Templately vs Starter Templates vs Kadence Starter Templates: Tested

Starter templates plugins import a complete site design in a few clicks. We installed the three most popular starter templates plugins on the same Kadence site to see what each one loads, nags about and leaves behind.

Starter template plugins import a ready-made site design. You usually only need them once, so it matters what they leave behind. We installed each on the same Kadence site.

Best starter templates plugins: our picks at a glance

1. Templately — cleanest install

9.7/10 Free plan v3.8.1 · 300,000+ installs · 5.0★ on WordPress.org

Templately added nothing to the front end, used 1.9 MB of memory and showed no notices; it adds one dashboard widget. Its library covers both Elementor and the block editor. The Starter plan is free; paid plans started at $5.99/month on templately.com when we checked.

2. Starter Templates (Astra) — best-rated library

9.1/10 Free plan v4.7.9 · 1 million+ installs · 4.9★ on WordPress.org

Starter Templates by Brainstorm Force (the Astra team) has 1 million+ installs and a 4.9★ rating from 4,755 reviews. It sent us to its importer on the first dashboard load and loaded two small scripts (7.3 KB) on the front end.

3. Kadence Starter Templates — best match for Kadence

8.7/10 Free plan v2.3.4 · 200,000+ installs · 4.3★ on WordPress.org

Kadence Starter Templates imports designs built for the Kadence theme and Kadence Blocks. It added nothing to the front end, but showed a “Build Your Dream Site in Minutes With AI” promo notice after activation, and its WordPress.org listing was tested up to WordPress 7.0.7 when we checked.

How to import starter templates safely

1. Import starter templates on a fresh site or a staging copy, never on top of a live site with content.
2. Install the theme the template was built for first (Kadence, Astra, or a block theme).
3. Import only the pages you need instead of the whole demo when the plugin allows it.
4. Replace demo images with your own; many demo images are licensed only for the preview.
5. Delete the demo posts, menus and widgets you do not use.
6. Deactivate and remove the starter templates plugin when you are done.

Free vs paid starter templates

All three plugins offer free starter templates, and each has a paid library. The free designs are enough for a blog or a small business site. Paid plans make sense for agencies building many client sites.

Score breakdown: where each plugin gained and lost points

Our test score adds up five criteria. The table shows each plugin’s points per criterion (out of 10), followed by what we measured. A higher number is always better here. In this section, Kadence means Kadence Starter Templates and Astra means Starter Templates by Brainstorm Force (the Astra team).

Front-end weight (30%)

We loaded a normal page that does not use the plugin and counted the extra CSS and JavaScript files. Every 25 KB costs one point. Templately and Kadence added nothing to that page. Astra added 2 files (7.3 KB).

Server cost (20%)

Extra PHP memory per request ranged from 1.9 MB (Templately) to 4.9 MB (Astra). Memory matters on shared hosting, where every visitor request runs the plugin code. Database tables created: Templately 0, Kadence 0 and Astra 0. We deduct 0.35 points per MB of memory and 0.1 points per table.

Admin clutter (20%)

We counted what appeared in the dashboard right after activation. Templately added 1 dashboard widget. Kadence added 1 upsell notice. Astra added an admin-bar menu and a setup screen on activation.

WordPress.org trust (20%)

This is the WordPress.org rating, pulled toward 8/10 when a plugin has few reviews so that a handful of five-star ratings cannot win on its own. Templately: 5.0 stars from 383 reviews, 300,000+ active installs. Kadence: 4.3 stars from 19 reviews, 200,000+ active installs. Astra: 4.9 stars from 4,755 reviews, 1 million+ active installs.

Maintenance (10%)

Templately 3.8.1 was last updated 3 days before our test and is marked as tested up to WordPress 7.1.3. Kadence 2.3.4 was last updated 71 days before our test and is marked as tested up to WordPress 7.0.7. Astra 4.7.9 was last updated 2 days before our test and is marked as tested up to WordPress 7.1.3. Plugins tested with the current WordPress version get full points; an update older than six months costs three points.

Which starter templates plugin we would install today

If you use the Kadence theme, start with Kadence Starter Templates: the designs match the theme settings and the import is quick. Its score was lower mainly because of a smaller number of WordPress.org reviews and an upsell notice, not because of speed.

If you use Astra, its Starter Templates plugin is the obvious pick. It has more than a million active installs and the largest library. Templately scored highest in our test and works with any theme, which makes it the best choice if you switch themes often.

Whichever plugin you use, you can deactivate it after the import. Starter templates only copy pages, images and settings into your site; the design keeps working without the plugin.

Can you use starter templates on an existing site?

Yes, but import pages one at a time. All three plugins let you import a single page design instead of a full site, which leaves your posts, menus and settings alone.

Before a single page import, check which plugins the design needs. Many designs depend on a block plugin or a form plugin and install it for you, which adds weight you may not want. Kadence designs usually rely on Kadence Blocks and Astra designs often rely on Spectra. In our block plugin test, Kadence Blocks alone added 19.8 MB of memory per request.

If you only like the look of one section, rebuilding it with core blocks is often lighter than importing it together with its plugins.

How we tested

Every plugin was installed from WordPress.org on a clean WordPress 7.1.3 site (PHP 8.3, Kadence theme, default content) in WordPress Playground on 22 October 2026. We took a snapshot before and after activating each plugin, one plugin at a time, and compared them: CSS and JavaScript added to a logged-out page that doesn’t use the plugin, extra PHP memory to load WordPress, database tables, and every admin notice, dashboard widget and setup redirect. Directory facts (version, installs, rating) come from the WordPress.org API on the same day.

The WPGlory test score rates what a plugin costs your site, not how many features it has: front-end weight 30%, server cost 20%, admin clutter and upsells 20%, WordPress.org rating 20%, maintenance 10%. Features are covered in the text. Full method.

FAQ

Modasser Jasim

Meet Modasser, an industry specialist, website designer, and developer with professional experience. With over 5 years of expertise in crafting interactive websites and providing intelligent business solutions, Modasser has established a solid reputation for excellence in the industry.

I install every plugin on a clean test site and publish the numbers.

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