GeneratePress vs Astra – What To Choose In 2023?

Both GeneratePress and Astra are very popular in the WordPress space at the moment. They are premium and the best WordPress themes used by many bloggers and affiliate marketers. Both themes are the best bang for your buck right now. Meaning you can never go wrong with either of these themes. But, wait a minute, what if you’d had to compare which one to choose between GeneratePress vs Astra?

What to consider, when comparing two very identical WordPress themes?

  1. Do they both offer, Free and Pro versions?
  2. Always choose the theme that’s Easier To Use
  3. The premium version should come with more than one plan, so the Theme Fits All
  4. The theme should have crossed 50,000 active installs of their free version, on WordPress
  5. From the initial date of release, the theme should have completed at least 1 year
  6. Choose the one that has got More Features in the Free Version, than the other theme
  7. Running speed tests should result in a score of 90 and above
  8. Choose the theme that offers Starter Templates in their free version as well
  9. Integration with Page Builder, Block-Based plugins, WooCommerce, and Email Auto Responders should be hassle-free
  10. Premium version of theme should offer enough Features and/or Extensions that help you in avoiding (almost) 3rd-party plugins
  11. The theme should have impeccable Support and enough Documentation for free as well as paid versions

Generatepress and Astra astoundingly stand up to the parameters, and clearly offer more.

Therefore, it is going to be a very tough competition.

So, let’s get started in understanding what your website would really need and which theme addresses those areas better than the other.

For a quick overview, I have tabulated generic information.

Table of Contents

GeneratePress vs Astra – Quick Overview

FeaturesGeneratePressAstra
Free VersionAvailableAvailable
Performance5/55/5
Customization5/55/5
Annual Pricing$59Astra Pro $47
Astra Essential Bundle $137
Astra Growth Bundle $187
Lifetime Pricing$249Astra Pro $227
Astra Essential Bundle $677
Astra Growth Bundle $937
Modules in Premium Version10+1 (WooCommerce)10+4 (WooCommerce, Easy Digital
Downloads, LifterLMS, LearnDash)
Starter Templates in Free VersionNot AvailableGutenberg: 129
Elementor: 129
Beaver Builder: 40
Total: 298
Starter Templates in Paid VersionGutenberg: 99
Elementor: 3
Beaver Builder: 3
Total: 105
Gutenberg: 31
Elementor: 148
Beaver Builder: 77
Total: 256
Page Builder CompatibilityYesYes
Enable/Disable ModulesYesYes
Website UseUnlimitedUnlimited
Unlimited AccessEverything
Included
Need to upgrade, for more features.
Check the table below

Below, I have tabulated basic information on the other two versions of Astra Premium Theme; Astra Essential Bundle and Astra Growth Bundle.

Astra Essential Bundle vs Astra Growth Bundle

Astra Essential BundleAstra Growth Bundle
Includes everything from Astra ProEverything from Astra Pro & Essential Bundle
Premium Starter TemplatesConvert Pro plugin
WP Portfolio PluginSchema Pro plugin
Choice of 1 Page Builder AddonUltimate Addons for Elementor
Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder
Spectra Pro
SkillJet Academy Membership
All Future Products Included

Quick Answers – to help you decide

Go with GeneratePress Premium Theme if…

You have coding background

Custom CSS is what you are going to use the most

You need website speed of 99 and 100

Custom designs is what you need

You are an advanced user and enjoy development flexibility

Go with Astra Premium Theme if…

Beginner-friendly theme is what you are looking for

You want more header and footer builder elements

You’re looking for a theme with more WooCommerce options

CSS is not your thing, you need more design options

You’re going to use starter templates

Whitelabel is an important feature for you

You need premium plugins for lifetime; Astra full bundle, Spectra pro, etc.

Better options for blog page, category pages, and single posts

You need to use Adobe fonts and Custom fonts

Before we get into the comparison, let me introduce both the themes to you.


What is GeneratePress?

GeneratePress is a super-fast theme with 7.5 KB of page size (after installation) and 2 HTTP requests. This is the theme that can achieve a 100% Page Speed score for your website.

what is generatepress

The theme is well known in the WordPress eco-space for its usability, accessibility, and performance.

GeneratePress follows a freemium model. Meaning, there is a free version, to try the theme and a pro version called GP Premium.

The premium version has two subscriptions, annual and lifetime.

GP Premium follows a modular approach. Letting you disable the modules that are not needed for running your website. This approach helps in keeping a good performance score for your site.

To help keep the performance scores, GeneratePress does not straight-away offer single-click-enable features like Related Posts, Author Box, Trending Posts, Share Box, etc.

But, everything is possible to create using GeneratePress Elements.

Note:- A lightweight block-based plugin like GenerateBlocks is highly recommended to use with GeneratePress.

Whether you go for an annual subscription or a lifetime one, a single license of of GP Premium lets you install the theme on 500 websites, offers full access to GeneratePress Site Library, gives premium updates, support, and offers you a 30 day money-back guarantee.


What is Astra Theme?

Similarly, Astra is another WordPress theme that is very identical to GeneratePress. It is created by a company called Brainstorm Force.

In the WordPress eco-space; we know the theme as WP Astra. This theme also follows a freemium model and all its pro versions offer a Modular Approach to its premium users.

what is astra theme

Astra comes with three premium models; Astra Pro, Essential Bundle, and Growth Bundle.

Astra offers clean layouts that help you build portfolio sites, blogs, and even online shops.

To try the theme first, the company has offered multiple features even in the free version of Astra theme.

For agencies, Astra comes with a Whitelabel feature that lets them add their own branding on client websites.

WP Astra has deep integration with WooCommerce, Elementor, Beaver Builder, Lifter LMS, and Learn Dash, SureCart, CartFlows, and Spectra.

Unlike GeneratePress, Astra offers more features like;

  • Header builder
  • Footer builder
  • Related posts
  • Author info box
  • Share box
  • and a lot more…

Because of these features Astra is a bit slower than GeneratePress.

But, it is still very good in terms of website speed and customization.

Note:- Astra recommends Spectra Pro, for advanced customization.


Customer Ratings & Reviews of Astra vs GeneratePress

GeneratePress was first seen in the WordPress repository 8 years ago and has reached over 600,000+ active installations so far.

It has been 5 years since Astra got released on WordPress. Since then, the theme has seen over 1 million+ downloads.

Ever since the release of both these themes, there have been multiple upgrades to their free and premium versions.


Comparing ParameterGeneratePressAstra
First Released on WordPress19/4/2014 – 9 yrs ago12/4/2017 – 6 yrs ago
Current Free VersionVersion 3.3.1Version 4.3.1
Last Updated Free VersionAugust 15th, 2023September 4th, 2023
Current Premium VersionVersion 2.3.2Version 4.3.0
Last Updated Premium VersionAugust 15th, 2023August 30th, 2023
Active Installations600,000+1+ million
ReviewsTotal: 1397
5/5 – 1371
Total: 5327
5/5 – 5136
Ratings5/54.9/5

The current version (at the time of writing) of GP Premium is 2.3.2

The current version (at the time of writing) of Astra Pro is 4.3.0

GeneratePress vs Astra Pros and Cons

Let us first understand the pros and cons of both, GeneratePress and Astra.

GeneratePress Pros and Cons

GeneratePress Pros

  1. GeneratePress is super lightweight and requires very few HTTP requests to load a page
  2. There is only 1 single plan to buy a yearly license or a lifetime subscription
  3. Super clean & stable code
  4. GP Premium allows you to enable/disable any module
  5. Offers further customization for Secondary Navigation Menu, Mobile Menu, Off Canvas Panel and Transparent Header
  6. A GeneratePress Block Element lets you create a site header, page hero, content template, post meta template, post navigation, archive navigation, right sidebar, left sidebar, and site footer.
  7. With 1 single license, install GP Premium on 500 websites
  8. Recently added Dynamic Image block and Dynamic Content block to dynamically pull images, post title, post content, excerpt, author description, etc.
  9. It comes with professionally designed GeneratePress Starter Sites
  10. Impeccable Support in the WordPress themes eco-space
  11. Extensive Documentation
  12. Highly developer-friendly
  13. Gives 30 day money-back guarantee

GeneratePress Cons

  1. It is not beginner-friendly
  2. The free version of GeneratePress comes with very limited options
  3. Lesser update frequency
  4. Beginners cannot easily create an Advanced Menu or Mega Menu with GeneratePress
  5. No default layouts for Page Her
  6. Does not come with built-in Related Posts feature and Read Time feature
  7. You will need to create an Author Box. There isn’t an option in the theme customizer.
  8. Not many options in WooCommerce
  9. GeneratePress does not come with Whitelabel feature

Astra Pros and Cons

Astra Theme Pros

  1. Fast and responsive
  2. Developed keeping page builders in mind
  3. Comes with 6 Font Paired preset styles in free and premium versions
  4. Includes Whitelabel feature
  5. Comes with Header Builder and Footer Builder
  6. Lets you edit copyright section in free version as well
  7. Total number of 554 Astra Starter Templates combining free and pro versions of the theme
  8. Includes Learning Management System (LearnDash) Addon
  9. Choice between Ultimate Addons for Elementor & Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder with Astra Essential Bundle
  10. You get Ultimate Addons for Elementor & Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder with Astra Growth Bundle
  11. Multiple layouts for Blog & Archive Pages
  12. Multiple layouts for Single Blog Post
  13. You get Author Info Box and Date Box
  14. Both free and premium versions offer Related Posts feature
  15. More options and layouts in WooCommerce
  16. Comes with lifetime pricing options

Astra Theme Cons

  1. Unlike GeneratePress, it is difficult to add Two Sidebars at once, in Astra
  2. Upgrade to higher plan (Astra Growth Bundle) for Schema Pro, Convert Pro, and Spectra Pro plugins
  3. The basic premium plan (Astra Pro) does not offer premium Astra starter templates
  4. Slower support during weekends
  5. Gives 14 day money-back guarantee

Generatepress Premium vs Astra Pro – Unique Features

Both these themes are super good and offer more than you can even imagine. So, the comparison is going to be a tough one.

Nevertheless, we’ve got to settle with one in the end…

GeneratePress Unique Features

  1. Highly optimized and stable code
  2. Very lightweight and optimized for performance
  3. GeneratePress Elements allows to create custom Header, custom Footer, Page Hero, Content Template, etc.
  4. Compatible with Elementor and Beaver Builder page builders
  5. Blog module offers advanced layouts like masonry and infinite scroll
  6. Lots of Hooks and Filters
  7. The Menu Plus module offers awesome features like sticky navigation, mobile header, etc.
  8. Offers Smooth Scrolling on anchor links
  9. Lets you create Mega Menu
  10. GeneratePress team offers the best Support
  11. Gives 30 day money-back guarantee

The idea is to keep the theme simple and robust. Offering just the right amount of features or modules needed to create a unique and beautiful website.

Thereby, keeping GeneratePress stable.

Astra Unique Features

  1. Astra offers highly organized and intuitive Theme Customizer
  2. You can Easily create Mega Menus
  3. Custom Layouts let you create Custom Header, Custom Footer, Hooks, etc.
  4. Gives you 3 Color Palette styles within the Theme Customizer
  5. Extensive collection of Astra Starter Templates
  6. Allows you to create Custom 404 pages
  7. Gives advanced WooCommerce controls
  8. Related Posts feature within theme customizer
  9. Date Box design feature for Blog & Archive Layouts
  10. Astra comes with Author Info Box feature for Single Blog Post
  11. Change Post Pagination Image Thumbnail’s design from theme customizer
  12. You get Read Time post meta with Astra theme
  13. Astra theme comes with Native AMP support
  14. Gives Whitelabel feature
  15. Offers LearnDash and Lifter LMS integrations
  16. Gives 14 day money-back guarantee

When it comes to features, Astra wins.

Winner: Astra


Astra vs GeneratePress – Features In Free Versions

To compare this part, we need to look at what features both these themes offer to their users in their free versions.

Starter Sites

Let us start with starter templates. Astra offers 298 Starter Templates with its free version.

You will just need to download the Astra Starter Template WordPress plugin to access them.

  • Supporting Gutenberg & Spectra – 129
  • Elementor – 129
  • Beaver Builder – 40

Note:- I’ve taken this count at the time of writing, after installing the Astra Starter Templates plugin.

On the other hand, GeneratePress does not offer any Starter Site with its free version.

Theme Customizer

When you open the main panel of their theme customizer, you can evidently see and make out that Astra offers Blog customization with Header Builder and Footer Builder. While GeneratePress lacks those.

Astra Free vs GeneratePress Free Theme Customizer

The image shows Astra free vs GeneratePress free theme customizer. Layouts, Colors, and Typography in Astra, are under Global menu.

Typography Options

Further inside, Astra comes with 6 pre-styled font pairs under Typography option. Whereas, GeneratePress lets you add fonts and manage between body fonts and heading fonts.

astra vs generatepress typography options
Typography options – Astra free vs GeneratePress free

If you are a beginner, it is just easy to accept any one of the paired fonts to put content on your site.

Plus, the Underline Content Links toggle switch helps you avoid those custom CSS codes.

Note:- The typography options under both the themes for free and premium versions are the same. Therefore, Astra is step ahead over here.

Container Layouts

The free version of Astra limits itself with container layouts, giving only 4 layout styles with a container width setting.

Whereas, the free version GeneratePress just offers a basic container width setting and an option to choose a content separator.

generatepress free vs astra free container layout options
Container Layouts – Astra free vs GeneratePress free

If you are a beginner, isn’t it easier to view the style and select accordingly?

Button Customization

Whether we talk about free version or premium version of GeneratePress, both have limited customization options to style and design Buttons.

astra button customization
Customizing Buttons in Astra Theme

But, Astra offers 6 button presets to choose from, color options, font options, padding, border width and border radius options, all in one place.

GeneratePress only lets you customize the fonts and colors of a button. For other things like padding, margin, border radius, you will need to rely on Custom CSS.

Header Builder

Astra gives a Header Builder even with its free version. By default, Site Identity and Primary Menu are ready for you to set.

If you want a Secondary Menu to be brought into the header builder, just build it from your WordPress Menu section and click the plus (+) icon anywhere on the first, second, or third row of the header builder.

header builder in astra free version

Astra’s Header Builder allows to display Site Identity, Primary Menu, Secondary Menu, Account element, HTML element, and additional widgets throughout the header rows.

GeneratePress does not offer this feature.

However, in the premium version of GeneratePress, you get Header Elements to create beautiful Site Headers and Page Hero.

But, that is not as easy as Astra’s drag-and-drop header building feature.

Footer Builder

Similarly with the free version of Astra theme, you also get a Footer Builder.

Sadly, even Footer Builder is not available with the free version of GeneratePress.

header and footer settings in generatepress free version

The only settings for header and footer, available within the theme customizer of free GeneratePress are header preset selection, footer widgets, header and footer width, alignment, and back to top button.

Blog Customization

In the free version of Astra, you do not get a lot of settings, but its better than GeneratePress.

Blog Customization in Free Version of Astra Theme

Within the theme customizer, there is a Blog customization section that is divided into Blog/Archive customization and Single Post customization.

Astra Free Theme – Blog/Archive Customization

Blog/Archive customization settings start with 4 container layouts, content width, post structure, and meta components.

In GeneratePress, the setting for choosing layouts with or without sidebar is under Sidebars. But, it lacks post structure and meta components.

To add meta components, you will need to enable GeneratePress Header Element or create a Page Hero via GeneratePress Block Element. Both of which need GP Premium.

Customizing Single Blog Post in the free version of Astra theme is like customizing its Blog/Archive page. The only plus over here is the Related Posts feature.

astra related posts
Related Posts Feature in Astra Theme

Not just the feature, you also get a whole lot of customization options with Post Query settings as well.

Isn’t that good? All these blog customization settings is what makes Astra theme a good choice for bloggers.

GeneratePress lacks these customization settings.

Astra vs GeneratePress – Overview of Features in Free Versions

Feature in Free VersionAstraGeneratePress
Starter Sites298None
Theme CustomizerIntuitive with featuresLimited features
Typography Options6 paired font styles &
underlining of content links
No pre-styles & link
underlining,
only font manager
Container LayoutsEasier selection of layoutsneed to set container
width manually
Button Customization6 Button presets, padding,
border width & border radius
only color and font
customization
Header BuilderHeader builder with header elementsNo header builder
Footer BuilderFooter builder with footer elementsNo footer builder
Blog CustomizationSeparate settings for
Blog/Archive and Single Post
Lacks these settings
Related PostsYes, with Post Query settingsNo

Even with the free version, Astra has an edge over GeneratePress, when we speak about features.

Winner: Astra


Note:- The comparisons we are going to make further down the article will be between GeneratePress Premium vs Astra Pro.

GeneratePress vs Astra – Modules & Recommended Plugins

Both, GeneratePress and Astra follow a modular approach to offer better performance to its users. Users can enable/disable the modules as required.

Including Site Library and WooCommerce, GeneratePress offers 11 modules in total. Unless you have WooCommerce installed on your WordPress website, that module will stay disabled.

GeneratePress does not display any recommended plugins apart from GenerateBlocks for creating custom designs and Yoast SEO for website SEO optimization.

However, the support team urges its users to keep the the theme clean and only install necessary 3rd party plugins that have good reviews with active developers.

Whereas, Astra offers more modules and also recommends few plugins on the Astra Options dashboard itself.

astra pro modules and free plugins

LearnDash and Lifter LMS are learning based modules. Apart from them WooCommerce and White Label are also not used by everyone. Other than those, the theme gives 11 modules.

Other than the modules, Astra also educates a newbie to download recommended plugins from the list.

This is very helpful for WordPress beginners.

Winner: Astra


GeneratePress vs Astra – User Friendliness

To understand the user friendliness and ease of using the theme, we must start from the theme’s dashboard settings.

Dashboard Settings

If you open GeneratePress dashboard, you will see few options like Site Identity, Colors, Typography, Layout Options. Click any one of them will take you to the theme customizer. It is like a shortcut to reach the exact location in the theme customizer.

Following that, GeneratePress also gives you Import, Export options and Reset button that resets all of the theme customizer settings.

Since Astra has more features, you will see more number of options on Astra’s dashboard settings.

astra pro dashboard settings
Astra Theme Dashboard Settings

Additional options like Header Builder, Footer Builder, Blog Layout , and Sidebar Options can also be customized from here.

These options are given here to increase the simplicity of using Astra theme.

A beginner does not need to go through each and every aspect of the theme customizer just to find the required customizing settings.

Until the user gets a hang of the theme, they can make changes from here.

Theme Customizer

The next best thing about Astra is its Theme Customizer. Compared to GeneratePress, the theme customizer of Astra is much more intuitive in finding a desired setting.

generatepress vs astra theme customizer settings

If you had to set the typography of every element and colors globally, just go to Global settings in Astra theme customizer.

Set typography, colors, container layouts for blog/archive and single post, buttons, etc., all through here.

All the settings that require a global touch can be done from one single place.

Layout Customization Example

An example to check the difference of user friendliness between both the themes will be to set layouts for Blog/Archive, Single Blog Post and Pages.

In GeneratePress you do not get a visual thumbnail showing how you need your layout to look like. You will have to adjust it via Container and Sidebars settings under Layout.

Comparatively, setting layouts in Astra theme is much quicker and easier.

For setting layouts of Blog/Archive and Single blog post, involving sidebars, you need to go to to Blog, and for page layouts, go to Page, in the theme customizer.

astra blog and single blog post layout customization

Similar options are available for customizing a page’s layout.

The plus point with Astra is the ability to set Grid Layout from the theme customizer itself.

You can also apply spacing between posts, i.e. set gutter width, and disable extra padding of featured images.

If you needed all these features in GeneratePress, then you need to use GenerateBlocks plugin or write custom CSS codes.

You see how Astra takes the lead over GeneratePress, in ease of use and user friendliness.

Winner: Astra


GeneratePress vs Astra – Performance

In this parameter, GeneratePress beats Astra.

I have tested a default WordPress blog post on two different websites. One of them is running on GeneratePress theme with GP Premium plugin installed. Another website is running on Astra theme with Astra Pro plugin installed.

Both the sites are hosted on the same server.

The tests are done on Google PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom, and GTMetrix.

I have tried to keep most of the elements identical on both the sites. So that, we get comparative results.

GeneratePress Performance

First, I will post the results of testing the website running on GeneratePress theme.

Google Page Speed Insights To Perform GeneratePress Speed Test

generatepress mobile speed test on google page speed insights

A complete 100% performance. As I said earlier, GeneratePress is made to touch 100/100.

Let us look at the result for Desktop.

There isn’t much of a difference here, just slight changes in FCP, LCP and Speed Index.

Pingdom Speed Test For GeneratePress

Time to look at the results on Pingdom.

The reason GeneratePress gives such good results is because this theme creates a very low page size and requires few HTTP requests to load a page.

GT Metrix – GeneratePress Website Performance

Finally, let us even have a look at the results shown on GT Metrix.

The results of Pingdom and GT Metrix do not vary that much. One thing is for sure, GeneratePress needs lesser number of page requests to load a webpage.

It is now time to look at the results of Astra theme.

Astra Speed Tests

We will start checking an Astra website’s mobile and desktop speed results on Google Page Speed Insights.

Astra Speed Test on Google Page Speed Insights

A little slower than a GeneratePress website.

Let us take a look at the results for desktop.

Putting together both the results, I can say that there comparatively Astra is alsower than GeneratePress.

Pingdom Speed Test For Astra Theme

One good thing about Pingdom is that it shows you the size of your web page and total number of HTTP requests processed to load that page completely.

Astra has heavier page size than GeneratePress and therefore needs more HTTP requests.

GT Metrix – Astra Theme Performance

Checking on GT Metrix is the final test we did, and we got results that were close enough to GeneratePress.

GeneratePress showed us fully loaded time of 1.1 seconds whereas, Astra got fully loaded in 1.5 seconds. A difference of 0.4 seconds is not considered as a big deal. But, GeneratePress has better results.

GeneratePress vs Astra Speed Test Summary

ThemePerformancePage SizeLoad TimeRequests
GeneratePress10041.1 KB1.1 seconds7
Astra97111.4 KB1.5 seconds13

Winner: GeneratePress


GeneratePress vs Astra – Layout Customization

In this part we will compare both the themes by looking at their header layout customization, footer layout customization, sidebar customization, options for customizing Blog/Archive page, and options to customize single blog post.

GeneratePress Header Layout

Unlike Astra, GeneratePress does not offer a Header Builder. You have to work your way around Header, Primary Navigation and Secondary Navigation (optional).

generatepress header layout customization settings

You get 7 header presets to style and design your header area including primary navigation.

All settings like mobile menu, breakpoints, navigation width, alignment, etc. are seen under primary navigation.

generatepress primary navigation settings

GeneratePress also gives Sub-Menu height and width adjuster to easily customize mega menu’s (advanced menu) spacing from primary navigation itself.

The GeneratePress Secondary Navigation has more or less similar settings like the ones we saw under primary navigation.

generatepress mobile header settings

To create a GeneratePress Mobile Header, you need to enable mobile header under Header and apply mobile breakpoint under Primary Navigation.

In GeneratePress’s theme customizer, each customizing element is placed separate to each other. One disadvantage with this type of theme customizer is that, it slows the design speed.

For example, if you need to customize colors and typography for header, primary navigation, and secondary navigation, you need to specifically go to Colors and Typography one after the other.

Plus, you do not get GeneratePress Transparent Header in the theme customizer. For that, you’d need to create a GeneratePress Header Element and enable Transparent header from there.

generatepress merge header for transparent header

Merging of header with the full width page hero image brings transparency to the header. This is a GeneratePress Site Header customization setting.

GeneratePress Footer Layout

To create and customize a standard footer in GeneratePress, simply go to Footer Menu in the theme customizer and start customizing.

generatepress footer menu customization settings

This is it, the standard GeneratePress footer menu comes with many limitations, when comparing it against an advanced Astra Footer Builder.

Apart from the standard footer menu, you can also create a GeneratePress custom footer.

For doing so, you have two options.

  1. Create a custom footer by creating a new GeneratePress Layout
  2. Add a Block Element and select Site Footer, to make the block element as a standalone GeneratePress Footer Element.

Note:- For Layouts & Elements, you need GP Premium.

generatepress custom footer layout under generatepress layouts

A GeneratePress Layout element allows you to create sidebar, footer, content as a single standalone layout. Followed by, applying display rules to it.

customizing a generatepress footer element

On the other hand, a GeneratePress footer element lets you design an entire site footer from scratch, using core Gutenberg block elements, or blocks from any other block plugin, installed on your WordPress website.

Both, header and footer are a little difficult to create in GeneratePress, than in Astra theme.

GeneratePress Sidebar Customization

generatepress sidebar width, generatepress custom sidebar

Sidebar is common on both the themes. Except for Two Sidebars in GeneratePress. That’s right, GeneratePress supports double sidebar layouts as well

When under Sidebar menu, in the theme customizer, you will see 6 sidebar layouts.

generatepress sidebar with multiple layouts

From the image above, I have no sidebar on my entire site, no sidebar on Blog and Archive page, but one right sidebar on single blog posts.

GeneratePress supports six sidebar layouts;

  • Sidebar/Content – Sidebar on left, content on right
  • Content/Sidebar – Content on left, sidebar on right
  • Content (no sidebars) – Only content
  • Sidebar/Content/Sidebar – Sidebars on left and right, content in center
  • Sidebar/Sidebar/Content – Two sidebars with content on right
  • Content/Sidebar/Sidebar – Content on left, and two sidebars

Another plus is that we can set separate width for both the sidebars. Double sidebars are not supported in Astra.

You also get to create a GeneratePress custom sidebar from GeneratePress Layout and/or GeneratePress Blocks Element.

GeneratePress Blog & Single Blog Post Layout

Unlike Astra, GeneratePress comes with lesser features for blog and single blog post layouts.

You get basic customization settings under one, called Blog module. For your understanding, I will post separate screenshots below.

generatepress blog layout settings

You also get a GeneratePress gird layout system in the theme customizer, but the design customization is limited. Hence, you need to create the grid system using custom CSS or via a block plugin.

Single post settings in GeneratePress are quite similar to Blog/Archive customization settings.

Basic post meta elements & featured image settings are seen here.

Unlike Astra, with GeneratePress you do net get Date Box, Author Info Box, Read Time post meta, and Related Posts feature.

Astra Header Layout

To customize header in Astra WordPress theme, simply go to the theme customizer and click on Header Builder.

astra header builder
Astra Header Builder

You get Header Elements like Primary Menu, Secondary Menu (need to create in WordPress menus), Off Canvas Panel, Transparent, and Sticky Header.

designing header layout

By default, a full width header is created in Astra, unless you add margins and padding to each header row.

Plus, Astra Header Builder also allows you to design each and every element, all the three header rows, and apply header height to Astra theme.

adjusting astra header height from header builder

Astra Header Height can be applied by clicking on the gear icon available on every header row. From there, adjust the header height via height adjuster. By default, the height of every header row is set to 50 pixels.

If you enable Transparent Header, you get to decide whether to enable or disable transparent header on blog page, search page 404 page, single posts, etc. The feature to enable transparent header on desktop, mobile, or both is also given. Plus, Astra offers the option to set a different logo for transparent header.

astra transparent header and astra sticky header settings

With the availability of three header rows, with Astra sticky header you can set any or all header rows as sticky, apply scrolling animation, and set it for desktop, mobile or both.

Astra Footer Layout

The Astra Footer Builder works similarly like its Header Builder. It poses three footer rows and allows you to add footer widgets in Astra theme.

By default, the bottom most footer bar has copyright element pre-enabled.

The most essential setting I found during customizing the footer of my website using Astra theme, is the ability to select up to 6 columns. Meaning, 6 widgets in one line.

astra footer layout customization

Next thing which I could not find in GeneratePress was the granular footer layout customization options. With Astra you can easily customize and also stack the elements in the wigets.

With GeneratePress, you’d need to write custom CSS code, or create a Block Element for Site Footer and then design that element using GenerateBlocks.

Astra Sidebar Customization

Unlike header and footer customization, Astra does not have multiple options for customizing sidebars.

astra sidebar customization

You will find the basic right & left sidebar layouts, a sidebar width adjuster, colors, and typography settings. But, the important setting to note here is the Astra sidebar padding settings; you get to customize sidebar spacing on the outside and padding for inner widgets.

If you’d like to create a custom sidebar in Astra theme, then you need to install (activate) Lightweight Astra Sidebar plugin, from Astra Options dashboard.

activate astra sidebar manager from astra options dashboard

The moment you activate Astra sidebar manager, a Sidebars option starts showing under Astra options.

Click on that, and it will open Astra Sidebar Manager.

astra sidebar manager to replace main sidebar with custom sidebar in astra theme

Astra Sidebar Manager helps you to replace current sidebar on your website with a custom sidebar. You can further add display rules and user roles.

Astra Blog/Archive Layout Customization

astra blog template, astra archive page, astra single post template,

Although, Astra offers more layouts for blog page, archive page, and single blog post in its free version. The premium version, Astra pro offers a dedicated module to enhance Astra’s capabilities.

astra archive page layout

After enabling Astra Blog Pro module you get 3 additional Blog Layouts. The first style incorporated columns and lets you customize your blog posts in a beautiful Grid Layout.

astra blog and archive customization settings

The options of choosing columns and spacing between posts helps to easily set your Astra blog using grid layout.

Plus, Masonry Layout, Date Box, and Read Time are other differences between Astra vs Astra Pro.

Astra Single Blog Post Layout

You get enough layouts and additional post meta elements to structure and customize Astra single post template.

The bonus feature you get here is Astra related posts.

Unlike GeneratePress, you need not create query loop, add parameters, etc., just enable related posts and see the section on your single blog posts.

Plus on the designing end, Astra also offers dedicated customization options like changing colors, typography, and spacing options for blog/archive pages and single blog posts.

This isn’t available with GeneratePress.

Astra Pro vs GeneratePress Premium Layouts Overview

FeatureAstraGeneratePress
Header LayoutHeader Builder with header elements, and advanced designing options. Multiple settings for transparent and sticky headerNo Header Builder, basic header, primary navigation, and GeneratePress secondary navigation
Footer LayoutFooter Builder, footer elements, multiple widget layouts, and advanced designing optionsNo Footer Builder, basic footer menu
Sidebar LayoutSupports single sidebar with basic sidebar customizationSupports two sidebars, offers 6 sidebar layouts, and separate width adjuster for both sidebars
Blog/Archive LayoutAdvanced blog layouts like Gird layout, features like date box and read time, different styles for post paginationBasic grid layout
Single Blog Post LayoutAuthor Info Box, choice to remove featured image padding, read time post meta, and full fledged related posts featureBasic customization settings for single posts
Generatepress header layout and footer layout are difficult to work around with and have fewer options than Astra

Winner: Astra


Color Customization

When it comes to customizing colors, both the themes are almost as good as one another.

I had to specifically make this section, since GeneratePress and Astra no longer have identical settings for applying colors.

The GeneratePress Global Color Menu helps you set a global color palette and apply colors to all the elements of your website, from one place.

generatepress global colors settings
GeneratePress Colors Customization

There are tons of color pickers for you to choose a color for almost every section of your website. Then it can be body, headers, primary navigation, sidebars, buttons, footer, etc. You really don’t need to be a CSS coder for customizing colors and making your website look beautiful.

The only advantage Astra has over GeneratePress, when it comes to colors is that, Astra offers 3 color palettes.

Multiple color palettes are helpful when creating a light mode and dark mode website design.

Winner: GeneratePress


GeneratePress vs Astra Starter Templates

This is another important aspect to look for when choosing the perfect WordPress theme.

A good collection of starter sites can surely ease your work flow.

We are going to compare two things here;

  1. Number of starter sites with each theme
  2. Starter sites available with free and premium versions of the theme

GeneratePress Starter Sites

GeneratePress offers 105 Starter Sites in total (from the time of writing). From which 99 are Gutenberg based, 3 are made using Elementor page builder, and 3 made via Beaver Builder.

generatepress starter sites

All starter sites are divided into business category, eCommerce category, i.e., for online shops, and for blogging.

But, the sad part is that GeneratePress does not offer a single starter site with its free theme

Astra Starter Templates 2.0

Recently, Astra revamped all its starter templates, used updated version of blocks from Spectra blocks (formerly called Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg).

Starter Sites are pride for Astra. The company has built lots of them that cater to almost every industry/niche.

astra starter sites

Astra gives you 450 starter templates in total (at the time of writing).

Astra free theme comes with 298 starter templates. From which 129 are made with Gutenberg, 129 via Elementor, and 40 using Beaver Builder.

Whereas, Astra Pro offers another 256 Pro Starter Templates. This set comes with 31 sites made via Gutenberg, 148 via Elementor, and 77 sites are made using Beaver Builder.

If you opt for higher plans of Astra Pro, like Astra Essential Bundle or Astra Growth Bundle, you get additional widgets and sections from Ultimate Addons for Elementor and Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder.

They help to further enhance and beautify your website.

Winner: Astra


Page Builder Compatibility

generatepress and asta page builder compatibility

The most popular page builders in the WordPress space are Elementor, Beaver Builder, Thrive Architect, Visual Composer, and Divi.

Both GeneratePress and Astra work flawlessly without any problems with either of these page builders. Most of the Starter Sites offered by them are built using either Elementor or Beaver Builder.

These themes are running from quite some time in the market now.

Elementor has officially recommended GeneratePress in their articles, and Astra’s website has been designed using Beaver Builder.

So, we can be very sure about the compatibility of various major page builders with both of these themes.

When GeneratePress was initially designed, it was not made for page builders. Although, today that is not the case. Whereas, Astra is built to be a theme for page builders. They also have multiple addons for Elementor and Beaver Builder.

Winner: Tie (Astra is made keeping page builders in mind)


GeneratePress vs Astra – Block Plugins Compatibility

Both, GeneratePress and Astra have their own block plugins.

The most recommended block plugin for GeneratePress is GenerateBlocks.

Whereas, the most recommended block plugin for Astra is Spectra.

The free version of GenerateBlocks is very similar to GeneratePress. It is light in weight and comes with only 6 main blocks.

If you want advance designs, you will need to use couple of blocks and create it by yourself.

Whereas, the free version of Spectra comes with 32 blocks, support for 4 legacy blocks and 4 block extensions.

So that you don’t have to make anything. Just use the blocks and quickly complete your design.

When it comes to workflow efficiency, Spectra pro is much better than GenerateBlocks pro.

GenerateBlocks Pro comes with the following features;

  • Pattern Library
  • Global Styles
  • Effects
  • Accordions
  • Tabs
  • Advanced Backgrounds
  • Container Links
  • Asset Library
  • Copy+Paste Styles
  • Device Visibility
  • Custom Attributes

Whereas, Spectra Pro comes with the following features;

  • Dynamic Content
  • Loop Builder
  • Popup Builder
  • Animations
  • Image Gallery
  • Instagram Block
  • Countdown Timer
  • Slider Pro
  • User Registration
  • User Login
  • Modal

Support and Documentation

Both the themes come with one year of free updates and support. They have a good knowledge base and documentation. Although with GeneratePress 3.0, their documentation is growing and becoming a vast library.

When it comes to support, there is no theme in the market that stands a chance against GeneratePress. Be it any time of the day, or any day of the week, you can expect to get your queries resolved in a matter of few hours.

The speed in replying to queries and resolving customer’s issues is the BEST on the Internet.

generatepress support

GeneratePress has a support forum where paid users can post their questions, but anyone over the Internet can easily view the discussion forum.

On the other hand, Astra’s support is great but is a bit slow during weekends. Its documentation contains over 200 articles and a YouTube channel that hosts How-To video tutorials.

astra documentation

Support and Documentation are crucial aspects to look into, before buying a product.

Winner: GeneratePress

We have one last topic to compare about GeneratePress vs Astra, and that’s the price.


Pricing

Both the themes are competitively priced very close to each other. Astra and GeneratePress, both support annual and lifetime pricing models.

generatepress pricing

GeneratePress Premium offers EVERYTHING for $59 per year and $249 for one time payment.

That includes all starters sites, updates, support and usage on 500 websites.

Whereas, Astra theme has the following pricing plans;

PlanOne YearLifetime
Astra Pro$47$227
Astra Essential Bundle$137$677
Astra Growth Bundle$187$937
astra pricing chart for one year

I would like to add a crucial point here. GeneratePress offers a 30 day money-back guarantee, while Astra on the other hand, only offers a 14 day money-back guarantee. Although, I have never seen users asking for refunds from either of these theme makers. But still, this adds a level of security to the user before purchasing.

Winner: Astra


FAQs on GeneratePress vs Astra

Do I need a Special System/Software to use these themes?

You will need a WordPress website, that’s it.

Which theme is more popular among Bloggers and Affiliate Marketers?

Both GeneratePress and Astra are highly popular among bloggers and affiliate marketers from various niches.

Which Page Builder works best with them?

Elementor has officially recommended GeneratePress and Astra’s own website is built using Beaver Builder. So, surely these two work good but overall most of the major page builders like Thrive Architect, Visual Composer, and even Divi work great with both GeneratePress and Astra.

Are these themes mobile compatible?

Astra and GeneratePress can easily display beautiful websites on mobile devices. That is because they are Mobile Responsive and that allows the theme to auto-adapt.

How many sites can I use on them?

GeneratePress and Astra both support unlimited website usage. GeneratePress has an annual subscription, whereas Astra has both yearly and lifetime models.

GeneratePress vs Astra, which one is the best option?

Both are as good as one another. There is hardly anything to compare between them. Although, I have highlighted their unique features at the beginning of this article. Furthermore, it is the user’s personal choice to go with either one of them.

Are GeneratePress and Astra free?

They are freemium themes. You can download GeneratePress or Astra freely from their website. But, their free version has limited features as compared to their premium versions

My Verdict on GeneratePress vs Astra

Here is my final take…

When it comes to the number of Modules, Astra is better than GeneratePress. Although, both give the best modules required to create a fully functional beautiful website. But, Astra gives a few more features.

GeneratePress on the other hand is very good with color customization. It offers color pickers for almost every module given in the theme.

While Astra has a great Starter Site collection, that is much more than GeneratePress.

I was in a dilemma choosing between these two exceptionally great themes. But, I finally rolled my dice on GeneratePress.

So, in the end, all that really matters is;

  • Your website should look beautiful and it should load fast.
  • Website customization should not take a long day.
  • The theme should be compatible with page builders and it should support SEO.

As far as performance is concerned, Astra has a very good page loading speed. However, GeneratePress is a total value for money, wherein they give everything under one single premium plan.

When it comes to GeneratePress vs Astra, I would choose Astra, because it gives multiple features that help me quickly design a website end-to-end.

Also Read: GeneratePress vs Genesis – Who Do You Think Will Win?

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I am in love with WordPress, building websites, doing SEO, and all that kind of stuff. I generally write about WordPress, Blogging, and SEO on BloggingIdol.

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