Disclosure: Rankplot may earn a commission when readers buy through some links. This benchmark is based on Rankplot’s own controlled test environment and should not be treated as a universal WordPress theme ranking.
Short Summary
Rankplot ran a controlled WordPress theme/build-stack test on 2026-07-09. The test compared Astra + Gutenberg, Astra + Elementor, and Hello Elementor + Elementor across 120 valid Lighthouse reports.
The clearest result was on the mobile, cold-cache article workload: Astra + Gutenberg had the lowest median LCP and smallest page weight in this test. Hello Elementor + Elementor was slightly ahead of Astra + Elementor on median LCP in that same workload. These findings apply only to this controlled setup and should not be generalized to every WordPress site.
Why This Test Exists
Most WordPress theme comparisons mix different sites, page designs, plugins, images, hosts, and cache states. That makes the results hard to use. This test was designed to isolate the theme/build stack while keeping the rest of the environment as consistent as possible.
This page publishes the method and median results so readers can evaluate the evidence behind Rankplot’s Astra and Hello Elementor coverage.
Test Setup
| Test date | 2026-07-09 |
| Tool | Lighthouse |
| Browser | Chrome 149 |
| Throttling method | Lighthouse simulate |
| Runs per test cell | 5 |
| Aggregation | Median |
| Valid reports | 120 of 120 |
| Host | Same Rankplot host for all variants |
| WordPress instances | Three isolated instances |
| Indexing | Test instances used X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollow, noarchive |
| Cold cache | Lighthouse default storage reset |
| Warm cache | Origin primed and Lighthouse run with storage retained |
Test Variants
| Variant | Theme/build stack | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Astra + Gutenberg | Astra theme with the block editor | Lowest page weight in this test |
| Astra + Elementor | Astra theme with Elementor | Higher asset weight than Astra + Gutenberg |
| Hello Elementor + Elementor | Hello Elementor theme with Elementor | Lean theme, but Elementor still adds builder assets |
Test Workloads
| Page workload | Included elements |
|---|---|
| Article page | H1, hero image, table of contents, long-form copy, comparison table, FAQ block |
| Conversion page | Hero section, CTA, feature sections, pricing/comparison table, secondary CTA, FAQ block |
Each workload was tested on mobile and desktop, under cold-cache and warm-cache conditions.
Median Results
These reader-facing tables show the most useful comparison cells without forcing a wide horizontal scroll. The downloadable CSV and JSON below include the full 24 median result cells, including warm-cache runs and every desktop/mobile workload.
Mobile Article, Cold Cache
| Setup | Score | LCP | Size | Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra + Gutenberg | 100 | 1.20 s | 37 KB | 5 |
| Hello Elementor + Elementor | 96 | 2.20 s | 99 KB | 20 |
| Astra + Elementor | 95 | 2.36 s | 120 KB | 18 |
Desktop Article, Cold Cache
| Setup | Score | LCP | Size | Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra + Gutenberg | 100 | 0.48 s | 37 KB | 5 |
| Hello Elementor + Elementor | 97 | 1.01 s | 99 KB | 20 |
| Astra + Elementor | 97 | 1.04 s | 120 KB | 18 |
Mobile Conversion Page, Cold Cache
| Setup | Score | LCP | Size | Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra + Gutenberg | 100 | 1.37 s | 37 KB | 5 |
| Hello Elementor + Elementor | 96 | 2.24 s | 99 KB | 20 |
| Astra + Elementor | 95 | 2.37 s | 120 KB | 18 |
Main Takeaways
- Astra + Gutenberg was the fastest and smallest stack in this controlled test.
- Elementor-based stacks had more requests than Astra + Gutenberg in every measured cell.
- Hello Elementor + Elementor had a lower median LCP than Astra + Elementor in the mobile cold-cache article workload: 2199 ms vs 2361 ms.
- Warm-cache results were strong across all three stacks, with all median performance scores at 100.
- The test does not support claims about revenue, bounce rate, conversion rate, or universal theme speed.
Raw Data Files
Download the dataset used for this page. The CSV contains the individual Lighthouse runs. The JSON contains the grouped median results used in the tables above.
Limits
This is a controlled Rankplot benchmark, not a universal WordPress theme ranking.
- The results reflect one host, one test date, one WordPress setup, and two page workloads.
- The test did not include Astra Pro features.
- The test did not measure WooCommerce, ads, analytics scripts, consent tools, email forms, or third-party marketing scripts.
- Lighthouse simulated throttling is useful for comparison, but it is not the same as every real-user network condition.
- The test pages were intentionally controlled; production sites with different images, plugins, fonts, and layouts can perform differently.
How To Cite This Data
When citing this dataset, use this qualification: Rankplot tested Astra + Gutenberg, Astra + Elementor, and Hello Elementor + Elementor on 2026-07-09 across 120 Lighthouse runs in a controlled WordPress environment. In the mobile cold-cache article test, Astra + Gutenberg had the lowest median LCP and smallest page weight.
Avoid citing this test as proof that one theme is always faster on every WordPress site.
