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I love both, but right now I slightly prefer Elena because I have an Ellen in my family and because it seems less likely to look dated. The advantages of Helena are the less ambiguous pronunciation and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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I say HEL-en-a and EL-en-a, but I've met some Elenas called el-EH-na and el-AY-na (one was indistinguishable from Alaina).

Elena is pretty bland and unmemorable to me; it's just not very distinctive. I like Helena much better; somehow the 'H' gives it a lot more character and stateliness.

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That said, when I see Helena written down, my brain toggles indecisively between two possible pronunciations: HEL-eh-na and he-LAY-na. As a kid I always just assumed the name had the first pronunciation. Nowadays I'd be at least as likely to guess the second pronunciation instead. I like both pronunciations. A tiny part of my brain would also wonder whether the 'H' was even pronounced.

The initial way I would say them would be 'HEHL-ə-nə' and as 'ə-LAY-nə'
I prefer Elena and all its various pronunciations over Helena.

I prefer Helena. I would say either He-lay-na or He-len-a, but I prefer the second pronunciation. Elena would be El-en-a, or El-en-a if that is how I hear a person bearing that name say it that way.

Elena would be eh-LAY-nah to me, Helena the same thing basically: heh-LAY-nah.

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Helena would the the one with the most pronunciation issues, so Elena would be best to actually use to me.

Elena doesn't happen where I live. I'd pronounce it eLAYna. I love Eleanor and Elinor, which to me sound the same; but I greatly dislike Ellen, and associate it with Elena.

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Helena has too many pronunciations jostling for position. I say HELena, but most people here would guess heLEEana, which is pretty much the Afrikaans pronunciation, and which I don't enjoy. I love Helen for its mythical resonance and its clean lines, and would happily use it. In a straight fight between Elinor and Helen, I'd go for Helen.

I love them both. I like Helena slightly more, but it might be because I have a soft spot for family names and Helena is a family name for me. I would be pleased to see either on someone elses child.

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Elena is eh-LEH-nuh to me, Helena is heh-LEH-nuh or heh-LAY-nuh.

Helena is one of my favourite names. It sounds beautiful, and I love the mythical story, as well as the fact that it's usable in many countries. I'd pronounce it heh-LEHN-a in my native language, and HEHL-ə-nə in English.
Elena, on the other hand, is rather boring and flavourless to me. I'd pronounce it eh-LEH-na.

Helena is my daughter's name, so obviously it's my preference. We pronounce it hel-ay-na, though sometimes people say HEL-en-a (like Helen with an A).

heh-leh-na / eh-LEH-na

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I prefer Helena, it's very dignified, perhaps a bit too much though as I can't think of any good nicknames. Elena is just too Latin for me, despite being Mexican American haha.

hell-ay-na / elle-ay-na

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Both sound dated to me but if I had to choose, I'd go with Elena just because it can be shortened to Elle or Ellie. Both names I've seen many times on 60+ women in my area, and in fact we have a close friend and neighbour called Elena