Astra is on a million active installs and holds 98 out of 100 from more than six thousand ratings. Nobody sensible argues it is a bad theme. The question worth asking going into 2027 is narrower than that: is it the one you should pay for, when Kadence and Blocksy exist and one of them costs less in year three than Astra costs in year two.
The short answer
The free Astra theme is worth installing on almost any site. It is fast, it is stable, and it works with every page builder.
Astra Pro is worth paying for in two situations: you build client sites at volume and want the 1000 site licence, or you genuinely want the bundle of Spectra Pro, starter templates and now three years of hosting thrown in.
Otherwise I would buy Blocksy. It costs less over three years, it is the only one of the three rated 100 out of 100, and it ships updates weekly. My reasoning, and the numbers behind it, are below.
The numbers, before the opinions
These come from the WordPress.org theme directory rather than from anyone's marketing page, and they were pulled on 24 September 2026.
Three things in that table are worth pausing on.
- Blocksy holds a perfect 100 out of 100, and not on a thin sample. That is 872 ratings, nearly twice Kadence's 455.
- Astra still declares support for PHP 5.3, a version that reached end of life in 2014. Kadence requires 7.4 and Blocksy 7.0. It does not make Astra insecure, but it tells you how much backwards compatibility the codebase is carrying.
- GeneratePress last shipped in December 2025. That is over nine months. For a theme with 500,000 installs it is a long quiet spell.
Astra's own site describes the theme as trusted by more than 2 million sites. WordPress.org counts 1,000,000 active installs. Both can be true, since one counts downloads and deployments over time and the other counts live sites today, but the million is the number I would plan around.
What Astra actually costs in 2027
This is where most reviews stop at the banner price. Astra's own pricing page is refreshingly direct about it: the prices at checkout are introductory rates for your first year.
| Plan | Year one | Renews at | Lifetime | Licence sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra Pro addon only | $69 | $69 | $249, was $349 | Astra Pro alone |
| Astra Pro + AI | $99 | $149 | $279, was $449 | 3 |
| Essential Toolkit + AI | $199 | $299 | $549, was $899 | 10 |
| Business Toolkit + AI | $279 | $429 | $799, was $1,299 | 1000 |
One genuinely new thing for 2027: the toolkit plans now bundle three years of WordPress hosting, for 1, 2 or 5 sites depending on tier, plus a domain for the first year. Neither Kadence nor Blocksy does anything like that. If you were going to buy hosting anyway, it changes the maths considerably, and it is the strongest argument for Astra on this page.
Three years, side by side
Astra is the only one of the three that steps up after year one, so a one year comparison flatters it. Here is what three years costs at each vendor's listed prices.
The line that matters
Blocksy Agency gives you unlimited sites for $149 a year, or $499 once. Astra's unlimited-ish tier is the 1000 site Business Toolkit at $279 introductory and then $429 every year after. Over three years that is $447 against $1,137.
If you are an agency and nothing else on this page moves you, that one should.
Support and updates, which nobody compares and everybody feels
Feature tables are easy to write and they age badly. What actually determines whether you are happy with a theme two years in is how quickly the developer fixes things, and I have run all three long enough to have a view.
Blocksy ships weekly, and I can show you
This is not a feeling. Counting the dated entries on Blocksy's public changelog for the twelve months to September 2026, they shipped on 42 separate days, with a median gap of exactly 7 days. The longest they went without a release in that entire year was 35 days.
That matches my experience of using it. When I have reported a bug to Blocksy, it has generally been fixed within the week, not queued for the next quarterly release. Their support is the best in class of any WordPress theme I have paid for, and I do not say that lightly about a team far smaller than Brainstorm Force.
It also explains the 100 out of 100 rating. People do not leave perfect scores for features. They leave them when someone answered on a Tuesday and shipped the fix on a Thursday.
| Astra | Kadence | Blocksy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public dated changelog | Yes | Version list, no dates published | Yes, fully dated |
| Release rhythm | Regular, every few weeks | Slower, larger releases | Weekly, 7 day median |
| Total tagged releases | 283 | 129 | 444 |
| Rating on WordPress.org | 98 from 6,531 | 98 from 455 | 100 from 872 |
| Team size | Large, Brainstorm Force | Mid sized | Small |
| My experience of bug fixes | Reasonable | Reasonable | Usually inside a week |
In fairness to Astra, a bigger company with a million installs cannot move as fast, and some of that caution is why it is stable. But if you are the kind of person who reports bugs and wants them gone, that difference is the whole experience.
Feature by feature, where each one actually wins
| Astra | Kadence | Blocksy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free version generosity | Good | Very good | Best, header and footer builders free |
| Header and footer builder | Pro only | Free | Free |
| Starter template library | Biggest by far | Good | Good |
| Page builder compatibility | Best, built for Elementor | Block editor first | Both, genuinely |
| Block editor experience | Fine | Best, Kadence Blocks is excellent | Very good |
| WooCommerce features | Strong in Pro | Strong | Strongest in free |
| Bundled plugins | Spectra Pro, SureForms, more | Kadence Blocks Pro, Cloud | Companion Pro only |
| Bundled hosting | Yes, 3 years | No | No |
| Unlimited sites price | $429/yr after intro | $499/yr Elite | $149/yr or $499 once |
| Lifetime option | Yes, on every tier | No | Yes, on every tier |
Which one for your niche
This is the part that actually answers the question, because there is no single best theme, only a best theme for what you are building.
| What you are building | I would pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate or review blog | Blocksy | Free header and footer builders, fastest fixes, cheapest over three years |
| Client sites at volume | Astra Business, or Blocksy Agency | Astra for the template library and bundled hosting, Blocksy if the budget is yours |
| Elementor site | Astra | It was built alongside Elementor and the integration is the smoothest of the three |
| Block editor, no page builder | Kadence | Kadence Blocks is the best block library attached to any theme |
| WooCommerce store | Blocksy | The most WooCommerce control in the free version, and Blocksy handles product layouts well |
| Membership or LMS site | Astra | Deepest integrations with LifterLMS, LearnDash and the membership plugins |
| A site you want to hand over and forget | Astra | The largest company here and the least likely to disappear |
| Personal blog on a budget | Any of the free versions | Genuinely. Do not pay for a theme until something specific is blocking you |
Astra, honestly
What it gets right
- It is genuinely fast and genuinely stable. A million installs and a 98 rating is not marketing, it is a lot of people not having problems.
- The starter template library is the biggest in the category, and for client work that is hours saved per site.
- Elementor compatibility is the best of the three. If Elementor is your builder this is the path of least resistance.
- The bundle is real value if you use it. Spectra Pro and SureForms are not filler, and three years of hosting is a genuine cost removed.
- A lifetime option on every tier, which is increasingly rare.
- It will still exist in five years. Brainstorm Force is a large, profitable company.
What it gets wrong
- The renewal step up is steep and it is the headline number everyone quotes. Pro + AI goes from $99 to $149, a 50 percent rise in year two.
- The header and footer builders are Pro only, and both competitors give them away free.
- The bundle is only value if you want the bundle. If you just want a theme, you are paying $99 for something Blocksy sells at $69 with more in the free tier.
- Still declaring PHP 5.3 support tells you how much legacy the codebase carries.
- Unlimited sites is expensive at $429 a year against Blocksy's $149.
My verdict on the Astra theme
4.1 out of 5 ★★★★☆
A very good theme with a pricing model built for people who want the whole ecosystem. If that is you, and especially if the bundled hosting replaces a bill you were already paying, Astra is a fair deal. If you only want a fast, flexible theme, you are paying for a bundle you will not open, and Blocksy does the job for less with a better free tier and faster fixes.
What works
- Fast and stable across a million active installs, rated 98 out of 100
- The largest starter template library of any theme in this class
- The smoothest Elementor integration of the three
- Toolkit plans now bundle three years of hosting and a domain
- A lifetime licence is available on every tier
What does not
- Pro + AI renews at 149 dollars after a 99 dollar first year
- Header and footer builders are locked to Pro, free in both rivals
- Unlimited sites costs 429 a year against Blocksy Agency at 149
- Still declares support for PHP 5.3, which died in 2014
- The bundle is only worth it if you actually use Spectra and SureForms
Related reading
- Kadence vs Astra, the full head to head
- Blocksy theme review, free vs Pro
- Kadence vs Blocksy, which one wins
- Free Astra alternatives that are fast and clean
- Astra Black Friday pricing and the renewal rates
- WordPress theme deals, verified prices
- Speeding up WordPress, whichever theme you pick
Astra theme FAQs
How much does Astra theme cost?
The Astra theme itself is free. Astra Pro as a standalone addon is 69 dollars a year or 249 one time. The bundles are Astra Pro + AI at 99 dollars for the first year then 149 on renewal, Essential Toolkit at 199 then 299, and Business Toolkit at 279 then 429. Lifetime options are 279, 549 and 799. Checked on wpastra.com in September 2026.
Which WordPress theme is better, Astra or Kadence?
Kadence if you build with the block editor, because Kadence Blocks is the best block library bundled with any theme and the free tier includes header and footer builders. Astra if you build with Elementor or you want the starter template library, which is much larger. On price they are close: Kadence Essentials is 99 dollars a year flat, Astra Pro + AI is 99 then 149.
Which Elementor theme is better, Astra or Hello?
Hello is a blank canvas with essentially no styling, which is exactly right if you are designing every element in Elementor and want zero CSS you did not write. Astra gives you headers, footers, WooCommerce layouts and blog templates already built. Use Hello if you are an Elementor power user building from scratch, Astra if you want a head start.
Which WordPress theme is considered the best?
There is no single answer, which is why this page has a table by niche rather than a winner. Astra has the most installs, Blocksy has the highest rating at a perfect 100 out of 100, Kadence has the best block editor tooling and GeneratePress has the leanest code. The best theme is the one that matches what you are building.
Is the free version of Astra good enough?
For most blogs, yes. The free theme is fast, stable and works with every page builder. The main things you give up are the header and footer builders and the premium starter templates. Worth knowing that Kadence and Blocksy both include header and footer builders in their free versions.
Does Astra renew at the same price?
No. Astra's own pricing page states that checkout prices are introductory rates for the first year. Astra Pro + AI renews at 149 dollars, Essential Toolkit at 299 and Business Toolkit at 429. Your renewal rate is fixed at the rate in place when you buy, so buying earlier locks a lower renewal.
Is Astra Pro worth it in 2027?
It is worth it if you want the ecosystem: the starter templates, Spectra Pro, SureForms and the three years of bundled hosting the toolkit plans now include. If you only want a theme, you are paying for a bundle you will not use, and Blocksy gives you more in its free version for less money over three years.
Is Blocksy better than Astra?
For most of what I build, yes. Blocksy includes header and footer builders free, is the only one of the three rated 100 out of 100 on WordPress.org, costs 149 dollars a year for unlimited sites against Astra's 429, and ships updates on a 7 day median. Astra wins on starter templates, Elementor integration and the bundled hosting.
How often is Blocksy updated?
Weekly, in practice. Counting dated entries on their public changelog for the twelve months to September 2026, Blocksy shipped on 42 separate days with a median gap of exactly 7 days, and the longest gap in the whole year was 35 days.
Which theme has the best support?
In my experience Blocksy, by a clear margin. Bugs I have reported have usually been fixed within a week rather than held for a scheduled release, and their 7 day release rhythm is what makes that possible. Astra has the larger support organisation behind it, which matters more if you need guaranteed coverage than if you need speed.
Does Astra slow down my site?
No. Astra is one of the lighter themes available and the free version loads very little on a basic page. Sites built on Astra that feel slow are almost always slow because of a page builder, a heavy starter template with large images, or too many plugins, none of which is the theme's doing.
Can I switch from Astra to another theme later?
Yes, but budget time for it. Content and images move cleanly. What does not move is anything built with theme specific features: custom headers and footers, hooks and any layout created with Astra Pro modules all need rebuilding. Switching is easiest early, which is an argument for choosing carefully now.
