clicks, at this point the shortener is just an Apache2 container with a long config file and some shell scripts for me adding new links: https://blog.kronis.dev/blog/sometimes-dropbox-is-just-ftp-building-a-link-shortener Previously it was YOURLS but now it's the simpler setup, the whole reason for me adding it was that Grav (which is otherwise a lovely flat-file CMS) was really bad at... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • The CMS is dead. Long live the CMS
    For a while flat-file CMSs where all the rage. I've been using Grav for a while, it is based on (markdown) files as well but also has a GUI and a comparatively large community. https://getgrav.org/ "Voted "Best Flat File CMS" in 2017, 2019, 2020 & 2021!" :-). - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: Looking for Headless CMS Recommendation
    If you're hell-bent on headless, I can personally recommend 11ty (https://www.11ty.dev/) and hugo (https://gohugo.io/). That said, for non-technical admins, you probably want a user interface. For that, Ghost (https://ghost.org/) and Grav (https://getgrav.org/). Or Wordpress! - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • A new path forward for WordPress, and for the open web
    Migrating to SSG is definitely one of the options! I do wonder what other CMSes people do enjoy, though. My blog runs on Grav, a flat file CMS that still allows me to easily keep the content in Git, while also having some dynamic content and search (and optionally an admin UI): https://getgrav.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Aether: A CMS That Gets Out of Your Way
    > Aether sits in the sweet spot: simple enough for content creators, flexible enough for developers, fast enough for users. A thing that most other developers miss is that non-technical people, like (and especially) content creator,s shy away from a terminal as if it were such a plague. Some of them don't even have the mind concept of a directory tree, from a root drive to nested ones. Therefore, if you have to... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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PRO Elements mentions (8)

  • The WordPress Plugins licensing structure, is highly broken
    The people in this subreddit generally glorify the license because they’re the developers and defend it. I do agree with you, I always get downvoted for posting the https://proelements.org/ link lol. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Booting up new Elementor Website from scratch. Site is for a nonprofit - will mainly be used for general information, distribute forms, landing pages for events, and collecting emails, potentially a blog. For 2023, are there any need-to-have plugins for a basic site?
    Proelements is a must have if you don't need premium support and paid templates you get from Elementor Pro subscription. Source: over 3 years ago
  • ELementor Pro scam?
    Just search for "are gpl plugins legal wordpress" and read. All plugins for wordpress have to be licensed under GPL, even pro. But you pay for the service like kits and so on. There are plenty of pages selling "gpl plugins" for wordpress. You can even get https://proelements.org/ for free. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Converting Elementor to HTML
    Elementor has a free version. Does the template require the pro version? You can use https://proelements.org/ for that too. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Bring backpro widgets
    It depends on if you saved the pages already. If you didn't make any changes they should appear again. You could try and install https://proelements.org/ to see if they are still there. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Grav and PRO Elements, you can also consider the following products

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Local by Flywheel - Provides a simple, local development environment with a friendly GUI.

Drupal - Drupal - the leading open-source CMS for ambitious digital experiences that reach your audience across multiple channels. Because we all have different needs, Drupal allows you to create a unique space in a world of cookie-cutter solutions.

Joomla - Joomla! is the mobile-ready and user-friendly way to build your website. Choose from thousands of features and designs. Joomla! is free and open source.

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.