We compare two of the most popular WordPress themes for the construction of websites of the moment here. Kadence and Inspiro have as well a free- as a pro version. Inspiro vs Kadence, which is the better theme? We start with Kadence which does not mean it would be better.
The Kadence Theme
This Kadence Theme Review will quickly show you what to expect from this increasingly popular theme. There are people who think that this is the best current free WordPress theme and I have to say it is certainly up there together with Astra and a few other themes.
Kadence's Rating 5/5
The Kadence theme can be downloaded for free via their own site or via WordPress.org where it is one of the most popular themes with a very high rating. The theme is already above 100,000 active installs. In other words, it is currently installed on more than 100,000 websites. You can see all this data in the images below.
Kadence's Demo Websites
This video shows you exactly how to import a demo website into your WordPress which is a bit different then most themes operate. The video on the right starts exactly where the demos are mentioned. To learn how to import the plugin for this, watch the video from the beginning.
Kadence Theme Review Performance
We are running a Kadence Theme Test on loading speed at GT-Metrix. We use a website with the Kadence Theme with optimized images and the best cache plugin out there, WP-Rocket. This cache plugin already works fine once installed, but in this case we also set it up perfectly to achieve the best possible results. You can see these results below, the theme is amazingly fast.
Kadence's Page Builders
Kadence is a special theme that works very well with the Gutenberg Editor, which is an exception because it is actually not possible to work with it on its own since Gutenberg is still in the testing phase. Kadence does this by using a plug-in they developed themselves called Kadence Blocks. Of course, the theme also works perfectly with the Elementor page builder or any other elite page builder.
Kadence Theme Review Colors
The Kadence theme offers 12 pre-programmed color combinations, which also include feminine websites and Light & Dark Colors. The programming of the colors was carried out by a professional team. Incidentally, it is certainly possible to make personal adjustments to such a color combination.
Kadence Header Editor
The Kadence theme uses a special header editor with which the header can be styled very freely, even by people who do not have technical knowledge such as HTML or PHP knowledge. Many top themes today have this, and the feature is often referred to as Header Builder.
Kadence Compatibility
Apart from compatibility with all top page builders, the Kadence theme is also compatible with plugins that are important to many people. These include The Events Calendar, Learndash, Woocommerce, LifterLMS, and a few more. It allows you to sell products, conduct courses, solicit donations, or lead a forum through your website.
Kadence conclusion
My take on Kadence is that it’s no surprise that its free version has become so popular. Even the free version is already very good, and the pro version takes it even further. Kadence can really be used for all types of website and I can definitely recommend the theme for both beginners and pros. However, there are themes that are even better, such as Astra or Ocean-WP, but more about that in another article.
Let’s continue this Kadence versus Inspiro comparison with the Inspiro Theme.
The Inspiro Theme
Let’s start this Inspiro theme review. Inspiro is a WordPress theme that focuses on video and photo editing. It has a modern design. Inspiro has many features, including a fullscreen area for Vimeo, YouTube, and self-hosted video backgrounds, Page Builder integration, and is ideal for displaying your video portfolio. The theme can be used with WooCommerce as well as popular Page Builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor.
Inspiro's Rating
Since the last time I wrote a review for Inspiro, there are now a lot more people who gave a rating. However, the average remains high, 4.7 out of 5 is a very good rating. Especially since Inspiro is very focused on video features, something that perhaps not everyone understood immediately and therefore some give a very bad rating.
Video Functions
As for the special video features that Inspiro offers, below is a list of features for the free version and the pro version, because there are big differences between them.
You can see that all video features are in the pro version, but nothing in the free version. If you are looking for a free theme with video functions, we can say that Inspiro is not suitable. What the pro version offers is beautiful, but don’t be alarmed by the price for a license of 79 dollars per website per year. For this you have practically the best theme there is for WP, the Divi theme. And not for 1 website, but for unlimited sites.
Video Backgrounds
As shown below, videos in the header can be used as background. Other great features are video on hoover, videos in portfolio items and video lightboxes. One of the best features is the video autoplay on mobile and tablets.
Portfolio with video BGs
Below is an example of a Portfolio page design. You can hover over each item to see a preview of the video or image.
Inspiro & Elementor
Inspiro theme review: Demos
The Inspiro theme has a series of very nice demos and for various niches. Demos or also called starter sites can be installed with 1 click via the backend of your WordPress. Inspiro has a small 35 demos for the free and pro version together, including demos for shops and of course photography.
Inspiro: Headers
Inspiro doesn’t have a real header builder like the top themes but with 1 click you can install other types of headers. Different headers on different pages, everything is possible.
Image/Video overlay
Another wonderful tool is the gradient overlay customizer pictured below. This is one of the features that immediately struck me while writing this Inspiro theme review. You can create beautiful effects and give your website a professional look.
Inspiro Theme Review Conclusion
As the last part of this Inspiro theme review, I give my overall opinion. The free version of Inspiro has virtually no features and I would never use it. The pro version is good for website photographers, film makers and other people who want to use videos all over their site. The pro-theme can be called downright expensive, so I have my reservations about that too.
Inspiro vs Kadence Conclusion
It is difficult to make a choice between Kadence and Inspiro since both themes offer approximately the same. The themes load quickly, have beautiful demos, and are very suitable for building shops. The Kadence theme has been around for much longer and therefore has more demos. I therefore rate Kadence a bit higher.