Astra vs Kadence for your author website: a plain comparison of two free WordPress themes, from header builders to blocks, and which one I would pick.
If you are building an author website on WordPress, two free themes come up again and again: Astra and Kadence. Both are fast, both are popular, and both will give you a clean, professional site without paying a cent. So which one should you choose?
The honest answer is that either will serve you well. But they feel different to work with, and one may suit the way you like to build more than the other. Here is how they compare for authors, and which one I would pick.
What an Author Website Needs From a Theme
Before comparing anything, it helps to be clear about the job. Most author sites need the same handful of things: a home page that shows off your latest book, a Books page, a blog, an About page with your photo and bio, a contact page and a newsletter sign-up.
Beyond that, you want readable typography, a site that looks good on phones, quick loading, and settings you can change without touching code. Your time is better spent writing than wrestling with CSS. If you are starting from scratch, my guide on how to build an author website in a weekend walks through the whole process.
Astra vs Kadence at a Glance
Both themes are free on WordPress.org, and both have a paid Pro version that adds extra features. Both are lightweight, which matters because a slow site loses readers before they ever see your book cover.
Both also work with the block editor and with page builders such as Elementor and Beaver Builder, and both offer ready-made starter sites you can import and then make your own. The differences are in how each one approaches design.
Astra: Simple, Light and Builder-Friendly
Astra, from Brainstorm Force, is one of the most widely used WordPress themes in the world. Its settings live in the WordPress Customizer and are laid out clearly, so it is easy to find your way around even on your first day.
The free version gives you layout controls for container width and sidebars, Google Fonts for headings and body text, and a drag-and-drop header and footer builder. Its free Starter Templates plugin offers a large library of ready-made sites, including some that suit writers.
Astra stays out of the way. It is a clean canvas, which makes it a great match if you plan to design your pages with a page builder. If you would like to know more, I have written a full Astra theme review.
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Kadence: More Design Control in the Block Editor
Kadence also uses the Customizer, but it gives you a few more dials to turn in the free version. You get a drag-and-drop header and footer builder, a global colour palette, and detailed typography settings such as line height, letter spacing and sizes for different screens.
Its big strength is the free Kadence Blocks plugin, made by the same team. It adds blocks such as row layouts, advanced headings, buttons, tabs and info boxes to the standard block editor. In practice, it gives you a light page builder without installing a separate one.
Kadence also lets you turn off elements such as the page title or featured image on individual pages, which is handy for a clean, distraction-free book landing page.
Customising Your Author Website
With Astra, most of the work happens in two places: the Customizer for site-wide settings, and the block editor or your page builder for the pages themselves. It feels guided and calm. You rarely feel lost, and you rarely feel overwhelmed by options.
With Kadence, you can do more of the design inside the block editor itself. Building a home page with your latest book, a short bio and a newsletter box is quick with row layouts and styled buttons. If you like to fiddle with spacing and colours, you will enjoy it. If you don't, the extra options can feel like a lot at first.
Whichever theme you choose, the key pages are the same. A book landing page and a clear newsletter sign-up will do more for your sales than any theme setting.
Speed, Plugins and Support
On speed, there is little to choose between them. Both are built to be lean, and both perform well when paired with decent hosting and a caching plugin. Your choice of host and the size of your images will matter far more than the theme.
Both play nicely with the plugins authors tend to use: SEO plugins such as Rank Math or Yoast, email sign-up forms, contact forms and the rest. Both follow WordPress coding standards, so conflicts are rare.
For help, both have detailed documentation, active WordPress.org support forums and plenty of video tutorials. Astra has the larger user base, so you will find more third-party guides for it. Kadence's own tutorials are excellent. Paid support comes with the Pro versions of each.
If you are curious about what a well-built WordPress site can do beyond the theme, read WordPress websites for business: how they help you succeed.
Final Thoughts on Astra vs Kadence
If you want a simple, light foundation and plan to design your pages with a page builder, choose Astra. It is calm, well documented and easy to get going with.
If you want more design control inside the block editor, without adding a page builder, choose Kadence. The Kadence Blocks plugin and the extra typography and colour settings give you a lot for free.
For most authors who use the block editor, I would lean towards Kadence. But you can't go far wrong with either. Pick one, build your Books page and your sign-up form, and get back to writing.
Once your site is live, keep your story notes and characters organised in Story Bible Studio, try a round of collaborative fiction on Chain Story Online, and find more web guides for writers here on Enda Storrie.
Next step: Leaning towards Astra? Read my Astra theme review, then find a home for your site with my Hostinger review.
Related reading: Best WordPress Themes for Authors · How to Build an Author Website in a Weekend
Enda Storrie is a writer and the creator of Story Bible, the planning journal and app for writers, and Chain Story Online, a free collaborative storytelling platform.
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