diff --git a/resources/js/common/slideouts/useElementEditor.ts b/resources/js/common/slideouts/useElementEditor.ts
index 85fbeed48d3..9ac67f3088d 100644
--- a/resources/js/common/slideouts/useElementEditor.ts
+++ b/resources/js/common/slideouts/useElementEditor.ts
@@ -445,7 +445,8 @@ export function useElementEditor(
         panel.nestedOwnerId = await panel.prepareNestedOwner();
       }
 
-      if (panel?.nestedOwnerId) {
+      // Element types without drafts (e.g. variants) save in place.
+      if (panel?.nestedOwnerId && instance.settings.canCreateDrafts) {
         if (!instance.settings.draftId) {
           await instance.saveDraft();
         }
diff --git a/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.test.ts b/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.test.ts
index ddcf9bc1355..0d620574f5f 100644
--- a/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.test.ts
+++ b/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.test.ts
@@ -1937,6 +1937,32 @@ describe('useElementEditor', () => {
       });
     });
 
+    it('saves draft-less elements in place when the opener prepares an owner draft', async () => {
+      const slideout = handledSlideout();
+      const prepareNestedOwner = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(73);
+      Object.assign(slideout.instance, {prepareNestedOwner});
+      const request = stubSaveRequest(() => Promise.resolve({data: {}}));
+      const {editor} = mount(
+        payload({
+          canAutosave: false,
+          nestedContext,
+          saveForDerivativeUrl:
+            '/actions/elements/save-nested-element-for-derivative',
+        }),
+        slideout
+      );
+
+      editor.save();
+
+      await vi.waitFor(() => expect(request).toHaveBeenCalledOnce());
+      expect(prepareNestedOwner).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      expect(postSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(request.mock.calls[0]![0]).toMatchObject({
+        url: '/actions/entries/save-entry',
+        data: expect.not.objectContaining({newOwnerId: expect.anything()}),
+      });
+    });
+
     it('announces invalid nested elements when a save fails', async () => {
       const displayError = vi.fn();
       vi.stubGlobal('Craft', {cp: {displayError}});
diff --git a/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.ts b/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.ts
index c20a546df4a..0f5afcd58ad 100644
--- a/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.ts
+++ b/resources/js/modules/elements/composables/useElementEditor.ts
@@ -671,7 +671,8 @@ export function useElementEditor({saveData, root, transform}: Options = {}) {
     try {
       const ownerId = await slideout!.instance.prepareNestedOwner!();
 
-      if (!ownerId) {
+      // Element types without drafts (e.g. variants) save in place.
+      if (!ownerId || !props.canAutosave) {
         return true;
       }
 
diff --git a/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/NestedElementsControl.test.ts b/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/NestedElementsControl.test.ts
index 0d004f0d031..a38c33e7e99 100644
--- a/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/NestedElementsControl.test.ts
+++ b/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/NestedElementsControl.test.ts
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ describe('NestedElementsControl', () => {
   ) {
     const legacyElementEditor = {
       settings: {
+        canCreateDrafts: true,
         draftId: 6,
         saveParams: null as Record<string, unknown> | null,
       },
@@ -590,6 +591,33 @@ describe('NestedElementsControl', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('saves draft-less elements in place in the legacy editor', async () => {
+    const {createElementEditor, legacyElementEditor} = mount({
+      vueSlideout: false,
+      cards: [
+        nestedElement({
+          id: 18,
+          siteId: 1,
+          ownerId: 31,
+          editUrl:
+            '/admin/actions/elements/edit?elementId=18&siteId=1&fieldId=7&ownerId=31',
+          cardAttributes: {data: {editable: true}},
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+    legacyElementEditor.settings.canCreateDrafts = false;
+    legacyElementEditor.settings.draftId = null as unknown as number;
+    await nextTick();
+
+    root.querySelector<HTMLAnchorElement>('a[href]')!.click();
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(createElementEditor).toHaveBeenCalledOnce());
+
+    const settings = createElementEditor.mock.lastCall![1];
+    await expect(settings.onBeforeSubmit()).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    expect(legacyElementEditor.saveDraft).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(legacyElementEditor.settings.saveParams).toBeNull();
+  });
+
   it('opens the entry’s own edit page in a new tab on a modified click', async () => {
     const open = vi.spyOn(window, 'open').mockReturnValue(null);
     mount({
diff --git a/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/useNestedElementOperations.ts b/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/useNestedElementOperations.ts
index db0e7a9d70b..43b86d5378c 100644
--- a/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/useNestedElementOperations.ts
+++ b/resources/js/modules/forms/nested-elements/useNestedElementOperations.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ export interface LegacyElementEditorSlideout {
   ): void;
   elementEditor: {
     settings: {
+      canCreateDrafts?: boolean;
       draftId?: number | null;
       saveParams?: Record<string, unknown> | null;
     };
@@ -335,7 +336,10 @@ export function useNestedElementOperations(
       prepareNestedOwner
         ? async (slideout) => {
             const preparedOwnerId = await prepareNestedOwner();
-            if (!preparedOwnerId) {
+            if (
+              !preparedOwnerId ||
+              !slideout.elementEditor.settings.canCreateDrafts
+            ) {
               return;
             }