Flatsome
Elementor Classic Theme One-time Purchase
Author: UX-themes | Last Updated: 15.08.2025

Flatsome

Quick Verdict

Flatsome is a best-selling WooCommerce theme packed with features and a powerful proprietary page builder, making it a strong choice for complex e-commerce sites. However, it suffers from a steep learning curve, critical conflicts with popular plugins like Elementor, and a support model that requires ongoing payments to report bugs.

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Analysis

Flatsome is one of the best-selling WooCommerce themes on ThemeForest, celebrated for its deep e-commerce integration and extensive customization options powered by its proprietary UX Builder. It offers a vast array of features designed to create sophisticated online stores, and its one-time price makes it an attractive option for new businesses looking for a powerful, all-in-one solution.

Despite its popularity, Flatsome presents significant challenges that developers must consider. Its proprietary UX Builder has a steep learning curve and is known for stability issues, such as failing to save changes or elements not loading correctly in the editor. The theme is also notoriously incompatible with the Elementor page builder, forcing users into its ecosystem. This lock-in can be problematic for developers accustomed to other tools or when planning a future migration away from the theme.

Performance and support are also major considerations. While the theme can be very fast, achieving good PageSpeed scores requires careful optimization and can be undermined by common plugins like WPML. Furthermore, the support policy, which requires license renewals every six months to report bugs or receive help, is a common source of frustration. Developers should weigh the theme’s powerful e-commerce features against its complexity, plugin conflicts, and restrictive support model before committing to it for a project.

Elementor
Multipurpose
Classic Theme
✅ Pros
• Excellent native WooCommerce integration
• Very fast performance when properly configured
• Affordable one-time purchase price
❌ Cons
• Critical conflict with Elementor page builder
• Steep learning curve for non-technical users
• Support expires after 6 months, blocking bug reports
Plugin Compatibility
Will my plugins work?
Research Confidence: High
Safe if
Flatsome is safe to use if you plan to build the site primarily with its integrated UX Builder and a curated set of well-vetted plugins known to be compatible.
Check before purchase
Use this theme with caution if your project relies on specific third-party plugins for critical functionality, as Flatsome's aggressive CSS and custom builder can cause conflicts with tools like LiteSpeed Cache or payment gateways [7, 18].
Avoid if
Absolutely avoid Flatsome if your project requires the Elementor page builder, as there is a critical, well-documented conflict that prevents the theme's own UX Builder from functioning when Elementor is active [15].

Community Quotes

"I cannot go into UX Builder at all UNLESS I deactivate Elementor."

— WordPress.org [15]

"This rule messes up the whole CSS of any plugin applying its CSS."

— Agile Store Locator [1]

"When i enable it customers are getting an error when trying to pay. Error shown says: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'trim')"

— WordPress.org [18]

"The minification and combination features for CSS and JS in LiteSpeed often disrupt the design of Flatsome."

— Reddit [7]

"If the loco translate is enabled, the theme is broken, I can't customize it. If I click on customize button, nothing happens, just blank screen."

— WordPress.org [16]

Client Handoff
Can the client manage it?
Research Confidence: High
Safe if
This theme is a safe choice if the client is technically proficient or if you are providing a comprehensive training and maintenance plan to help them navigate the extensive theme options.
Check before purchase
Exercise caution if your client needs to make frequent or complex layout changes independently, as the proprietary UX Builder and numerous theme options can be overwhelming for non-technical users [3].
Avoid if
Avoid this theme if the project requires a simple, intuitive backend for a client with no technical experience, as the learning curve is steep and advanced customizations require coding knowledge [4].
Panel Difficulty
Complex
Documentation
Good
Learning Curve
Days

Community Quotes

"Overwhelming for beginners due to many features"

— CreativeThemes [3]

"This workflow is beyond typical non-technical client capability."

— Flatsome Experts [4]

Freelancer Recommendation
Flatsome is best suited for projects where a developer will handle most of the site management or for clients who are willing to invest time in learning a complex system.
Alternatives: Astra, Kadence, Blocksy
Performance & SEO
Will the site be fast?
Research Confidence: High
Safe if
Flatsome is a safe choice for performance-focused projects if you are prepared to implement proper caching and optimization strategies, as the theme can be very fast when configured correctly [2].
Check before purchase
Use this theme with caution if you are building a multilingual site with plugins like WPML, which have been reported to cause significant performance degradation on mobile devices [9].
Avoid if
Avoid this theme if you need a solution that is exceptionally fast out-of-the-box with minimal configuration, as users report poor initial scores that require significant optimization to improve [9].
80
Mobile
Benchmark: 90+
98
Desktop
Benchmark: 90+
1.88s
LCP Mobile
Benchmark: <2.5s
1.31s
LCP Desktop
Benchmark: <2.5s
0.230
CLS Desktop
Benchmark: <0.1
Overall Performance Rating
89/100
Test Information
Test Date: 2026-02-22
Tested URL: https://demos.flatsome.com/demos/shop-demos/classic-shop/

Code Observation (demo):

The official demo site scored 80/100 on mobile PageSpeed Insights, which is a good result, tested on 2026-02-22 at https://demos.flatsome.com/demos/shop-demos/classic-shop/. This score reflects strong performance potential, although community feedback indicates that achieving these speeds requires careful optimization and can be degraded by third-party plugins like WPML [9].

⚠️ Based on DevTools inspection of demo, not a production audit

Community Quotes

"The moment I enable Flatsome theme again, mobile site drops to 19 at most, and 68 desktop."

— Reddit [9]

"I get in the 90+'s without WPML... Mobile site drops to 19 with WPML."

— Reddit [9]

Freelancer Recommendation

To achieve optimal performance with Flatsome, plan for a dedicated optimization phase using a high-quality caching plugin and a CDN, and be prepared to troubleshoot potential slowdowns from other plugins.

Alternatives: Astra, Kadence, GeneratePress
Update Safety
Will updates break the site?
Research Confidence: Medium
Safe if
The theme is safe for projects where you maintain a standard development workflow that includes testing all updates on a staging site before deploying them to the live environment.
Check before purchase
Exercise caution because the support policy requires an active subscription to report bugs; if an update introduces an issue after your support has expired, you will have to pay to report it [10].
Avoid if
Avoid this theme for projects with a strict policy against paid support renewals, as access to the official support channel for bug reporting is cut off after the initial six-month period expires [10].
Freelancer Recommendation

Due to the paid support model, it is highly recommended to maintain an active support license for the duration of any critical project to ensure you can report bugs and receive timely fixes.

Alternatives: Kadence, Blocksy
Scalability
Can I use it for multiple projects?
Research Confidence: Medium

Community Quotes

"the warning 'Exit? All changes since last save will be lost', and my correction that I have made was not saved and reflected."

— WordPress.org [17]

"theres content on the banners but I stopped showing on the editor, so im editing blindly literally, and i have to update and fix placement issues every time"

— Reddit [12]

"often generates a lot of 'bloat code' (nested divs), which is harder for AI crawlers to parse than the clean code from Kadence or Astra."

— Qualimero [5]

Costs
Pricing breakdown
Explicit Costs
  • Regular License $59
  • Support (6) Included
  • Regular License $59
  • Extended License $2950
Hidden Costs (Community)
"if you encounter issues after your support has lapsed, you can't report them."— Reddit [10]
Demo Gallery
15 example sites
Classic Shop
Classic Shop
Cute Shop
Cute Shop
Parallax Shop
Parallax Shop
Big Sale
Big Sale
Fullscreen Fashion
Fullscreen Fashion
Grid Style 1
Grid Style 1
Grid Style 2
Grid Style 2
Grid Style 3
Grid Style 3
Mega Shop
Mega Shop
Sale Countdown
Sale Countdown
Simple Slider
Simple Slider
Slider Cover
Slider Cover
Sport Shop
Sport Shop
Vendor Shop
Vendor Shop
Video Cover
Video Cover
View all 15 demos →
Frequently Asked Questions
8 questions from community

Is Flatsome compatible with the Elementor page builder?

Plugin Compatibility

No, Flatsome is not compatible with Elementor. There is a critical conflict where the theme's native UX Builder will not load if the Elementor plugin is active [15]. It is designed to be used exclusively with its own builder.

Sources: 15

Why is my Flatsome website slow, and how can I fix it?

Performance & Speed

Out-of-the-box performance can be poor, with users reporting mobile scores as low as 19 [9]. Common causes include a lack of proper caching, conflicts with the minification features in plugins like LiteSpeed Cache [7], and significant performance degradation when using translation plugins like WPML.

Sources: 9,7

What are the most common bugs or stability issues with the UX Builder?

General

Users frequently report issues with the UX Builder, including the failure to save changes properly [17] and a bug where elements become invisible in the editor, forcing users to edit blindly and check the live site for results [12].

Sources: 17,12

Does Flatsome work with caching plugins like LiteSpeed Cache?

Plugin Compatibility

It has limited compatibility. While standard caching may work, the minification and combination features for CSS and JavaScript in LiteSpeed Cache often break Flatsome's design and are not recommended [7].

Sources: 7

Is Flatsome a good choice for a multilingual website using WPML?

Plugin Compatibility

While Flatsome is officially certified as fully compatible with WPML [20], users have reported that activating the plugin can cause severe performance degradation, particularly on mobile devices [9].

Sources: 20,9

Is Flatsome easy for non-technical clients to manage after handoff?

Client Handoff

No, it is generally considered difficult for non-technical clients. The theme options panel is described as overwhelming, and the complexity of its features presents a steep learning curve that requires significant training [3, 22].

Sources: 3,22

What happens to support and bug reporting after the initial 6-month period expires?

Support Quality

After the initial six months, you lose access to official support from the developers. This means you can no longer submit tickets to report bugs or get help with issues, which is a significant pain point for many users [10].

Sources: 10

Does Flatsome have conflicts with payment gateways like WooPayments?

Plugin Compatibility

Yes, there are reported conflicts with WooPayments. Specifically, users have found that the Apple Pay and Google Pay options can cause JavaScript errors during checkout, preventing customers from completing their purchases [18].

Sources: 18
Sources & Methodology
22 sources indexed

Timeframe

Last 12 months

Analysis Date

January 18, 2026

Confidence Assessment

Data confidence: HIGH (22 analytical sources, 22 total)

Methodology Note

Analysis based on user-reported issues from forums, social media, and review sites.

Referenced Sources 22