Selecting a WordPress theme is not an easy task. With thousands of WordPress themes available, choosing the perfect one for your website can be daunting. Among the top contenders, Astra vs. Kadence: Which WordPress Theme Is Right For You? stands out as a crucial comparison. Both Astra and Kadence are highly popular multipurpose themes, each offering unique features and benefits. To make an informed decision, it’s essential to understand what differentiates these two themes and which one best meets your website’s needs.
Astra and Kadence are both powerful themes with free versions. However, Astra offers a larger selection of starter sites and integrates with more page builders, so it might be a better option if you want a lot of customization options.
At first glance, Kadence and Astra might look very similar but no two themes are the same. Understanding each theme’s unique features can help you make the right decision.
In this post, we’ll discuss Astra vs. Kadence in terms of starter sites, features, pricing, and other aspects. This way, you should be able to determine which theme would be better suited for your needs. Let’s get started!
The WordPress theme you choose plays a significant role in your website’s design. Most of them come with a lot of extra features such as pre-built templates and integration with page builders.
Astra is a perfect example of this. The theme is famous for its lightweight design and for offering a broad range of templates. It’s an ideal option for those who want to stick with the Block Editor, as well as website owners who prefer using page builder plugins:
Kadence is very similar to Astra. The theme comes with a large library of website templates, and several customization options. Plus, it integrates with a lot of popular page builders:
Both themes can help you create websites quickly without needing to touch a single line of code. You can choose a template, customize it, start adding content, and have a professional website ready to go in a matter of hours.
Picking the perfect theme typically comes down to identifying the features you need and finding something in your price range. In the following sections, we’ll compare Astra vs. Kadence to help you choose between them.
Starter sites are page templates that you can import to your website. Here’s a quick look at a Kadence starter site for dentists:
The goal of starter sites is to provide you with easy-to-customize templates. You can modify every element and, depending on the theme, you might also get access to advanced customization options.
Astra takes the lead when it comes to starter site designs. The premium version of the theme gives you access to over 240 professional templates. You’ll also get some options with the free version of the theme:
Meanwhile, Kadence offers 81 starter site designs, some of which are available with the free theme:
It’s worth noting that Kadence designs tend to be more varied than their Astra counterparts. However, your mileage might vary depending on what style you’re looking for.
Plugins are at the core of your site’s functionality. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure that your chosen theme is compatible with your favorite tools.
For example, not all themes support WooCommerce. That means they might not include designs for shop and product pages. If you’re planning on launching an online store, a theme without WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads support would be a no-go.
Astra integrates with a large number of page builders, including Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, Visual Composer, and Divi. It’s also optimized to work with LearnDash:
Meanwhile, Kadence offers support for Elementor and Beaver Builder. It also works with LearnDash (one of its partner brands), LifterLMS, Give, bbPress, and other popular plugins:
Overall, Astra integrates with more page builders than Kadence. However, Kadence offers a more diverse set of integrations. It’s a fantastic option for educational websites in particular, as it supports most of the biggest online learning plugins.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to use a page builder with either theme. Both options work perfectly with the Block Editor.
If you’re a developer, you’ll want to use a theme that’s easy to customize and extend with your own code. Astra offers a free Hooks plugin that enables you to add actions within theme templates through the WordPress Hooks API:
To do the same thing in Kadence, you’ll need to get into the theme’s files and add hooks manually. The theme covers this process in detail in its documentation, but the implementation takes a bit more work.
It’s also worth noting that Astra is an open-source theme. You can navigate its code and even contribute to the theme’s development if you visit its official GitHub repository.
In terms of performance, Astra is renowned for being one of the most lightweight and optimized themes on the market and Kadence doesn’t fall far behind. Astra requires less than 50KB of resources to run, which means it adds very little bloat to pages. Kadence requires approximately 40KB to run, which puts it on par with Astra.
When it comes to optimizing total blocking time for your website. Google PageSpeed Insights provides key metrics that highlight the best-performing themes. According to their data, the Kadence themeexcels in this area. Reporting zero total blocking time, which translates to a smoother, more responsive user experience for visitors.
In comparison, the Astra theme registers a total blocking time of 30 milliseconds out of the box. Which may introduce minor delays. For anyone focused on improving website performance with minimal blocking time, Kadence emerges as the clear winner.
Key Takeaways:
If minimizing total blocking time is a priority for you, the Kadence theme is the recommended choice for delivering optimal performance and user experience.
When evaluating themes based on speed index using Google PageSpeed Insights, the Kadence theme outperforms the Astra theme.
In summary, the Kadence theme delivers a faster speed index, making it the better choice for those prioritizing performance.
According to Google PageSpeed Insights, the time to interactive (TTI) is crucial for determining how quickly a webpage is fully functional for user interactions. In a comparison of two popular WordPress themes, one theme outshines the other with a faster TTI.
The theme in question achieves a time to interactive of 1.6 seconds. On the other hand, its competitor clocks in at 1.8 seconds. This difference of 0.2 seconds makes the first theme the speedier option in this metric.
Key Metrics:
If page speed and quick user interaction are top priorities, the theme with the 1.6-second time to interactive is the optimal choice.
In conclusion, if speed, user-friendliness, and eCommerce functionality are your top priorities, Kadence Pro stands out as the superior choice.
When choosing between Astra Pro and Kadence Pro for your WordPress theme, comparing their paid features is essential to understand which offers more value for your investment. Here’s a breakdown of each theme’s standout features and how they can benefit your website’s performance, customization, and overall user experience.
Kadence Pro Advantages
Astra Pro Highlights
Choosing Between Astra Pro and Kadence Pro
Both Astra Pro and Kadence Pro have unique strengths. Kadence Pro is packed with advanced features and customization options, making it ideal for users who want deep control over their website’s design. On the other hand, Astra Pro focuses on simplicity, speed, and core functionality, catering to those who prefer a straightforward yet efficient theme.
When comparing Astra Pro and Kadence Pro, Kadence Pro stands out as the theme offering more paid features.
Customization Options: Kadence Pro boasts an extensive range of customization options. This includes advanced typography settings, color controls, and layout options, making it highly adaptable to various design needs.
Intuitive Layout Control: Kadence Pro comes with Hooked Elements, an intuitive system for dynamic content injection. This allows you to design highly customized pages faster and with greater flexibility.
Advanced Integrations: Kadence Pro seamlessly integrates with a variety of third-party plugins and tools, enhancing its functionality. This includes integrations for e-commerce, SEO, and performance optimization.
Pre-Built Templates: Both themes offer pre-built templates, but Kadence Pro provides a more comprehensive selection. This can significantly reduce your website development time.
Ease of Use
Kadence Pro is often praised for its user-friendly interface. Its layout control feature is more intuitive compared to Astra Pro‘s Custom Layouts, which requires a steeper learning curve.
In summary, Kadence Pro offers a superior array of paid features compared to Astra Pro. The combination of advanced customization, intuitive design tools, and broader integrations makes it a powerful choice for anyone looking to build a highly customized and functional website.
This makes Kadence Pro a compelling option if maximizing feature-rich capabilities is your goal.
When evaluating WordPress themes, speed is a crucial factor that can significantly impact user experience. Based on GTMetrix speed tests, both Astra and Kadence themes exhibit noteworthy performance, but with some distinctions worth highlighting.
Speed Index
Page Size and Requests
Loading Times
This marginally faster loading time for Kadence is particularly impressive given that it offers more features right out of the box compared to Astra.
Code Efficiency
Kadence achieves this efficiency through cleaner code designed with performance as a top priority from the onset. This streamlined architecture allows Kadence to deliver more functionality without sacrificing speed.
Both Astra and Kadence are high-performance themes with excellent speed metrics. However, Kadence has a slight edge in both lower page size and faster load times, which can be attributed to its efficient code and performance-focused design.
If loading speed and additional features are important to you, Kadence may be the better choice, while Astra remains a strong contender for those looking for reliability and proven performance.
When comparing color customization options between the Astra and Kadence themes, it’s clear that Kadence offers a more advanced and user-friendly approach.
Astra‘s Traditional Color Settings
Astra‘s color customization is fairly standard, aligning with many other WordPress themes:
While effective, this method can be time-consuming, especially if you’re aiming for a cohesive color scheme across your entire website.
Kadence’s Global Color Palette
Kadence introduces a revolutionary global color palette:
This global linkage can drastically reduce the time spent on color customization, allowing for quick and seamless updates.
Benefits of Kadence Over Astra
Practical Experience
Developers often find they spend significantly less time setting up color schemes with Kadence compared to Astra. The ease of updating colors globally in Kadence enhances productivity and ensures consistency without the hassle of copying hex or RGB values multiple times.
In conclusion, Kadence offers superior color customization options. Its intuitive global color palette not only saves time but also simplifies maintaining a consistent and professional appearance across your website. If efficiency and ease of use are your priorities, Kadence clearly stands out as the better choice.
When evaluating the median load time, both Astra and Kadence themes display noteworthy performance metrics.
Speed Index: Both themes share an identical speed index of 0.8 seconds, indicating similar initial load perceptions.
Page Size and Requests:
Loading Time:
Interestingly, despite the Kadence theme being slightly faster in actual load times, it also offers a range of free features that surpass what is available with Astra. This combination of speed and feature richness positions it as a highly efficient option.
When evaluating support and documentation for WordPress themes, both Astra and Kadence present distinct advantages and areas for improvement.
Documentation Comparison
Astra: This theme benefits from a longer history, resulting in a more extensive knowledge base. However, despite the volume of resources available, users often find the documentation lacking in clarity and depth. It covers basic functionalities well but can fall short in offering comprehensive guides for advanced customization.
Kadence: While newer to the market, Kadence is already making strides with its documentation. Although not as voluminous as Astra‘s, the available resources are typically more user-friendly and detailed. Kadence’s documentation provides clear, step-by-step instructions that can be more helpful for users at all skill levels.
Support Comparison
Kadence: One of Kadence’s standout features is its customer support. Responses from the support team are prompt and often more helpful. Users report quicker resolution times and more personalized assistance.
Astra: Astra also offers solid customer support but generally falls behind Kadence in terms of response speed and effectiveness. While adequate, it’s often less timely, which can be frustrating for users in need of immediate help.
In summary, Kadence excels in providing better overall support, thanks to faster and more effective customer service. Astra, on the other hand, boasts more extensive documentation due to its longer presence in the market but requires improvement in clarity and depth. If immediate, high-quality support is your priority, Kadence is the better choice. However, if having a wide array of documentation resources is more critical, Astra might serve you better.
When it comes to sidebar customization, Astra and Kadence offer different levels of flexibility and ease of use.
Astra Sidebar Options
Astra provides a percentage-based system for defining sidebar widths. This means you can designate what portion of your content area the sidebar occupies, which is quite useful for creating responsive designs that adapt well across various screen sizes. However, this approach has its limitations. If you need a fixed-width sidebar — say 300px to meet specific ad requirements — you’ll find Astra‘s options somewhat lacking. Achieving a fixed width requires advanced custom CSS, which can be an obstacle if you’re not familiar with coding.
Kadence Sidebar Options
In contrast, Kadence allows for more straightforward and flexible sidebar customization. You can easily set a fixed width via a dropdown menu by simply selecting the desired pixel measurement. This makes it much simpler to meet specific requirements, such as the 300px fixed width often necessary for ad compliance. With Kadence, achieving the perfect sidebar width takes only a few seconds, making it highly convenient for users who need precise control.
Key Differences
If ease of sidebar customization with fixed widths is a priority for you, Kadence offers a more straightforward solution. On the other hand, Astra‘s percentage-based approach could be advantageous for those who prioritize responsive design and are comfortable with custom CSS. Both themes have their strengths, but your choice will depend on your specific needs and technical proficiency.
When choosing a WordPress theme, the quality of support can make a huge difference in your experience. For many users, support response time and problem-solving effectiveness are key factors when comparing Kadence and Astra.
Response Time
Kadence’s support team consistently delivers faster response times than Astra’s. Users often note that despite being a smaller team, Kadence manages to outpace Astra in getting back to customers quickly. This swift response ensures that users can resolve their issues faster, which is crucial for maintaining a smooth website experience.
Problem-Solving Effectiveness
It’s not just about speed—Kadence shines in its approach to problem-solving. While Astra’s support team does address user issues, Kadence goes a step further by providing comprehensive, actionable solutions. This depth of assistance is something users highly appreciate, as it reduces the likelihood of repeat issues.
Going Above and Beyond
One major advantage of Kadence’s support is their willingness to assist with broader WordPress issues, even those beyond the scope of their theme. This dedication to helping users with general WordPress concerns adds significant value, making Kadence stand out as a theme provider that truly supports its community.
In short, Kadence’s support team not only offers faster response times but also delivers more thorough solutions, often going above and beyond to help with general WordPress issues. For users seeking a reliable support experience, Kadence proves to be a top choice in the Kadence vs. Astra comparison.
Although both Astra and Kadence offer free versions of the themes, you’ll need to get a license to access most of their features.
Astra offers three plans. The first one is priced at $47 and enables you to use a lot of advanced customization options. However, if you’re interested in the theme’s vast collection of starter sites, you’ll need to pay for the Essential Bundle plan, which starts at $137 per year (most themes offer yearly licenses):
The final tier of Astra plans is only worth it if you’re looking for additional add-ons for Beaver Builder and Elementor. The theme itself works seamlessly with the page builders even in its free version, so unless you need access to a specific premium feature, the Growth Bundle plan might not be worth it.
In comparison, Kadence only offers two premium licenses, priced at $129 and $199 per year. Premium licenses give you access to the full collection of starter sites and additional blocks and custom fonts:
The developers behind Kadence also offer a broad range of other plugins, including options for galleries, cloud sync for your site’s files, conversion optimizers, email marketing tools, and more. All of these plugins are included in the Full Bundle tier. This plan is ideal if you’re interested in one or more of these plugins.
We recommend that you try a free version before committing to a license. If you want to build a website from scratch you might not even need to pay for a premium license. You still get access to a decent number of starter sites and both themes work well with page builders and the Block Editor.
Choosing between Astra vs. Kadence can be a little difficult. Both themes are evenly matched in terms of performance and pricing. However, Astra has a slight edge due to its large library of starter sites and developer-friendly features.
The free versions of the themes are more than enough for most websites. In fact, we recommend trying them for free before making a decision. It’s worth noting that the GigaPress website uses Kadence, so this should give you an idea of how versatile the theme is.
Do you have any questions about Astra vs. Kadence? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you’re deciding between Astra vs. Kadence and need fast WordPress hosting along with done-for-you updates, check out our hosting packages by clicking the button below:
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