With 1+ million active installations, it’s easy for anyone to think that Astra is the best theme they can use. Now with Astra, there’s always the question of whether you should upgrade it for better functionality.
If you decide to upgrade, which is better for you: Astra Pro or Astra Agency Bundle?
Astra Pro vs. Astra Agency Bundle is fairly straightforward; Astra Pro is more than enough for most users. Astra Agency Bundle is also an excellent deal-a steal for its price.
However, the add-ons you’ll get from it may not be useful for an average WordPress user-or Astra user, as it is for a web designer/developer for that matter.
To help you understand why one will work better over the other, let’s cover everything you’ll get from both options.
We’ll take a closer look at both Astra Pro and Astra Agency Bundle and discuss the reasons why each of them will be better for your business.
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Let’s dive in to details.
Astra Pro vs Astra Agency Bundle: Introduction
Astra is a WordPress theme (or framework) that you can download and install on your site for free. It’s lightweight and fully customizable, but it’ll be very limited with what it can do if you decide not to upgrade this theme.
Still, many WordPress users prefer Astra theme and it’s fairly obvious with more than 1 million active installations because it unlocks a plethora of customizability options, including Astra Pro, Astra Agency Bundle, and a variety of page builders.
Astra Pro and Astra Agency Bundle are add-on services that you can get from Brainstorm-the company responsible for developing and maintaining Astra-which unlocks various modules and features that aren’t available in Astra.
Astra Pro
Astra is more than enough to build WordPress sites, but if you want to have better control over its design, you may want to consider upgrading to Astra Pro.
It’s an add-on service-and technically a plugin for Astra theme that makes it easier for you to customize your site.
You’re not required to pay for Astra Pro; you can still do most of these by going through lines of codes in the Theme Editor, but it makes things so much easier.
Plus, the training they provide makes it easier for newer WordPress users to understand how they can start using Astra Pro when building sites.
Check out our in-depth review of Astra Pro theme to know the details.
Astra Agency Bundle
The Astra Agency Bundle is the best that Brainstorm can offer to maximize what you can do with Astra. Basically, it’s Astra Pro + membership with the company + access to everything that they have, including any future plugins that they may develop.
This add-on service is geared towards users who are already familiar with WordPress and would like to start a business around it-a a WordPress web development agency.
Although there are many excellent tools that you can get from it, Astra Agency Bundle is still a niche service that aims to serve more experienced WordPress developers.
Astra Agency Bundle vs Astra Pro: User Experience
The user experience is the same for both services; what you’ll get from Astra Pro will be the same as Astra Agency Bundle.
Just to be clear, when you pay for Astra Agency Bundle, you’ll get Astra Pro-the plugin that Astra users need-plus additional tools and services that will make it easier for WordPress developers to use Astra Pro for their business.
You’ll still build WordPress sites using the default WordPress content editor or use a page builder on top of the Astra theme.
So, if you know how to use WordPress, you already know how to use Astra. There’s no other user interface that you have to learn.
If the free starter templates will serve you well, getting at least 50% more free starter templates from the Astra Agency Bundle would be an excellent upgrade in the user experience.
It’ll show you even more ways to design your site using Astra, which may enhance your experience in using this plugin.
Astra Agency Bundle vs Astra Pro: Features
If we’re only talking about building and designing WordPress sites using the Astra theme, there’s really not much difference in the features you’ll get from Astra Pro and Astra Agency Bundle.
So, what are the features that you can get from using either of these premium add-on services?
Astra Pro
As mentioned, Astra is “good enough” for a lot of WordPress users. In fact, you don’t even have to pay for Astra Pro and still get the same customization features; you just have to spend a ton of time moving things around.
Here are some of the features that you can unlock with Astra Pro:
- Multiple header customization options
- Site colors, layouts, and typography settings
- White-labelling and custom pages
- Integration with WooCommerce
- Integration with various page builders
- Integration with WP plugins and tools
- 100+ free starter templates to build sites faster
- Training and support
- Pro updates and speed optimization
- And one of these two: Ultimate Addons for Elementor or Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder
All of these options allow you to “own” your website and design it the way you intend. The free starter templates will help a lot, but let’s face it, you don’t want your business’ website to look like “just another WordPress site,” right?
Astra Agency Bundle
With Astra Agency Bundle, you’ll get the same Astra Pro features, plus plugins worth $424 per year. But the biggest benefit that you get from it isn’t even related to using Astra Pro.
It’s the access to a library of online courses beneficial for those who want to start their web development business.
Here are some of the things that you’ll get from the Astra Agency Bundle:
- Astra Pro, WP Portfolio, Schema Pro, and Convert Pro plugins
- Ultimate Add-ons for Elementor and Beaver Builder
- Access to SkillJet Academy($1199 worth courses given for free only with this bundle)
- And any future plugins or Add-ons they release
Most of these won’t really matter if you’re only building websites for your business. But if you want to start building websites for clients, getting untethered access to SkillJet Academy is more than enough to take your business to a whole new level.
Related Reading: Astra Pro Theme vs Elementor Pro
Astra Agency Bundle vs Astra Pro: Pricing
The pricing is pretty straightforward for both Astra Pro and Astra Agency Bundle. In fact, it’s more than enough to help you decide which add-on is good for you.
| Annual Subscription |
One-Time Payment |
||
| Astra Pro | $59 | $249 | |
| Astra Agency Bundle | $523 | $1893 |
If you’re only building a website (or websites) for your business, Astra Pro is more than enough. we’d even say that $59 per year is a steal for the features it can do-or the time you can save figuring out your way around the free theme.
Even if you’re a developer who builds websites for a handful of clients, Astra Pro will still serve you well.
$523 per year may seem too expensive for an average WordPress user, and we agree-it’s overkill. But for developers who are managing several clients, spending $523 per year in exchange for better productivity and client management is a small price to pay.
Final Thoughts on Astra Pro vs Astra Agency Bundle
It may be daunting for people to choose between Astra Pro and Astra Agency Bundle because of the irresistible offers you can get from Brainstorm’s most expensive package.
So, to make it easier for you to choose between the two, we’ve summarized everything below.
Why Should You Buy Astra Pro?
Astra (the free theme) will help you make beautiful websites without compromising their load speed. The only caveat to it is that the customization options will be quite limited.
However, before you pay for the premium plugin, be sure that you are in one of these instances:
- You like Astra’s functionality, but you want to have more customization and control over the theme.
- You want to build various websites for your business or some clients.
- You want to build multiple websites with various functionalities.
Personally, we think that at least 9 out of every 10 Astra users will fall in any of these categories. In fact, most website developers will even find great value with this premium plugin.
Why Should You Buy the Astra Agency Bundle?
$523 per year is a bitter pill to swallow for many Astra users, but you don’t really need to spend this much to get the most out of Astra.
There’s only one reason why you should buy the Astra Agency Bundle, and that’s if you’re planning to start your own web development business.
The plugins you’ll get and your access to SkillJet Academy will only be beneficial if you’re already developing and maintaining websites for various clients.
These add-ons will help you be more productive and teach you other ways to build and scale your business.
The Astra Agency Bundle is a great deal for Astra users who fall into this category. Frankly, we think it’s only a small percentage of the 1+ million active installations that this theme has.
Conclusion: Astra Pro vs Astra Agency Bundle
Astra Pro vs. Astra Agency Bundle may be confusing for some, but we think it’s because of the great value you can get from the more expensive option.
Imagine getting a bundle deal on some of the best plugins you can use with Astra and free access to a library of online courses for WordPress.
However, the Astra Agency Bundle won’t really benefit an average Astra user. The best course of action would be to get used to what Astra can do, then upgrade to Astra Pro, slowly build your customer base, then get the Astra Agency Bundle.
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