Struggling to decide between OceanWP, Astra, and GeneratePress?
I’m sure you’ve came across these three themes if you’re intending to develop a WordPress site with Elementor or another page builder.
However, because they have so many similarities, determining which choice is ideal for your site can be difficult.
Overall, all three are high-quality themes, so you won’t select the “wrong” choice. However, there are certain distinctions that may make one theme superior to the others for your unique requirements.
I’ll attempt to assist you uncover those distinctions in this post by comparing each theme’s:
- Results in various real-world page speed tests
- Integration with a page builder
- Options for customization
- WooCommerce compatibility (and other integrations, if applicable)
- Demo site options that may be imported
- Premium content and pricing
Here’s a comparison between OceanWP, Astra, and GeneratePress…
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Overview
Before I go into the more in-depth comparison, let me give you a brief overview of each theme in case you’re unfamiliar with all of these features.
Astra
Astra is a popular multipurpose theme by Brainstorm Force, which also produces popular plugins such as Ultimate Addons for Elementor/Beaver Builder, Convert Pro, and a variety of other plugins.
It is geared for speed, interacts well with Elementor, includes a plethora of importable demo sites, and includes connectors for WooCommerce and other popular LMS plugins.
Astra is active on over 900,000 WordPress.org sites, with over 3,900 5-star evaluations.
GeneratePress
While all of these themes load rapidly, GeneratePress is the lightest choice on the list, clocking in at less than 30KB and requiring no jQuery.
It includes clean code throughout, WooCommerce compatibility, a plethora of settings via the WordPress Customizer, and a plethora of hooks if you want to go more hands-on with your adjustments.
GeneratePress is active on over 200,000 sites and has a 5-star rating from over 1,000 reviews on WordPress.org.
OceanWP
OceanWP is the least performance-focused of these three themes (but it is still better optimised than the typical theme). Instead, it focuses on style and content flexibility, with add-ons for features such as:
- Instagram feeds
- Login popup
- Sticky content
- A filterable portfolio
- Etc.
Furthermore, in terms of the total quantity of customization choices, I believe OceanWP is the clear victor. It simply provides you with a plethora of possibilities for developing virtually any form of website.
OceanWP is active on 600,000+ WordPress.org sites, with a 5-star rating from over 3,600 reviews.
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Speed Comparison
Let’s start with the most important one: performance.
While all three of these themes are lightweight, I believe Astra and GeneratePress are the most performance-focused, as seen by my real test data below.
To put these themes to the test, I installed them all on my test WordPress site, which is powered by a $5 per month DigitalOcean droplet.
To make this test as fair as possible, I’ll utilise each theme with its default settings (as installed from WordPress.org).
Because you’ll presumably perform a lot of tweaking on a live site, this won’t completely replicate a real-world situation. However, it should give you an indication of how well each theme’s core is optimised.
I used WebPageTest to get this test data, having it perform 9 independent tests and obtain the median value. To read the complete WebPageTest results, click on the links in the table:
Essentially, if performance is critical to you, Astra or GeneratePress will be your best alternatives. Having saying that, OceanWP is far from sluggish, and it’s still better optimised than the ordinary WordPress theme.
Furthermore, OceanWP allows you to deactivate scripts, so you may improve its efficiency even further if desired.
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Speed Comparison
Let’s start with the most important one: performance.
While all three of these themes are lightweight, I believe Astra and GeneratePress are the most performance-focused, as seen by my real test data below.
To put these themes to the test, I installed them all on my test WordPress site, which is powered by a $5 per month DigitalOcean droplet.
To make this test as fair as possible, I’ll utilise each theme with its default settings (as installed from WordPress.org).
Because you’ll presumably perform a lot of tweaking on a live site, this won’t completely replicate a real-world situation. However, it should give you an indication of how well each theme’s core is optimised.
I used WebPageTest to get this test data, having it perform 9 independent tests and obtain the median value. To read the complete WebPageTest results, click on the links in the table:
Essentially, if performance is critical to you, Astra or GeneratePress will be your best alternatives. Having saying that, OceanWP is far from sluggish, and it’s still better optimised than the ordinary WordPress theme.
Furthermore, OceanWP allows you to deactivate scripts, so you may improve its efficiency even further if desired.
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Elementor & Other Page Builder Integration
As I indicated before, all three of these themes are fantastic when combined with Elementor or any WordPress page builder plugin.
“Integration” refers to page-level options that allow you to customise the canvas for your Elementor designs.
For example, you may wish to be able to deactivate the page title for specific bits of content in order to utilise Elementor instead. Alternatively, instead of your standard boxed design, you might utilise a full-width template.
Astra and OceanWP provide the greatest power over your Elementor canvas in the free editions. However, if you go Pro, GeneratePress is right up there (and the free edition of GeneratePress has the most of what you’ll need).
Here’s how each theme handles these elements…
Astra
Astra provides comprehensive page-level controls that allow you to:
- Select whether side should have a sidebar or deactivate the sidebar
- Select whether side should have a sidebar or deactivate the sidebar Change the width of the page to boxed, content boxed, full-width confined, or full-width stretch.
- Disable individual elements such as the header, title, featured picture, footer, or breadcrumbs
- Turn on/off the translucent header.
generatepress
GeneratePress adds a separate Layout meta box to posts and pages that allows you to customise all of the Elementor settings. You may:
- Choose different layouts and sidebar arrangements
- Change or disable the number of footer widgets
- Disable specific elements. The free version only lets you disable the post title, but the premium version adds support for a lot more.
- Choose between a full-width or contained layout
OceanWP
When you install the free OceanWP Extras companion plugin, you receive a very thorough meta box that allows you to modify every part of your post, from the fundamental layout to the logo that you use on each individual page.
Aside from having a lot of options, you have all the crucial items for Elementor, such as:
- The ability to deactivate the header, page title, breadcrumbs, footer, and other features that may interfere with your Elementor design
- The ability to deactivate the header, page title, breadcrumbs, footer, and other features that may interfere with your Elementor design
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Customization Options
Aside from the Elementor connection, all three of these themes have numerous settings in the WordPress Customizer that allow you to manage the appearance of your site.
These options can help you manage the global styles that Elementor inherits (if you disable Elementor’s own styling) in addition to helping you control the layout, appearance, and functionality of your site.
Unfortunately, because all of these themes include Customizer controls, it’s impossible to show you every single option, so I think it might be more helpful to just share my thoughts via text rather than trying to give you screenshots of the WordPress Customizer, especially since the options vary depending on which extensions you have active.
In overall, I’d say OceanWP is the theme with the greatest customization possibilities. Following that, Astra would come next (and not long behind), with GeneratePress trailing a little behind Astra.
Remember that all three have far more customization options than the usual WordPress theme.
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- WooCommerce Support
All three of these themes have WooCommerce integrations, as well as additional WooCommerce-specific options in the WordPress Customizer to help you handle your product pages, shopping cart functionality, and other critical WooCommerce settings.
I’ll compare the WooCommerce options that come with each theme below. In terms of customising choices, I’d say OceanWP has a tiny advantage in terms of raw control, with Astra just behind it (they’re both incredibly fantastic when it comes to WooCommerce).
Astra also provides connectors for two popular WordPress LMS plugins, LearnDash and LifterLMS. If you want to create an online course, this may be a reason to select Astra over the others.
Astra
Astra has built-in WooCommerce support with some cool options like:
- A dropdown shopping cart (GIF below)
- An off-canvas sidebar with product search and filtering options.
- The ability to enable product quick view without the use of a plugin.
- Two-step or distraction-free checkout, which you may enable in the Customizer by checking a box.
- A “bubble” sign for things for sale
- Options for customising your product catalogue
Essentially, your business will have a beautiful, conversion-optimized UI from the start, with no need for third-party plugins.
Finally, as previously stated, Astra features connectors for two prominent LMS plugins: LifterLMS and LearnDash. If you use one of these plugins, you’ll be able to customise the look and functionality of your courses directly from the WordPress Customizer.
You can, for example, enable distraction-free learning and checkout, or provide a course progress indicator.
So, if you’re creating a website to sell online courses, Astra is definitely the best choice.
GeneratePress
GeneratePress‘ premium edition includes a specialised WooCommerce module that allows you to utilise the real-time Customizer to modify crucial WooCommerce functionalities such as:
- Including a shopping cart icon in your menu, as well as that wonderful dropdown effect, so visitors can view what’s in their carts without leaving the page.
- Changing the appearance of your product archive pages
- Including a lovely AJAX add to cart button, as well as a sticky panel at the top of the page
- Managing all of your WooCommerce content’s styles
- A checkout mode that is free of distractions
- Choosing whether to display upsells or similar products
OceanWP
OceanWP has a plethora of choices for creating a WooCommerce store. Among the most notable aspects are:
- Quick view of the product
- A dropdown cart with an excellent responsive implementation for mobile visitors.
- The ability to highlight the product in the cart once a customer adds an item to their cart (example below)
- An off-canvas menu with product search and filtering options.
- A floating bar with an add-to-cart button (this appears as users scroll down a product page)
- Sales awards
- Checkout without distractions and/or multi-step checkout possibilities
- Dedicated style for WooCommerce’s native category and filter widgets
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Importable Demo Sites
All three of these themes have importable demo sites, although only Astra and OceanWP provide free demo site access (though most of the demo sites require the premium version).
To import demo sites into GeneratePress, you must purchase the premium version.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you want to use the Astra premium site designs, you’ll need to purchase the Agency Bundle, which starts at $169. Both OceanWP and GeneratePress include the premium site library with a standard theme licence, which is less expensive.
Astra
Astra has a huge selection of demo sites produced with a variety of tools/page builders:
- + Elementor – The Elementor collection is the most diverse.
- Brizy + Beaver Builder + Gutenberg
If you use Brizy or Beaver Builder, this is an appealing feature in Astra because the other two themes rely heavily on Elementor.
These sample sites are grouped into a range of categories, allowing you to find a decent starting point regardless of the sort of site you’re constructing.
Even for free, you have access to 40+ importable demo sites. In addition, if you purchase the Agency package, you will have access to an additional 50 demo sites.
To summarise, you have a plethora of possibilities! You can view the entire collection here.
GeneratePress
Though GeneratePress has been attempting to extend its site collection, I don’t believe it is presently on par with Astra and OceanWP.
At the time of writing, you have access to 30+ importable demo sites. Some have no page builder, while others use Elementor or Beaver Builder.
You’ll also discover more general-purpose themes, as opposed to Astra’s specialist approach (though GeneratePress does still offer some niche templates).
You may view the whole template library here. And, as previously said, these sample sites are only available if you purchase the premium edition – no free pre-built demo sites are available.
OceanWP
OceanWP includes over 70 importable demo sites. Thirteen of them are available for free, while the rest 60 need the purchase of a premium licence.
There are a number other niche-targeted demo sites, much like Astra. There is, for example, a demo site for weddings and another for bakers. Overall, the demonstrations are rather thorough and visually appealing. You may view all of the demonstrations here.
Most/all of the demo sites are made with Elementor, so that’s something to think about if you prefer a different page builder.
Astra is the only one that provides demo sites for other page builders, however GeneratePress does provide a few Beaver Builder options.
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Pricing
At WordPress.org, all three of these themes include a free core version. Then, if you want to add more features, you may upgrade to the premium version.
If you want to use it on numerous sites, GeneratePress is the most economical, while OceanWP is the most affordable if you only want to use it on one, albeit the difference isn’t significant.
Furthermore, if you wish to continue receiving support/updates beyond the first year, all three themes provide a renewal discount, with GeneratePress providing the most substantial discount (40 percent ).
I’ll go through exactly what each theme’s premium version includes down below.
Astra
When you buy Astra Pro, you receive access to a companion plugin that unlocks a slew of extra features. Because all of this functionality is modular, you may enable or disable it as needed:
- Nav Menu
- White Label
- Blog Layouts
- Site Layouts
- WooCommerce
- Sticky Header
- Page Headers
- More Color Controls
- Better Typography
- Custom Layouts
- Scroll to Top Link
- Footer Widget
- Header Sections
- More Header Designs
- Spacing Control
- LearnDash and LifterLMS Integrations
In addition, if you purchase the Agency Bundle, which starts at $169, you’ll have access to all of the premium demo sites. The Agency Bundle also includes access to some or all of Brainstorm Force’s other products, which is a terrific deal if you plan to utilise those other tools (access to all plugins requires the entire $249 plan).
GeneratePress
When you buy Astra Pro, you receive access to a companion plugin that unlocks a slew of extra features. Because all of this functionality is modular, you may enable or disable it as needed:
- Nav Menu
- White Label
- Blog Layouts
- Site Layouts
- WooCommerce
- Sticky Header
- Page Headers
- More Color Controls
- Better Typography
- Custom Layouts
- Scroll to Top Link
- Footer Widget
- Header Sections
- More Header Designs
- Spacing Control
- LearnDash and LifterLMS Integrations
In addition, if you purchase the Agency Bundle, which starts at $169, you’ll have access to all of the premium demo sites. The Agency Bundle also includes access to some or all of Brainstorm Force’s other products, which is a terrific deal if you plan to utilise those other tools (access to all plugins requires the entire $249 plan).
OceanWP
When you purchase OceanWP, you have access to all of the premium extensions as well as all of the pre-built demo sites.
There are currently 13 premium extensions:
- Full Screen
- Cookie Notice
- Popup Login
- White Label
- Portfolio
- Woo Popup
- Sticky Footer
- Ocean Hooks
- Elementor Widgets
- Side Panel
- Sticky Header
- Footer Callout
OceanWP vs Astra vs GeneratePress -- Conclusion
There isn’t a clear winner between Astra, GeneratePress, and OceanWP.
As I indicated before, all three of these themes are excellent choices, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
However, there are some little distinctions that may sway you in one direction or another:
- OceanWP leads the group in terms of design possibilities and versatility, however the other two aren’t far behind.
- Astra and GeneratePress are a little lighter and more performance optimised out of the box. However, OceanWP is far from “poor” in terms of performance, and you can utilise the script management tool to make it more lightweight.
- Astra offers various connectors that others don’t, such as those for LifterLMS and LearnDash. That’s a major plus if you’re going to leverage those integrations.
- Even if you’re only utilising the free edition of GeneratePress, the public support forum is a fantastic resource. There are several useful tips and modifications available, while Astra and OceanWP both offer excellent support systems.
Now it’s your turn: what do you think of Astra, GeneratePress, and OceanWP? Which of them is your favourite? Do you use the same theme for each project, or do you change them depending on the site? I’d love to know what you think in the comments!
