Kadence Theme Review: Compare Top Features, Pricing And More

Looking for an honest Kadence Theme review? Are you wondering whether to use Kadence WP on your website? Then, this article will make everything clear to you.

As you may know, Kadence is one of the most popular WordPress themes available. It has more than 300,000 active installs and an average user rating of 4.8/5 on WordPress.org. That’s quite amazing, right?

So, does that make it the best theme for WordPress? Is it a decent theme to use?

Here, we’ll answer that! In this comprehensive Kadence Theme review, we will concentrate on covering the following:

• Kadence free vs pro features
• Pricing
• Pros and cons
• Alternatives to the Kadence Theme

If you don’t have time to continue reading, try using the Kadence Theme right away. You won’t be disappointed!

Kadence Theme Overview

Kadence Theme stands out as the top-rated WordPress theme for 2024. Both the free and pro versions offer exceptional ease of use and a wide array of features that empower you to build any type of website effortlessly.

Kadence is a versatile WordPress theme available for free download, with a pro version offering additional advanced features. The theme shop, Kadence WP, focuses on providing high-quality themes and plugins, with Kadence Theme being their flagship product.

Beyond the Kadence Theme, Kadence WP offers other themes and plugins. The most notable among them is Kadence Blocks, a powerful page builder that enhances WordPress’s Gutenberg editor. Kadence Blocks also comes in both free and pro versions, making it a flexible tool for website customization.

Get Start With Kadence

Kadence WordPress Theme Review: Free Features

Given that Kadence comes in both free and premium versions, you may expect the free version to be somewhat limited, but this is not the case. The free theme is extremely powerful and will suit the needs of many users.

Let’s look at all of the free Kadence Theme features to see whether they meet expectations.

1. Global Colors

Kadence has a global palette feature that improves color selection and management across your site. You can use up to nine colors for various purposes — two accents, four contrasts, and three bases — and reuse them across multiple elements for a consistent look.

A global color palette isn’t something new or groundbreaking. Elementor and other page builders provided global color palette features years before Kadence.

What we like about Kadence is how intuitively it handles global colors.

All you have to do is open the WordPress customizer, go to Colors & Fonts » Colors, change the colors, and then click Publish. Kadence will automatically adjust the colors across your website.

In addition, Kadence gives nine pre-configured color palettes as well as a handy import/export tool for copying and pasting color palettes between Kadence websites. That functionality is unique to Kadence and will not be found in other popular WordPress themes.

2. Branding

You’ll upload your logo here and choose how it’s positioned, as well as whether it’s shown alone or with the text of your site’s name and tagline.

3. Typography

Kadence allows you to use a “System Default” font on your website, which loads fonts that are already installed on the user’s device rather than downloading one from your server.

That means that when a user visits your site, their browser has one less thing to load, which improves page load time.

Suppose you are interested in using a specific font on your website to maintain a consistent branding experience. Kadence has you covered, too!

You can set up a base font for your website, assign different fonts to each Heading element, and change the font color, family, weight, and size individually.

Do you need help deciding which font to use? You may choose from Kadence’s extensive collection of pre-installed fonts or one of its preset font pairings to give your site a professional look in minutes.

4. Header Layout

The header layout options panel is a noteworthy feature in Kadence. While you will get more options with the pro version, the free theme allows you to change the layout and appearance of your header.

The settings are split into two tabs: general and design. The general tab allows you to choose which elements should appear in the header. To add an element, simply drag & drop it where you want.

The design tab allows you to change the header background color and the breakpoint to switch to the mobile header.

Furthermore, clicking on an element in the general tab will show additional options. For example, clicking on the “primary navigation” option allows you to set options related to the layout and design of the menu. Or, clicking on the “Button” option allows you to set labels, URLs, and other related settings.

5. Page Layout

The page layout options allow you to design a custom template that will serve as the default page layout. You’ll be able to customize the page title, page width, whether or not a sidebar is shown, the location of the sidebar, and other settings.

Similar to the header layout, the page layout settings are divided into two tabs: general and design.

6. Footer Layout

The Kadence Theme footer layout uses the same workflow as the header layout to give you a familiar design experience.

The main difference between the header and footer layouts is that the footer layout supports WordPress widgets rather than elements. This is a good thing since widgets are more flexible.

Drag and drop a widget into the footer layout, then click on its settings icons to open the block editor and customize your site’s footer in any way you like.

Additionally, you have the option to use the row settings within the Footer layout to adjust columns, layouts, spacing, colors, etc, for each row.

Overall, you can create any kind of layout using the Kadence footer layout without the need to write code or messing with WordPress templates.

7. Load Google Fonts Locally

The Kadence Theme is well-coded and extremely fast out of the box. However, it also has a few features, such as locally hosted Google fonts, that allow you to boost the speed of your website with a few clicks.

You can find those settings in the WordPress customizer under General » Performance.

When you click the Load Google Fonts Locally toggle, the feature is enabled. Furthermore, you may also preload Google fonts to avoid the unexpected flash of invisible text that occurs when websites request fonts.

As a result, without font optimization plugins, the website loads quickly and smoothly.

8. Transparent and Sticky Headers

The Kadence Theme’s header features go beyond the basics. In addition to customizing your header style and layout, the free version of the Kadence Theme allows you to build transparent and sticky headers.

Enabling the Transparent Header in Kadence adds additional settings to the customizer. These include setting the header separately for desktop and mobile, switching off the transparent header on specific pages, and using a different logo for the transparent header.

Enabling the Sticky Header, on the other hand, expands the customizer’s setting options. These include main row shrinking, custom header logo, and scroll-up header reveal.

Furthermore, transparent and sticky header designs are completely customizable, including the colors, fonts, and item spacing. You can even configure the headers to display differently based on the user’s device.

9. Sticky Sidebar

The Sticky Sidebar feature of the Kadence Theme is a game changer. It lets your sidebar elements, such as widgets or links, remain visible when visitors scroll around your site.

For example, if you have a WordPress blog, you can use the sticky sidebar to maintain a table of contents readily available to your users at all times.

10. SVG Social Icons

This feature is basic. However, many popular WordPress themes do not have it.

Kadence allows you to select from a number of SVG social network icons for your header or footer. Moreover, you can get the SVG social icons for free without installing additional plugins.

Most other lightweight WordPress themes, such as Astra or GeneratePress, require the installation of a plugin to display social icons in your header or footer. Why? Adding social icons (SVG icons) does not overburden your WordPress theme.

As the Gutenberg WordPress editor improves, more users will drop page builders in favor of features such as SVG social icons included in the WordPress theme. Kadence is one of the first themes to support a wide range of social icons, which you can easily add.

11. Custom layouts

Kadence theme lets you set up your website layout in the following ways:

• Site-wide layout
• Pages layout
• Post layout
• Archive layout
• Product page layout (with WooCommerce)
• Product catalog layout (with WooCommerce)

In addition, Kadence allows you to customize the layout for custom post types and archive pages. This covers all possible ways to use your WordPress website.

All layout settings can be found in the WordPress customizer’s Posts/Page Layout settings. Kadence shows all available customization options for each post type, allowing you to design unique layouts for posts, categories, products, and catalog pages.

What’s more, the Page Settings option in the WordPress editor allows you to change the global settings for any post type. This is what you’d expect from a premium theme. It’s great to have it in a free theme.

12. Scroll to ID

When you click a link, Scroll to ID automatically scrolls the page to a specified area. It improves the site’s navigation and usability. The best part is that the free version of the Kadence Theme contains it. There is no need to use any other plugins.

14. Integrations with WordPress Plugins

Kadence theme integrates with the following popular WordPress Plugins:

• Gutenberg builder
• Elementor
• LearnDash
• LifterLMS
• TutorLMS
• The Events Calendar
• Restrict Content Pro
• GiveWP

That expands the possibilities for what you can do with the Kadence Theme. Want to create an events website? Or build an online store? Or a course website? Kadence is capable of handling any website you have in mind.

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Kadence WordPress Theme Review: Pro Features

Let’s see what you will get when you upgrade to WordPress Kadence Theme Pro.

1. Header Addons

The free Kadence WP theme header builder is outstanding. However, the header addon included with Kadence Theme Pro may significantly improve your header builder.

Do you need a more complicated header design? An account dropdown on a membership login site? Extra dividers and sections for adding HTML? Additional buttons for adding a call to action (CTA) for an offer? Additional navigation menus? A search bar? You get everything with the Kadence Pro Theme.

In fact, here are some of the other elements that come with the Kadence Header Builder Addon:

You can easily drag and drop an element into the header builder area and change its Appearance by clicking on its gear icon.

2. Conditional Headers

Aside from customizing the header with additional elements, Kadence Theme Pro allows you to create conditional headers that appear on specific pages or areas of your website.

This means you may design unique headers for blog posts, landing pages, and product pages.

Some common use cases for Kadence conditional headers include:

• Blog Websites: With conditional headers, you may display different headers depending on the category of your blog posts. This change helps in providing a more targeted and relevant experience to your visitors.
• Membership Websites: For websites that offer membership content, conditional headers allow you to dynamically adjust the header based on the user’s login status.
• eCommerce Websites: Conditional headers are extremely beneficial for eCommerce websites, especially during the checkout process. Using this feature, you may remove the header from the checkout page, removing needless distractions for users as they finish their purchases.

3. Ultimate Menu

The Ultimate Menu is nothing more than an Advanced Mega Menu that will carry a lot of website content via the menu and sub-menu elements.

In addition, an ultimate menu allows you to include visuals with your content, enhancing the content’s CTR.

For example, the Kadence WP website has an ultimate menu in its primary header.

4. Header/Footer Scripts

Header/footer scripts, commonly known as custom scripts, are another pro addon included with Kadence premium.

It allows you to simply add scripts to your website’s header and footer. Scripts such as Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel codes may be simply inserted with this addon.

As a result, you don’t need to download another third-party plugin for this.

5. Hooked Elements

Hooked elements are the Kadence Premium Theme’s most underrated and powerful feature.

It lets you create elements and hook them into different parts of your website.

You can choose from the following four elements:

• Content Section: Allows you to create the element using Customizer blocks.
• Fixed Section: Allows you to create fixed content on your website.
• Template: You can create templates that replace sections like a sidebar or page.
• HTML Editor: Allows you to create your element using HTML code.

Once you create an element, you can set it up to hook to any part of your website and even make it conditional, depending on the device or user viewing the page. In addition, you may also set hooked elements to expire on a specific date to have them removed automatically.

6. WooCommerce Addons

The Kadence free theme is completely WooCommerce compatible right out of the box. It allows you to customize the product and catalog page layouts and the store notification design. The pro version boosts things up with features such as:

• Sticky Add to Cart
• Custom Shop Page
• Archive Active Filters
• Off-Canvas Sidebar

Among these, sticky add-to-cart and custom shop page features are most useful because they can massively improve conversions for your store.

The sticky add-to-cart feature ensures the add-to-cart button remains in view even as users scroll down the page. This is a simple method to guarantee that customers don’t need to scroll back up to add items or adjust quantities.

On the other hand, the custom shop page allows you to replace the standard WooCommerce product archive loop with a page that you select.

Furthermore, if you want to go a step further, you may use Kadence Shop Kit to create custom product pages and customize the checkout page fields.

7. Infinite Scroll

Infinite scroll engages website visitors and gets rid of the need to go to many pages to get what you want. It makes the website browsing experience more effortless and intuitive at the same time.

The good news is that Kadence WP Pro allows you to configure infinite scrolling with a few clicks.

Once you’ve enabled Infinite Scroll in Kadence settings, you may toggle it on or off for archive pages, search results pages, catalog pages, and any other custom post types on your website.

8. Color Palette Switch (Dark Mode)

The Kadence Color Palette Switch allows you to enable dark mode on your website and fully tweak its behavior.

It’s worth noting that enabling Dark Mode does not instantly create a dark mode color palette for your website. You must still manually choose colors for the dark mode from the Global Color Palette and assign the palette.

It also provides features such as an OS Aware mode, which picks a bright or dark theme based on the user’s browser preferences.

9. Local Gravatars

Imagine you’ve written a blog post that got a large number of comments with Gravatars.

When someone visits the website, the web browser sends many HTTP requests to Gravatar’s external servers, which slows down the page’s load time.

This is where the Local Gravatar addon comes into play. It stores Gravatar images locally, which dramatically reduces loading time.

Kadence Starter Templates

A notable feature of our Kadence WP Theme review is the number of theme templates. When you install Kadence Theme, you will be asked if you want to install starter templates:

Once installed, you can access these templates by going to Appearance » Kadence » Starter Templates.

The Kadence theme offers starter templates built using two page builders:

• Block Editor (Gutenberg)
• Elementor

Choose the page builder you want to use, and then pick the demo site that you want to import:

Furthermore, you can install templates for your entire site or a single page.

Additionally, all templates are entirely customizable. With a click of a button, you can change your layout’s color scheme and font family.

After you’ve installed the template, Kadence Theme will automatically install the Kadence Blocks plugin. This gives you more control over the look and style of your pages and posts. For example, you’ll have access to pre-built blocks as well as specific blocks like a table of contents, enhanced gallery, testimonial, and more.

Kadence Blocks Plugin

The Kadence Blocks plugin, like the Kadence theme, is free to download and may be upgraded to the pro version (if needed). While the premium version is outstanding, the free plugin also has a lot to offer.

The free version gives you full control over the layout and style of your pages and posts. Best of all, if you’ve already used the Gutenberg editor, you’ll feel right at home. The learning curve is small as compared to starting from scratch with a new page builder.

The blocks available with the free version include:

• Row Layout
• Advanced Heading
• Advanced Gallery
• Tabs
• Accordions
• Countdown
• Table of Contents
• Testimonials
• Info Box
• Icon List
• Form
• And More

The pro version contains everything in the free version and the following blocks:

• Post Grid/Carousel
• Product Carousel
• Portfolio Grid/Carousel
• Image Overlay
• Modal
• Split Content
• Video Popup
• Pro Gallery Addons
• Advanced Slider
• And More

In addition, Kadence Blocks also offers a pre-built library, which consists of pre-designed building blocks that may be used to quickly create pages.

Kadence Blocks Pro costs $89/year.

Get Kadence Blocks

Kadence Theme Pricing: How Much Does It Cost?

If you’re wondering how much the Kadence theme costs, there are different options to choose from.

Is Kadence WP free? The Kadence theme, created by the Kadence WP team, is completely free to download and has more free features than most premium WP themes. Plus, it also offers a Kadence Pro Theme, which offers additional features to make site creation even faster and easier.

The Kadence Pro Theme Addon costs only $79/year.

If you want the best deal, you should get a Kadence Bundle.

There are three Kadence Bundles to choose from:

• Essential Bundle: It costs $149/year and includes Kadence Theme Pro, Kadence Blocks Pro, Pro Starter Templates, and Kadence Custom Fonts.
• Full Bundle: It costs $219/year and includes everything in Essential Bundle, Plus, Kadence Cloud, Kadence Conversions, Kadence WooCommerce Shop Kit, and many more.
• Lifetime Full Bundle: It costs $799 for a one-time cost instead of a yearly cost and includes everything in the Full Bundle.

Get Kadence Pro

Kadence Theme Support

The Kadence Theme offers excellent customer support. It has an extensive documentation section that covers everything from getting started to customizing settings, header options, troubleshooting, and more.

Additionally, it provides premium support tickets for more customized services. The ticket system is only available to premium members, and you must log in to access it. With the support ticket system, you can get quick and reliable help to ensure your website functions well.

Furthermore, it has a Facebook community where you can connect with other Kadence theme users. There, you may interact and ask questions or discuss interesting features of this theme.

Kadence Theme Pros & Cons

Our WordPress Kadence Theme review is incomplete without looking at its pros and cons.

So, let’s check out the advantages and disadvantages of using the Kadence WP Theme.

Kadence Theme Pros:

• Lightweight, fast-loading theme.
• Comes with a lot of features, even in the free version.
• Full control over page layout with Kadence Blocks.
• Starter templates that speed up your development process.
• Integrates with popular WordPress plugins and page builders.
• The free version includes a header and footer builder.
• The pricing of the premium theme is cost-efficient.
• You can easily make an eCommerce or membership site.

Kadence Theme Cons:

• Not enough starter templates like you get in other premium themes like Astra or Divi.
• No white labeling feature.

Get Kadence

Kadence Theme Alternatives

If you would like to try some of the closest alternatives to Kadence, here are some of them.

1. Astra

Astra is a lightweight and SEO-friendly theme by Brainstorm Force. Similar to Kadence, Astra offers a number of features even in its free version.

However, the Kadence free theme has significantly more features than any other free theme available on WordPress.

Furthermore, both the free and paid versions of the Kadence theme have much more functionality than the Astra Pro version.

That is why bloggers use page builders when creating websites with the Astra theme.

For a detailed comparison, see our Kadence vs Astra article.

Pricing:

Astra offers both free and premium versions. You can download the Astra free version from WordPress.org.

The Astra Pro costs $49/year for a single site license or $199 for a one-time cost.

Get Astra

2. GeneratePress

GeneratePress is one of the fastest WordPress themes, focusing on speed, stability, and accessibility.

Unfortunately, the Generatepress theme is rather old-looking, and if you are not a full-fledged developer, you will have a difficult time making it appear the way you want.

Furthermore, the free version of this theme is far less feature-rich than the Kadence free theme.

However, in terms of speed, Generatepress competes with, and sometimes outperforms, Kadence.

For a detailed comparison, see our GeneratePress vs Kadence article.

Pricing:

GeneratePress is a freemium theme. Download the free theme from WordPress.org.

GeneratePress Premium costs $59/year for 500 website usage or $259 for a one-time payment.

Get GeneratePress

3. Blocksy

Another one of our Kadence alternatives is Blocksy. Blocksy and Kadence are two very popular and trendy WordPress themes that have had a major impact on the theme industry, notably because of their unique Gutenberg-specific features.

Blocksy is ideal for both beginners and expert users, emphasizing performance, flexibility, modern design, and powerful WooCommerce features.

Furthermore, Blocksy and Kadence focus on performance and are geared toward quick loading times. Even if there is a little difference in speed, it is unlikely to be significant.

In terms of overall superiority, some may say that Kadence is somewhat ahead of Blocksy.

Pricing:

Blocksy offers both free and premium versions. You can download the Blocksy free version from WordPress.org.

The Blocksy Pro costs $69/year for a single site license or $199 for a one-time cost.

Get Blocksy

Conclusion: Is the Kadence Theme Worth It?

Yes, the Kadence WordPress Theme is absolutely worth the money. Even though many free WordPress themes are available, the Kadence Theme is by far the best option. It’s extremely easy to use, has more free features than most paid WordPress themes, and loads faster than other known fast themes like Astra and GeneratePress.

If you’re looking to take your website to the next level, consider getting the Kadence Bundle, which contains all of Kadence’s products. These include Kadence Theme Pro, Kadence Blocks Pro, Kadence Cloud, Kadence Conversions, and more.

Furthermore, using the Kadence Theme with the Kadence Blocks plugin takes your website to the next level.

We don’t know about you, but we were completely blown away by the free features of the Kadence Theme. If you’re still not convinced, you could give it a try.

Try Kadence Theme

We hope our Kadence Theme review helps you in deciding whether to invest in him or not.

For more, check out these other helpful resources:

• Astra Theme Review
• GeneratePress Theme Review
• Divi Theme Review

Lastly, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest WordPress and blogging-related articles.