5 Best ACF Alternatives for Elementor (and WordPress in General)

I bet that ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) is the first plugin to pop up in mind every time a WordPress user needs to create custom fields. Including those who use Elementor to build their website. But sometimes, you need to try something new in your life.

I personally love to use ACF to create custom fields and custom post types on my WordPress projects, but I don't want to be locked out in the single option because anything can happen in the future.

I have tested some plugins that have the same functionalities as ACF and tested whether they can work with Elementor.

Here are the plugins I tested. But first, why are many WordPress users switching away from ACF?

On the list:

• JetEngine
• CubeWP
• Pods
• Meta Box
• Custom Post Type UI

What's Wrong with ACF?

ACF has more than 2 million installations, making it the most popular plugin in its category. But many WordPress users started to switch away for the same reason: ownership.

ACF is owned by WP Engine and WP Engine is owned by a private equity firm called Silver Lake. In the open community like WordPress, when a plugin is owned by a private equity (which usually runs as a profit-first company), it raises a negative sentiment.

The community doesn't want the plugin they love to be ruled by a company with no sufficient contribution, while they can actually give more.

I personally have no issue regarding the ACF ownership status. But again, I don't want to be locked into single option. Just in case unexpected things happen in the future.

Best ACF Alternatives for Elementor (and WordPress in General)

Paid ACF Alternative

1. JetEngine

In its initial releases, JetEngine was available exclusively for Elementor. But today, you can use it on Gutenberg and Bricks too. JetEngine is a super useful plugin to replace ACF if you want to create a complex dynamic website with Elementor.

JetEngine allows you to create anything that can be created with ACF. Including custom fields, custom post types, custom taxonomies, and so on. You can even use it to create dynamic tables and charts.

JetEngine used to have the ability to create forms too, but the feature has been deprecated since its developer (Crocoblock) released a dedicated form builder plugin (JetFormBuilder).

For Elementor users, JetEngine offers the following widgets which you can use to add dynamic content to your page:

JetEngine Pros:

• Extensive field types support
• Capable of creating custom post types and custom taxonomies
• Capable of creating dynamic calendar, chart and map
• Has a built-in form builder feature (legacy feature but still work)

JetEngine Cons:

• No free version is available

Free ACF Alternatives

1. CubeWP

CubeWP deserves a better exposure than it earned. There are many things you can do with the plugin beyond creating custom fields and custom post types.

For Elementor users without the pro version, CubeWP is a savior. You can use it to create custom templates for header, footer, single post, and archive pages just like Elementor' Theme Builder. For free!

You can add dynamic content on your custom templates. Be it WordPress default dynamic content (such as post title, post content, etc) or dynamic content you created with CubeWP (e.g., custom fields).

With CubeWP installed, the dynamic tag on the Elementor editor becomes usable even if you don't have Elementor Pro installed.

CubeWP also comes with widgets to display your content. It even offers widgets to filter the content.

The custom field creator feature of CubeWP supports field types like text, number, color, and link.

All of the features mentioned above are available for free. If you use the pro version, you can unlock advanced features like front-end builder, advanced search builder, and so on.

CubeWP Pros:

• Extensive field type support
• Custom field builder and CPT builder are completely free
• Advanced features on custom field builder and CPT builder
• Ability to add WordPress dynamic content on the Elementor editor

CubeWP Cons:

• Some features require extra plugins

2. Pods

To be honest, Pods doesn't offer custom field creation experience as pleasurable as ACF. But if this doesn't matter to you, then Pods is worth trying to replace ACF.

After all, nearly all features and functionalities that ACF offers are available in Pods. You can use Pods to create custom post types, custom taxonomies and custom fields. If you want to enable REST API, this feature is also available.

Pods can work seamlessly with Elementor Pro just like ACF and JetEngine. You can pull custom field content to your Theme Builder templates.

Conditional logic feature is also available in Pods to keep your custom field block inside the WordPress editor (Gutenberg) clean and uncluttered.

Pods Pros:

• Completely free
• Extensive field type support
• Capable to create custom post type
• Works seamlessly with Elementor Theme Builder

Pods Cons:

• The UI is not easy enough to use for beginners

3. Meta Box

Meta Box now offers a better custom field creation experience than it used to be. Previously, you could only create the custom fields via its website, not your WordPress dashboard.

After creating the custom fields, you needed to generate the PHP code and register them by creating a new custom function.

With the new custom field creation experience that Meta Box offers, you no longer need to register the custom fields you have created. It now offers the same experience as ACF, Pods and other plugins on the list.

Unfortunately, the Meta Box plugin that you can use to create custom fields via WordPress dashboard is not available on WordPress.org. Instead, you can only download it via its website.

Even worse because you need to enter your email address to download the plugin file. So, I personally don't recommend this plugin. If you have no problem with this, then Meta Box is worth trying.

Meta Box Pros:

• Offers a great visual custom field creation
• Extensive field type support
• Works seamlessly with Elementor Theme Builder

Meta Box Cons:

• Complicated installation process
• No conditional logic on the free version

4. Custom Post Type UI

Custom Post Type UI was the go-to plugin to create custom post types and custom taxonomies before ACF had the ability to do so. Yes, in the past, you could only use ACF to create custom fields.

To create custom post types, WordPress users used to use Custom Post Type UI. In the past, both Custom Post Type UI and ACF were an inseparable pair. Ever since ACF could create custom post types, users prefer to install a single plugin.

If you only need to create custom post types or custom taxonomies, without custom fields, then Custom Post Type UI is a great plugin you can use. It's completely free.

After creating a custom post type using Custom Post Type UI, you can create a custom template for it using Elementor Theme Builder.

Custom Post Type UI Pros:

• One of the best plugins to create custom post type
• Has an easy-to-use interface, even for beginners

Custom Post Type UI Cons:

• Doesn't have the ability to create custom fields

Summary

Despite its popularity, not everyone is impressed with ACF. Especially those who have a bad perception about its ownership.

Whatever your reason, if you are looking for a WordPress plugin to replace ACF, then you can consider one of the plugins above.

All plugins on the list can work seamlessly with Elementor Theme Builder.

JetEngine is a great plugin if you have no issue with money. CubeWP is the best plugin if you prefer a free solution to create custom fields and use them on theme builder templates.

Other plugins are worth trying too although they don't offer unique selling points like JetEngine and CubeWP.