GeneratePress vs Astra: Which WordPress Theme Should You Use in 2024?

Hey there! If you’re on the hunt for a WordPress theme that’s light, fast, and super easy to customize, you’ve probably heard of GeneratePress and Astra. I’ve been there, trying to pick the best one for my website.

It felt like standing in front of two delicious cakes, trying to decide which one to eat. GeneratePress is known for its speed and simplicity, making it a breeze to load and use.

On the other hand, Astra is famous for its wide range of features and flexibility, giving you tons of options to tweak your site just the way you like it.

Both are awesome choices, but they have their unique perks that might sway you one way or the other.

Let’s dive in and compare GeneratePress vs Astra, focusing on what really matters for your site’s needs!

In this article, I will be talking about their features, layout customization, pricing plans, and pros and cons. I hope these tips will help you and gain you a few more profits.

Let’s get into a detailed review for further information. 

GeneratePress vs Astra – Overview

Let’s get to know about both these themes before we jump into the in-depth comparison.

GeneratePress

If you are looking for a lightweight theme that helps improve your site speed, then GeneratePress is your answer. GeneratePress is a popular WordPress theme and one of the most recommended themes for SEO and affiliate marketing.

It is designed to help you improve your website’s speed and performance, which is crucial for increasing your search engine rankings. Google prioritizes fast-loading and user-friendly websites for the best user experience.

You can use the GeneratePress theme for your affiliate, SaaS, and other websites as well. It comes with drag-and-drop features that are comparable to those found in many other themes and plugins

So, there isn’t a lot of excess baggage weighing it down. GeneratePress is a platform that’s more on the bare-bones side. First and foremost, there are a couple of different options you can use with GeneratePress.

Although you can install the free version of the GeneratePress theme, some advanced features are only available in the pro version, which is relatively inexpensive to upgrade to

If you’d like to know all the details about GeneratePress before making a purchase, then you must check out the review here.

Astra

Astra is a highly sought-after WordPress theme that allows users to have a website up and running in minutes. It seamlessly integrates with major page builders and addon plug-ins with the free basic theme.

The pro version, priced at $59 per year, offers additional features, and discounted pricing is available through an agency bundle.

Astra boasts a variety of pre-built templates that provide users with an out-of-the-box website that is ready to go.

The theme also offers layout settings that include options to adjust headers, footers, sidebars, and special settings for WooCommerce.

The pro version includes a powerful mega menu and mobile header features. Additionally, Astra’s performance score on the speed test is 76%.

GeneratePress vs Astra – User Interface

When comparing GeneratePress and Astra, it is important to note that while GeneratePress excels in speed, Astra is equal.

Astra outperforms GeneratePress in functionality, user-friendliness, and interface. The major difference between Astra and GeneratePress in terms of the user interface is their Customizer.

Both have similar options pages, but the free version of GeneratePress lacks starting sites and backend dashboard settings.

 

Users must upgrade to the premium version to access these features. On the other hand, Astra offers a more user-friendly customizer with more options for changing specific chunks of text.

Verdict 

It’s a tie since both really have a good user interface where you can install and activate additional free plug-ins that further extend the functionality of the theme.

In Astra, you can find shortcuts to various customized settings along with available pro modules, which you can activate and deactivate. In GeneratePress, you will find three tanks linked to modules. Elements and the site library. 

Additionally, Astra has a more structured onboarding process and offers starter sites in the free edition.

The WordPress customizer is used for both themes, but Astra’s customizer settings regions are more intuitive and beginner-friendly.

You can find the controls for individual pages in the page builder compatibility section.
Verdict
Both GeneratePress and Astra have good user interfaces that can install and activate additional free plug-ins that enhance the theme’s functionality.

Astra offers shortcuts to various customized settings and pro modules, which can be activated or deactivated.

GeneratePress provides access to modules, elements, and the site library through three tabs.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Starter Sites 

With GeneratePress, creating professional websites is made easy with the Starter Templates plug-in.

This plug-in grants access to various pre-made full website templates and individual pages that you can use with popular page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and the WordPress editor.

Astra starter sites have the following aspects: 

• Installed Required Plug-ins.
• Import Customiser Settings. 
• Import Content.
• Import Widgets. 
• Delete previously imported sites.   

Verdict 

GeneratePress and Astra have site plug-ins that allow users to import complete website demos and customize them to create professional-looking themes. These plug-ins make it easier to find and use templates and create your favorite ones.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Modules 

GeneratePress and Astra have both free and pro versions available.

Both free versions provide access to premium modules and add-ons. GeneratePress premium version provides 15 modules, whereas Astra Pro offers access to 16 addons, with two more to come.

The module-based approach in WordPress themes is gaining popularity due to its benefits, such as ease of maintenance, scalability, and marketability.

However, some users may find Astra’s approach excessive, as they have created a separate addon for a scroll-to-top button.
Astra developers also released several free plug-ins to extend the theme’s functionality further.

If you want to know which is better, GeneratePress or Kadence, then check out this article here.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Free and Premium Features

Free 

Regarding the free versions of Astra and GeneratePress, both offer similar features and capabilities but with some variations. To determine which one is the best fit for your needs, it’s recommended to try both themes and see which templates you prefer.

Regarding the premium versions, Astra Pro offers extra functionality, such as white labeling, site layouts, advanced typography, greater control over spacing, colors, and more. It costs $59 per year and can be used on unlimited websites.

On the other hand, GeneratePress offers greater control over color typography, site library elements, WooCommerce integration, and the unique feature of disabling elements on specific pages to improve performance and loading speed.

Premium

The Astra Pro theme offers additional functionality, including white labeling, site layouts, advanced typography, color options, and control over element spacing, padding, and margin.

It is reasonably priced at $59 per year, and you can use it on an unlimited number of websites.

Similarly, GeneratePress offers greater control over color and typography, with features such as site library elements, WooCommerce integration, and a unique “disable elements” feature, which allows for improved performance and loading speed by turning off unnecessary elements on specific pages.

Verdict

Astra and GeneratePress offer free and premium pricing options, each with unique features.

While the free versions provide a taste of what the themes offer, the premium plans offer additional functionality and customization options.

Astra Pro, for example, includes white-labeling and advanced typography, while GeneratePress Pro offers a site library, WooCommerce integration, and the ability to disable elements on specific pages.

Both themes also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it easy to try them out and see if they meet your needs.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Layout and Style Customisation

The Astra Pro theme allows for custom layouts using hooks, similar to the “elements” feature in the premium version of GeneratePress.

Both themes can assign these custom layouts to different website areas, such as the header or footer.

In GeneratePress, you can find these custom layouts in the “elements” section under “appearance.”

 

Header control

GeneratePress and Astra offer options for customizing the site header, with GeneratePress allowing for width, alignment, padding, and mobile header capability changes.

GeneratePress also customizes individual page headers with options for transparency, video backgrounds, images, and content.

On the other hand, Astra offers extras such as header sections and page headers with the ability to alter the primary header, add layouts above or below the header, and make the header bar transparent using the Customizer.

Astra also has a separate “post type” for page header creation and administration, providing a more powerful option for managing headers than establishing them on each page individually.

Footer control

GeneratePress and Astra offer customization options for the footer, such as custom text, padding, and the number of widget regions in the bottom bar in GeneratePress, and a variety of footer layouts, text customization for each section, and seven different footer widget styles in Astra.

Both themes provide the same level of customization for the footer.

Verdict

When it comes to customization, both Astra and GeneratePress offer a variety of options.

Astra allows for a more personalized approach with various designs, styles, and layouts, while GeneratePress provides a range of designs, layouts, and styles through the eliminator section under appearance.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Performance

When it comes to speed and performance, GeneratePress is generally considered to be the fastest of the two themes. This is because it is built to minimize the number of queries it makes to the database.

On the other hand, Astra is designed with usability in mind and may offer more features and customization options.

Choosing between the two themes will likely depend on your specific needs and priorities as a user.

For blogging and affiliate marketing, GeneratePress is a good option, but for e-commerce websites, Astra is a better choice.

Verdict

Astra and GeneratePress are both highly respected and well-established WordPress themes known for their exceptional performance and speed.

They have been in the market for a long, making them reliable options for building a blog or e-commerce site.

The performance of the theme you choose depends on your website’s specific needs and goals, whether for blogging or e-commerce purposes.

Both Astra and GeneratePress offer a variety of designs and customization options, making them versatile options for any website. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal preference and the specific features you require for your website.

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Astra vs GeneratePress – Page Builder Integration

Astra and GeneratePress are fully compatible with page builders, with Astra even positioning itself as a “page builder theme.”

This means that if you’re using a page builder such as Elementor, you can use the theme to handle global options like colors and typography while the page builder handles the rest of the design.

It is also possible to use Elementor to create a custom header and footer for your blog, which will replace the theme’s header and footer.

The possibilities are endless. Astra’s page builder onboarding is more user-friendly. It prompts you to select whether you want to use a page builder or the default editor and provides starter templates based on your selection.

Verdict 

In summary, Astra has more starter templates and is compatible with more page builders than GeneratePress. GeneratePress.

On the other hand, it is more geared towards the Gutenberg editor and includes some unique theme-building features that I will reveal later in this comparison.

Astra vs GeneratePress – Developer Compatibility

Astra offers custom hooks for developers to insert code snippets in various theme sections.

GeneratePress also provides an abundance of hooks and filters, allowing users to add custom content and code snippets to different website areas.

Verdict 

The compatibility between them is a tie where both themes offer tons of hooks and filters that give you the freedom to change the theme.

Astra vs GeneratePress – E-commerce Integration

WooCommerce is a widely used e-commerce platform, with over 31% of the top one million websites utilizing it.

Therefore, a premium theme needs support or integration with this popular plug-in, and both GeneratePress and Astra have it.

Both themes provide extensive layout and customization options specifically for WooCommerce, allowing you to easily change and control the colors, background, layout, typography, and other aspects of your store.

Verdict 

Astra is the superior choice if you’re planning to create a comprehensive WooCommerce store with its exclusive WooCommerce integration features unavailable in GeneratePress.

Other Integrations

Astra offers integrated support for WooCommerce, allowing you to turn your WordPress site into an online store easily.

They have also integrated with Learndash and LifterLMS, learning management systems. This makes Astra a great option for creating and selling courses.

Astra also offers add-on add-ons for page builders like Elementor and Toolset, an advanced page builder without coding. GeneratePress, on the other hand, only offers integration with WooCommerce.

Verdict

From my perspective, GeneratePress prioritizes being a lightweight WordPress theme. This is why they offer fewer integrations than Astra, as adding more integrations can increase the file size of the theme and potentially slow down performance.

Astra is the better choice for integrations as they offer more options. As we can see, both theme developers have different priorities. Astra focuses on user-friendliness and speed, while GeneratePress prioritizes speed and user-friendliness.

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Astra vs GeneratePress – Support and Documentation

GeneratePress offers excellent support. In terms of support, both Astra and GeneratePress typically respond within 24 hours, but they need live support. Both themes have documentation that users can refer to.

Astra uses a ticket system for support, while GeneratePress uses forum-style support.

I prefer the forum style as it’s more likely that my question has already been answered there, and I don’t need to contact the support team.

Verdict

I can quickly resolve issues with an open-style support system like the forum. However, it’s worth noting that in some cases, it may be necessary to contact the support team directly.

GeneratePress and Astra understand customer questions well when provided with visual representation.

Astra and GeneratePress addons

GeneratePress offers an addon called GenerateBlocks, which enhances the capabilities of the Gutenberg editor and enables users to create stunning web pages without needing additional page builder plug-ins.

GenerateBlocks includes a range of pre-designed blocks such as containers, grids, headlines, and buttons, as well as pre-made templates for elements like page heroes, post meta, post navigation, and site headers.

GeneratePress also has built-in tools for resetting the Customizer and importing and exporting Customizer settings.

However, it does not include features such as customizer search, custom Typekit fonts, bulk edits, and other similar functionality that would save time.

On the other hand, Astra offers add-ons such as Ultimate Addons for Elementor and Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder, which you can purchase through Astra’s growth bundle for $249 per year. You can also check out Beaver Builder pricing and get the latest discount.

This bundle provides more advanced building blocks such as post layouts, pricing lists, info boxes, timelines for posts and content, and more.

UAG offers a wide range of scalability and personalization options for each block, but it does not come with any templates to assist in the design process.

Astra vs GeneratePress: Ease of Use 

Astra is easy to use and simple to understand. It is a very lightweight theme that is focused on speed. It has some of the fastest themes available in WordPress.

GeneratePress is also very simple to use and easy to understand. It also has a lightweight theme that is focused on speed, but in Astra, it chooses preference over speed, but that’s not the case with GeneratePress. In GeneratePress, speed is given the top priority.

It’s impossible to say which one is better in ease of use because it is made for different users. GeneratePress is focused on development, whereas Astra is focused on the mass market.

It does not mean users won’t type, which it is made up for. Both themes also have demos, but they approach differently. GeneratePress tends to have a clean design style. Astra is built out of websites that offer more variety.

Verdict

Astra and GeneratePress are very easy to use and simple to understand. Both of them have advanced features according to their pricing plans.

The users can choose either to use or use both of them to make the best use and to have a clean design style. Astra is built out of websites that offer more variety, and GeneratePress speed is given topmost priority. 

GeneratePress vs Astra: Pricing Plans

GeneratePress Pricing Plans

Astra Pricing Plans

Ecommerce Integration

GeneratePress vs Astra: Pros and Cons

GeneratePress Reddit:

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Astra Reddit:

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Quick Links:

• GeneratePress vs Genesis
• GeneratePress Free vs Premium
• CartFlows Review
• GeneratePress vs OceanWP 

Conclusion: Which is better, GeneratePress or Astra?

I use Astra Pro and GeneratePress Premium themes for my websites. I’ve been using Astra Pro since it came out and have used it on multiple sites, but I recently switched to GeneratePress on my main blog due to personal preference.

Both themes are lightweight and well-coded, with similar performance. Astra Pro offers more custom layout options, but the lack of integration with Elementor wasn’t a major issue for me.

GeneratePress is generally easy to work with and customize, with an open-source code that allows for creating extensions or themes. It’s lightweight, easy to maintain, and designed for small businesses.

Ultimately, the choice between Astra and GeneratePress depends on the specific needs and purpose of the website. I still use Astra for certain projects, but for blogging, I prefer GeneratePress.

You should go for:

Astra:

• If you are a website owner who wants to take your site to the next level with additional customization options.
• It’s ideal for those who want to create a fully branded website that stands out from the competition.
• Astra Pro is also suitable for agencies and developers who need a versatile theme that can be easily customized to meet their clients’ needs.
• It’s particularly useful for those who work with page builders, as it seamlessly integrates with popular builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder.
• Additionally, Astra Pro offers advanced features such as custom layouts, sticky headers, and mega menus, making it an excellent choice for those looking to create more complex websites.

GeneratePress

• If you are a website owner who wants a lightweight and fast theme that is also highly customizable.
• It’s ideal for those who prioritize SEO optimization as it is built with clean code and optimized for search engines.
• GeneratePress is particularly suited for developers or advanced users who require high levels of customization control, with a range of design options and settings available.
• It’s also suitable for those who work with page builders, as it seamlessly integrates with popular builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder.
• GeneratePress offers pre-built templates to choose from or start from scratch if preferred, making it an excellent choice for beginners or those without design experience.

I tried the GeneratePress free theme, and within 10 minutes, I bought the Premium. That said I’m not walking away from Astra as I say it depends on what kind of website one needs and what the purpose is going to be.