Divi vs Astra 2023– How to Pick The #1 Theme (My Personal Opinion)

In this article, I have featured Divi vs Astra, Which One is the Best WordPress Theme for you in 2023

If you are one of the developers, you might have gone through several platforms to find the best theme for you. Congratulations to you, as you have come to the right place. Now, your tremendous search will come to an end!!

This article guides you to choose the best theme that meets your website needs. If you want detailed insight into Divi Theme,, check out our Divi Theme Review.

Please stick to the article until the end to decide the better of the two and suit our professionalism.

Let’s start exploring.

🚀Divi vs Astra: Quick Expert Summary

When it comes to WordPress themes, there are two main camps: those that are highly customizable and those that are designed to be used as-is.

Divi falls into the first category. With Divi, you have complete control over the look and feel of your website. Need to create a custom footer? No problem.

Want to change the colors or fonts? That’s easy too. If you’re the type of person who likes to tinker with things until they’re just right, Divi is worth considering.

On the other hand, Astra is designed to be used “out of the box.” In other words, it comes with a pre-designed layout that can be customized to some extent, but not as much as Divi.

Astra might be a good option if you’re looking for a theme that doesn’t require a lot of tweaking. However, if you want complete control over your website’s design, Divi is probably a better choice.

Divi and Astra offers ample customization options, but they go about it differently. Divi uses a “drag and drop” interface that lets you rearrange elements on your pages however you see fit.

Astra takes a more traditional approach, allowing you to change things like colors and fonts from within the
Astra WordPress Customizer. Which approach you prefer is a matter of personal preference.

No matter which WordPress theme you choose—Divi or Astra—you can create a beautiful website that suits your needs.

The important thing is to take some time to explore the options and find the one that’s right for you. Whichever theme you choose, we wish you all the best in your journey toward creating a unique WordPress website!

Why Choose Divi Over Astra?

• It’s easy to make a website that looks professional and has a personal touch that leads to many sales.
• You will have total power over the style of your business website, which will help you build a loyal following.
• To customize Divi, removing the sidebar, changing the logo, adding Google Maps, and changing the bottom is easy.
• With tools like Monarch and Popup option, Bloom, it’s easy to make your website more interesting.
• You don’t need to use heavy third-party tools because their Divi builder has everything you need.
• It has a split test method to get the best results, which is something Astra doesn’t have.

With a special deal, you can get the Divi theme for free for life. Check out my in-depth Divi review to find out why it is so valuable.

Why Go With Astra Than Divi?

• Compared to Divi, Astra is a lightweight theme designed for speed.
• You will get easy-to-use customization choices and the freedom to choose the page maker you like best.
• Even with the free version of Astra, it’s more likely to make websites that stand out. Divi doesn’t have a free version.
• With tools like LifterLMS or LearnDash, this WP theme is best for making online course websites that don’t have too many distractions.
• The blog layouts, unique layouts, site layouts, global design choices, and Header and footer designs are all great ways to build exciting websites that will attract loyal readers.

Here is a complete comparison between Divi vs Astra. Let’s see which one is better for your usage:

Divi Overview

Divi is a multi-purpose flagship WordPress theme from Elegant Themes with more than 6,00,000 active installations. 

This theme is a paid one and has only one version. It comes with prebuilt content and tools to make your website project ready.

You can create any website through this theme. Divi offers you to access everything it possesses plus it offers you a few other themes Elegant Themes too. Amazing.

Owing to one version only, it becomes easy to handle and work with.

• The Divi page builder is a visual, drag-and-drop tool.
• The Divi Builder also lets you build themes visually by drag-and-drop
• There are a lot of choices in real-time WordPress Customizer
• A thorough section for theme changes in the back end of WordPress

You can customize every detail of its appearance and work function through the visual interface. It offers you out-of-the-box themes. 

It acts as a theme builder and comes with page templates, user-friendly UI, a settings panel, a role editor many others down the line.

Divi supports more than 32 languages, making it a global theme. The complete package of Divi is for everyone from freelancers to website owners.

It has WordPress-based layouts that suit any niche, including tech, health, beauty, business, eCommerce, and plenty more.

Divi has a WYSIWYG page builder for visual and real-time editing. There are two extra plugins- Bloom and Monarch. 

Key Features:

• Visual page builder for posts and pages that you can drag and drop.
• Headers, footers, and templates can be added to a theme by dragging and dropping. This feature is built in.
• Multipurpose.
• The WordPress Customizer settings for a theme (or, you can use Divi to build everything).
• 271 layout packs that can be imported (basically pre-built demo websites).
• Compatible with WooCommerce.
• With the Divi Builder, there is A/B testing built in.
• Comes both as a theme and as a plugin.

Astra Overview

If you are looking for a multipurpose theme that is free and minimal, your search ends here. This performance-oriented theme offers well integrations with its add-ons. 

This open-source theme was developed on Github in 2017, so any of you can contribute. Astra was built following AA level standards and WCAG 2. O makes it accessibility-ready.

It is rated 95% by Google developers. With more than 6,00,000 customers to date, the theme can be enhanced through the Astra Pro license and premium add-on plugin.

No matter whether you choose, you will get free access to the library of prebuilt content.  It is to note that upgrading unlocks more content and extra features for your website.

You get a bare theme at first, on which you can put any elements of your choice. Both versions of Astra provide you with third-party page builders for better customization of your content.

It is compatible most prominently with Brizy, Beaver Builder, and Elementor.

Key features of Astra:

• WordPress.org has a free version.
• There are no jQuery dependencies and the file size is less than 50 KB.
• 230+ sites built with the block editor, Elementor, and Beaver Builder that can be imported.
• The real-time WordPress Customizer gives you a lot of options for style and layout.
• Controls at the page level can help you work with page builder plugins.
• Compatibility with WooCommerce and special settings.
• LifterLMS and LearnDash have special integrations that let you make online courses.

Features – Divi vs Astra

It’s hard to compare the features of each theme side by side, mostly because they’re two different WordPress themes. Let me explain:

Divi is about immediately giving you the whole package, including everything you could ever need. You don’t need to use other tools or run anything besides the Divi theme to make your perfect website.

Astra is all about efficiency and simplicity, and so it is also all about minimalism. Out of the box, all you get is a simple style that needs to be set up and a few extra modules from Astra and other companies before it looks the way you want it to.

Neither way is worse or better than the other. They’re just not the same. Both have good and bad points:

The best thing about Divi is that you get everything right away. The biggest downside is that you might not need most of that stuff, and it can slow down your site.

The best thing about Astra is that it is fast and well-designed. The worst thing is that you have to choose each part of the site yourself (by turning on each section). Another benefit is that you don’t have to keep features you don’t use, which speeds up your site.

So, you can get to the same place with both styles. The major difference is the way you get there.

User Experience

I think it could be more helpful to go over what it’s like to develop a WordPress website using both Divi and Astra rather than trying to compare every nitty-gritty function in the abstract. This is because trying to compare every feature is like trying to compare apples to oranges.

This part will be kept at a high level, but it should highlight the several approaches that can be taken.

Divi

There are three primary approaches to working with the Divi theme, which is as follows:

The visual builder that uses a drag-and-drop interface is called the Divi Builder. You can use it to design not only the text of your website but also the header, footer, and any other templates you might need.

You’ll spend most of your time working in the Divi Builder, and you can get a feel for it by trying out a demo here.

• Theme Customizer 

To exercise control over the Divi theme, you will make use of the theme-wide Customizer. It’s possible that, now that Divi Theme Builder is available, you won’t find as much need for this and will instead choose to make your templates using the builder.

Options for the Divi Theme This is an additional area in which you can adjust options for the Divi theme that are not included in the Customizer.

You won’t be spending too much time in this location. You have two options at your disposal as of Divi 4.0 for controlling the fundamental appearance of the theme you are using.

To begin, you could customize the Divi theme through its settings by using the WordPress Customizer, which is the “standard” method (and how you control most WordPress themes, including Astra).

• Options for the Divi Theme

However, beginning with version 4.0, Divi also has complete support for developing themes.

The visual, drag-and-drop Divi Builder allows you to design your theme’s templates when you use the theme-building feature.

If you navigate to Divi > Theme Builder, you will see that you can “override” many of the options found in the WordPress Customizer by adding your own templates.

That is to say, you have the ability to create your own header template that serves as a replacement for the header that you customized using the Theme Customizer:

• Theme constructor for Divi

When you are creating your header, you have the option of using dedicated modules to incorporate crucial components.

For instance, the Menu module allows you to enter the navigation menu that you configure by going to the Appearance menu and selecting Menus.

• Divi Builder

You may also utilize the Divi Builder for posts and pages on your website.

You will get access to hundreds of Layout Packs, which are essentially thematic collections of website templates that may be used to assist in the development of a whole website. Importable demo sites are basically what these are, but with Divi.

For instance, the style pack for a website about a gym would include templates for things like the following:

And with that, you now have the extremely condensed version of what it’s like to develop a website using WordPress using the Divi theme.

Astra

The absence of Astra’s very own page builder contributes to a user experience that is somewhat simpler and more streamlined.

After you have installed the theme, you can access all of Astra’s demo sites by downloading the accompanying Starter Templates plugin from the WordPress.org website and installing it.

You will start by selecting the content editor that best suits your needs. This editor will be used to create each and every piece of material that appears on the demonstration website. You can do one of the following:

• Astra starting locations

When you import a demo site, you can import either the complete site with all of the Customizer settings or just the settings themselves. You also have the option to import only certain sections of the demo site.

You will use the real-time WordPress Customizer in order to make modifications to the Astra theme itself:

Options are available with the Astra Customizer. If you purchase Astra Pro, you will have access to many additional customization possibilities.

Last but not least, if you imported the demo material, you can modify it using your chosen editor.

For instance, if you select the Gutenberg templates, the native WordPress block editor with WordPress may be used to make all your edits.

Again, if you want to add visual drag-and-drop page construction and/or theme creation to Astra, you must couple it with a separate WordPress page builder plugin. This is because Astra does not have these features.

Customizing Your Website

Over the last few years, WordPress themes have changed how they are put together over the last few years, and many of their features have moved to page builders instead. This includes things like layouts, ready-made patterns, and the ability to change headers, footers, and other parts.

Divi

This is shown well by Divi Theme. Elegant Themes sells Divi Theme as an all-in-one WordPress theme, but Divi Builder has most of the features.

Instead, Divi Theme became a fresh slate for Divi Builder. Take, for example, the Divi Theme Builder, which is part of the Divi Builder. It lets you put the same header, body, and footer on different parts of your page. This tool works well because of how simple the Divi Theme is.

Settings for the Divi Theme Builder Template: The Divi theme works well with the WordPress theme customizer. It lets you change your header, menus for browsing, fonts, styles, buttons, and more.

Divi Builder, Divi Library, and Divi Theme Builder are still used to change most of the style settings. The main options are for Divi has dozens of sets to choose from.

From this area, you can turn on and off Divi Builder for certain post types, the navigation settings, the style settings for a single post or page, and more.

Divi also has a job editor for more complex tasks. This can be used to tell WordPress user groups which Divi tools they can use.

Astra

In contrast to Divi, all settings and customization choices for Astra are found in the WordPress theme customizer. This is a good choice because you can see changes as they happen, but the setup needs to be fixed.

The Astra settings page links to essential parts of the WordPress theme customizer and to pages with help.

On the options page, you can also turn on suggested plugins and Astra Pro modules. The authors of Astra have kept the core theme simple.

You must use plugins like Astra Bulk Edit, Astra Widgets, Astra Customizer Reset, and Import/Export Customizer Settings to change the necessary settings.

You need to turn on the Starter Templates WordPress tool to import website designs that have already been made.

To use Astra Pro’s extra features, you must start the Astra Pro WordPress plugin and then turn on the features you want from the main Astra Pro options page.

Astra Pro adds different website and blog layouts, a custom layout system, a deeper connection with WooCommerce, mega menus, page headers, and more.

Astra vs Divi Theme Options

In this part, I’m going to compare the interfaces for setting up both themes. I’m talking about the “Options” page, where you can change features and settings.

Let’s dive in!

Astra Options

Go to Astra > Dashboard to see the choices for Astra. On this page, you can control modules, which are basically the parts of the theme that you can turn on and off.

With Astra 4.0, there is a brand-new dashboard that lets you handle everything about the theme, such as turning features on or off, installing Starter Templates, and other dependencies.

The dashboard page is divided into sensible sections: Quick Settings, Astra Pro Modules, Astra Integrations, and Your License.

Each gives you quick access to the settings you need to add or turn on or off settings based on your needs.

There are also quick links to different customizer settings.

Divi Options

The settings for Divi can be found in the admin sidebar menu.

The dashboard hasn’t changed much in recent changes, which we think is a good thing. It still has that familiar feel we like, with all the choices in a main window that are controlled by tabs.

At first, there is a lot to learn, but working with Divi is easy once you get the hang of it.

Unlike Astra, Divi’s theme choices can be hard to figure out initially because you can change many things.

For example, there are SEO options that, while simple, should be more than enough for your site’s basic SEO needs, so you don’t have to add a separate plugin for that.

I won’t talk about every single choice here, but we will give you an idea of what you can change.

Divi vs Astra: Importable Demo Sites

Divi and Astra offer a variety of tools and importable templates to help you easily create impressive websites. These templates serve as a solid starting point for your web projects and can save you significant time and effort.

Divi

Divi has a wide range of starter content options, all created using the Divi Builder. There are over 271 website demos available, with each demo organized into different layout packs, designed for a specific type of website.

However, unlike Astra, Divi does not have a one-click option to import an entire starter site. Instead, you will need to import individual templates for various pages, such as the homepage, portfolio, about, and contact pages.

Unfortunately, you will still need to manually configure Customizer settings for other pages, like blog posts, to match the imported templates. One benefit of Divi is its extensive library of over 1,988 single-page templates, which offers flexibility for customization.

Furthermore, you can explore numerous third-party layouts, both free and premium, to further enhance your site-building options.

Astra

Astra offers a wide variety of over 230 website demos (the amount may differ depending on which page builder you select, with Elementor having the most choices).

Astra’s demo importing feature is impressive because it lets you import entire websites instead of just individual page designs. This includes importing associated Customizer settings like header styles and blog layouts, which makes your website ready to go right away.

Additionally, Astra has a simple-to-use setup wizard that allows you to personalize your site’s color scheme and typography during importing.

Divi vs Astra: Using the Themes

In this section, I’ll examine each theme’s user interface and overall simplicity of use — how difficult it is to get these themes to perform what you want them to accomplish.

First and foremost, these are traditional WordPress themes in terms of installation: Download the ZIP file (in the case of Divi) or locate it in the WordPress directory (in the case of Astra) and install it like any other theme.

Furthermore, if you want to utilize Astra Pro, it installs as an add-on plugin on top of the theme. The first thing you’ll notice after activating either theme is that they don’t look like anything out of the box.

Page Builders

Both Divi and Astra can be customized using a powerful drag-and-drop builder tool that enables you to edit the content or create a unique website on WordPress from scratch. 

Both have a difference in the page builder functionality.

Divi

Divi has a visual editor that is produced by Elegant Themes just like the main theme.

You can customize the content using the Drag and Drop visual editor on the Divi Builder page or existing template. This is a huge upgrade in the world of WordPress editing experience.

You can create layouts of rows and columns and populate them with the selection modules present in WordPress.

You can customize almost everything related to Divi. It is up to you to keep it in a default state or need some changes!

Astra

Astra has no in-house page builder tool but relies on other page builders.

For example, Astra Demo sites and templates in those sites have been built with third-party builder plugins and Gutenberg (the upgraded version).

The only problem is that you can edit some templates with specific page builders like a starter site that can be edited with Elementor.

The team is working to create versions of all available templates that go well with the four-page builders.

To be precise

Divi split testing tools can help you optimize your website and its content for better conversion rates. 

Divi theme builder allows you to create custom headers, footers, and other parts of the website outside the page or post using the visual editor. 

Though the Astra theme allows you to access some of these functionalities and lets you edit the website, it is clear that Divi gives more creative freedom. 

While using Astra, you need to learn the uses of third-party builders that make it slightly complicated to use. Divi is more powerful than Astra.

On the contrary, if you are familiar with Astra page builder tools, you will start editing without any delay. For WordPress, both Divi and Astra with third-party plugins, are the best editors.

The winner is Divi here as it is more powerful than the Astra theme and its builders combined.

Content Importers

When it comes to incorporating prebuilt content into your WordPress website, Astra and Divi adopt slightly different approaches, each with its own advantages.

Astra

Astra simplifies the process by allowing you to import an entire Starter Site. This means that you can populate your WordPress website with all the pages and elements featured in the demo, including widgets and menus.

You also have the flexibility to choose what you import; whether it’s the customizer settings, content, widgets, or any combination.

Suppose you wish to create a unique site by mixing and matching templates from various demos. In that case, you can import the content from one demo and then selectively delete the pages you don’t need until you’ve assembled your ideal website.

Divi:

On the other hand, Divi takes a more granular approach. You must import each page individually from a website pack or demo. While this method allows for greater flexibility in mixing and matching templates from different packs, it may not be as streamlined as Astra’s approach.

Both methods are effective and won’t hinder your ability to build your site as you envision it. Whether you prefer to use a complete demo as-is or create a customized set of templates, both Astra and Divi offer solutions that cater to your needs.

It’s important to note that both of these approaches are significant improvements over the cumbersome methods employed by some lesser themes, where you must manually upload and import multiple content and configuration files before configuring the settings yourself.

Choosing between Astra and Divi ensures effortless access to prebuilt content and creating a strong website foundation.

Customer Support

Both Divi and Astra have lots of rich-quality resources to make your website an ideal one. You will find documentation, videos, and tutorials to tell you about the features.

You can go to the Facebook groups for both themes.

If you are a Divi license holder you can contact the Elegant themes support through the live chat system. Or you can open an email ticket.

The free version holders of Astra can enquire on the WordPress.org support forums and active license holders can contact via the email help desk.

To connect with Divi users, you can attend meetings.

Divi surpasses Astra in this case because it has a huge community and good support. 

Divi vs Astra: How To Install

Divi

Divi

Astra

You can easily install this theme like any other theme on WordPress. After paying for the theme, go to the developer’s website which is Elegant themes, and download Divi from there. After downloading, navigate to the WordPress dashboard. Click on Themes. Select Add New. Upload the theme from where it has been saved. Click on Install Now> Activate. You have installed the Divi theme and activated it on your website.

You can find the free Astra version in the WordPress themes directory. You should upgrade your account to get a premium version and explore more creativity. Navigate to the appearance in the WordPress dashboard. Visit Themes. Type and Search ‘Astra’. Click on the install button. Activate the Theme. You have to download the zipped theme file and upload it from your dashboard in case of direct purchase from the developer’s website.

The installation is easy for both themes so no comparison on this point.

A/B Testing Performance

Divi

The Divi theme provides a split-testing system through which anyone can test their page designs, contents, templates, and whatnot. 

To get access to the split test option, right-click on any element from the page builder and select the split option.

Astra

Unfortunately, the Astra theme doesn’t offer a split test option. You can test Astra templates and demos through top builders.

For instance, Elementor has an A/B testing plugin. You can choose an Astra demo site or template that works well with Elementor.

You can carry out the same A/B testing conveniently.

Divi is a win-win category here because it offers a testing system without any third-party page builder. 

Templates

Divi

Divi library has 100+ demo sites and 1000+ templates which gives you huge options to select, save, and get them individually. 

You can choose from the 13 categories and view a live demo as well.

Astra

The page builders have more than 100-page templates same as the demo sites.

The total number of templates from the four-page builders is 1000+. You need to sort through the templates list to get the one you want that is compatible with the page builder. 

Size

Divi

It weighs not more than 9 MB. The page builder weighs around 6 MB. Both themes count up to 15 MB.

Astra

Astra is a feather-light WordPress theme. The file is 1 MB in size. To be precise, it is not more than 998 kb which makes Astra the lightest theme.

It works efficiently for other server resources in less than 50 kb.

Performance 

When you consider the speed load to take into account, there is no competition between the two as Astra wins here with a good margin.

When you consider starter sites, both themes work almost the same here.

There is not much difference in their performances. Both are performing out of the box if you compare the paid plans of the themes.

Test #1: Empty Theme and “Hello world!”

	Page Size	HTTP Requests	Median Page Load
Divi	395 KB	20	0.848 s
Astra	42 KB	8	0.427 s

Test #2: Imported Starter Sites

	Page Size	HTTP Requests	Median Page Load
Divi	1.452 MB	27	1.472 s
Astra	1.520 MB	60	1.507 s

If you like to get things done easily without much interference, Divi is for you. If you can manage to do it yourself, save some bucks, and want your website to load faster, Astra will be a fairer selection out of the two. 

Divi Bulk Edit

Colleagues designing websites for many years recall how we would continuously repeat the same actions. If you had six blocks whose appearance you wished to alter, you had to put in six times the normal amount of effort.

Because Divi now has a feature called Bulk Edit, which allows users to make changes to multiple blocks at once, this step is no longer required.

Drop Shadows For Divi.

It is no longer necessary to use Photoshop to produce shadows for photos. Not only is Photoshop an extremely pricey program, but using its Drop Shadows also takes a great deal more time than using Divi.

Another advantage is that the original image is preserved completely, and any extra styles or adjustments to the shadow that may be required can be made later.

The Astra Online Stores

Astra is built to increase the sales your shop generates and the conversions it achieves. Simply put, creating an online store with Astra is much quicker than any other theme.

Not only will your customers appreciate a website that loads quickly, but so will search engines like Google.

This increases your store in the search results page (SERP) on Google, which draws more customers. Because of this, the number of people who frequent your site and their admiration for it both expand rapidly.

Astra Schema Mark-up

Schema is brief pieces of information that the search engines would like us to provide on our sites in order to give them a clearer picture of what is contained on those pages.

If you do so, your website will be displayed more prominently in search results, which will be your reward. Astra will take care of adding Schema markup to your web pages automatically for you.

Divi vs Astra: Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
In-built page builder	Less SEO-friendly
Highly responsive to any device.	Fewer integrations with builders
Easy installation process.	No free version is available.
A/B testing is available.
WooCommerce compatibility.
100+ demo sites are available.
24/7 support and proper documentation
Add-ons
You get everything in a huge number.

Astra

Pros	Cons
Easy to install.	No A/B testing system.
WooCommerce support.	No native page builder.
Any device is responsive.	More integrations.
Third-party connections
Extremely SEO-friendly
Feather-like lightweight (around 1 MB)
100+ demo sites are available.
1000+ page templates to edit.
Free version to use.
24/7 support.

Divi vs Astra: Comparison Table

Divi	Astra
A WordPress theme that can be used for many different things and lets you change every aspect of how it looks and how it works through a visual user interface.	A minimal, performance-focused WordPress theme that can be used for many different things. It works well with both Astra’s own add-ons and third-party page builders and tools.
Full package—the theme comes with everything you need right out of the box.	Minimal: You get a theme with no extra parts, and then you can add whatever you want.
Comes with its own page builder (Divi Builder), pre-made page templates, and a whole starter site package. It also has a user-friendly interface, a theme settings panel, a role editor, onboarding tutorials, and two extra plugins (Bloom, Monarch).	Comes with compatibility with third-party page builders (most notably Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Brizy), starter sites that are already set up, an easy-to-use interface, a theme settings panel, and extensions that can be installed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): 

✅ Is there any upgrade recently in any of the two?

The article is written in August 2020 and everything mentioned here is the latest.

💥Divi takes more loading time. Does it need good storage in the PC to handle it?

No. Nothing as such. It is not as fast as Astra but it doesn’t mean it eats up a lot of storage.

👉How long can we use the free version of Astra?

As long as it goes good with you. If you are satisfied with the features, don't bother to purchase new ones. They don't insist you upgrade the versions again and again. At times, a soft reminder is sent to you.

Also Read:

• Divi vs Wix
• Divi Theme vs Divi Builder
• Divi vs Elementor
• Divi vs Beaver Builder

Conclusion: Divi vs Astra 2023 | Who Is The Winner?

Divi and Astra are two powerful WordPress themes that can help you create amazing websites.

While both have their unique selling points, I think that Divi offers more customization options and flexibility, as well as a strong set of features to its users.

However, whatever route you decide to take on your web development journey – Divi or Astra – the critical point is ensuring that your website looks professional and meets all your objectives.

Therefore, before investing in any project, investigate different options to determine which one might best fulfill your needs. Good luck!

You may choose any of the two at your convenience as both have unique features and a huge number of users worldwide.