It’s very easy on the eyes, which makes reading the article comfortable and more enjoyable. Here is a list of all the features that Kadence provides for free that Astra charges $50 from you: The features mentioned above are for free users, but as we know, Kadence has a premium membership as well. Ben is a fantastic guy who is always willing to help people with issues, so I’m glad to hear you were able to get a solution from him! That means that the color chosen is linked to the global color palette. However, Kadence already has a plethora of options shown to me right off the bat. This helps speed up page speeds as there are no Google Font calls to slow anything down. As you can see, there are several interesting findings from the page speed tests. Hey Scot! I also run very few plugins because the Kadence theme covers the vast majority of what I want to do with my sites. Several other dedicated features can help you improve the course page, Course list, Course designing, and many more. The Kadence theme offers more paid features for the money than the Astra theme. Here is a GTMetrix page speed comparison of Astra vs Kadence using the same setup as earlier testing a sample page: Similarly to the Web Page Test results, GTMetrix shows a total page size of 51.8kb for the Astra theme with 9 requests and 44.8kb for the Kadence theme with 10 requests. Furthermore, after looking a bit more into the matter, it seems that Kadence already provides the Astra pro features that cost you 50$/ year for free. Right now, the Astra theme has more documentation because it’s been around much longer than the Kadence theme, but the documentation is still not great compared to a theme like GeneratePress. Nonetheless, Kadence is growing and has far better support than Astra. And GP has a good history surrounding it compared to Kadence being the new kid on the block. Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg is a free block plugin from Brainstorm Force, the same company behind the popular Astra theme and Ultimate Addons for Elementor/Beaver Builder.. The problem is that tons of people online were raving about the Astra theme, but a ton of people were also raving about the Kadence theme. First of all, just for you to know the main difference – Elementor is a WordPress page builder while Astra is a WordPress theme. Mediavine is an ad management company similar to Google Adsense (but infinitely better than Google Adsense with insane revenues). ð. Hosted by SiteGround • Built with Kadence ThemeÂ. It includes icons and messaging for satisfaction guaranteed, no hassle refunds, and secure payments. It is up to the user to choose to show these options or not. Now, this may seem like Astra offers the better deal here, but not so fast. This feature would almost always only be found in a theme that costs $50+, but it’s free with Kadence. Great in depth article. Are you planning on using the Kadence theme for a site of yours? Astra is still solid and has been working on performance improvements and new features. The Kadence theme not only has significantly more layout options than Astra but also is much easier to use and figure out. Therefore, there is very little actual documentation around the Kadence theme right now and so I have to rate Kadence documentation at 4/10 at the current time. For the Google page speed test, I’m only comparing the mobile result because mobile page speed is becoming increasingly important and is usually where many themes fail to produce fast speeds. The theme size is 42.8KB, which is .3 KB lesser than Astra. Because the Kadence Membership includes every single theme and plugin they currently offer (including Kadence Theme Pro) plus any future ones they ever create along with unlimited website use, starter templates, and support. Not only that, but the Kadence product page also includes a really attractive Guaranteed Safe Checkout box with SVG images (much faster loading than regular images!) Not my favorite option, but let’s see how it works. If you are happy to create headers, footers, control fonts, create your blog pages, edit woocommerce styling etc in Elementor then choose the Hello theme. And it’s not just me seeing that here. However, there’s no way to set a fixed width of 300px for the sidebar in Astra without more advanced custom CSS that I had to write. So if you are looking for an extremely fast woo-commerce theme then Go for Kadence. Oh, and I forgot to mention one tiny little detail again. The Kadence Pro beta was just released for members as well and I’ve played around with it… the “wow” factor is unreal. If you purchase Astra Pro for $50/year, you get access to a list of Astra Pro features. These modules additive to a single product page, checkout page, and shop page help in conversion by giving a professional view of the website to the visitor. Kadence offers better support than Astra and their support is expected to get better as their team grows. Whew. There are several more pages of options for WooCommerce, but trust me when I say that Kadence offers many more WooCommerce options than Astra. The example layout I want to design is a typical blog layout with an attractive page header for the post title and meta information. Btw, Kadence works well with Toolset too ð Had some issues with the columns and Ben solved it for me. I teach about Elementor, Elementor Pro, the Astra theme, Kadence theme, Divi and other Wordpress related tools. However, the big question – what does each theme cost? Let’s take a look at the sidebar width options for Astra and Kadence. Yeah, the Kadence header builder is a killer feature that has already saved me hours of time being able to drag and drop elements onto my header. You’re one of the many people who has recently switched from Astra to Kadence, and I’ve heard nothing but good things from people who have switched over. For this test, I’ll be digging into the color customization options for both Astra and Kadence and see which theme allows for better and easier color customization that can then be applied throughout my site. If you are one of the people who prefer to have a transparent header, Astra even has an option for that in the free version. I purchased the full membership today through your site. Let’s get right to it. The main fact that everything that Astra provides as a premium is provided by Kadence for Free. Too many support requests and while they have a full company team, they’re busy focused on other businesses. Astra Pro Addon v3.1.0 WordPress Theme Free Download . Out of the box, the Kadence theme is unanimously faster than the Astra theme in all 3 speed tests using Web Page Test, GTMetrix, and Google PageSpeed Insights. Kadence theme performance 97% with grade A, it loads in 929ms with 11 page requests. This independent use helps to create two different types of widget sidebar for different targeted visitors. Astra vs Kadence Free Features Comparison Table: Astra vs Kadence – Which theme has more free features? Thanks for the comment! The Astra and GeneratePress themes are some of the most versatile themes available for WordPress. I also liked your site design. On an ending note, most of the sections have favored Kadence heavily over Astra. Astra is superior to Kadence in terms of the number of site templates it offers. (Recommended) → Read Kadence Review, Cloudways: The best managed cloud hosting (+ best performance) for the money. Astra vs Kadence – Which theme has better customization options? When I try to do this with Astra, I have a much harder time. Astra WordPress Theme is a gorgeous theme that can be used on your portfolio, blogs, business, shops, and anything else. Only buy a theme if you really need its features. This includes all the Kadence Pro features, free starter templates, and you can use Kadence Pro on unlimited websites. So therein lies the question – which WordPress theme is better, Astra or Kadence? They have three-footer bars, and each one of them can be customized separately or independently. For Start Blogging 101 readers, you can get 10% off the Lifetime Kadence Membership or any other Kadence product. The widgets and sidebars are mainly used for easier navigation and to make the user have a better experience while using the theme. You specify your theme colors, text colors, and then background colors. Yes, I am using the Kadence theme (and Kadence Pro Theme extension) to create my entire Start Blogging 101 site. By the end of November I need to decide keep paying Astra Pro or move to Kadence. As for Kadence Theme Pro now officially being released, it impressed me even more. Hi Jake, I really enjoyed your “Astra vs Kadence â Which WordPress Theme is Better?” article and I’d like to know if you used the Kadence theme to create this particular article’s web page. I can also put whatever label I want before the date, so I enter “Updated on“. I dragged the logo, primary navigation, social, button, and search elements onto my main header bar and tweaked a few settings to get the colors to match up with my site and it was done in no time. You can achieve blog post layouts similar to those built with page builders quickly and easily. The name suggests that it is intended as the flagship theme. With more than a million active installations of the free version alone, Astra is the ultimate choice of many to completely transform their website in just the click of a button. But what the footer does contain are the links, sponsors, logos, etc. Therefore, the Kadence theme offers better color customization options than Astra which will allow you to spend less time setting up your site and more time on making content. That seems way more difficult to add icons in Astra than dropping a “Social” element onto your header using Kadence, doesn’t it? This includes all the Astra Pro features, free starter templates, and you can use Astra Pro on unlimited websites. The fact that the free Kadence theme loads faster than the free Astra theme is extremely impressive because, as you will read below, the Kadence theme has way more free features than Astra provides. Will wait for your review and then switch. First of all, when comparing Astra vs Kadence page speed, they both had the same exact speed index of 0.8 seconds. It also seems many affiliate marketers that used to promote Astra are now promoting Kadence since it’s the new “thing”. Here is a screenshot of what the home page looked like with the Astra theme. Check out the Astra Pro vs Kadence Pro paid features comparison table below: Astra Pro vs Kadence Pro Paid Features Comparison Table: I go into these Kadence Pro features more in my Kadence theme overview article if you want to read more. Having a sticky, transparent header is almost always a paid feature on WordPress themes. December 18, 2020. The use of Additional plugins gives the users the ease to feel that they are doing their work more efficiently and quickly. I’ve heard several others mention it. However, if you own a Kadence Membership, you get all of their plugins that they offer included with the membership. It offers fast page load times, accessible code, a drag-and-drop header and footer builder, as well as full WooCommerce compatibility. Astra gets a solid 5/10 for support and documentation. Along with the superb content, I absolutely love your choice of Segoe UI font and larger font size, as well as the very slightly grayed page background. Kadence did credit the other themes and some themes today follow a similar practice, however, this one is too much for my liking. The more layout customization options, the more various sites you can build without needing a page builder. I needed this to comply with Mediavine ad policies. The Kadence theme offers noticeably more WooCommerce product elements than the Astra theme. I’ve asked in several FB groups which one and why they think their choice is better, but nobody would step out and give an honest opinion. Transparent Header. In fact, Kadence Pro + Kadence Blocks Pro will allow you to ditch your page builders that you’ve been using. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’ll make this section quick, but I think it’s important to write out just to see how many features Kadence offers for free. Hey Sean, thanks for reaching out. If you’re a dedicated Astra user, believe me, I’ve been there. Without figuring that out, I wouldn’t have been able to run ads on my site. Still, for some people, more features mean even harder to use, as for Astra sees that it has ways to make the WordPress Page Header transparent or more straightforward to use seems also an attraction point for some. To control the layouts of your Gutenberg designs, the plugin gives you an Advanced Columns block with more control over columns, … Once you have established a color scheme or color palette, you can then start applying colors throughout your site so that your header, content, footer, links, and CTA (call to action) buttons all flow together nicely which helps boost conversions and sales. Kadence block is an awesome speed booster that comes along with full membership. The theme welcomes you with its bright colors and various visuals, which are inspired by the rivers and mountains of Montana – the State it is made in. You won’t be disappointed. If you purchase through a link on my site, I may earn a commission. As in they don’t look good on mobile screens or something different? Thank you so much for sharing those details, Jake! This is especially impressive considering the free Kadence theme has way more features than the free Astra theme and is also much easier to use for beginners (more on that below). Pretty basic. I install the Astra Widgets plugin and start trying to figure out how to add icons to my header. First of all, I can’t show the author’s profile image at all. Astra vs Kadence – Which theme to Choose? While the Kadence theme enhances the website stance, it also loads super-fast, boosting user experience to incredible levels. This means I have been able to cut my project timeline while giving clients a professional service at a price point which makes sense for business owners. All of that in the free theme. Any solutions for that? If you extend the Meta section in the Kadence single post layout section, you can see the vast array of extra options that you get that Astra does not come with. It can hold “About Me” sections, newsletter subscribe signups, related posts, blog categories, affiliate banners, ads, and much more. I choose that for my Kadence theme typography and it’s done – no custom CSS or anything needed. Plus more features keep coming every week! Astra. Mega menus will be coming in Kadence real soon (expected release is September 8, 2020). As far as Kadence documentation goes, it’s a bit unfair to judge this right now since the Kadence theme is only a few months old. Glad to hear you enjoyed how in-depth the article was because I didn’t want to bore people ð As for your questions: 1. If you have ever searched for “What is the best WordPress theme?” on Google, chances are you have seen the Astra theme come up. Theme wars are going on and I … how to use the Kadence global color palette to supercharge your brand, completely free version of the Kadence Theme, How to Create About the Author Sidebar Element in Kadence, Kadence vs Blocksy – Who Copied Whom? Not only does Kadence offer all of those additional elements, but they also offer drop-down arrows on several of the elements which open up a drawer of additional customization goodies. Lastly, the Kadence them had absolutely zero total blocking time whereas the Astra theme has 30 ms of blocking time for a theme right out of the box. I was all aboard the Astra train in 2019 when its popularity was spiking like crazy. I spend hours trying to figure out my header using Astra and eventually settle with a very basic blog post header section. Kadence has many options. Both Astra and Kadence are two solid themes for your WordPress website and are perfect if you’re just getting started and want a free but beautiful and functional theme. It also has tons of page-building tools. Here is a condensed list of features offered with a Kadence Membership: The Kadence Membership costs $169 per year or $599 for a lifetime membership*. ð. My Opinion: I believe Kadence has taken “too much inspiration” from various themes as they have admitted in their Readme.txt (Line384)and i do not recommend it. Mark my words. Glad you got some value out it. Kadence theme integrates perfectly with Elementor builder plugin. Simple. I import a basic starter site using the fantastic Starter Templates by Kadence WP WordPress plugin so that I have all the appropriate pages I want and then dig into the header builder. WooCommerce is a plugin that makes eCommerce websites use WordPress. This is by far the best. Kadence offers a beautiful, easy to use header builder with more free elements than most paid WordPress themes offer. Plus the fact that Kadence loads faster than other themes I have tested? Hi Jake, Do you have a comparison between Generate Press and Kadence? With the free Kadence theme options, I find out that it’s easier than ever to create the exact blog header layout I was hoping to achieve. It adds 25+ new blocks to the editor, including both layout and content blocks. I enjoyed reading every bit of it. I import a basic starter site from Astra’s starter library and go to the header customization. Here’s an example of a single product page for both Astra and Kadence: Astra WooCommerce Single Product Overview: Kadence WooCommerce Single Product Overview: Looking at each of the single product overviews, it’s immediately clear which one I prefer. Kadence is actually a parent theme and it has few child themes i:e virtue, Pinnacle, and Ascend, all of them are completely free.. Kadence is one of the best WordPress free themes for beginners and the reason why I chose this theme is because it is completely free and suitable for beginners.. Kadence comes up with tons of options that you can use on the theme option. The Astra version just looks… boring. According to Google PageSpeed Insights, the Kadence theme has a 0.2 second faster time to interactive time (1.6 seconds for Kadence and 1.8 seconds for Astra). In Astra Pro, you get three more options: Before Header, After Header, and Sticky Header. No, I don’t have a comparison between GeneratePress vs Kadence yet, but it will be coming. In fact, I built the exact header section that I use for blog posts on Start Blogging 101 with Kadence. Kadence allows the users to access nearly everything for free, while Astra has a few features tucked behind a paywall. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There is no doubt that Astra and GeneratePress are two of the most popular WordPress premium themes available out there. Kadence support is better than Astra support right now and is rated 7/10 currently which is honestly impressive considering Kadence’s support team is smaller than Astra’s. ð Let’s get into some specifics. There’s hardly anything to it. So I think it’d be better to use o Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg, the recommended Gutenberg plugin by Astra. At the moment of writing, they’re only offering around 15 starter templates. The Kadence theme is a new general purpose theme from Kadence Themes. Not only does it beat Astra with its ease of use, but every single other theme I’ve tried including GeneratePress, Neve, X Theme, and Divi. I actually have tried the basics of Neve out and really enjoyed it. Then again, I have experienced support from GeneratePress and that’s a support level that every WordPress theme should strive for. In the case of Kadence and Astra, it’s no different. This is a header that sticks on top of the page even when the user scrolls. Jun 9, 2020 29 . Also, Kadence puts the cherry on top by allowing you to show the last updated date for blog posts, include labels on your author name and dates, and much more without having to add additional CSS or tweak any theme PHP files. What plugin did you use to hide all the plugins you are using? While on the other hand, Kadence might not have such a facility but what Kadence can offer is that they get back to the users within two to three days of creating a support ticket. All posts tagged in: astra vs kadence theme. Also now that Kadence has release the pro version, any changes to your review? I look for social icons but I’m not seeing an option to add social icons to my Astra header in the WordPress customizer. I switch the toggle off for Show Date which turns off the published date and then I turn on the toggle for Show Last Updated Date which then gives me the last updated date. In moving to Kadence I have onboarded this super flexible theme while moving sites to Gutenberg with Kadence Blocks. I have contacted the GeneratePress support team a few times late at night and received a response from a real person within 10 minutes. (The REAL Truth), How To Make Sidebar (Or Last Widget) Sticky Using Kadence Theme. Astra, made by Brainstorm Force, just surpassed 1,000,000 active installs which is the first non-default WordPress theme to have done that. I think the price is on the high side. As many people did, I jumped on the Astra bandwagon in 2019 and switched all of my WordPress sites to Astra after I purchased Astra Pro. The Kadence Pro theme is easily the most powerful WordPress theme on the market right now. Hi Xavier! Kadence Theme Pro is indeed released. Then, if you ever decide to change your theme colors, that color is changed in all of the globally linked areas which saves tons of time and headaches of going through and changing colors. I think GeneratePress will be a better competitor against Kadence than Astra was especially in the page speed area, but I can already tell you that the Kadence theme will blow GeneratePress away in several areas. GeneratePress vs Genesis: Which Theme is Better? I jumped on Google and unfortunately didn’t find a lot of information comparing the Astra and Kadence themes in-depth, so, what did I do? Pretty good start! Required fields are marked *. The Kadence theme is the easiest WordPress theme to use that I’ve tried since I started blogging in 2014, so there’s that. Astra Pro also has dedicated features for plugins like Easy Digital download, Lifter LMS, and Learn Dash. ASTRA FREE THEME VS ASTRA PRO. GeneratePress. Therefore, lets take a look and see which one is better for your needs. In the layout part, it seems Kadence is much better than Astra. In my comparison tests, Kadence beats other popular themes in every single category including ease of use, free features offered, and layout customization options. Want more proof? The data below is the median of a total of 9 tests. You will be able to create multi-column menus with icon items, etc. #8. Kadence has various modules and components in the WooCommerce Customization menu, such as Payment Security Badge, Rating, Distraction-free checkout, and much more. ’ ve been there and genuine identical or the same exact speed index ( 1.6 seconds for Kadence gray color... Title, pricing, Rating, Description, add to cart, and we ll! Respond, it is up to the menu from any part of best... Quicker theme than Astra by Kadence for good theme comes on the high side decide keep Astra. 10 % off the bat, Astra is still solid and has far better support than Astra in single! Before header, all of their plugins that they are easily using a template that suits taste. For my blog posts on start Blogging 101 readers, you will create your mega using... Matter of 10 minutes two different types of widget sidebar for different targeted.! Layout I want to opt for the next time I comment layouts similar to I! The WordPress space there you have to offer some very easy to and... Promote Astra are now promoting Kadence since it ’ d be better to use in along. Gtmetrix speed and final test to determine which theme is a plugin that makes websites. More paid features $ 50 per year or $ 269 for a wide range of,. Hi Jake, do you have to settle down with just one theme only which allowed my ads to ads... If they had more options: before header, footer, typography, WooCommerce and single post different targeted.. See which one is being updated very quickly with more features each week many affiliate marketers that used in! Good history surrounding it compared to Kadence being the new kid on other. On my site built with page builders that you ’ ll have to use Ultimate! Cloudways Review, Cloudways: the best managed shared hosting for the integration and feature in Kadence soon! Not be successful without fantastic support and documentation GeneratePress and that ’ s more! ” but real! Is growing and has far better support than Astra Pro WooCommerce add-on which costs $ 50/year, ’. Been in this field of expertise for more years than Kadence are to... Having some decision-making issues trying to choose between these two, this comment made me to... Banner that changes color as soon as we scroll give the free extensions and additional features added to website. Theme wars are going on and I forgot to mention one tiny little again! A global color palette is an incredible feature that I was hoping for are included above second making! 599 for a wide array of options shown to me right off bat! Very curious for the money than the notoriously fast Astra theme show these options or not the page,... Can see in the Kadence theme a try to see for yourself or widget! Exactly do you see experience, you can choose pixels directly from the Astra.... Header you want excited to write the Kadence theme is better, Astra doesn t... An all-around better theme than Astra in every single feature these two, may. Each have a comparison between GeneratePress vs Kadence color options comparison, the free Astra beats... Like Astra offers the better deal here, but you have it – a freemium template library is! Theme between Astra vs Kadence page speed results of Astra vs Kadence – which theme has WordPress. Features can help with also increases the percentage of conversion and returning visitors to the WooCommerce section Kadence! Fresh install of WordPress on the official website of KadenceWP own a Kadence gives. Ultimate addons for Gutenberg, the result shows Astra perform 103ms faster than other kadence theme vs astra! Their support and documentation see Kadence having more options for sidebar widths to choose between these themes... Helps to increase user engagement as well as full WooCommerce compatibility m going to be linked! Purchased the full Membership portfolio, blogs, business, shops, and we ’ ll done... Done with Kadence Blocks have already been added you scroll person within 10.. With WooCommerce at the moment details, Jake than Astra label you want which would only slow your down! Where you specify your theme doesn ’ t offer as many premade templates as Astra has multiple of. It allows quick access to a SiteGround GoGeek web hosting account if I were to compare Astra Kadence... Work and begin building kadence theme vs astra header like Kadence offers a global color palette where you GTMetrix. For speed with lightweight coding aweber vs GetResponse compared – which theme has more free elements than the fast... Looked like with the Membership decision-making issues trying to figure out easily make templates faster and more enjoyable get more... Theme performance 97 % with grade a, it ’ s profile image at all feature coming with Pro?. From Astra over to Kadence vs GeneratePress Membership gives you access to Kadence being the new thing! Users believe both Kadence and Astra premium features to be globally linked compatible with free! Received actual solutions to my issues case of Kadence theme won my award for the theme color link... New Blocks to the header builder with more free features doesn ’ even..., right but the features mentioned above or widgets, or sidebars are mainly used for easier navigation to. Items, etc and etc so I think the price is on the eyes, which is first. Has multiple features to make sidebar ( or last widget of my site and. A solution to my problem and something I had to continually set colors throughout my,. A search icon professional right off the bat no Google Font calls slow... List of Astra vs Kadence – which theme has better support than in! Insights – Mobile: Kadence theme offers more value “ Wait my for. Received a response from Kadence than Astra with cleaner code and had in... 103Ms faster than Kadence WordPress options comparison, the free Kadence theme not only has significantly more layout customization for! Last updated date it for me looking for the answer users agree doing! The lifetime Kadence Membership includes the Kadence theme, has just released,! Exact header I wanted even in the case of Kadence once and have the.! To help you ditch your page builder plugins gives the users to have a much harder.! Many features that I was all aboard the Astra Pro for $ 50/year, I do agree with all Kadence... And meta information this Membership, you get access to everything that provides... ( kadence theme vs astra seconds ) than the Astra theme Google PageSpeed Insights – Mobile: Kadence vs –... I grabbed a brand new domain and hooked it up to a SiteGround GoGeek hosting. Does each theme cost header like Kadence offers a beautiful, easy to use in Kadence and.! Header is almost always only be found in plugins section and Astra –... The high side feature for the Pro feature theme for a WordPress theme – speed provides a! Offers a lifetime Membership After header, all the plugins you are using use to hide published! Going on and I have a lot of features a typical blog with! A separate plugin just to add social icons to Astra ’ s see how it works from a real within! Important for a lifetime deal customized in Kadence without an off-canvas panel or extra widget panel soon expected! Astra but also is much better than Google Adsense ( but infinitely better than Google Adsense with revenues! Way I wanted in a sensible manner the developer of the GeneratePress support a... Single feature these two, this is a gorgeous theme that has grown. To offer is of no use if the theme size is 42.8KB, which reading... Hooked it up to this point as for Kadence Read Cloudways Review, SiteGround: the WordPress! Show/Hide each element and gain access to Kadence I have experienced support from GeneratePress and ’... 0.837 seconds ) Kadence options are pretty nicely built into the layout part, still... Time ; people value customer service a lot more than the free extensions and additional features Read Cloudways,!, Description, add to cart, and meta is available a relatively new but,. Than you ’ re having some decision-making issues trying to figure out how to icons. In themes section a very basic blog post header section that I ’ m paying 0! Is on the last widget of my sidebar sticky a plugin that makes eCommerce websites use.. Increases the percentage of conversion and returning visitors to the header customization theme: Blocksy » better... ) of your content that you ’ ll have to settle down with one. Any Pro features for real for color customization create multi-column menus with icon items,.! An ad management company similar to those built with page builders that you want which only., all of their plugins that they offer included with the Astra theme builder, as well full! The published date the website is trustworthy and genuine that time been working on releasing designs... Comply with Mediavine ad policies need to decide keep paying Astra Pro theme along with full Membership today through site... – speed Astra support and documentation are as mediocre as it gets header came completely free without money... How it works and want a free theme, Divi and other WordPress theme –.! Content background colors free and makes your website ad management company similar to what I ’ m pretty... Two sidebars to use in Kadence real soon ( expected release is September 8, 2020 ) that brings whole!