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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 12:56 pm
header image was provided by Astra Affiliate program.
To clarify I am an affiliate and an Astra user. I am not an expert but I thought I’d share the info.
A few weeks ago I shared about WordPress themes. Again when I’m referring to WordPress I’m talking about WordPress.org, not WordPress.com. I have nothing against WordPress.com but I liked the freedom of using .org more. I didn’t mind paying for hosting and having control of my content.
Now that I have all that out of the way let’s get back to themes. As I mentioned in my prior post there are free and paid themes.
Astra is one of those types. It offers a free theme and a pro (paid theme)
Astra free theme
Astra’s free theme offers a few great options. You can use page builders to customize your site to your liking. Granted some options such as additional text or background color options may be limited.
But it does offer you the basics you’d be looking for in a free them. It’s responsive for all devices. It also offer header and footer options. You can also display a sidebar. If you are working on an e-commerce website the free theme is also Woocommerce ready.
You can see the full list of features here.
Astra Pro
If you choose to upgrade to pro Astra has a few plans. You can play yearly (annually) or a onetime fee. They also offer a few different plan options.
As a general rule prices may vary throughout the year but as of the date of publishing 6/05/2020 these are the prices.
Currently the annual fee is $59 USD. The one time purchase price is $249 USD
The other plans they offer are:
Mini Agency Bundle $276 USD Annual fee or $996 USD one-time purchase
Agency Bundle $523 USD Annual fee or $ 1,893 USD one time purchase
From what I’ve read the one time purchases can be upgraded from the annual fee you will just pay the difference. Also, each plan may have different addon’s or extras. You will have to contact Astra’s support team to ask which one may fit your needs.
you can see all current prices here.
Astra Pro is easy to use
If you upgade to Astra Pro you have a number of starter sites you can use. This is great if you are planning to start an ecommerce site or if you are a small business and just need something basic you can customize yourself.
As I mentioned you can use many popular page builders with Astra. This includes Beaver Builder and Elementor. It also works with Gutenberg as well.
I’m still learning how to use a page builder so I can’t really give any advice.
Pro unlocks other feature
Astra Pro allows you to use more features such as additional text, color options. You also have layout options and meu options as well. I recently learned how to add a mega menu which wasn’t too hard to do.
astra pro feature list 
astra pro feature list 2nd screenshot 
astra features part 3 end of list
I liked that it offers a lot of easy to activate options such as extra fonts, colors, sidebar options and layouts.
Astra Pro also has addon’s for Beaver Builder and Elementor as well. If your like me and your learning as you go they also have some great tutorials via their support page.
One thing I love the most about Astra Pro is that you can use it on an unlimited number of site. You don’t have to keep purchasing a license code or have a limit on site usage.
is it worth the upgrade?
I would say for me yes it was. I was able to add a few customized options I didn’t have using the free theme. But I think you will have to decide if it’s worth it for you.
I liked the ease of use and how you can use a page builder as well or just Gutenberg if your just starting out.
The starter sites are also a plus if you need something quick that you can adjust to fit your needs.
If you opt to use a page builder you may have a wider array of customization settings too. This may depend on the version you use.
But overall I like the them so far.
You can visit the links in the post for more information.
