Readers liked my detailed comparison of two of my favourite themes, Astra and Kadence, so here is the same treatment for Kadence vs GeneratePress: a feature comparison and a speed test, done in more detail.
By the end you should know which of the two fits your site, and why.
Kadence and GeneratePress Quick Introduction
First, a quick introduction to both themes.
Kadence
Kadence is a newly launched multipurpose theme built around features and speed, with lightweight code. It is not fully developed yet, but what it already offers is impressive. The theme is free in the WordPress repository, and the Pro add-on plugin is sold on the official website of KadenceWP.
GeneratePress
GeneratePress is one of the lightest themes on the market, and performance is its whole personality. It also has a free version in the WordPress repository, with very basic features. The Pro add-on plugin is sold on Generatepress.com.
Let's start with the first thing any website needs: SPEED.
Speed Comparison of Kadence and Astra
I tested both themes in the same environment by migrating my live website to two hosting servers with identical configuration. Both test sites ran the same number of plugins, including Kadence Pro on the Kadence version and GeneratePress Pro on the GP version, with all modules enabled on both.
So these results come from a real site on a fair setup.
Kadence Performance Test (Speed Test)
Here is the Performance Score of Google Pagespeed Insight obtained for Home Page (Designed with Elementor) in Kadence Theme.
Here is the GTMatrix Performance Result obtained for Home Page (Designed with Elementor).
GeneratePress Performance Test (Speed Test)
Here is the Performance score of Google Pagespeed Insight obtained for Home Page (designed with elementor) in GeneratePress Theme.
Here is the Performance Result obtained for Home Page (designed with elementor) in GeneratePress Theme.
Next up is the first thing visitors see on any website: the header.
Final Result of Kadence vs GeneratePress Speed Test
| Criteria | Kadence | GeneratePress |
|---|---|---|
| PageSpeed Insight (Mobile) | 94 | 95 |
| PageSpeed Insight (Mobile) | 76 | 85 |
| GTmetrix Structure | 92 | 95 |
| GT Metrix Performance | 63 | 62 |
| Fully Loaded Time (GTmetrix) | 3.5 Sec | 3.1 sec |
| Total Page Size (GTmetrix) | 612KB | 455KB |
| Total Page Request (GTMetrix) | 41 | 29 |
| First Contentful Paint (Desktop) | 0.6 Sec | 0.5 Sec |
| Speed Index | 1.1 Sec | 0.6 Sec |
| Time to Interactive | 0.6 sec | 1.5 Sec |
| Final Winner Score | 2 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 |
GeneratePress wins the speed test clearly, and that is no surprise. As I said above, it is a theme built only for performance, with a clean look and minimal features.
Header Comparison Between Kadecne and Generatepress
The header is what convinces a visitor to trust you and stay. Bloggers who believe only content is king may shrug at that. Anyone who sells products or services knows better: conversions depend on trust, and the first look at your site decides whether you seem legit and professional.
Header Features of Kadence Theme
The header and footer builder is a key feature of the Kadence theme, and it is the best header builder I have used, with lots of customization options and plenty of essential widgets.
As the image above shows, you build a header in Kadence by drag and drop. It has 3 bars, Top Bar, Main Header and Bottom Bar with elements like Multiple menus, Social Icons, Contact Option, Buttons, Custom HTML, Cart Icon, My Account Icon etc. with many additional widgets included in Kadence Pro version.
Kadence also offers sticky and transparent headers. If you do not want a header on a page, you can switch it off for that page.
Header Features of GeneratePress Theme
GeneratePress has no header builder in its Free or Pro plans. You get 3 preset header styles where you can move the navigation menu and logo. That is the whole of GeneratePress header customization.
And as you can see from the image, there are features like Header Padding, Mobile menu switch and alignment.
Ultimate Winner of Header Comparison
If you are 100% a blogger publishing informational content, you can stick with GeneratePress. It is made for bloggers, it is clean and it is super fast.
If you want your site to look fancy as well as fast, go with Kadence without a second thought. Kadence wins the header round, because it suits bloggers, agencies and business owners alike.
Footer Comparison of GeneratePress and Kadence.
Like the header, the footer helps your website look professional and easy to navigate. Here is what each theme offers.
Kadence Footer Builder Features
Kadence gives you the same clean drag and drop builder for the footer, with lots of elements and design flexibility.
As the image shows, Kadence offers 3 footer bars with 4 layouts and elements like multiple navigation menus, a copyright element, 6 custom widgets, social icons, custom HTML, and many additional widgets with Kadence Pro.
GeneratePress Footer Feature
GeneratePress does not offer much customisation, but for a pure blog theme it has enough.
As the image shows, it offers 2 predefined footer types, Full width and Contained, with up to 5 widget columns. That is about all there is to discuss.
Final winner in Footer Comparison
Kadence takes this round too, thanks to its drag and drop footer builder.
The other theme worth adding to this shortlist is Blocksy, which undercuts Kadence sharply on multi site licensing. See Kadence vs Blocksy.
