Neve vs Astra vs OceanWP

There are thousands of themes in the WordPress Directory. Choosing one for your website can quickly become overwhelming, especially when comparing high-performing, low-cost options such as Neve vs Astra vs OceanWP.

Fortunately, if you carefully break down the features available with each WordPress theme you’re interested in, it will usually become clear which is the best fit for you. Whether you need a sleek one-page layout or a flexible multipurpose theme you can customize extensively, you’ll eventually find what you need.

In this post, we’ll compare three popular free WordPress themes: Neve, Astra, and OceanWP. We’ll cover their key features, extensions, demos templates, and potential costs to help you determine if one of them is right for you. Let’s get to it!

Neve vs Astra vs OceanWP compared

There’s no wrong choice when it comes to picking your WordPress theme. The decision is all about your personal preferences and the needs of your website. Below we’ve compared three popular choices on features, extensions, demos and templates, and the optional costs associated with them.

1. Neve

The Neve theme live demo.

Our attractive, professional, one-page theme has all the ingredients for a successful website baked into it. It’s jam-packed with handy features for both style and performance, including:

  • Lightweight code that will keep your site running fast (with a Google PageSpeed score of 92).
  • Compatibility with Elementor, the most popular WordPress page builder.
  • A mobile-first design that will keep your site looking top-notch on any screen, along with AMP support.
  • Drag-and-drop header and footer customization, and layout control.
  • A starter site library of templates you can use to build your site quickly and easily.
  • WooCommerce-specific features for designing an awesome online store.
  • Blogging oriented features for boosting usability.
  • White label theme for clients (good for developers or agencies).
  • All elements are translation and RTL ready.

Additionally, you can extend this theme by purchasing the Neve Pro add-on plugin. It includes several handy add-on modules such as custom layouts, a header booster with sticky and transparent menu options, a ‘Scroll to Top’ button, a deeper WooCommerce integration, and more.

Neve’s starter site library provides users of both versions with 11 free site demos, including a variety of options and templates built specifically with Elementor in mind. If you’re not into custom coding and want to get your site up and running quickly, these handy tools will get the job done.

The theme is free to download. Then, the Neve Pro add-on plugin starts at just $69.00, which lets you use it on unlimited sites.

2. Astra

The Astra theme home page vs Neve and OceanWP

With over 300,000 active installations, there’s no denying that Astra is a popular choice (read our full Astra theme review here). This isn’t particularly surprising when you consider its many desirable qualities, such as:

  • Performance optimized code that adheres to the highest standards.
  • Multiple layout, header, and footer options for personalizing your site’s design.
  • Elementor integration for advanced customization and page building.
  • Responsive design and mobile header creation to ensure your site is perfect at any screen size.
  • Dozens of starter sites you can import using the free Astra Starter Site plugin.
  • LifterLMS and LernDash integration for better online learning sites.
  • Multiple WooCommerce layouts and global designs for entire page.
  • Awesome font options like text transform, custom fonts and more.

You can also extend Astra by purchasing the Astra Pro plugin. This brings features such as advanced customization, white labeling, and additional starter sites to your WordPress installation. The extension will make this already flexible theme even easier to adjust to your needs and tastes.

With a huge selection of demos to choose from, you also won’t have to worry about custom coding or creating layouts (unless you want to, of course). Astra includes starter sites optimized for Elementor, Beaver Builder, the native WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg), and Brizy. You’ll also find blog, e-commerce, business, and other site types among the pre-built options.

Astra itself is free, but Astra Pro comes in at $49.00 per year. They also offer a Mini Agency Bundle and an Agency Bundle for $169 and $249 per year respectively. These latter bundles are required to unlock the premium starter sites.

3. OceanWP

The OceanWP theme Homepage.

This theme boasts close to 1.5 million downloads, and it’s clear to see why. OceanWP is a highly flexible multipurpose theme that can adapt to any type of site. It includes some pretty attractive features, such as:

  • A built-in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) base and excellent page speed test scores.
  • Fully responsive design that keeps your site readable even on mobile devices.
  • Integration with page builder plugins.
  • Highly customizable through the use of extensions.
  • Access to an extensive demo library, including free and premium templates.

Unlike the other themes in this post, you can add on to OceanWP with individual extensions. Some are free, others are available for individual purchase, and all are included in the theme’s Core Extensions Bundle. Some highlights include white labeling, unique Elementor widgets, Instagram feed integration, and more.

As far as demos go, OceanWP won’t leave you wanting. There are one-page, e-commerce, and blog demos, with over 70 options to choose from. A handful are available for free, but others require the purchase of a Core Extensions Bundle.

When it comes to pricing, OceanWP is what you make it. If you want to use the theme alone, you can build an awesome site without spending a penny. If you want to add just an extension or two, you can keep your site affordable while adding just the high-quality features you need.

The Personal license starts at $35.00 per year for use on three sites and can run as high as $143 per year for use on unlimited sites.

How to decide which theme is right for you

On the surface, these themes all seem pretty similar, but upon closer inspection, there are subtle differences that may make one more suitable than the others when it comes to your site. We’ve summarized our findings in the table below:

Neve vs Astra vs OceanWP
Neve Astra OceanWP
Features One page layout, Elementor compatibility, drag-and-drop customization, WooCommerce/blog design flexibility. Mobile header customization, unique widgets, a variety of layout and design features such as custom fonts. Has the overall most design options, flexibility for use with many types of sites.
Extensions Neve Pro provides seven modules for additional functionality. Astra Pro includes advanced customization and layouts. 20 extensions available individually or as part of a Core Extensions Bundle.
Starter Sites 32 free starter sites. Largest library of free and pro starter sites. Over 70 demos, 13 of which are free.
Price Starts at just $69.00 per year for use on unlimited sites. Astra Pro available for $49.00 per year. Starts at $35.00 per year for use on three sites.

In short, you won’t want for features with any of these themes. Our main comparison lies with the extensions available for each, the demos they offer, and the price those elements demand.

At the lowest cost and offering premium usage across unlimited sites, Neve Pro takes the cake when it comes to the most budget-friendly option at just $69.00 for use on unlimited sites. It also offers the unique drag-and-drop header and footer builder.

In terms of the most available starter sites, Astra wins with its huge importable Site Library. Like Neve Pro, it’s also affordable, with unlimited usage costing just $49.00.

Finally, OceanWP offers deep customization and is the best choice for those who want just a handful of extensions and a good set of website demos.

Conclusion

Your WordPress site’s theme has a big influence on  its style and functionality. It will play a serious role in helping users form opinions of your site, so choosing yours carefully is key. This can get tricky when dealing with comparisons such as Neve vs Astra vs OceanWP.

Each has high-quality features that can build a terrific site, but also appeals to different types of users:

  1. Neve: The free theme provides a sleek and modern one-page layout ideal for small businesses. It’s also quite affordable, starting at just $69.00.
  2. Astra: Though the free version isn’t much different than the other themes in this post, Astra Pro offers an attractive feature set from a premium standpoint and a large site library.
  3. OceanWP: Gives you attractive pricing with the entry-level plan already allowing setup on three sites and a good set of the most essential extensions.

Do you have any questions about Neve or another WordPress theme? Let us know in the comments section below!

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