Astra vs Web Stories
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Astra v4.14.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | Web Stories v1.42.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.2/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | 60,000+ |
| Last updated | October 15, 2026 | May 15, 2025 |
| Editions | Astra · Astra Pro ($) | Web Stories |
| Pros | Header and footer builder with schema markup; Compatibility layers for WooCommerce, Elementor, LearnDash and Yoast SEO; Lightweight front end and RTL and translation support | Free and open source (Apache 2.0) from Google; Publishes tap-through, AMP-friendly visual stories; Optional ad, shopping and embed features |
| Cons | Astra Pro add-on and premium modules are sold separately; Free theme shows Pro upgrade notices in the admin; Optional usage tracking asks for consent first | Stories are a separate post type, not ordinary page content; Ad and shopping features need third-party accounts; Opt-in usage tracking exists, off until a user opts in |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Header and footer builder, Schema.org markup, WooCommerce compatibility layer, Elementor compatibility layer, LearnDash compatibility layer, Google Fonts in the typography options, Pro upgrade notices | Experiments admin page, AMP story player output, Google Ad Manager ads in stories, Google AdSense ads in stories, MGID ad widgets, WooCommerce product lookup for shopping tags, Shopify product lookup, oEmbed embeds in stories, Hotlinked media copied to the media library, Google Fonts for story text |
| Integrations | ||
| Marketing | — | Google Ad Manager, Google AdSense, MGID |
| Analytics | — | Google Site Kit |
| Social | — | |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce, Shopify |
| Plugins | Elementor, LearnDash, Yoast SEO | Advanced Custom Fields |
| Other | Google Fonts | — |
| Requires WordPress | 5.3 | 6.6 |
| Requires PHP | 5.3 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 6.8 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | fonts.googleapis.com, api.ipify.org | wp.stories.google, cdn.ampproject.org, fonts.googleapis.com |
| Blocks | — | 1 |