Making an attempt to decide on between Astra vs OceanWP in your WordPress theme?
These are two of the most well-liked WordPress themes of all time, so that you’ve narrowed your listing all the way down to some high quality choices.
However how do you determine on the proper theme in your distinctive scenario? That’s the topic of this submit.
That will help you choose the very best theme in your wants, I’ll go hands-on with each themes and examine OceanWP and Astra in element.
Basically, I believe Astra is the higher theme for most folks as a result of it’s the very best all-around choice on the subject of efficiency, demo websites, options, flexibility, and value. Nevertheless, OceanWP could be higher for tinkerers who need essentially the most customization choices.
To study the place these conclusions come from, preserve studying the total comparability!
Astra vs OceanWP: Introductions
To kick issues off, let’s briefly run over some introductions to those two themes.
Astra is the most well-liked non-default theme of all time at WordPress.org, the place it’s lively on over a million websites — an unbelievable achievement. It’s the one non-default theme to cross the a million lively set up rely.
Along with having a powerful set up rely, it additionally has a 4.9-star ranking on nearly 5,000 critiques.
OceanWP can be one of the crucial common themes at WordPress.org. Energetic on over 700,000 websites, it’s the third hottest non-default theme (solely behind Elementor’s Hiya theme and Astra).
Like Astra, OceanWP additionally has a 4.9-star ranking on nearly 5,000 critiques.
Each Astra and OceanWP share the identical fundamental strategy. They’re light-weight and versatile multipurpose themes that you should utilize for any sort of web site, from a weblog to a brochure web site, eCommerce retailer, and extra.
That will help you construct these websites, each themes include:
- A whole lot of importable demo websites for a spread of various niches
- Detailed customization choices in the real-time WordPress Customizer
- Tight integrations with web page builder plugins for drag-and-drop design
However whereas they each share the identical fundamental strategy, they do have some vital variations on the subject of options, customization choices, pricing, and efficiency.
Highlighting these variations is the purpose for the remainder of this submit.
Templates/Demo Websites
Now, let’s transfer into the extra nitty-gritty Astra vs OceanWP comparability, beginning with a take a look at the importable demo websites.
With each of those themes, that is the place you’ll most likely begin your expertise, so it is sensible to begin our comparability right here.
Astra
By way of the companion Starter Templates plugin, Astra provides importable demo websites constructed along with your selection of 4 builder plugins:
In whole, you get entry to over 280 distinctive demo websites, with 95+ being obtainable in the free model and the remainder requiring one of many paid company plans.
Whereas design is subjective, I additionally suppose Astra’s demo websites look significantly better and are extra distinctive than OceanWP.
Browse Astra Demos
OceanWP
In comparison with Astra, OceanWP doesn’t provide you with fairly as a lot choice.
First off, the entire demo websites are constructed with Elementor. That’s high quality in the event you like Elementor, however you don’t get a selection to make use of different builders like Astra provides.
Second, the variety of demo websites is decrease, particularly in the free model: you get 15 free Elementor templates and 185 premium ones.
Personally, in comparability to Astra, I discover a number of OceanWP’s demos to be a bit boring and dated.
Browse OceanWP Demos
🏆 Winner: Astra is the clear winner as a result of it provides extra demo websites and in addition offers you extra selections for the builder. Personally, I additionally suppose Astra’s demo websites look higher.
Customization Choices
That will help you customise your web site, each Astra and OceanWP embrace a wealth of choices in the real-time WordPress Customizer.
Truthfully, it’s not possible to match each single function right here as a result of we’re speaking about a whole bunch (or possibly 1000’s?) of various customization choices.
So as a substitute, I’m going to hit the excessive factors.
Basically, I believe OceanWP is a bit more versatile in phrases of the choices that it offers you. That is very true when evaluating the free model of OceanWP in opposition to the free model of Astra — OceanWP positively offers you extra flexibility in this state of affairs.
For instance, listed here are the typography choices in the free model of OceanWP:
With the free model of Astra, you solely get easy typography choices for physique textual content and H1-H6 headings. (You’ll additionally get a couple of different choices tucked in different areas, nevertheless.)
The distinction isn’t as massive with the premium variations (extra on why that’s later). Nevertheless, I might say that OceanWP remains to be a bit bit extra versatile, although each are way more versatile than your common WordPress theme.
This isn’t common, although, and Astra positively has some areas the place it wins. For instance, Astra now provides a extremely helpful drag-and-drop header and footer builder that permits you to create customized layouts for these areas:
However in normal, OceanWP is the winner right here — nevertheless, one draw back of getting so many choices is that OceanWP’s Customizer space feels a bit cluttered in comparability to Astra.
🏆 Winner: OceanWP, although I believe most WordPress customers will probably be proud of both.
Web page Builder Integrations/Web page-Degree Controls
Each Astra and OceanWP work effectively with web page builder plugins due to versatile page-level controls.
Basically, these settings allow you to management the canvas in your web page builder designs on a page-by-page foundation.
For instance, you would change what number of sidebars a web page has or make it full-width. Or, you’ll be able to disable sure components corresponding to a web page’s title as a way to construct these components along with your web page builder as a substitute.
Astra
With Astra, you get a brand new Astra Settings choice in the sidebar of the block editor. Right here, you’ll be able to:
- Select what number of sidebars to make use of
- Change the content material format
- Disable sure components such because the header, title, featured picture, footer, and others
- Allow clear or sticky headers
- Select a customized web page header
OceanWP
With OceanWP, you get a brand new OceanWP Settings field (you should set up the free Ocean Further plugin to allow it). This field offers you a ton of page-level choices. At a excessive degree, you get the entire identical choices as Astra:
- Change the content material format and width
- Select a customized sidebar
- Disable the title or heading, or use a customized title
- Disable/change the footer
- Change navigation menu and even disable particular components corresponding to the highest bar
However you additionally get some actually nitty-gritty choices corresponding to including customized high or backside padding, altering the emblem, colours, and typography, injecting shortcodes at numerous elements of the web page, and extra.
I don’t suppose most individuals want this many choices. Nevertheless, in the event you like having customization choices, OceanWP positively delivers.
🏆 Winner: OceanWP offers you extra page-level controls, although I believe Astra nonetheless offers you all of the choices you want in most circumstances.
Developer Options
For extra superior customers, each Astra and OceanWP provide you with choices to inject content material utilizing hooks. When you’re not conversant in this time period, hooks mainly allow you to inject content material at totally different spots in your theme.
For instance, you would robotically add a call-to-action field on the finish of weblog posts or insert an advert beneath the title of a submit.
Astra
With Astra Professional, you get a extremely helpful Customized Layouts function that permits you to create 5 kinds of layouts:
- Header
- Footer
- 404 Web page
- Hooks
- Inside Submit/Web page Content material
The hooks choice is essentially the most highly effective as a result of it permits you to inject customized content material or code at any hook location. You additionally get conditional choices to manage when to inject content material, corresponding to:
- Goal particular content material – e.g. a sure submit or class of posts
- Goal sure customers – e.g. all logged-in customers or solely sure consumer roles
- Select a begin/finish date for when to inject the content material
- Goal sure units – e.g. cellular vs desktop
For inserting content material in posts/pages, you may also inject content material after a randomized variety of blocks, which is nice for injecting adverts or promos in weblog posts.
When you’re utilizing the free model, you should utilize the free Astra Hooks plugin to insert hooks from the Customizer, although it’s not as versatile as Customized Layouts.
OceanWP
The equal in OceanWP is the premium Ocean Hooks add-on, which can be very versatile. It permits you to inject textual content, shortcodes, PHP and HTML code, and extra into any one in every of OceanWP’s hook areas.
You’ll additionally get conditional logic to solely execute a hook primarily based on particulars such because the content material (e.g. a particular web page or class), logged-in standing, and others. For much more management, you’ll be able to add consumer position validation to execute it for registered customers with a sure position.
🏆 Winner: Astra. Whereas Ocean Hooks can be very highly effective, I believe Astra’s Customized Layouts function is much more versatile due to options corresponding to time scheduling and randomized in-content insertion.
Different Notable Options
One distinctive factor about OceanWP is that its premium model contains a number of extensions that will help you add front-end options corresponding to popups and cookie notices.
In whole, OceanWP offers you add-ons for:
- Login popup
- WooCommerce popup after add-to-cart web page
- Cookie discover
- Modal window (insert any content material)
- Portfolio
- Instagram feed
- Sticky content material
- Customized Elementor widgets
Astra’s premium model is extra targeted on including further theme customization choices, quite than supplying you with distinctive front-end options like this.
These further options in OceanWP are good, however they’re issues you’ll be able to clear up with third-party plugins. For instance, in the event you select Astra, you would use a devoted Instagram feed plugin or cookie discover plugin.
🏆 Winner: OceanWP.
WooCommerce Integration
Each Astra and OceanWP supply deep assist for the WooCommerce eCommerce plugin.
First off, you get choices in the Customizer to manage your on-line retailer. However each themes additionally provide you with helpful WooCommerce-specific options:
| Astra | OceanWP | |
| WooCommerce Customizer choices | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Drop-down buying cart | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Off-canvas sidebar for product filters | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Constructed-in product fast view | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Customized WooCommerce popups | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Floating add to cart button | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Distraction-free checkout | ✔️ | ✔️ |
🏆 Winner: OceanWP has a slight edge as a result of it has some distinctive options, although each themes make an amazing choice for WooCommerce shops.
Different Notable Integrations
In relation to notable integrations past WooCommerce, Astra has the sting due to built-in integrations for different eCommerce platforms and a few common LMS plugins, together with:
When you’re utilizing one in every of these plugins, Astra offers you devoted choices in the Customizer to manage how the plugin content material appears to be like. For instance, with LearnDash, you’ll get choices to manage how your programs look and Astra even provides some LearnDash-powered demo websites.
Nevertheless, OceanWP can even play good with all of those plugins. For instance, in the event you create a LearnDash course with OceanWP, your programs will nonetheless look fairly nice out of the field.
The important thing distinction is that you just don’t get these built-in Customizer settings to allow you to customise how your course works.
🏆 Winner: Astra has extra built-in integrations past WooCommerce.
Velocity and Efficiency
The final function space that I need to think about earlier than attending to the pricing is the Astra vs OceanWP velocity comparability.
To see how they examine, I examined Astra vs OceanWP velocity utilizing simply the bottom themes (not a demo web site). Whereas this isn’t life like for an actual web site, I believe it’s the fairest approach to see how Astra and OceanWP stack up from a efficiency perspective.
Listed here are the outcomes from WebPageTest for Astra:
And, for OceanWP:
Let’s zero in on the scripts and web page dimension:
| Astra | OceanWP | |
| Web page Measurement | 39 KB | 127 KB |
| HTTP Requests | 7 | 15 |
So — a minimum of in their “out of the field” states, Astra is a bit more light-weight than OceanWP.
One factor to maintain in thoughts, although, is that OceanWP contains its personal Scripts & Kinds panel that permits you to manually disable CSS and JavaScript recordsdata, which will help you shrink the web page dimension and HTTP requests. For superior customers, this can be a very nice choice, however I believe informal customers may battle to optimize issues right here and miss out on the advantages:
🏆 Winner: Astra is the extra light-weight theme, although superior customers can “slim down” OceanWP in the event that they dig into the scripts and kinds device.
Pricing
To complete issues out, let’s discuss OceanWP vs Astra on the subject of pricing.
Each themes can be found at no cost at WordPress.org. Then, if you wish to add extra options, you should buy the premium variations.
Free Variations
For easy websites, you may be capable to get by with both the free model of Astra or OceanWP. Nevertheless, for any critical use case, I might advocate contemplating the premium variations of each themes.
Astra and OceanWP use totally different feature-lock methods for his or her free vs professional plans:
- OceanWP offers you just about all of the Customizer choices with the free model. If you are going to buy the premium model, you’re primarily getting new demo websites and front-end options corresponding to popups, the conditional hook device, cookie notices, and extra.
- Astra limits the Customizer choices in the free model, however nonetheless offers you a number of templates. To entry the entire Customizer choices and another superior options, you should go Professional.
Within the Astra vs Astra Professional comparability desk, you’ll be able to see that a number of the variations contain fundamental customization choices:
Whereas with OceanWP, the variations primarily contain new front-end options:
So, in the event you’re particularly free variations, I might say:
- Go along with OceanWP if you would like essentially the most customization choices.
- Go along with Astra if you would like essentially the most demos.
Professional Variations
By way of premium pricing, there’s one massive distinction between these two themes:
Listed here are the beginning costs for every:
- Astra – $47 to be used on limitless websites in your first yr (after that, your license renews at $59)
- OceanWP – $54 per yr to be used on as much as three web site
Astra calls the $47 value a “restricted time deal”. Nevertheless, they’ve actually been operating this $47 “restricted time” deal for over a yr on the time that I’m scripting this submit, so I believe it’s truthful to only name it “the value” at this level. Nevertheless, this particular value solely applies to your first yr. If you wish to renew the yearly license, you’ll pay $59.
Whereas OceanWP has one premium model (known as Ocean Core Extensions Bundle), Astra additionally provides bundles that embrace its developer’s different plugins corresponding to WP Portfolio, Final Addons for Elementor OR Beaver Builder, Convert Professional, Schema Professional, and extra.
Nevertheless, to entry Astra’s premium demo websites, you should buy a minimum of the $169 Important Bundle. So if you would like the premium templates, too, that may make Astra costlier in comparability to OceanWP (despite the fact that you’ll get some further plugins with Astra’s Important Bundle, which additionally add worth).
🏆 Winner: Astra, until you want the premium demos too.
Astra vs OceanWP: Which One Should You Use?
Now for the vital query, on the subject of OceanWP as Astra, which one must you select?
Properly, first there’s some excellent news:
Irrespective of which theme you select, you received’t make a “incorrect” resolution. These are each wonderful themes, so in all chance, you may be glad both manner.
Nevertheless, if I needed to advocate simply one in every of these choices for most folks, I might say Astra is my high choose.
Right here’s why:
- It’s extra light-weight in phrases of out-of-the-box efficiency.
- It has extra demo websites and you may select from totally different builders. You additionally get much more demos in the free model.
- Whereas OceanWP may need a slight edge in phrases of customization choices, Astra nonetheless has sufficient flexibility for the overwhelming majority of individuals.
- Astra’s Customizer expertise is extra user-friendly.
- Astra’s new drag-and-drop header/footer builder is very nice.
- It has deeper integrations for extra plugins, corresponding to LifterLMS and LearnDash.
- For superior customers, Astra’s Customized Layouts function is a bit more versatile than Ocean Hooks.
- It’s extra reasonably priced in the event you want a theme for a number of websites because it permits limitless web site utilization.
Get Astra
Nevertheless, that’s simply the advice for “most” folks. I do suppose there are some particular conditions the place you may want OceanWP as a substitute:
- You need to use a free theme and configure every little thing from scratch. OceanWP’s free model offers you extra customization choices. And because you’re constructing from scratch, you received’t care in regards to the lack of demo websites.
- You need all these nitty-gritty customization choices. OceanWP does provide you with extra flexibility on the subject of Customizer choices and page-level controls. I don’t suppose most individuals want that further flexibility. However in the event you do, OceanWP could be higher.
- You’re constructing a WooCommerce retailer. I believe OceanWP is a bit more versatile for WooCommerce, although Astra is nice as effectively.
Get OceanWP
To see one other theme thrown into the combo, you’ll be able to take a look at our three-way GeneratePress vs Astra vs OceanWP comparability.
Or, you may also browse our full assortment of the quickest WordPress themes.
Have any questions on our Astra vs OceanWP comparability? Used both of those themes? Tell us in the feedback!
